Is Rogol Zaar a hit or a miss?

[Vordan]

How is he hired help? The only interactions we've really seen are with people telling him not to do what he does.

Seems like he can't win, though. Because it's not just one comparison to much different characters, it seems like many people are citing the similarities. Like between Doomsday, the organic Destroyer or Darkseid, king of cosmic hell. I mean sure I guess they all go to the same gym with Bane as their designated spotter, but you can definitely tell different stories with each.

But it's kinda par for the course. Superman has a Prankster, Mxy, and four Toymen... to most people it probably all seems the same.

Prankster and Toyman haven’t done anything worthwhile in a long time, but Mxy definitely stands out. And yeah you “could” tell a different story with each, but for the longest time writers “didn’t”. Each one just plotted to kill Superman and that was basically it. Doomsday is a one note villain who only works for the story he was created. Otherwise he’s pretty useless and boring.

Rogal is “hired help” because he served the Circle for a long time. He seems to be an assassin/black ops kind of guy. There’s hints that there’s more to him than the hatred and brutality we see, he’s no mindless beast like Doomsday, but whether people will stick around long enough to let Bendis flesh him out, or whether Bendis plans to I can’t say.

[Ascended]

How is he hired help? The only interactions we've really seen are with people telling him not to do what he does.

I don't mean that in a literal "Hey, I work for the Joker and he's got great dental insurance" sense; I mean he's fine as the villain you use to build up to the real problem.

If it turns out that Rogal isn't the big bad, and the Circle is (that's still up in the air) then Rogal is just the, what did the other poster call him? The "Level 1 Boss" villain? That's a fine role for the character as we've seen him so far. But I also said, it's far too early to tell what kind of potential the character really has.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Thus far? I can't say I find Rogal Zarr particularly compelling because his whole shtick has been a slow burn that hasn't yet borne any fruit.

I will reserve judgment until his storyarc has played out a little more, but the Superman and Supergirl comics haven't done a good job of making me care much about him.

I have been loving Bendis's tenure on Superman, but Rogal Zarr has been the latest interesting part of it. Perhaps there's a missing element to the character that hasn't yet been revealed that will make it all work...but, so far, I am not digging it.

[daBronzeBomma]

So far, to me, everything about Rogol Zaar sucks.

I hate the idea that there is any singular villainous root of Krypton's destruction. Krypton's destruction should sideways serve as a warning to us and our planet.

Another bald villain. Boring.

Completely forgettable design. His weapon and his bike are too derivative.

Instead of another creative's pet project, his pagetime could have used toward Mongul or some other more deserving villain who could use fleshing out.

Fortunately, I like everything else Bendis is doing for the most part. But, so far, Rogol Zaar can go kick rocks.

[HeroVladimir93]

So far, to me, everything about Rogol Zaar sucks.

I hate the idea that there is any singular villainous root of Krypton's destruction. Krypton's destruction should sideways serve as a warning to us and our planet.

Another bald villain. Boring.

Completely forgettable design. His weapon and his bike are too derivative.

Instead of another creative's pet project, his pagetime could have used toward Mongul or some other more deserving villain who could use fleshing out.

Fortunately, I like everything else Bendis is doing for the most part. But, so far, Rogol Zaar can go kick rocks.

Same here. I'm not entirely dismissing the possibility of Rogol getting more character development later in the story, but so far, he is pretty bland and generic.

[Superlad93]

I'm kind of in a strange spot with Zaar. Like, in terms of what he does and the rep he's given I actually quite like him.

Getting down to brass tacks, he's basically an ex green beret/special forces war hero tasked with the universal dirty jobs. A shadow Illuminati group made him the ultimate personification of all of their deeds, good and bad, and he did his duty. The universal Mr. Fix-it. They groom him to be their junkyard dog, and then they tell him he can't be that for a thing that is clearly important to him, and expect him to be cool with that. And you can tell just by looking at his scared face and body that he's bled for these people--their cause. He's drone away with large portions of his humanity, so his rejection stings all the more because it almost trivializes the price he's paid.

It's Superman vs the universe's ultimate super solder. He's actually got quite a lot in common with Punisher and the "rouge solder who can't stop fighting the war even after it's over, because that's what they made him into" type.

All that said, I'm gonna need the textual validation of this to make me actually enjoy him to the fullest, because Superman vs Space-Punisher is actually a pretty solid idea. But I need to get further inside his head in some way to give him credit. There's something oddly soulful about his single good eye, and the way he looked when he saw Kandor alive and well. I can get behind that, but I need more to work with.

