Superwoman Vol 1 9

"Steel Resolve"

Part of the "DC Rebirth" event.

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Steel Resolve

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I'm sorry, Lana. The Kryptonian suit of armor saved Lana Lang...but it might not have saved Superwoman.

— Superman

Superwoman #9 is an issue of the series Superwoman (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 2017. It was published on April 19, 2017.

Synopsis for "Steel Resolve"

Lana wakes up inside of the Kryptonian warsuit she was put in recently. She panics, and when she hears Clark's voice, she silently cries out for him to help her. Clark opens the suit and as she regains her bearings, he must keep John Henry and Lois from crowding her. As she comes around, she asks about what happened, and as Clark and John try to explain, Kelex interrupts them to deliver important news. During the last time her powers flared up, something changed inside her. Now, there is no trace of the solar energy supplying her powers, or any signatures out of the ordinary. Lois and John are confused and asks Clark for answers, but he has none. Lana than realizes what this means...she is powerless. Clark tells her that even though the armor saved Lana Lang, it failed to save Superwoman.

Meanwhile, at the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit, Atomic Skull is briefing the unit on their latest mission; hunting down a Stryker's Island inmate that escaped during Ultrawoman's takeover. Partway through, Maggie Sawyer interrupts, as Skull had started the debrief without her. She reminds everyone that having powers does not give anyone edge, be they cop or criminal. She then dismisses everyone...except Skull. Skull tries to make nice, but Maggie reminds him that his work-release agreement makes him one of her people, and she does not tolerate anyone acting acting without her consent. He agrees to dial down the initiative, but tells her that she is wrong about him; his powers do give him an edge no cop can match. However, she brushes him off and leaves.

A week after losing her powers, Lana has returned to the Lang family Farm to reflect. While she had hoped to find refuge from the thoughts plaguing her, even home cannot distract her from the paradox in her mind; she is simultaneously upset and relived at being powerless. Her reflection is interrupted by John, who had come to tell her that Natasha prepared dinner, and that Lois called to check on her. Still upset, she refuses to come. John tries to convey his empathy, but Lana rebuffs him, and he leaves. Natasha asks about what happened, but John tells her he needs to make a call. She asks if he is calling Lois, but he gives her no details.

That night, Lana is sitting on the roof of the house, still pensive at her conflicting feelings, when Clark flies in, as John called him to talk to her. He manages to get her to talk about her feeling. Lana explains that she doesn't fully understand her feelings, but she feels like something is missing without her powers. On one hand she was getting used to having them, but without them, she sees no reason to be Superwoman. Also, she doesn't want to be Superwoman anymore, but feels guilty about losing her powers to regain her life. Clark responds that he is grateful that she tried to be Superwoman, and her actions helped him regain a piece of his life back. He then offers to show her what he means, and she accepts.

In Downtown Metropolis, Maggie is calling for a sitrep on their attempt to capture Remnant. According to the officers monitoring the situation, Remnant is almost at the ambush site. Atomic Skull also reports that he is in position. At the same time, the informant being used to lure Remnant in guides towards what he thinks is a stash of weapons he can give to Crash, but is actually Atomic Skull and the MSCU. Upon seeing the deception, he tries to kill the informant. Skull demands he surrenders, but Remnant responds by sending out projections to take down the cops. Skull tries to rush Remnant, but Maggie orders him to stand down. deciding he is too close to give up, he ignores Sawyer and fights his way through the illusions and finds the real one. As he grabs him, Remnant call him a lapdog for working with the police to rile him up. At that moment, Sawyer explains why she wanted him to pull back; his radiation emissions were overheating the electrical grid. However, she is too late, and an explosion tears through an open manhole, blowing Sawyer off her feet.

At the same time, Clark is flying Lana over Metropolis, where pictures of Superwoman are being projected across several buildings. He then then lands at a playground, where little girls are pretending to be Superwoman. Clark asks her to reconsider giving up on Superwoman, but even a heartwarming display is not enough. Lana refuses to pick the mantle back up because she feels she will never be ready for the role. Clark keeps trying to change her mind, and she realizes that Clark is hiding something. When she asks him, he relents. He explain that something happened to him recently, and by surviving it, he was made aware of a bigger threat coming. and he will need the entire Superman Family to help him face it. Lana fishes for more details, but Clark then hears something. Suddenly, Skull and Remnant come flying out of the ground. Upon crashing, Skull pins Remnant, but he kicks him away before he can end it. Clark then leaves Lana and tackles Remnant, to Skull's chagrin.

Lana uses the opening to get an injured Sawyer to safety, but she orders Lana to get the other bystanders away. However, Remnant notices two boys nearby, and moves to take them. However, Lana puts herself between him and the children, giving Clark an opening to finish him off. Maggie then arrives, and though she is angry that Skull ignored her commands, she decides that the results were acceptable, and the two leave with Remnant. Then the mother of the children Lana protected arrives and thanks her for saving them. Clark then takes Lana back to Kansas, and she asks how he planned an emergency to prove a point. He responds that he planned none of it and wanted to show her how important she is. Lana still doesn't think a powerless person can be Superwoman, but he reminds her that powers don't make her a hero, and she will always be Superwoman with or without them. Sufficiently motivated, she vows to try to continue, deciding that the hardships are worth the role. Clark then leaves a renewed Lana to her devices.