Bizarro might just seem like another average Superman foe, but Supergirl discovered the true purpose of the backwards villain. In Supergirl #56, Kara Zor-El finally realizes the important role Bizarro #1 plays in Clark Kent's life.
As one of the most powerful forces for good in the DC Universe, Superman has gone up against a number of dangerous rogues. But one of the most odd in the entire collection is the powerful and unstable Bizarro. An imperfect clone of the Man of Steel, Bizarro is one of the hero's most destructive villains. Cursed with a backwards perspective, Superman's enemy Bizarro is an opposite in every sense of the word. Superman does good, so naturally, Bizarro uses his extreme power to do bad. Oftentimes it's not even because of nefarious reasons. Sometimes Bizarro's warped worldview causes him to think he's doing good when he's actually making things much, much worse.
Supergirl Discovered What Bizarros Are Really For
But despite the chaos that inevitably follows with Bizarro’s presence, the foe may actually serve an important role in the Superman mythos. In Supergirl #56 by Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle, the titular heroine is returning her own outlandish twin back to her home planet of Bizarro World. But while traveling, Supergirl begins to reflect on the past several months of her life and reveals to her bizarre clone that Kara blames herself for the recent destruction of New Krypton. Supergirl opens up about wanting to leave her life as a hero behind and how she was forced back into action upon the arrival of Bizarrogirl. Supergirl mentions that all the emotions and every doubt she'd been having up until now were staring back at her in the cracks of Bizarrogirl's face.
Kara had been through some truly traumatic events by the time she faced off against her Bizarro. But there’s an interesting point made by Supergirl during her self-reflection. Kara notes that her doppelgänger is everything that people say Supergirl is. Destructive, irresponsible, and a danger to society. Bizarrogirl is a mirror that forces Supergirl to confront the biggest doubts about herself. Superman doesn't often contemplate why Bizarro has haunted his life so much, but Supergirl may have cracked the code on what the clones are truly meant to be.
Bizzaro Represents Superman's Inner Doubts And Fears
While many think that the Big Blue Boy Scout is perfect, the truth is that he’s just as unsure of himself as anyone else. When Superman is pushed up against a wall by the evil schemes of Lex Luthor or fighting against wicked conquerors like Mongul, Clark is fighting threats to his home. But when Bizarro enters the scene, Superman is confronted by a very alien-looking, super-powerful being that can destroy a lot of things if he isn’t careful. Clark isn’t fighting a villain when he takes on Bizarro, he’s fighting a manifestation of his inner fears.
Supergirl’s contemplation about her own dark mirror finally put to words the true reason for the existence of Superman's Bizarro.