[Kuwagaton]

Prankster and Toyman haven’t done anything worthwhile in a long time, but Mxy definitely stands out.

I mean Schott was just in the Bendis mini series, but my point wasn't the frequency or impact (I'm assuming "worthwhile" pertains to relevance) of their stories. More that the distinct impression of their characters and the differences between them are very likely to be lost on people. It's not like the exaggerated, high concept differences between many Batman villains. But in fairness there, there was probably a huge number who couldn't see much difference between the Joker and Riddler before their movie experiences.

And yeah you “could” tell a different story with each, but for the longest time writers “didn’t”. Each one just plotted to kill Superman and that was basically it.

I mean if you really want to reduce it like that, you can call that the story of pretty much any villain of any franchise. Execution of story involves so much more because that explicit idea is the case more often than not.

Doomsday is a one note villain who only works for the story he was created. Otherwise he’s pretty useless and boring.

Doomsday didn't quite work in the story where he was introduced because he wasn't all that important to it. It was just an extended cameo. Like Zaar, he was created with his story in the back pocket, and it didn't come out for about two years. Death Of is the story of Superman dying, which is merely the inciting incident for Reign. YMMV but considering that despite lacking some of the relevance, I'd call Hunter Prey a better story and a massive improvement in the use of Doomsday.

There used to be rumors like how he came from Warworld, or instead simply wouldn't have an origin. That's where Zaar is now.

Rogal is “hired help” because he served the Circle for a long time. He seems to be an assassin/black ops kind of guy. There’s hints that there’s more to him than the hatred and brutality we see, he’s no mindless beast like Doomsday, but whether people will stick around long enough to let Bendis flesh him out, or whether Bendis plans to I can’t say.

We see that tie apparently severed at the start of the run and he appears to be in active protest, even if he did serve them before.

If that was all Bendis was doing I could see that being an "if" when it comes to whether or not reader patience will let play out. But he's also setting up some every different things, and Zaar is a subplot. Doesn't seem like he's hesitating to explore it while we get the united planets and all that. It's kind of disappointing to me that it looks like they trusted Supergirl's title with the storyline and now it's slow and coy, but from what Bendis has said and what we're reading it seems inevitable.

If the Circle comes back to supervise I'd see the "hired" thing. Superman always struggles to maintain a villain cabal so maybe it'll be more fun.

[kilderkin]

I found him really irritating, mostly because he's a change or amendment to the mythos in his involvement with the explosion of krypton

I actually disliked the entire premise Bendis put forward, I didn't find rogol interesting on his own

So I've actually dropped both superman books

Gave man of steel the full go but I just don't like what's been done especially rogols new involvement to the mythos

[scary harpy]

Miss by a mile.

[Jon Clark]

Could be the next great villain- if they actually give him a personality beyond "Kill everything Kryptonian". But so far he is really one note.

[Hypestyle]

Villains come and go. Some antagonists manage to sustain potential to the point where they eventually become a classic villain to the superhero's rogues gallery, while others fade into obscurity usually after their creator leaves the book. Creating new villains for an iconic superhero like Superman is a tall order especially in comparison to the Superman rogues that have become classic. Since his introduction, Rogol Zaar has been hyped up as the next big heavy hitter to Superman and so far he hasn't clicked with me.

What say you? Do you see Rogol Zaar as a hit or a miss?

I hope he lasts longer than Judas Traveller did for Spider-Man.

What are Rogol's powers, exactly? What does his battle staff do? Can he fly on his own?

[Vordan]

I hope he lasts longer than Judas Traveller did for Spider-Man.

What are Rogol's powers, exactly? What does his battle staff do? Can he fly on his own?

He’s at least as strong, fast, and tough as Supes himself. Doesn’t look like he can fly on his own. No idea what tech he has access to although he either built a bomb capable of blowing up Earth or somehow acquired one.

[DrNewGod]

Position reconsidered, and confirmed: Miss.

I've taken more time to think about this. Part of the power of Superman's story is the idea that he comes from a civilization vastly more advanced than our own, that was still unable to avoid its demise. There should be room to leave audiences to interpret whether that demise was a result of The Kryptonians' own arrogance, or just that Nature is ultimately beyond even the greatest of mortal capabilities. That makes for an especially powerful backstory in an age when we're wondering if our own world is on its way to becoming uninhabitable.

Taking that away, just to infuse some antagonism into the relationship with a new character, seems wasteful.