Supergirl: Wings

Supergirl: Wings is a DC Comics Elseworlds one-shot released in 2001. It is a reimaging of the Earth-Angel storyline of the first half of Supergirl. It is written by J. M. DeMatteis and illustrated by Jamie Tolagson.

Characters

Plot

Matrix is an angel, one of the Amenlee, whose task is to help those who rebel against His will and help them find their way. But her love for Humankind starts to dwindle as her latest charge, Linda Danvers, resists her attempts to help her. She is told by her companion, Zauriel, not to give up on her, while the Spectre tells her to just give up and let him deal with her.

Matrix is not willing to give up on Linda, even though she herself is having doubts. After visiting Linda while she sleeps, she is confronted by a demon who emerges from Linda. This demon tells her that Linda's original guardian angel tried to help her with her self-destructive ways, only to "go down in flames" so to speak. Distraught, Matrix finds herself wandering, and is almost absorbed by the Deva of the Trees, a reflection of God that protects the Earth. She then meets a stranger, a fallen angel who belongs neither to Heaven nor to Hell, and he shows her a Human family and how to possess their bodies.

At the same time, Linda is attacked by the Spectre, who is stopped by Matrix. She then enters Linda's body, and realizes that the Human form is nothing but a cage, and hates them now more than ever. She gets pulled out of Linda's body by Zauriel, after she attacks Linda's boyfriend Buzz. Unbeknownst to Matrix, Buzz is actually the demon she confronted, whose name is M'yaa.

Matrix wanders again, this time meeting Ceetka, a reflection of God who resides over the sea. After she is almost absorbed by him, she washes up on shore and meets the man from the family she had witnessed with the stranger. His name, Clark, reveals that he too is an Angel who decided to disguise himself as a human. Matrix rejects pretending to be Human, as her hatred has now reached its peak. She then meets M'yaa again, who attempts to turn her over to his side.

At the same time, Linda is finally feeling remorse about her life and is contacted by Zauriel. The Spectre, angered that he tried to save someone who was not his to save, rips off Zauriel's wings and advances on Linda. Desperate, Linda does the one thing she hasn't done in years. She prays. Her prayer reaches Matrix as she is about to take M'yaa's hand, and the resulting energy inexplicably merges Matrix and Linda into one being, forming a Human/Angel hybrid. Matrix learns that Linda wasn't the one who needed to be redeemed, she was. Then, Zauriel and M'yaa, along with all the other characters in the story, reveal that this was all one test for Matrix to save herself from destruction. No explanation is given as to whether the sacrifice of the Human Linda was part of the test. M'yaa then reveals that he was actually Matrix's guardian, and the story ends with Matrix/Linda, now a new being, flying off into the sky.

See also