Official : Bendis gets both books

[Thor-Ul]

I can't see Superman as anything but Atheist or Humanist.

As an atheist myself, I also cannot concive Superman as an atheist. As an humanist and a Raoist I can accept. In fact in the cannon of the DC universe God exists, but his role in the reality is unclear. Also if we are talking about the jewist roots of Superman (which are accurate) Bendis is not saying than Superman suddendly is going to becom to judaism and will start to read the Torah and speak hebrew, but to recover the analogies than are in the heart of the Superman legend.

[regg215]

He has his moments. I think the idea that he's been boning up on Superman recently could be true, but it could also be an assumption. He's had like 50 years to access the character, and we might be surprised by what he knows. Especially if he likes anniversary issues such as say... Action #850.

I think that Bendis knows a ton about Superman, I am sure that him doing his research as he indicated he did could certainly help but with that said Bendis typically just does what he wants regardless of whether it's canon on or not. I truly think that a lot of the time he does not care that he is breaking canon and just goes for because he wants to. I know that I come off as extremely negative on bendis which I am but most of that is because at one time this guy was my absolute favorite writer. I have reread alias, ultimate spider-man, daredevil and powers more times than I can count all of those were absolutely masterful in my opinion. But ever since those ended( around the time he took over moon knight) Bendis has basically just thrown in the towel on everything he has touched lately, even his somewhat better stuff (defenders, the new jessica jones series) are all just decent but nothing spectacular. As much as I criticize him I still pick up the first arc or two of most of the stuff he writes because I keep hoping that the guy who used to be so good will show up but he never does anymore. His disregard for canon and for characters he doesn't see as important regardless of their importance to the book, show up way too often now and he just decides that some characters selectively forget their history or powerset. I mean he took over Iron man did all this hype about how he was going to make Iron man the focal point of marvel comics and within a year Rhodey was dead, pepper was non existent, tony was dead and the two Iron man books he had focused on riri williams and Dr Doom. A lot of what bendis did during the last 10 years is why marvel is in such a bad place with most of their characters right now. I really have come to love Superman as a character and the rebirth story that has been told so far has been amazing, so it is kinda terrifying that the guy who has spent the better part of the last decade destroying the history and canon of any character he has touched all the sudden has complete control of Superman. I will of course pick up the first few issues with the hopes that it will be early 2000's bendis ( and I will be thrilled If I am absolutely wrong) but I am pretty sure we are going to get the same stuff he produced the last 10 years at marvel just set in the DC universe. I will not be surprised if within two years Clark has been replaced or killed off and that there is some sort of superhero civil war in the DCU.

[MajorHoy]

We know that Saturn Girl is in Arkham looking for Superman so it's safe to say that the Legion will be part of his history.

Unless they bring back "pocket universe" Clark-as-Superboy?

[Kuwagaton]

I have reread alias, ultimate spider-man, daredevil and powers more times than I can count all of those were absolutely masterful in my opinion. But ever since those ended( around the time he took over moon knight) Bendis has basically just thrown in the towel on everything he has touched lately, even his somewhat better stuff (defenders, the new jessica jones series) are all just decent but nothing spectacular.

Years ago on the old boards I distinctly remember saying I would buy anything from Bendis and Maleev, and back then I had a Moon Knight (by Ribic) avatar. Then it actually happened and I was devastated. The AvX era was worse and killed my interest in them almost entirely. The only good thing I can even say is that it helped me cope with losing my core X-Men collection (Classics #1-72, Uncanny #175-281).

But I've had jobs where I promised myself I'd make good on a new chance, and failed. And I've also had jobs where I really did start and stay strong. I'm hoping this huge new change with positivity will help Bendis with the latter.

[Sacred Knight]

Unless they bring back "pocket universe" Clark-as-Superboy?

God I hope not. I mean, writers worked with what they could back then within the confines of the ridiculous post-Crisis edicts, I get that, and respect the way they tried to find workarounds, but virtually all attempts just never lived up to the way it was originally, and the Legion/Superboy situation is one of if not the top on the list.

[Kirby Krackle]

Bendis wrote this story at Marvel, so he's going to write the same exact story at DC with Superman. Great arguments.

[Somecrazyaussie]

I agree with pretty much everything you say. Let us hope that Bendis does some stellar work. He can. Just let this one be one of the hits rather then misses. As you said spotlight is on Superman. The initial issues are going to have good sales. And if he does something genuinely good it will help Superman reach higher numbers on a consistent basis. This might be bigger then Morrison in New 52. After all he is Bendis. Both DC and Marvel people, in fact the whole industry will take notice. (I speak as if i knew stuff before New 52. But i am guessing it must have been big).

