Issue 7 of Tom King's Supergirl run dropped this week. We have one issue to go. I'm still miffed DC Comics didn't let him have the usual 12 and cut it down to 8. It is what it is. If you aren't reading along, there will be spoilers ahead. If you don't want to have the issue spoiled, please stop reading here.
Okay, still with me? Spoilers are dropping in 3, 2, 1...
This issue we start, as usual, with Ruthye continuing the tale of what transpired years in the past when Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, helped her track her father's murderer, Krem, and bring him to justice. We've seen her fight to get ahead of Krem and his genocidal killing sprees only to come upon planet after planet of slaughtered citizens.
We've learned of what she truly witnessed as a young teenager whose planet came apart beneath her feet. How she lost everything, more than once, and how that trauma has defined her.
Now we see her finally catch up to Krem, capture him, only to have to run from every murderous brigand in the universe. Until she doesn't anymore. She places Ruthye on a safe beach with Comet and Krem, who is tightly bound to a tree and blindfolded and gagged. She returns to space to fight the largest collection of ruthless killers ever assembled in one place.
© DC Comics (N. Scott variant)
I've never read comics by a writer that loves characters like Tom King. Loves them for who they are, not what they want them to be. Understands all the lore that has come before and digs into the parts that so many gloss over because they're uncomfortable or maybe not so bright and cheery. With Supergirl, Tom respects all that Kara Zor-El has been through and gives us insight into why she is who she is. Why she goes by Supergirl. Why she is so kind. Why she can't help but come to Ruthys's aid.
Will she kill Krem? Even kind people have a line. Everyone does. He certainly deserves it. Is it her place to be the executioner? Is there some part of her that wants revenge or is it that it has all come down to it being her moral obligation to stop such an uncompassionate genocidal psychopath? Or will Ruthye take that burden from her. Kara certainly wouldn't want that for her. Although for Ruthye, it is not such an alien thing, or so she thinks.
Will this be the event that changes Supergirl into the "Woman of Tomorrow"?
It might be. There has never been more of a justification to end an existence of such a horrid vile person, if one could argue there ever is justification.
I'm afraid all of the beautiful, terrible things Mr. King has shown us about this character will be completely missed by readers being outraged if she does indeed kill Krem. Of course, with King's work, that is often the case. Readers missing the message, depth, and beauty and being outraged at what they feel is unjustified or out of character when it has been so eloquently laid out right in front of them. I don't think that matters much to him & I'm glad. A good story is the goal.
Mr. King hasn't changed a single thing about Kara Zor-El. He hasn't tried to make her anything that wasn't already there. Several years ago, Gail Simone had asked Twitter, "What comic character would you want your favorite writer to write & why?" and I immediately thought of a Tom King Supergirl. Why? Because of everything he has hit on in the book and how he writes survivors. How he wrote her in one tiny panel in "Heroes In Crisis".
Kara Zor-El isn't just a survivor of a Holocaust. Of Trauma. Of Genocide. She was a WITNESS.
That fucks you up inside. Forever. It informs every choice you make from here on out. Kara Zor-El is one of the most powerful beings in existence, yet despite everything she's been through and everything she's capable of doing, she chose kindness. Does choosing to kill one genocidal psychopath destroy all of that? I guess that is one possible question we will get answered. Can someone like Supergirl make a mistake or make this choice and still be looked at as a hero, or does a choice like this destroy everything in her life yet again?
I'm excited to see what happens. To see how I feel. And I will feel because I have yet to read one of Mr. King's books and not feel. It's good art.
Speaking of art, Bilquis Evely & Mat Lopes make it all the more powerful with their art & color. It truly is the book I had hoped for when I first wished it into existence.
Do yourself a favor, go pick it up.
What are your thoughts on this penultimate issue and how do you feel about Supergirl possibly killing Krem in the context of this story? Let me know in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment