Thoughts on Michael Bendis at DC?

[Jokerr]

Obviously, Bendis is a big name in the comic book community but I haven’t read much of his work. So I can’t really judge the guy, but I have heard a lot of negative things about him.
The disregard for continuity, sjw politics and apparently there is this thing known as
“Bendis-speech" where one character says something and then someone else repeats it as an answer or something like that. And i mean, we already got one Tom King at DC.
I haven’t experienced much of this firsthand but marvel fans didn’t seem too unhappy to see him leave.
And then while reading “the man of steel” I came across a huge red flag.
(SPOILERS!) At the end of “The Oz Effect” Jor-El is pulled away by this blue light
(Dr. Manhattan) and that’s the last we see of him. Until this story where he just shows up out of thin air and picks up Jon for a little field trip across the universe. And Kal just lets his son go?
But what irked me the most was how they completely ignored the established continuity. As if the OZ Effect never happened. I mean, you’d think they address what happened to the guy or at least have Superman show some conser. Last time they were with each other Kal was trying to save him from the “blue light”. Overall the story wasn’t anything special but definitely not much to judge by.
I get that this arc was supposed to set up his tenure going forward and that lots of writers make little “tweaks” in continuity to fit their narrative, but the Oz Effect was just too recent and tied to a much bigger event (Doomsday Clock)
And when you have in mind the guy’s reputation it’s kind of hard to cut him any slack.
So how do you guy feel about all this? And what’s up with this new imprint...

[king81992]

He's bringing back Young Justice and is most likely going to throw out all the sketchy stuff that contributed to their character derailment. Bendis is good in my opinion.

Also his Superman run is somewhat decent.I don't agree with some of the stuff he's done but it hasn't been the trainwreck I thought it was going to be.

[Jackalope89]

He's bringing back Young Justice and is most likely going to throw out all the sketchy stuff that contributed to their character derailment. Bendis is good in my opinion.

Also his Superman run is somewhat decent.I don't agree with some of the stuff he's done but it hasn't been the trainwreck I thought it was going to be.

Rebirth already retconned that out anyway.

Personally? Not a fan of his Doomsday-wannabe character that supposedly destroyed Krypton. Which has taken up a good chunk of Superman and Supergirl. He canceled Super Sons just to ship Jon off into space with Jor-El (and still no explanation on how Jor-El is magically back, nor why Supes is suddenly trusting him with his son).

[Flashback]

Rebirth already retconned that out anyway.

Has it?

I thought Rebirth still runs with new52 history and has only restored somethings from before flashpoint.

[Jackalope89]

Has it?

I thought Rebirth still runs with new52 history and has only restored somethings from before flashpoint.

Nope. Things like Tim's pre-Flashpoint history has been brought back. Along with that, when Future Tim mentioned Connor awhile back to present Tim, present Tim had no idea who that was.

Also, things like the sex pirate Amazons were erased (an illusion, the real ones were never like that), Diana and Clark never dated (Diana and Bruce were both at the Fortress of Solitude to help Clark and Lois as Lois gave birth to Jon), the original Titans team was brought back (along with original Wally West), etc.

[Vordan]

His Action Comics is stronger than Superman but overall I’ve enjoyed him. I suspect how Jor-El returned will either have some story significance or be ignored and either is fine. Oz Effect was pretty terrible but it’s interesting to see what happens with a living Jor-El in canon.

[Flashback]

Nope. Things like Tim's pre-Flashpoint history has been brought back. Along with that, when Future Tim mentioned Connor awhile back to present Tim, present Tim had no idea who that was.

Also, things like the sex pirate Amazons were erased (an illusion, the real ones were never like that), Diana and Clark never dated (Diana and Bruce were both at the Fortress of Solitude to help Clark and Lois as Lois gave birth to Jon), the original Titans team was brought back (along with original Wally West), etc.

Holy cow, didn't know DC got rid of that one. Thanks

Just one question if you know, In New52 tim's parents are alive (just in witness protection), is that still in?

[Badou]

the original Titans team was brought back (along with original Wally West), etc.

