Sound review. It seems that Supergirl truly suffers when made to be so remote from her base: an optimistic personality and Superman. It's much the same way the Legion of Superheroes suffer without a link to Superboy/Superman, and Kon does the same. In an effort to make the characters different than their source, they're also made distant from the source, as the raison d'être for the characters all ways returns to Superman. The Brinze Age Supergirl was her own woman and nobly met her fate in the Crisis. Kara Zor-EL's return under Loeb was a more psychological approach, but by the time she was in the hands of a Sterling/Gates, she was once again her own woman. The N52 has started over, again, but without the optimism, connection, or desire to see her become her own woman. The best thing about the new direction is the costume change, and no longer having to see Kara in that outfit.