Some days you wake up and want to change the world. Others, you just want to break that same world in two. But most of the time you just have to get on with the business of living. 
Supergirl (Volume 5) #33 is an issue of the series Supergirl (Volume 5) with a cover date of November, 2008. It was published on September 3, 2008.
Synopsis for "Aftermath"
Supergirl gets into a fight with Clayface shortly after failing to save Thomas Price.[1]. Clayface gloats after landing a few blows but Supergirl -who already faced him in the past-[2] rapidly disabuses him of the idea that he's something else than a glorified stress ball: she freezes him solid, takes him to the upper atmosphere and lets him go. After watching plummeting to Earth, Supergirl descends, expecting to see Clayface putting himself together in time to be put away; instead she finds Young Justice member Empress has encased him inside a hex bubble and is waiting for her.
Empress's parents were killed and resurrected as children and currently, they are being held hostage by a man who calls himself "Aftermath". Supergirl agrees to help, and together they fly to Aftermath's mansion. Too late Supergirl realizes it was a trap: Eddie Rose, "Aftermath", kidnapped Empress' parents and blackmailed her into putting Supergirl into a mind-controlling hex and bringing her over. Eddie Rose was left crippled when Superman fought against Doomsday[3] and developed the mindset that heroes aren't real and he ought to unmask them. And he plans to use Supergirl as part of his plan to turn public opinion against all super-heroes. But beforehand he needs to look after loose ends, so he commands Supergirl to kill Empress.
Supergirl pounces on Empress, but retains self-control enough to tell her to summon a hex shield. Empress does so, and Kara manages to crash herself into the magical construct. The hex shield's magic cancels the former spell and Supergirl breaks free of Empress's control. Before Rose can get Empress' parents killed, both heroines take his men down. Rose breaks into tears, crying he only wanted to do things right. Supergirl recalls her failure to save Thomas and states Eddie's intentions might be good but he was wrong, nonetheless.
Later Supergirl and Empress have a talk while Aftermath is being taken away. Kara pities Eddie Rose, maintaining he became that way because heroes like themselves weren't there to save him when he needed them. Still Rose has helped her realize she's spent too long fighting against something she can't win and it's time to go back to help people.
Appearing in "Aftermath"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Empress (Final appearance)
Antagonists:
- Clayface
- Aftermath (Single appearance) (Flashback and main story)
Other Characters:
- Donald Fite (Cameo)
- Doomsday (Flashback only)
- Maxwell Lord (Flashback only)
- Superman (Flashback only)
- Wonder Woman (Flashback only)
Locations:
- Metropolis (Flashback only)
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in the Supergirl: Way of the World and Supergirl: Ghosts of Krypton trade paperbacks.
- Empress appeared last in Wonder Girl #3.
- Supergirl first fought Clayface in Superman/Batman #19/Supergirl (Volume 5) #0.
- Issue includes a flashback to Superman's fatal battle against Doomsday from Superman (Volume 2) #75.
Trivia
- The tagline to this issue is "Enter: Empress!"
See Also
Recommended Reading
Main article: Supergirl Recommended Reading