MAN OF STEEL (2018) Event mini-series Discussion thread (SPOILERS)

[Sacred Knight]

I don't think all the Kandorians are gone. However it's likely their numbers are greatly diminished. My guess is that we will eventually find out a few made it out via some contingency plan the Kandorians had in place that not even Clark knew of.

Probably the best hope. I'll be in denial over them being completely gone for some time, that's for sure.

[Last Son of Krypton]

The only thing I'm not liking about this mini is the ultra-decompressed Jon/Lois subplot.

Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that?

Please stop.

[DragonPiece]

The only thing I'm not liking about this mini is the ultra-decompressed Jon/Lois subplot.

Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that? Dad, what is that?

Please stop.

at least the last issue is directly devoted to them.

[Atlas]

Super Spider-Man. It may be well-done, and it may look very pretty, but that's what I'm seeing happen. The tired trope of "he's not interesting if he's not suffering." That's not what Superman is about.

Hoping for better understanding in Superman and Action once this setup story is done, but I'm not holding my breath.

My feelings exactly. This is how someone who doesn't really get Superman writes the character, with contrived tragedy to cause drama and suffering. I'm relieved to see that I'm not alone in not caring for anything Bendis has done thus far outside of a few good sequences in the first issue. The art has been beautiful all-around.

I don't think all the Kandorians are gone. However it's likely their numbers are greatly diminished. My guess is that we will eventually find out a few made it out via some contingency plan the Kandorians had in place that not even Clark knew of.

Seems to me the Kandorians would have their own access to the Phantom Zone in the city, just in case Brainiac's bottle stops working or there's an attack on the Fortress. They'd be very aware of how vulnerable their size makes them, so a few large PZ projectors as escape hatches makes sense. Though I'm sure Bendis will establish that they're all dead, since he's all about the controversial large body counts.

[AquaLantern]

So regarding the Lois/Jon plot, does anyone else think that Lex being responsible is a misdirection?

[DragonPiece]

So regarding the Lois/Jon plot, does anyone else think that Lex being responsible is a misdirection?

Lex was never involved, what are you talking about?

[AquaLantern]

Lex was never involved, what are you talking about?

In the flashback where Clark, Lois and Jon is facing that glowing mechanical bug thing it shows a bald headed figure is in control of it.

[Sacred Knight]

Not confirming or denying anything, but just to those who are lucky to not know, be warned that there are some of us who do. It was, surprisingly in retrospect, spoiled on twitter a month or so ago and has been discussed at length already in the Bendis thread here. So avoid that.

[Robotman]

Sook knock this out of the park! Holy sh!t, the facial expressions alone could have told the whole story. This is the first time I thought Rogol Zaar actually looked really good. Lee’s design is kind of generic but Sook got the most out of it. The panel with his eyes seeing the Fortress for the first time was stunning. And when Superman saw what had happened to Kandor, it was heartbreaking.

I really enjoyed the issue as a whole. Great dialogue between Batman and Superman. I love it when they poke fun at each other. I literally gasped when Kandor’s fate was revealed. Man, that was brutal.

[RepHope]

The Good:
-Bendis writes a good Batman
-I love his voice for Kara
-I love the panels of Lara and Jor judging Rogal
-I love that Kal and Kara are written as being close again
The Bad:
-I didn’t even know Kandor was still around, so I don’t really feel anything about them dying
-The constant teasing of the Lois and Jon plot is boring

Overall I thought it was the first weak issue, but still enjoyable.

[Soubhagya]

This is the first time i did not like something.

Kandor. I was happy to see Kandor again. Bendis brought it back! And then Kandor is destroyed. Just like that? I wanted Kandor back. But this is brutal. Hope that some Kandorians are alive.

And Jon's 'What is it?' was odd. I hope this is not the infamous Bendis dialogue.

Overall another solid issue. Even if i did not like Kandor's destruction it was well done in storytelling sense. Superman was brought to his knees.

