Superman: Son of Kal-El #15: We All Fall Down

The Siege of Gammora storyline ended with a bang this week as a rag-tag group of queer teens bands together to throw a big ol’ socket wrench in the guts of an evil empire. There’s a whole lot to love about Tom Taylor’s storytelling in this issue: we get the satisfying resolution to a family struggle, we get a major DC character coming out in glorious fashion across the media of that world, we get a lesson in toxic capitalist economics, and we get to witness an apocalypse being diverted. The fact that all of this action flows naturally and without ever feeling forced is an added benefit.

Aside from everything else, it’s clear that Tom Taylor understands (perhaps better than any other DC writer) both the evils of end-stage capitalism and Lex Luthor as a character. Capitalism turns everyone into engines of destruction, corrupting us all and controlling our free will as effectively as Bendix alters and pilots the innocent bodies that he has stolen. There are no people within capitalist systems, merely resources, which are to be used until they can be used no further and which are then either unceremoniously discarded or else parceled off as parts to feed lower levels of the machine. Even the rulers, like Bendix, who seem to be the sole beneficiaries of profit, are thrown away the second they can no longer feed the system. And the fact that Luthor not only understands this but also revels in it is what makes him one of the best possible villains for the era we are currently barely surviving. 

Cian Tormey’s line work is absolutely exquisite. His character designs are memorable, disturbing, and brilliantly thought out. Scott Hannah is a tremendous inker (a legendary figure in the field) and his contributions cannot be downplayed. Federico Blee and Matt Herms share coloring credit and their work adds a lot of life and punch to already wonderful art. 

This story is, in every way, absolutely satisfying. This is a team who deserves every opportunity to work together. And this issue provided the capstone to a project which will, I hope, have lasting effects within the DC line.