Well technically the original Titans were brought back but in a version that was based in the New 52 timeline still. The Lazarus Contract story and the Abra Kadabra arc showed that this isn't the history that the old pre-Flashpoint Titans had. It's is different. So basically they are the original Titans but a version that is still formed in the New 52 timeline. So this Wally West is the New 52 Wally West but Abra Kadabra erased him from the universe and everyone forgot about his existence, but while he was erased the New 52 Wally West gained some memories of the pre-Flashpoint continuity when he returned, but he isn't pre-Flashpoint Wally West, if that makes any sense. Yeah, it is all a big mess.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

I'm liking him a lot so far. I liked some of his Marvel work. His New Avengers run was good to me until it wasn't, I did follow his Iron Man run for a bit, and I did read some of the big mega-events he helmed. But he was never one of my must-read Marvel writers. His Superman and Action runs, though, have been making him one of my go-to Superman writers.

Has it?

I thought Rebirth still runs with new52 history and has only restored somethings from before flashpoint.

The New 52 history has been essentially moot since at least Superman Reborn. The state of the timeline as it is currently is basically Pre-Flashpoint, but with still some huge chunks of history missing, like the JSA, the (original) YJ, the NTT, and the original JLA. Though, who knows, maybe some of that's been brought back?

[Ascended]

Obviously, Bendis is a big name in the comic book community but I haven’t read much of his work. So I can’t really judge the guy, but I have heard a lot of negative things about him.

Eh, internet chatter is cheap. I'm not much of a Bendis fan but I will tell you he draws a lot more hate than he deserves.

The disregard for continuity, sjw politics and apparently there is this thing known as
“Bendis-speech" where one character says something and then someone else repeats it as an answer or something like that. And i mean, we already got one Tom King at DC.

This is pretty much all true, to various degrees. A lot of it gets blown out of proportion, but there's definitely a reason these particular complaints get leveled at Bendis all the time.

His Marvel work started out really strong; Ultimate Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, Daredevil.......these are all highly acclaimed runs and worth their reputations. But Bendis' more recent work at Marvel, like his stint on the X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy.....yeah, those aren't great. At all. In fact, they're pretty awful. So the concern over Bendis coming to DC most certainly had merit. I think all of us who are familiar with his work were worried; would we get "X-Men" Bendis, or "Daredevil" Bendis?

Fortunately, we seem to have gotten "Daredevil" Bendis so far.

And then while reading “the man of steel” I came across a huge red flag.
(SPOILERS!) At the end of “The Oz Effect” Jor-El is pulled away by this blue light

I'm pretty sure the reason this isn't being touched on is because Johns is handling the Manhattan stuff in Doomsday Clock. I don't actually think this one is on Bendis. Johns is notorious for not sharing his toys. There's been an embargo on the JSA and Legion for over two years because of Johns, he kept Aqualad out of the New52 Titans because he had plans (that he never followed through on, ever), and those are just two examples of many.

And Kal just lets his son go?

Clark argued against it until he saw how intent his son was. Jon's been through a lot in a very short time and felt that he needed a "summer vacation" and thought that his grandfather might have a different perspective to look through. I don't particularly care for this subplot, but I can't say it's out of character either.

So how do you guy feel about all this? And what’s up with this new imprint...

So far Bendis has done a solid job. His new big villain in Superman is pretty weak but he's nailed Clark's voice in a way few manage, he's giving the Daily Planet cast more panel time than they've seen in years, and he's doing some fun, interesting stuff with the use of Superman's powers. He's also bringing some big high-concept stuff to the title that a lot of writers don't dare. It's not a perfect run but it's a hell of a lot better than a lot of other stuff we've had in recent years. And its Bendis' best work in ages.

His imprint is......whatever, who doesn't have an imprint at this point? Hell, I half expect DC to ask *me* if I want to launch one soon! I think his focus on teen heroes is filling a niche DC is pretty weak on right now, and he's bringing back the classic Young Justice, which gets him some major points with me (and a lot of other fans from the 90's).

We'll see if Bendis ends up making the same mistakes he made at Marvel but so far I can't really complain.

[LordUltimus]

So far, there are things he's done and announced that some people are worried about, but nothing that any people are angry about.