Somebody said Superman needs better security. I agree. This is a fortress. Maybe he shall shift into that old mountain location. Ice is brittle. Tonnes of rock might give better security.



Or maybe not. It depends on story. Maybe i am bored with the ice fortress. Here's an idea. Superman makes a fortress in North Pole but there is no ice due to global warming. Its kinda silly but sounds good.

[HandofPrometheus]

Loved this issue. Bendis wrote a good Batman and I loved how he wrote Supergirl here. Don't care for Kandor so I don't have a strong opinion on it. I'm loving the way he writes Clark.

[Skedatz]

I'm really hoping Bendis doesn't do his normal thing where he sets up an interesting premise and a decent to well constructed first half and then drops it hard in the second.

Don't do it to me, guy. I'm thinking about putting some faith back into you.

[Atlas]

Seems to me Bendis has proven in three issues that we'd have all been better off with him writing Batman. His awful dialogue and drawn-out plots would still be a problem, but there's only so much damage he could really do to the character since Batman is DC's bread and butter.

Superman, though? DiDio said this in the LA Times interview a few months ago:

It's the accessibility and relatability of the character that creates our constant need to really contemporize him and move the stories forward.

If the character is "accessible" and relatable, why is there a "constant need" to contemporize him? That's classic DiDio, talking out of both sides of his mouth.

The bottom-line is, DiDio and Lee will allow just about anything to happen to Superman for the sake of bullshit like "contemorizing" him instead of letting the character's unique nature and mythology define the stories. Here's what Lee said in the same interview:

We need to really keep them modern and fresh, and that requires risk and that requires change and that requires modernizing the mythologies.

Modernizing a mythology is what Johns did with the Brainiac arc and New Krypton. Though the execution that followed was poor, Johns updated the concept and the ramifications of what it would mean to have 10, 000 Kryptonians suddenly living on Earth. Bendis, meanwhile, is outright destroying elements of Superman's mythology to prop up his unremarkable villain.

If Rogol Zaar did destroy Krypton, that's all we need to know he's a massive threat to Superman. Having him destroy Kandor is overkill and is a cheap stunt designed to add some angst to Superman. It's disrespectful not only of the mythology of Superman but also, bad writing.

If the Lois/Jon revelation is going where I suspect it is, I won't be buying Bendis' Superman run. Speaking of which, here's something to consider regarding the mystery pilot of that craft:

jor1.JPG

jor2.JPG

Colors and outfit (pants/tunic) seem to match up.

[Robotman]

Seems to me Bendis has proven in three issues that we'd have all been better off with him writing Batman. His awful dialogue and drawn-out plots would still be a problem, but there's only so much damage he could really do to the character since Batman is DC's bread and butter.

Superman, though? DiDio said this in the LA Times interview a few months ago:



If the character is "accessible" and relatable, why is there a "constant need" to contemporize him? That's classic DiDio, talking out of both sides of his mouth.

The bottom-line is, DiDio and Lee will allow just about anything to happen to Superman for the sake of bullshit like "contemorizing" him instead of letting the character's unique nature and mythology define the stories. Here's what Lee said in the same interview:



Modernizing a mythology is what Johns did with the Brainiac arc and New Krypton. Though the execution that followed was poor, Johns updated the concept and the ramifications of what it would mean to have 10, 000 Kryptonians suddenly living on Earth. Bendis, meanwhile, is outright destroying elements of Superman's mythology to prop up his unremarkable villain.

If Rogol Zaar did destroy Krypton, that's all we need to know he's a massive threat to Superman. Having him destroy Kandor is overkill and is a cheap stunt designed to add some angst to Superman. It's disrespectful not only of the mythology of Superman but also, bad writing.

If the Lois/Jon revelation is going where I suspect it is, I won't be buying Bendis' Superman run. Speaking of which, here's something to consider regarding the mystery pilot of that craft:

jor1.JPG

jor2.JPG

Colors and outfit (pants/tunic) seem to match up.

So you think it’s horrible but you’re going to keep buying it?