Official : Bendis gets both books

[Lvenger]

I have a question, and I want to apologize first because I'm sure the answer is somewhere in here, but there are 455 pages on this subject. Anyway, I read the Man of Steel miniseries, and I was turned off and dropped the books. But, Superman is my second favorite character behind Plastic Man. Have Action and Superman improved, both in form and content, since the introductory miniseries? I heard Action was pretty interesting early on, but I still stayed away. I just want to hear that things are getting better and a recommendation that I should jump back in. Thanks in advance.

Superman is my favourite character but personally I can't stand what Bendis has done with complete control over both Superman comic books. Granted Bendis is one of my least favourite comic writers of all time so him writing Superman is a personal nightmare for me but there's plenty to criticise about his Superman run as well as praise.

Superman follows the Rogol Zaar plot line from MOS and eventually covers what happened during Jon's trip with his grandfather Jor-El. Rogol Zaar is still the same bland, one dimensional brute that Bendis has convinced himself is more important than he actually is to the story. Making Rogol the cause of Krypton's destruction is an embarrassment to the richness of Superman's mythos. Also Jon Kent eventually turns back up only he's been aged up to 17 and has a scar after spending years trapped on Earth 3 in the past. So Bendis robbed Jon of so many more stories that could be told at his younger age just to rush him to a point where he wants to tell his story which is unfair to say the least. And Jor-El was apparently a part of a secret galactic Illuminati called The Circle which once employed Rogol as its enforcer. Very generic, drawn out filler that is typical of Bendis whenever he tries to tell an epic cosmic story. It's never been his strong suit as most Marvel fans can confirm.

Action Comics deals more with The Daily Planet and Metropolis side which follows up on the fire subplot of Bendis' MOS. It introduces a new group called The Invisible Mafia, a new villain called Red Cloud, a woman who now owns The Daily Planet and reveals where Lois Lane has been since returning from space. This is the more critically acclaimed of Bendis' Superman series but I really don't see a big difference in quality. If anything, some of my least favourite moments and dialogue has come from Bendis' Action Comics. Expect more drawn out decompressed storytelling with frustrating Bendis speak peppered in throughout.

You'll hear plenty of recommendations on here since many users are fans of Bendis' run so I think it's only fair you also hear some critical opinions too. Obviously the first trades of Bendis' run are out now so there's an opportunity to return to reading Superman comics if you like what you hear. However, if you didn't like the MOS mini, you'll probably find Bendis' run is more of the same in my opinion.

[Ascended]

I have a question, and I want to apologize first because I'm sure the answer is somewhere in here, but there are 455 pages on this subject. Anyway, I read the Man of Steel miniseries, and I was turned off and dropped the books. But, Superman is my second favorite character behind Plastic Man. Have Action and Superman improved, both in form and content, since the introductory miniseries? I heard Action was pretty interesting early on, but I still stayed away. I just want to hear that things are getting better and a recommendation that I should jump back in. Thanks in advance.

Hard to say, everyone has different tastes.

I have enjoyed the books a lot more than I enjoyed the MoS mini, for whatever that's worth.

Odds are you know the basics about both books; Action is all about Metropolis and is exploring the idea of an "invisible mafia" that has taken great care to stay off Superman's radar for years. The Superman title has been dealing with the cosmic side of the character, heavily involves Clark's son Jon, and is furthering the plot of Krypton's murder.

Between the two Action has been the stronger title, with more consistent pacing and a tighter plot and it's dealt with Lois and the marriage more. But Superman has been the book setting up the big new cosmic status quo stuff, which looks quite promising if you like the big, crazy sci-fi elements of Superman.

I'd recommend grabbing the first trade/s and going from there. Maybe you'll like what is going on maybe you won't, but in either case I don't know if you can really judge the books just from the MoS mini.

[Superlad93]

Superman issue 16 page. Jon and Damian's reunion, and some father/son time between Clark and Jon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1IKBP5B...d=9bhfvu1q3uci

God, I was hoping that Lafuente would grace us with his incredibly detailed backgrounds, and he did not disappoint.