The only difference would be how i liked the two books. In my opinion Tomasi's work till Black Dawn was stellar. I owe it to that run to make me a Superman fan. Before that i was all Batman. And just when i was seriously entering comics at Rebirth i loved Superman. Black Dawn was wonderful to begin with but i thought its ending was weak. It was fine till that Lois issue. I was digging that horror town vibe. But it ended real fast. It was followed by Road Trip. It may be among the worst two issues i have read. They were so boring. Both had a few good moments. Fill in writers were pretty solid. I particularly liked the second part of Green Lantern story and first part of Lois going after Deathstroke. Had high hopes for their return. It began real good again to have a weaker ending in Imperius Lex. Same with Super Sons of Tomorrow. So their work was uneven since a while and weren't able to meet biweekly schedule as they would have preferred. Fill in writers shows this. In comparison Jurgens was able to meet that schedule well. And his work was more consistent. I liked Action even before Reborn. And after that it got only better and better. I am sad to see them go. Particularly Jurgens as it looked like he could do a lot. Let is hope that Bendis does some good work to follow them both.

I always assumed Jurgens would leave with Action #1000. It is a perfect point to end a run. So I wasn't surprised when it was announced that Bendis was taking over. With Jurgen's now having an opening in his schedule, I hope it means he can now do a Booster Gold book. The recent appearances of him in Action seem like a test run.

[JAK]

It does lead to the interesting question of Clark's religious opinions though.

The Kents aren't written as being religious, but they likely did consider themselves something even if they weren't church going people. In the few instances Ive seen where religion or god are mentioned at all, it seems the Kents are some flavor of christian. Clark himself has always shown a degree of respect and honor for his native culture, celebrating Kryptonian holidays and swearing by Krypton's god. Even when he died, he was comfortable enough with Kryptonian religion he didn't immediately recognize Blaze's manipulations. But it's also been implied (if not outright said) that Clark is some flavor of christian as well, but like the Kents seemed to be, wasn't a church going man. And he's also a guy who has fought angels, gods, demons, and higher dimensional beings who might as well be gods but don't use the term. And Clark's a cerebral guy interested in learning about other worlds, peoples, and at least in the Silver Age, was something of an armchair amateur philosopher.

So what exactly would this guy believe is out there?

I do admit the questions are interesting, but I think the answer isn't worth it. It's not like trunks/no trunks, and those cause splits enough as it is. Like the old adage of "don't talk about politics or religion" - I think it causes more problems than it solves. It's why I don't want to know who he votes for, unless it's Pete Ross who's running, or something like that. I know he celebrates Kryptonian holidays, etc - but there are a number of people who celebrate holidays/etc who don't follow the religion implicitly.

That said, I do love the idea of Superman as an amateur philosopher, but I see that as separate.

[Miles To Go]

Perhaps a telling sign Bendis will do right by the Super Family, as he was quoted as thinking Clark keeping secrets from Lois in the classic era wasn't altogether heroic

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/02...n-longer-liar/

[Sacred Knight]

He's not wrong that there's a very hypocritical nature to Superman in regards to all the lies he tells. Although I'd be hestitant to say it makes him less heroic. Its an interesting dichotomy, one that DC has never played up enough, but it doesn't make him less heroic. It just makes him a liar for necessity's sake. But a liar nonetheless while fighting for truth and justice, lol. Rather making him less heroic though, I actually think the lore loses something the more people who are in his circle.

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Perhaps a telling sign Bendis will do right by the Super Family, as he was quoted as thinking Clark keeping secrets from Lois in the classic era wasn't altogether heroic

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/02...n-longer-liar/

Good.

I was kind of surprised that he was keeping secrets from her in the Lois & Clark mini.

[Kuwagaton]

I don't understand why that's always used against Superman and not every other hero with a secret identity, Like he's called out specifically.

God I hope not. I mean, writers worked with what they could back then within the confines of the ridiculous post-Crisis edicts, I get that, and respect the way they tried to find workarounds, but virtually all attempts just never lived up to the way it was originally, and the Legion/Superboy situation is one of if not the top on the list.

