Official : Bendis gets both books

[Yoda]

It doesn't help that she's clearly set up to have some sort of ulterior motive, thus telling the reader she has a narrative expiration date, much like any love interest of Bruce Wayne's not named Selina Kyle or Talia al Ghul. The most memorable thing she's done is get outright mugged by Batman, which was admittedly pretty fun. Not holding any of this against the character, mind, but she has to do something big to make a mark given the audience has been given the go-ahead that she's not going to stay beyond Bendis' run.

That said, Bendis does seem to have plans so we'll see how she shapes up! Personally, I imagine both she and Moore are red herrings for Red Cloud, and Trish is more likely. She's a Superman villain, so serving as a foil insofar as working at a paper to be at the heart of the news (especially in the gossip columns) makes for a better villain than Goode, who has no clear motivation thus far, or Moore, who is only linked to the identity via a career. The best villains usually reflect on their heroic counterpart, so for my money, Trish Q is the front runner.

Trish Q would be a good swerve, but I think she may be being set up to actually be an ally. She was leaked the Luthor/Lois picture and has been fed "rumors" of Lois & Superman. That could be part of an attack on Superman by Talia if this is all connected. We saw that one person taking a cell phone picture of Lois & Superman embracing on the street, so that's out there. That cell phone guy was too prominent to be a throw away gag. But Superman saved Q's life after she was attacked by someone angry over some presumably poorly sourced rumors. I think maybe when those picture surface she's been put in a place to make the choice to not run them and based on Superman's treatment of her chooses not to.

The clues for Robinson Goode are so obvious that they almost have to be misdirection. She arrived at the same time and was brought in by Mr. Strong's ("Mr. S") boss. Same has been said about Red Cloud. Her eyes turned red when Candy was killed in the bar by Red Cloud. Bendis has said Red Cloud doesn't think she could go toe to toe with Superman and will be surprised that she can. In that sense, Robinson looking for Kryptonite is explainable even if she is Red Cloud, as she didn't think she could handle him without it and wanted the insurance.

Going against that theory, when Candy was killed Robinson was somewhat taken aback, her "whoa" when the Red Cloud was taking out Candy wouldn't make sense as she'd killed multiple people in that same fashion already. The Kryptonite, because she's a meta. And Red Cloud seems to have a direct line to Strong that Goode's behavior in the meetings with him wouldn't really synch up with. Cloud seems to have a more direct connection to Mr. S and their leader, presumably Talia.

Melody Moore has similar connections, but less obvious ones. She arrived in Metropolis at the same time as Red Cloud and Robinson Goode. She has an alliterative name, Lois Lane and Lana Lang and everyone assumed she was a new love interest, when Lex Luthor has the same naming convention. The biggest clue for Melody Moore is that she found out from the kid with Superman about the "bald guy" setting the fires and then Mr. S and his boss immediately knew about Yogurt as well. That scene was written make is seem like his confession is what doomed him, but Strong says that his boss "heard" about Yogurt already. Then Red Cloud appears and kills him. Cloud also appears pretty tall, which would track with the big deal made of Moore's height. Though that could be explained by her powers.

So, my money is on Melody Moore, even though I think most of the obvious evidence points to Robinson Goode.

I also think Cloud is going to go after Lois as well in 1006 either after the photo of her and Superman surfaces or it gets passed along to Strong by Goode. The solicit for 1006 that she targets someone close to "Superman" and that photo would place Lois squarely back in the target zone of "Superman's Girlfriend." If that's true, Bendis has said the Damsel in Distress version of Lois is the worst incarnation of the character, so I wouldn't be surprised if Lois takes out Red Cloud herself. And with her new enforcer dealt with Talia shows up as the Planet's new owner. Alternatively, Melody Moore could be the target since she's only interacted with Superman.

Also, anyone think it's possible that Lois is now the Planet's new owner? It'd be completely out of left field, but maybe she came back with some space money and bought it out? That'd have ramifications for both Clark Kent and Superman.

[Miles To Go]

I just realised this sums up Lois in AC#1004 perfectly

[HeroVladimir93]

As far as I'm concerned, the Superman fanbase is divided between those who hate Bendis and that he should be fired and those who love Bendis and think he has the right ideas for the Superman saga. There is also a middle ground that don't have any strong feelings either way.

