DC Officially Kills Off a Superman Family Hero, But I've Got a Theory...

Warning: Spoilers for Power Girl #14!The latest issue of Power Girl wants fans to think the story killed off a member of the Superman Family, but I think otherwise. The Superman Family is a lot like Batman's Bat-Family in that it features as many affiliates as it does direct members. There are mainstays like Superman, Supergirl, and Power Girl, and then there are those who are family by association, like Power Girl's best friend, Omen.

Power Girl #14 by Leah Williams, Adriana Melo, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Becca Carey features the apparent death of the former Teen Titan Omen. I say "apparent" because I'm conflicted about whether Omen is truly dead. Then again, let's be honest, no one ever truly stays dead in comics. A character might die, but eventually, they always get better. However, that's the thing about Omen's death - it doesn't even feel like a true death. Something feels... off, to say the least.

I'm not so much speculating that Omen will come back from this death as much as I'm suggesting that Omen didn't actually die in the first place, despite how the scene depicts her fight against the new "hero" Ejecta, who seems to have a grudge against Omen. Steel may say that Omen is "not breathing," but things just can't be that simple. This is comics, after all.

A Superman Family Member's Apparent Death Comes at the Hands of a Suspicious New "Hero"

Omen Dies... Or Does She?

For readers who haven't been keeping up with the latest Power Girl ongoing series, let me explain who her best friend is for a second. Omen is Lilith Clay, part of Power Girl's supporting cast. Created by Dan Jurgens for 1996's Teen Titans #1, she has since revealed herself as an all-powerful telepath. Now, Lilith has settled in as Paige Stetler's roommate, frequent superhero partner, and a fellow New Girl fan. She proves a formidable ally to the Superman Family, even saving Superman's life in Power Girl #4 by Williams and Eduardo Pansica.

Lilith has effectively served as a background sidekick, letting Power Girl lead the show in her comic. But Lillith suddenly takes center stage upon the introduction of Ejecta, who debuts in Power Girl #13 with dark powers even Superman wouldn't like. Omen and Natasha "Steel" Irons attend a civic meet and greet event together. There, a mysterious man frames Omen as if she's attacking the gala, prompting a run-in from the mystery hero, Ejecta.

Ejecta proceeds to beat Omen within an inch of her life using super strength from cybernetic enhancements. While fighting her, Ejecta claims to be a precog, seeing a future where Omen kills numerous people, and Omen reads her mind to confirm. The traumatic beating and the implication that she's a danger to everyone sets Omen into an agoraphobic depression, which bleeds into the next issue. Natasha and Paige investigate the celebrity influencer-like "hero," prompting a fight that Ejecta uses as a mental trap against Omen. Lilith falls to her apparent death, no longer breathing, as Ejecta retreats to her master, the returning Symbio.

What Has Actually Happened to Omen If She's Not Actually Dead?

I Really Don't Believe Such a Key Power Girl Hero Is Gone for Good

It's the nature of Omen's quote-on-quote "death" that has me skeptical. Now, Steel checking her breath as she hits the ground, confirming that she's not breathing, should be all the confirmation we need, but it doesn't help that it's not entirely clear what happens between her and Ejecta. And I don't mean that as a flaw in the story itself; I love this Power Girl series. I'd argue that lack of clarity is a combination of intentionality on behalf of the creative team, adding mystery heading into the next issue, and because Ejecta's powers themselves are still unclear.

Ejecta said she had precognitive abilities, but Mariposa - employee of Daily Planet's editor-in-chief Lois Lane and ally to Power Girl - seeks to disprove that in this issue, theorizing that Ejecta could be using some sort of A.I. to predict the future instead. That theory seems to check out with the re-introduction of Symbio, the rogue Kryptonian A.I. who used to be a part of Power Girl's original rocket ship. So, if Ejecta has no actual powers beyond super strength and super speed afforded to her via cybernetic enhancements, then what exactly did she do to Omen?

Is It Possible that Power Girl's Best Friend Omen Is Actually Comatose?

It Makes Sense for a Telepath to Suffer from a Mental Coma

I also feel like had Omen actually died, her death likely would have ended the issue, as is usually the case when a major character's death happens in a comic. Imagine every major hero's death you can think of in comics. The shocking death is usually big enough to justify being that comic's final panel, right? Then why would Omen, Power Girl's main supporting player, be the exception? Why, instead, end on the reveal of a supervillain we haven't seen in ten issues, as if that's bigger than the death of Power Girl's sidekick?

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Because, I'm claiming, Omen isn't actually dead, in spite of Ejecta declaration that she's "as good as dead." In the same way that Omen's telepathic abilities aren't visible in her mind, neither is the mental trap that Ejecta set for her. In theory, whatever Ejecta did to Omen may only be in Omen's mind. Her mind may be trapped somewhere in a mental mindscape, while Omen herself merely appears dead in the physical world, like a coma. Whatever the case may be, I sincerely doubt that any Superman Family member is going to die on-panel without the pomp and circumstance it deserves.

Power Girl #14 is available now from DC Comics.