[Superlad93]

In a small interview about Millennium in the back of some of today's comics, Bendis seems to heavily imply that the immortal character is not an original character, so the likelihood of it being Hex or Moore has gone down pretty hard. He also said that he wondered if the character should be a hero, villain, "or is there a character that's sort of both?" This made me recall that Bendis, when speaking about the mystery woman, said that she was a character who had a morality that could shift depending on the situation she was in. He also said that this is a character "who could easily not figure out something had happened to her during her life."

It's totally Rose/Thorn.

[Yoda]

The blacked out letters is also kind of a long name. Do we know Rose's new civilian alias? It doesn't look like "Melody Moore" given there seems to be an L or T in the last name. Also way to long to be "Lois Lane"

So yeah, I think it's definitely Rose.

[Superlad93]

The blacked out letters is also kind of a long name. Do we know Rose's new civilian alias? It doesn't look like "Melody Moore" given there seems to be an L or T in the last name. Also way to long to be "Lois Lane"

So yeah, I think it's definitely Rose.

Rhosyn Forrest aka Rhosyn Lynne "Rose" Forrest aka Rose Canton aka Rose/Thorn.

He's got a lot of option for her name in that blacked out section.

[Superlad93]

Better look at the teaser from issue 16 of Superman by Lafuente.

[manwhohaseverything]

So, does jon return to earth just to say farewell to everyone and let his mother know after legion in superman #14?
If it is i would be quite disappointed. The kid hasn't been really been relatable after his return. He is just sort of there. I was looking forward to some downtime on earth with some secret identity. Have him go to high school or something. Get into some trouble with his partner in crime. Earlier, the family aspect, school, chores and curfews..etc grounded tge character. Now, he does not . I wish bendis would give something to ground him. And the legion thing doesn't seem to have any grounding factor either. I wish legion was like a training camp or something. If legion is just going to be intergalactic sci-fi nonesense without anything to ground jon.Then it's going to get boring real fast.

there is also the jon being superman's public son thing that worries me. it will cost jon his secret identity and normal life. if it is the direction, i am done with jon. Its been frustrating reading Bendis's jon. I mean, what is the point of making jon into aquaman like space prince or celebrity?
I also worry that jon will be so badly ruined for the people that liked him before and left without fanbase. There won't be anything left to salvage for writer that handles character afterwards bendis. DC wouldn't feel the need to reverse the status quo, might erase him. At this point, i think i am losing interest in the character. Might not even care if they did. Shame really, jon was really cool. I will miss superdad.

[Superlad93]

Hmm, looking at Lafuente's image above, I wonder if the framing device for this issue will be Jon seeking advice/talking with his dad while recalling his reunion with Damian? That seems to be Jon surprising Damian in the above smaller panel before we get the main panel with Clark, so it's a possibility.

Structurally speaking, I might like that a lot. I've almost always been a fan characters talking or telling a story while interlacing past events. It's such a economical way to go about telling a story like this. Plus it's a way to keep Superman in his own book for an issue that's clearly not his. You get to overlay the best friend stuff with the father/son stuff. I think Bendis employed this technique kind of inappropriately with Jon's lost years because it was just too large a span of time to cover to satisfaction in 4 issues (then again, something had to be given. It was all a question of page space per year). But a reunion/catch-up can reasonably make use of cutaways, implied moments, and so on especially if the cutaways are going to a father/son talk.

[DCAbloob]

The blacked out letters is also kind of a long name. Do we know Rose's new civilian alias? It doesn't look like "Melody Moore" given there seems to be an L or T in the last name. Also way to long to be "Lois Lane"

So yeah, I think it's definitely Rose.

Her current civilian alias is Rose Forrest but I’m guessing the blacked out words were simply “Rose and Thorn” with all three words spelled out.

[Superlad93]

Slights spoilers for issue 14 of Superman in the link below

https://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-cont...out-1.jpg#main

I'm only discussing one aspect, so it's not a full blown spoiler fest for those that still wanna hear what I noticed.

The dude from Thanagar says "all this over Krypton, your father, and secrets from a hundred quarks ago." The bit about Clark's father and the "secrets from a hundred quarks ago" is in bold in the actual comic. Given the fact that the majority of the dialogue seems to pertain to Krypton and Jor-El, I feel safe in assuming that the "secrets from a hundred quarks ago" pertains to either or both. The part that gets me is the fact that a hundred quarks seems to imply that it's akin to a hundred years. Krypton wasn't blown up a hundred years ago, so this is likely to do with something relating to Krypton and/or Jor-El, but aside from its destruction.