An argument used by Bendis' defenders is artistic freedom, saying something along the lines of "this is the story he decided to tell and it's not our place to question it. We are the fans, he is the storyteller." And if fans are allowed to dictate the course of the stories, then things are gonna get boring and predictable really fast. Some of these people love what Bendis is doing with the Superman stories, and I don't hate them for it. They were presented with a product and they were satisfied with it. There is nothing wrong with that, just like there were fans who genuinely enjoyed the New 52 and DC You stories and were confused and upset as to why some people fought so diligently against them and the changes they caused to Superman and his community.

Here's the thing; in order for you to enjoy this product, others had to give up something they enjoyed, in this case the creative team of Dan Jurgens and Peter J. Tomasi, and in truth, this is not really fair to either side and this is why the controversy surrounding Bendis and his stories exists in the first place. You have people who, in many cases, have been long-time fans of the Superman comics who are okay with Superman being separated from his wife and son and think Rogol Zaar is a great and interesting addition to the mythos. You also have long-time fans who dislike Superman's separation from his wife and son and think Rogol Zaar sucks.

So, who is right and who is wrong? Well, the truth is that neither side is right or wrong. Bendis has only been working in the Superman franchise for half a year and we will only have a full picture of what he is trying to do once he completes his story. Even so, many are forming their opinions about his work and aren't wrong to do so. They are consumers and they are judging a product. Most people either love or hate Bendis' new stories or find themselves in the middle, who don't have overly strong feelings either way. They either kinda like it, kinda dislike it or something along those lines.

Bendis will likely bring about new, lasting changes to the Superman universe and fans will likely react negatively to those changes. And other fans might believe that it's unfortunate that some fans cannot be more open and think that this is ridiculous and that fan wishes ultimately outweigh artistic freedom, but at the end of the day, this is all about selling a product. The Superman franchise needs to be profitable in order to survive, and in order to be profitable, the people in charge need to make decisions that a vast majority of consumers will agree with, or at the very least won't cause a huge number of them to grab torches and pitchforks and form an angry mob over.

And whether we like or not, whether we agree with it or not, there is no such thing as true artistic freedom when it comes to working in the Superman franchise for two important reasons. First, there are already well-known stories and established rules in the Superman universe that must be adhered to for the sake of continuity. Yes, continuity can be very difficult to follow, considering all the retcons, alternate universe and timelines, but that's an entirely different discussion. In order words, there is no true artistic freedom, instead there is some wiggle room to operate within these pre-established boundaries and the more Superman stories get made, the more rules get established and the less wiggle room Bendis and future writers will have. This, in my opinion, is the greatest challenge the Superman franchise will have as it moves forward.

Second: Bendis and his team don't actually own the Superman IP. They work for DC Comics, which is owned by Warner Bros., which is a publically owned company with shareholders who, above all else, want to make a profit from all Superman media. In other words, you are working for someone else and trying to earn them money. Taking too many liberties with the story or changing the product hurts their IP and that is not the reason you were hired in the first place. Basically, what I'm saying is, when creating Superman stories, you are working within a pre-established universe and making a product that is meant to be sold to a large audience and to make that audience want more. You are not spending your own money to make something new and original that you can market to whomever you want and when it fails, it only hurts your bottom line.

And this is an ugly truth many Superman fans either forget or refuse to acknowledge. The comic book industry is a business and it's all about making money and the best way to do that is, more often not, giving fans exactly what they want and don't mess with what works. More than likely, most of the shareholders at Warner and DC just want Superman to be profitable. I'm sure there are shareholders that do enjoy Superman and do care about artistic freedom, but when given the choice, most of them would choose profit over new and interesting stories. And yes, I do realize that in the long run, new and interesting stories are what will keep Superman afloat, but you don't ignore history to bring that about, you don't change an 80-year-old formula that worked and worked well, you build off what you have, you don't reinvent it and forsake those who got you here in the first place. That's just a bad business strategy. Hopefully, Bendis will keep that in mind when crafting new and interesting Superman stories.

Bendis would likely have an easier time with the Superman fans if he said something like this "The people at DC and I understand that Superman has some of the most passionate and devoted fans a superhero could ever ask for. We understand that some of you have shown skepticism over the ideas we are trying to bring to the Superman universe and we ask for patience and understanding as we work towards creating the next great chapter in Superman's history."

I don't know about you but I think a statement along those lines would be a good way for Bendis to earn some goodwill among the Superman fans. Does it fix everything? No, of course not; but maybe such a statement would mean that announcements about his future plans wouldn't be met with such skepticism. Maybe in the future Bendis will do something that some people will interpret as Bendis trying to soothe angry fans and they are not gonna fall for it. But the problem with that attitude is that if you reject Bendis and DC's attempts to give you exactly what you want, then what are you fighting for?