Pre-crisis Superboy is something DC has, for about 27 years now, been getting conditioned to ignore. Since bringing him back never proves profitable. We even have a thread from last week sitting down there at less than a dozen responses. XD

[Somecrazyaussie]

Okay, people are working themselves up into a frenzy. It ain't healthy and achieves nothing. I can understand if it was limited to the quality of his recent work. But some fears are unfounded. We won't know the score until previews for the first batch of issues are released to the media. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Simple. Just a few points:

• Jon isn’t going away. DC have spent almost two years (and four years worth of comics) building the character up. If they wanted Jon gone, they would have done away with him during Superman: Reborn. They didn't. So Jon isn’t going nowhere.

• Bendis has said everything that has happened from Rebirth onward is remaining canon. It is all part of Johns vision as Chief Creative Officer. So if there are any changes, I guarantee they will occur under Johns pen.

• Johns role as Chief Creative Officer means he is involved in shaping the landscape of the DC Universe. He has had a hand in title published since the beginning of Rebirth. Hell, he even stayed with Snyder one weekend to thrash out the general plot of Metal. Just to ensure it was inline with Rebirth's overall narrative. So you can bet he has probably had numerous talks with Bendis about his plans for Big Blue. Plus he has the power to veto anything he doesn't agree with.

• Bendis was top dog at Marvel. The 17+ years he spent with them meant he could do as he pleased. No way would DC allow him the same freedoms. I don't know about Didio or Lee, but I am certain Johns will keep him on a short leash.

• Bendis is Jewish. So if any comic character meant something special to him, it would be Superman. So I think Bendis will take the task of writing Superman seriously. Perhaps moreso than any other character he has written for.

• DC has been promoting Action #1000 like crazy. They could have released it on the original date. Instead they delayed it by a month so it can come out on April 18. The same date issue #1 was published on. To not honour the contribution it had in starting the "superhero" genre. But to also honour Siegel and Shuster. It is a celebration of Superman.

• DC have given Superman back his trunks. They originally stated they took them away to modernize him. But they took them away because they were embarrassed by them. The fact they have given them back means DC is no longer afraid of public opinion on them. Superman wore them for over 70 years. They are an iconic part of him.

• The hiring of Bendis signifies the biggest push of Superman in decades. Another in a long line in a year that will see Action #1000 published and the return of his trunks to the character. Like him or loathe him, Bendis remains one of the biggest creators in comics. His name alone is enough to sell most books he is on. Plus he has a history of attracting the best artists in the business. All this shows DC is actively trying to make Superman one of the greats again. They want people to pick up his titles. With Bendis, that is guaranteed.

• Another positive to Bendis hiring: It has the industry talking about Superman again. People who don't even read Superman, or even like Bendis, are saying they will pick up the first few issues. The more people talking and thinking about Superman, the better.

[Ascended]

I do admit the questions are interesting, but I think the answer isn't worth it. It's not like trunks/no trunks, and those cause splits enough as it is. Like the old adage of "don't talk about politics or religion" - I think it causes more problems than it solves. It's why I don't want to know who he votes for, unless it's Pete Ross who's running, or something like that. I know he celebrates Kryptonian holidays, etc - but there are a number of people who celebrate holidays/etc who don't follow the religion implicitly.

That said, I do love the idea of Superman as an amateur philosopher, but I see that as separate.

No, its not something that needs to be explored. But its only a problem because we, the fans, cant be civil to each other when a disagreement rolls up.

I think the main reason I find the topic interesting is because its about the only thing about Clark I dont feel like I have nailed down. I mean, I could write essays about this character's personality and the small nuances I've uncovered, tiny constants that unintentionally cross era and medium. And I think, more or less, I'm fairly decent at not letting my biases sway me *too* much with my literary analysis. But with the religion thing, I think my own opinions color my perception way too much. Plus, it just doesnt get put on the page enough for me to know.

He's not wrong that there's a very hypocritical nature to Superman in regards to all the lies he tells. Although I'd be hestitant to say it makes him less heroic. Its an interesting dichotomy, one that DC has never played up enough, but it doesn't make him less heroic. It just makes him a liar for necessity's sake. But a liar nonetheless while fighting for truth and justice, lol. Rather making him less heroic though, I actually think the lore loses something the more people who are in his circle.

Oh, I hope Bendis doesn't get rid of Clark's lying habit! Its one of the best contradictions and character wrinkles he has!

It doesnt make him less heroic. That's a silly notion. A hero isn't a hero because they are without flaw, they're a hero despite their flaws.

All Clark's hypocrisy does is make him less perfect. Which is a good thing.

[Frontier]

Perhaps a telling sign Bendis will do right by the Super Family, as he was quoted as thinking Clark keeping secrets from Lois in the classic era wasn't altogether heroic

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/02...n-longer-liar/

Well, with the marriage intact, it's kind of a moot point anyways.