Remember how while looking for Jon Jor-El traveled through space and time for years, and apparently went to great depths and made some pretty serious deals? Well, could his actions and "deals" (that he seems either afraid or ashamed of) be the secrets from a hundred quarks ago?

Also apparently spoilers:

Rogol Zaar is vulnerable to kryptonite.

end of spoilers So, it seems like a few stray threads may be coming together for something.

[rpmaluki]

Legion takes place in the 31st century, not the 32nd as Bendis has said in past interviews.

https://www.denofgeek.com/us/books/d...-heroes-reboot

[Superlad93]

Thanks for the link, Rpmaluki.

Few bits of important info and sections from the interview.

* If you check out the second cover for issue 1 of the Legion you'll see that apparently Earth is destroyed in the future! This is a very fascinating wrinkle in not just the future of the DCU, but also the Legion's history. And interestingly enough, there are obvious and general parallels to Superman's origin.

* The unambiguous answer to if Clark has a history with the Legion: "Where does the Legion fit into the Modern DC Universe?"

"There have always been people that were like, “I’ve heard about the Legion but where do you start?” Well, you don’t have to worry about that because the way it lines up, the Legion has actually never appeared in the DC Universe. When you read their first appearance, that’s actually the first time Superman is meeting them or anybody. Their first appearance will be in Superman #14 and #15, so you’ll meet them along with the Superman family. The Legion will have a big offer and the offer will then generate where we’re headed which is a future where excitement awaits."

* Bendis: "It is a very dense and rich sci-fi universe. Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen and Mike Grell and Jim Shooter, so many creators have added to it over the years. What we’re getting to do, with all these seeds, it’s similar to what I did on Ultimate Spider-Man, which is cherry pick the best things about the characters and the world and put them in this beautiful stew of everything that’s great about the Legion and put it out in a modern story. That’s what my job on Ultimate Spider-Man was, and I realized, “Oh my God, the Legion doesn’t exist here; we can create the Ultimate Legion,” for lack of a better word."

* Bendis thinks of the Legion as one of the greatest parts of the Superman Universe, so when he got the Superman gig he specifically asked for the Legion as part of it.

* Apparently there's a general reason why Jon Kent is picked to be part of the Legion, and it's pretty cool. We'll be finding it out in Superman issue #14, and issue 16, in addition to being the Super Sons' reunion, it will address the fallout of the Legion offer.

Covers for issue 1





Issue #1 solicitation is here, and it will directly address the 31st century's reaction to Jon Kent being there. Plus, it sounds like the right kind of crazy and interesting. The covers also seem to indicate that Jon Kent will in fact be our guide through the 31st century while also having direct story relevance in his own right.

"Welcome to the 31st century! Inspired by the acts of and lessons learned from the greatest heroes of all time, the Legion of Super-Heroes have gathered together to stop a galaxy from repeating its past mistakes. The greatest lineup of heroes in comic book history returns with new, fresh, and reader-friendly stories! Eisner Award-winning writer Brian Michael Bendis reteams with master artist Ryan Sook (Action Comics) for one of the most ambitious mainstream comic books ever created! Why have the Legion of Super-Heroes broken the cardinal rule of the United Planets and inducted Jon Kent, a.k.a. Superboy, into the Legion? What are they hiding? And what does it have to do with Aquaman’s long-lost trident?"

[KC]

As I said on the Legion thread, I am not a fan of Bendis' Superman being the first time Superman and the Legion meet. The only acceptable alternative for me is if he met them as a teenager and they made him forget.

[Sacred Knight]

Yeah that's still the major deal-breaker for me too. Doesn't even look like he's the inspiration anymore as opposed to just the general present day DCU inspiring them (with Superman's importance to the history being that he seems to create the United Planets...unless even that isn't really true and it ends being more Jon that fosters its growth hence their wanting his membership). I just can't accept it. I mean its happening, there's nothing I can do about it, but I can't and won't support it.

I know I've said it at least once before, but its funny with as much as I rail on Secret Origin and didn't like it being put back as the official origin, that this is undoing one of the only things I liked about it. Classic case of be careful what you wish for, I suppose.