And I know some of you say that you demand that Bendis be fired and nothing short of that will be acceptable, and if that's your stance, that's your stance. Even so, removing him might not be easy because we don't know what exactly are the contents in the contract he signed with DC. We are not talking about firing someone from McDonald's because they forget to set the timer around the French fries. We're talking about firing someone who was hired to be the main creative architect for one of DC's most valuable IPs and there might be legal loopholes to jump through in order to get rid of him. DC spent a lot of money in a marketing campaign that advertised Bendis as the main writer for the Superman books, and whether we like him or not, Bendis will be in charge of the Superman franchise for the foreseeable future. Yes, I'm talking about the entire Superman franchise, not just the comic books. We have to remember that there won't be any Superman movies or TV shows in the future, meaning that comic books are the only mainstream medium Superman will have a major presence in. Bendis, for better or worse, will be Superman's torch-bearer. Not to mention, all these discussions are keeping the spotlight in Bendis' new books and some people will tell you that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

Well, that's all I can say about this matter. Hopefully, Bendis will deliver a story that will reunite the Superman fanbase and keep the Superman franchise alive until the Man of Steel can make his glorious return to the mainstream media.

[Ascended]

Well, that's all I can say about this matter. Hopefully, Bendis will deliver a story that will reunite the Superman fanbase and keep the Superman franchise alive until the Man of Steel can make his glorious return to the mainstream media.

I dont think there's a creator alive who can unite the fanbase. And I dont think we *need* to be united, anyway. I mean, what would we talk about if we were? Hell, it's in DC's best interests if we're not united. Right now there are people not buying the books because of Bendis. There are others who are buying it because of him. If all the fans agreed on everything (or most things) you wouldn't get any of this "in and out" from the audience, you'd just have crazy high sales or no sales at all, depending on who the creators are and what they're doing.

And Superman will survive just fine. He's had low points and high points, and always comes out the other side. Hell, we've been in a low point for thirty years (with a few spikes here and there) and, if the portents are correct, we might actually be slowly clawing our way out of it and headed back towards the top. Superman has survived bad creators, bad movies, bad everything, and he endures. Not even DC can do enough damage to kill Superman; he's as much a part of the American tapestry as baseball, apple pie, and arguing about politics. I suspect he's become as much a part of humanity's mythology as Robin Hood or King Arthur. Superman will always be around, long after DC has crumbled to dust.

[Kon93]

I dont think there's a creator alive who can unite the fanbase. And I dont think we *need* to be united, anyway. I mean, what would we talk about if we were? Hell, it's in DC's best interests if we're not united. Right now there are people not buying the books because of Bendis. There are others who are buying it because of him. If all the fans agreed on everything (or most things) you wouldn't get any of this "in and out" from the audience, you'd just have crazy high sales or no sales at all, depending on who the creators are and what they're doing.

And Superman will survive just fine. He's had low points and high points, and always comes out the other side. Hell, we've been in a low point for thirty years (with a few spikes here and there) and, if the portents are correct, we might actually be slowly clawing our way out of it and headed back towards the top. Superman has survived bad creators, bad movies, bad everything, and he endures. Not even DC can do enough damage to kill Superman; he's as much a part of the American tapestry as baseball, apple pie, and arguing about politics. I suspect he's become as much a part of humanity's mythology as Robin Hood or King Arthur. Superman will always be around, long after DC has crumbled to dust.

2 things

Uniting the fanbase in a positive way would be a good thing

I think superman is more well known than both Robin Hood and king Arthur combined

[Ascended]

He is more recognizable than either of them, but they're both still on the list. Like, officially, there's actually a list of the most well known fictional characters on earth. Last I knew, Clark was #2, right after Mickey Mouse.

But the point I was making is that Robin Hood and King Arthur are two myths that are centuries old. We've been telling their stories over and over again for at least five hundred years (longer in Arthur's case) and there's no sign that we're going to stop, and I consider Superman to be of the same quality. Long after DC is gone, long after America is gone, Superman will remain. I think we often forget how incredible and rare that is.

And it'd be nice if the fandom were more united, dont get me wrong. But its not necessary from DC's perspective, and depending on what kind of business theory they use in the publishing world it might be beneficial to ensure that not everyone in the fandom is on the same page. Business is weird, and at least a tiny bit evil. >shrug<

[DragonPiece]

As far as I'm concerned, the Superman fanbase is divided between those who hate Bendis and that he should be fired and those who love Bendis and think he has the right ideas for the Superman saga. There is also a middle ground that don't have any strong feelings either way.

