Comic Book Review: House of El Book Two: The Enemy Delusion written by Claudia Gray, art by Eric Zawadzki
Sera-Ur and Zahn-Re come from the same world, Krypton, but very different subcultures. Sera is a member of the military caste, and until recently was content to follow orders. Zahn is from the elite science caste, and his keen mind allows him to see solutions others don’t. But it also allows him to see problems others don’t, even ones the ruling council says aren’t problems at all. Ordinarily they’d never have interacted. But Zahn’s cousin Lara performed experiments on Sera that appear to have affected her mind, and now she’s having thoughts military people aren’t supposed to have.
Kryptonian society is very rigid and hierarchal; castes don’t mix, and dissent is dealt with harshly, even things you didn’t know were dissent when you thought of them. Zahn secretly is connected to a resistance group called “Midnight” that has been labeled as “terrorists” by the government. He’s not so sure about that. Having been thrown together by chance, Sera and Zahn are catching feelings for each other that aren’t precisely forbidden, but are suspicious.
The teens have discovered that Lara and her husband Jor-El are definitely up to something forbidden, experiments with technology that’s on the no-no list, and they’re having a baby that was not genetically engineered like normal children are. What they do not know is that Jor-El has discovered that Krypton is doomed, and there’s nothing that can save it.
This is the middle part of a graphic novel trilogy, retelling the backstory of Superman in the style of YA dystopia. As someone who grew up reading Silver Age comics, I wasn’t entirely pleased with Krypton’s change from a flawed but mostly good civilization to a more sterile dystopia. But I do have to admit it makes for some good stories.
As this volume opens, our protagonists are fleeing from law enforcement. They had trespassed in the House of El to steal a “data solid” that might have clues to what Lara was trying to accomplish with her experiment on Sera. They manage to give the police the slip, but the initial information is just a history lesson…except that the slant isn’t the official one, but something the Council might consider seditious. Everything else is locked away, so it must be even more explosive.
While Sera’s thoughts may be more confused than before, she’s also sharper and faster to react than before, which attracts the attention of her commanding officer, General Zod. Zod is a friend of Jor-El’s and is aware of the mounting evidence of Krypton being an unstable planet (though Jor-El has kept the worst from him) and is working with Jor-El on possible solutions. Which sounds good, but we know from “history” that General Zod is eventually sentenced to the Phantom Zone prison for horrible crimes, so his interest in Sera might be more sinister than it looks.
Zahn spots a vulnerability in the capital city’s technological infrastructure. Striking there will cripple the government’s control temporarily, without unnecessary civilian casualties. He informs his contacts in Midnight, who bring him fully into the organization. Unfortunately, the leader of Midnight wants to crank up the plan with additional infrastructure strikes that are far more likely to cause death.
Sera and Zahn find themselves increasingly isolated from their peers and mentors due to their innovative thinking, even though it’s getting results. They also have a quarrel that temporarily isolates themselves from each other. Towards the end of the volume, they reconcile and figure out how to unlock the data solid. And now they know the horrible truth.
The edition of this volume I have has the first chapter of the concluding volume as a preview, as Zahn confronts Jor-El and Lara.
The writing is good, and I find myself interested in the main characters, even though I know that their chances of surviving the end are infinitesimal at best. The art is solid, making Kryptonian architecture and costuming look distinctive and a touch alien despite the very contemporary human-looking character designs.
Unfortunately, this is the middle of a trilogy, so I don’t know if the story sticks the landing.
Content note: Combat against “monsters”, the monsters are killed. Classism.
Recommended primarily to young adults with a casual interest in the Superman mythos and who are okay with downer endings.
