Convergence: The Adventures of Superman #1 (DC)

writer: Marv Wolfman

artist: Roberto Viacava

Well, this one is one of the best excuses to have done Convergence at all: giving Marv Wolfman an excuse to revisit Crisis On Infinite Earths.  Years later Wolfman also wrote the novelization of his most seminal work, so this continues a welcome tradition.  Here it's an even less likely, ah, convergence.  A different era's Supergirl was one of the famous deaths in Crisis.  Today that Supergirl might as well have not have existed at all except historically, because there have been so many other versions that she has been completely lost in the shuffle.

Wolfman cleverly plays on that, too.  He's got a blank slate to work with, and so not only takes the opportunity to play with her acknowledged fate in Crisis but demonstrating how much fun the character could be.  This is probably the only innocent version of Supergirl available, which is extremely odd to even consider.  Subsequent versions were all dark in one way or another, including the New 52 one, who eventually signed up as a Red Lantern, with all the rage therein implied.  Crisis Supergirl is much more in-line with, say G. Willow Wilson's Ms. Marvel, or even the popular reboot of the New 52 Batgirl.  This is a Supergirl who has a direct relationship with Superman.  Yeah, this hasn't happened since Crisis.  And yeah, that's weird to think about, and even weirder to realize that it took this to realize that.

And even weirder that Lucius Fox, a supporting player I know from other iterations (much like Supergirl herself) comes off in the early pages like Fringe's Walter Bishop.  Which is awesome.  Coming off his most famous version (Batman Begins et al's weapons developer), this is either like finding out what he once was, or could become all over again.  Either way, pretty awesome.

The Crisis era Convergence spin-offs probably have the best chance of helping fans discover, or rediscover, potential like this.  And Wolfman's Adventures of Superman seized this wonderful opportunity.