I read what you wrote, but you can say this about literally any fandom. There will always be a difference of opinion over anything. Just look at star wars: the last jedi. You can go on one site and see mountains of praise and on another site see mountains of hate. Bendis does not need to issue any sort of statement about how things will be ok, because for 1. that takes away from the story he is telling and 2. he owes nothing to readers. Saying that, he has already said something to that affect in interviews in the past, such as how Lois and Clark fans will be thanking him later on.

[Vordan]

Yeah it’s not a Superman specific problem. Star Wars is a huge dumpster fire of OT vs. PT vs. ST vs. Legends vs. Canon, etc, etc. Star Trek has Kirk vs. Picard and TV vs. Movies. Spider-Man got torn in half with whether or not he should be married, how old should he be, etc. Even Batman has fights over how dark he should be, how big should the Batfamily be, can he get married, should he be on the JL. You’ll never please anyone and trying to will just make everyone unhappy. Just write what you think is a good idea. If enough people buy his stuff Bendis will get a long run. If not he’ll get moved and we’ll just have to hope the next person will have a better plan.

[Sacred Knight]

The common denominator in these things is age. The older a concept is (considering content is consistently being put out like Superman, like Star Wars, like Star Trek, etc.), the bigger divides become because of all the different types of content you get. Even if we're not talking reboots or relaunches, the content is bound to change as time goes on. And the divisions begin to occur.

[Jackalope89]

Yeah it’s not a Superman specific problem. Star Wars is a huge dumpster fire of OT vs. PT vs. ST vs. Legends vs. Canon, etc, etc. Star Trek has Kirk vs. Picard and TV vs. Movies. Spider-Man got torn in half with whether or not he should be married, how old should he be, etc. Even Batman has fights over how dark he should be, how big should the Batfamily be, can he get married, should he be on the JL. You’ll never please anyone and trying to will just make everyone unhappy. Just write what you think is a good idea. If enough people buy his stuff Bendis will get a long run. If not he’ll get moved and we’ll just have to hope the next person will have a better plan.

Makes the Lobo fandom easy though; wanting the Main Man to go on over the top adventures and frag some bastiches.

So glad the real one was brought back with Rebirth.

[Kon93]

The common denominator in these things is age. The older a concept is (considering content is consistently being put out like Superman, like Star Wars, like Star Trek, etc.), the bigger divides become because of all the different types of content you get. Even if we're not talking reboots or relaunches, the content is bound to change as time goes on. And the divisions begin to occur.

SB is 25 years old and has so many different versions and very separated fanbases for each.

Yes I've loved or atleast liked most versions of SB,but I would LOVE to have 1 blended version going forward.

[Konja7]

SB is 25 years old and has so many different versions and very separated fanbases for each.

Yes I've loved or atleast liked most versions of SB,but I would LOVE to have 1 blended version going forward.

That wouldn't be easy, because a blended version can only take some parts of different versions (since certain parts contradict each other).

That will still let some fans unhappy, since there are parts they really like that will be ignored.

Not to mention that many writers want to leave their personal mark on the characters (I think Bendis likes to do this).

[Kon93]

That wouldn't be easy, because a blended version can only take some parts of different versions (since certain parts contradict each other).

That will still let some fans unhappy, since there are parts they really like that will be ignored.

Not to mention that many writers want to leave their personal mark on the characters (I think Bendis likes to do this).

That is true,but YJ streamlined geoffs conner,and the Reign movie might streamline the kesel version.i dont think SB is that hard to get right or not to hard to make "the most" ppl happy.

Writers making their mark is a big reason why characters are not written consistently imo,and yeah I dont like it.yeah I can see the story changing and going in new ways,but the character should always be the same.

[Miles To Go]

New interview

https://www.newsarama.com/42830-bend...-and-more.html

So finding out who Red Cloud is and what the character’s relationship is to Clark and Lois and the rest of the DC Universe and what that means for the future is all right here in this awesome issue illustrated by Ryan Sook.

[manwhohaseverything]

So first, Superman has to find out, has he time-traveled? Or has he lost years of his son’s life?

I hope this is just a time travel story and Jon gets back to his previous status, after the arc is finished with Clark and Lois. I am going to love seeing a devastated Clark and Lois investigating his son, thinking in the back of his head of how he lost years of his son's life.Them comparing there old son with the returned new one. How they cope with the changes will be a thrill to read.