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

[Cmbmool]

So just to be clear: This isn’t due to the events of Rebirth/Doomsday Clock right. ?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Its a good but short issue. Bendis does have a good handle on clark and the others tho.

I assume any connection to Doomsday clock might not happen till it's over.

[Somecrazyaussie]

Absolutely agreed! He did such a great job of showing why Superman is seen as a godlike savior but also made him seem so human, humble, and just so damn likable.




It’s actually an Iggy Pop song. It was covered by Siouxsie and the Banshees. Both are great versions.

Michael Hutchence did a cover as well. It was on the Batman Forever soundtrack.

[Slim Shady]

Hey I just realized I have a complaint with this issue, Bendis should've used Iggy's original song The Passenger. He dropped the ball there.

[DragonPiece]

So just to be clear: This isn’t due to the events of Rebirth/Doomsday Clock right. ?

Nope, this is it's own story.

[The Dying Detective]

It is curious as to whether or not the female fire chief is the arsonist Superman is trying to find. But I know one thing the female fire chief is already sending the people on YouTube into hysterics. All because it appears to be unlikely for a woman to be a fire chief.

[Kuwagaton]

The funny thing with that is not knowing about fire departments, I googled deputy fire chief and the first site explaining the position has a picture of a woman.

Oh, didn't know someone already posted the song

[The Dying Detective]

The funny thing with that is not knowing about fire departments, I googled deputy fire chief and the first site explaining the position has a picture of a woman.

Oh, didn't know someone already posted the song

Hmm did not know that well if the fire chief got inconvenienced in some way or dead then that makes the deputy fire chief regardless or whether it's a man or woman the boss. Some people need to read their facts more.

[cranger]

Well as one of those who was very harsh with Bendis about his X-Men run I have to admit he sold me on this. Really looking forward seeing how everything he is setting up plays out.

[titansupes]

Dug MoS #1. Loved the art (the look of Metropolis in particular was stunning) and Bendis's voice for Superman/Clark, as I expected from the DC Nation #0 story. They're making good, interesting but natural use of his powers so far, too. The super-hearing moments were particularly charming.

Not much to go on in terms of story just yet, since he's understandably positioning his pieces, but I like what we've got so far. Thank goodness it's a weekly series.

[magha_regulus]

I really enjoyed this issue. It is looking like the beginning of a great run. I really liked how much attention was paid to Superman having a different sort of persepctive than other people based off of his powers and also how people react and adapt to that with the whole piece about the villains being afraid to say certain words that they know Superman is listening out for. I like Rogol Zaar's rationale and feel similarly to others about this being a great example of Krypton as a cautionary tale. THere is a lot of creativity and careful thought put into this. I really like it.

[The World]

Yeah I can't lie this was pretty quality stuff with the bits with the fire and the Gotham rogues were the best but the other stuff was pretty good. But I am kind of tapped out on the Krypton was bad stuff, first Jor-El now this is sorta tiresome. In fact is Jor-El still alive?

[Sacred Knight]

The Oz/Jor-El stuff is still in.

[Atlas]

Bendis arrogantly told CBR earlier this week that Superman fans "being good people" would be "apologizing" in a few months.

Perhaps, but I've seen nothing to apologize for yet.

I really enjoyed the opening bit with the Batman villains, the fire scene, and Superman's voice throughout. The super-hearing stuff was fantastic, playing on Clark's humanity and his nobility as a man who could eavesdrop on anyone he wants but is ever responsible. Also really enjoyed how Bendis had Superman deal with the fire, took me back to his solution to Joker's poison gas attack on the UN back in "A Death In The Family." Yep, I'm old.

Here's what I have a lot of trouble with:

1-assuming Rogol is addressing this "Circle" in the distant past, there's still time for Krypton to move from an imperialist form of government to the isolationists they have to be for Jor-El and Lara's dilemma to make sense. If this is only, say, 50 years in the past, it doesn't work at all and is an unnecessary retcon. Bendis has been known to change or ignore continuity to fit a story. I hate it when writers do that but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

2-I don't think it's jumping the gun to see the introduction of Melody Moore (IIRC) as a love interest for Clark while Lois and Jon are wherever they are. This reeks of the cheapest kind of soap-opera garbage but is sadly a part of Bendis' MO in the past. There are a number of you here who defend anything that happens to the marriage with the "well, it'll be fixed by the time of Doomsday Clock," but that's missing the point. The marriage does NOT need to be tweaked or played with in this way. It's low-hanging fruit and I'd hope a writer with Bendis' experience would do better. If that's not why she's there, what is her purpose? She's clearly the gun over the mantle in scene one that's going to be fired in scene 3.

3-Bendis' rather asinine comments to CBR about what he's going to do to fans with Lois and Jon being "a game" and that he is "messing with us," combined with his atrocious contribution to AC1K and lackluster story in DCN, has only added to my disdain for how Bendis has taken over the Superman titles. He is directly responsible for removing Jurgens and Tomasi/Gleason from the books (I know some of you who are dead inside found nothing to enjoy in them, but you're in the minority) and now he's condescending to fans. His output is going to have be the best work of his career to make up for this, at least for me. I'm not saying his Superman work won't be that, but I see the foundations of some typical Bendis tropes (marital strife, disregard for continuity) in this first issue.

I will be reading the rest of MoS and will decide to pick up Action and Superman based on the full mini. I have huge reservations about Bendis being involved with re(as writing the cosmic side of the DCU and feel he's already overextended writing these two books and his creator owned stuff.

[Sacred Knight]

Its to the point of intellectual dishonesty now to keep trying to pretend that Bendis's "apologizing" remarks were not completely tongue-in-cheek and a joke. This faux-outage over it like he's seriously expecting flocks of fans who were/are wary to offer him a personal apology was ridiculous then and continues to only get more ridiculous the longer the narrative is peddled.


And if generally disliking the the Rebirth era makes one dead inside...paint me pretty happy to be dead inside! Because indeed in general I felt the era was mediocre at absolute best and am ecstatic that its over. I'm also well aware and comfortable knowing that's a minority take. Because despite being a minority opinion, its no less an opinion that I formed with thought and with reason, so I have absolutely no reason to be ashamed. Nor should anyone else who happened to not like the run. A majority opinion does not mean it has to be the only opinion; nor does it mean said dissenting opinions are automatically invalid.

But hey, all that said, from a tangible point of view of revenue, I can admit there's a there's a slight risk with the move. But even then said risk is amplified beyond the reality if one wants to make the argument that changing up the line is somehow unthinkable. Yeah its nice that the titles were staying in the 40k range. But that's not some monumental achievement. It was steady but its not fantastic. I have no problem with DC wanting to do better, because Superman should do better. Whether this does just that, I don't know. It might not. But the justification in trying is there. Especially when said attempt is not a reset of what came before. This is indeed continuing on what came before. Circumstance is going to be changing around the furniture in the living room for a while, but its still the same living room and its still the same furniture.