Superman#7 Spoilers and Discussion

[Miles To Go]

spoilers:

Lois breaks down as she realises Jon is telling the truth, she is emotional over "missing everything", she asks Jon to give her the details. Jon goes straight into flashback mode and covers what happened when they left Clark at the end of Man of Steel. After a bit of turbulance, we learn Jor-El's ship is actually a smaller one in contrast to a massive vessel which soon comes under attack from Dominator vessels. Lois thinks she's in over her head while Jon and Jor-El spring into action and deal with the intrusive Dominators. Jor-El reveals the Dominiator fleet is on it's way to Earth. Lois switches to the Reborn outfit, much to Jon's amusement, and the three arrive on a nearby planet. Jon meets Lobo on the planet and has a bit of a stare-down. Lois is approached by the planet's inhabitants who are drawn to her outfit. The three learn that the Khunds of Daxum are taking children for slave labor. Jon and Jor-El liberate the slaves. Afterwards, Lois realises she's not needed and departs for Earth. Cut back to present day, and Jon tells his parents Jor-El is insane and they have to do something about it

end of spoilers

Reading this issue was quite fun. Bendis kind of uniquely deals with Lois as someone who feels a little in over her head dealing with the lives Clark handles in his Super-routine. I can't exactly say I like the general idea it takes one heroic task from Jon to convince her it's OK to leave them behind (gives me a "that's it?!" sort of vibe), especially with what Bendis said in interviews, but perhaps Lois has had adventures on the way back to Earth that informs her behaviour in Action Comics? I hope that's the case otherwise AC#1004 looks even worse.

Oh, and those clean-up workers eavesdropping on the family...that is gonna bite them.

[Yoda]

I doubt there's anything more to Lois' return than what's presented. I'm very frustrated with this issue because there's so much there that could have worked but it's just rushed through completely. I think I know exactly what Lois' behavior in Action is supposed to have been triggered by, and theoretically I like it a lot, but there's really not enough here to justify it.

Same with her leaving Jon, like the idea as a concept is ok, and what is there could have easily been developed to really make it work. But Bendis doesn't seem interested in actually making this part of the story work and so he hits the plot point, the characters just act, and we like check off that box and moves on. He needs Lois to leave so he can set up the rest of this story and what he's doing in Action, so he just has her give a justification and then leave.

It reminds me a lot of Action 1004 actually because again I can see good ideas but the execution is really lacking. The idea behind Lois' leaving Jon can work. The idea for her change of feelings about what she sees out there can work. But we just barely touched on it and move on. These are solid ideas, but the execution is like, disinterested maybe?

Its almost like an outline. Why is Bendis rushing through this stuff which appears to be so important? He spent an entire issue almost having Superman contemplative in the Phantom Zone, but rushes right through this.

And I completely called them getting caught by someone.

[rward777]

spoilers:

Lois breaks down as she realises Jon is telling the truth, she is emotional over "missing everything", she asks Jon to give her the details. Jon goes straight into flashback mode and covers what happened when they left Clark at the end of Man of Steel. After a bit of turbulance, we learn Jor-El's ship is actually a smaller one in contrast to a massive vessel which soon comes under attack from Dominator vessels. Lois thinks she's in over her head while Jon and Jor-El spring into action and deal with the intrusive Dominators. Jor-El reveals the Dominiator fleet is on it's way to Earth. Lois switches to the Reborn outfit, much to Jon's amusement, and the three arrive on a nearby planet. Jon meets Lobo on the planet and has a bit of a stare-down. Lois is approached by the planet's inhabitants who are drawn to her outfit. The three learn that the Khunds of Daxum are taking children for slave labor. Jon and Jor-El liberate the slaves. Afterwards, Lois realises she's not needed and departs for Earth. Cut back to present day, and Jon tells his parents Jor-El is insane and they have to do something about it

end of spoilers

Reading this issue was quite fun. Bendis kind of uniquely deals with Lois as someone who feels a little in over her head dealing with the lives Clark handles in his Super-routine. I can't exactly say I like the general idea it takes one heroic task from Jon to convince her it's OK to leave them behind (gives me a "that's it?!" sort of vibe), especially with what Bendis said in interviews, but perhaps Lois has had adventures on the way back to Earth that informs her behaviour in Action Comics? I hope that's the case otherwise AC#1004 looks even worse.

Oh, and those clean-up workers eavesdropping on the family...that is gonna bite them.

Kinda like how Slott handled MJ.

[rward777]

[QUOTE=Miles To Go;4139885]spoilers:

Lois breaks down as she realises Jon is telling the truth, she is emotional over "missing everything", she asks Jon to give her the details. Jon goes straight into flashback mode and covers what happened when they left Clark at the end of Man of Steel. After a bit of turbulance, we learn Jor-El's ship is actually a smaller one in contrast to a massive vessel which soon comes under attack from Dominator vessels. Lois thinks she's in over her head while Jon and Jor-El spring into action and deal with the intrusive Dominators. Jor-El reveals the Dominiator fleet is on it's way to Earth. Lois switches to the Reborn outfit, much to Jon's amusement, and the three arrive on a nearby planet. Jon meets Lobo on the planet and has a bit of a stare-down. Lois is approached by the planet's inhabitants who are drawn to her outfit. The three learn that the Khunds of Daxum are taking children for slave labor. Jon and Jor-El liberate the slaves. Afterwards, Lois realises she's not needed and departs for Earth. Cut back to present day, and Jon tells his parents Jor-El is insane and they have to do something about it

end of spoilers

Reading this issue was quite fun. Bendis kind of uniquely deals with Lois as someone who feels a little in over her head dealing with the lives Clark handles in his Super-routine. I can't exactly say I like the general idea it takes one heroic task from Jon to convince her it's OK to leave them behind (gives me a "that's it?!" sort of vibe), especially with what Bendis said in interviews, but perhaps Lois has had adventures on the way back to Earth that informs her behaviour in Action Comics? I hope that's the case otherwise AC#1004 looks even worse.

Oh, and those clean-up workers eavesdropping on the family...that is gonna bite them.[/QUOTE
Didn't superman deal with a dominator fleet in his futile search for his family?

[Miles To Go]

Didn't superman deal with a dominator fleet in his futile search for his family?

Yes, and that was a few weeks later, so good continuity there

[JAK]

Yeah - I like the characterization in this issue for the most part, and I do somewhat get that Lois felt like she was a third wheel with what all they were doing... but there'd still better be more to that story. That's her kid she left out there, and (again, for the millionth time) spoilers:

Grandpa El is crazy is not news. We knew this. He was being controlled, and we still don't know what happened after his time as Mr. Oz.

end of spoilers

It's not quite enough to fully pull me out of things, but as Yoda said.. it feels rushed. Which is ironic, given how frustrating the decompression is elsewhere.

[Yoda]

Yeah - I like the characterization in this issue for the most part, and I do somewhat get that Lois felt like she was a third wheel with what all they were doing... but there'd still better be more to that story. That's her kid she left out there, and (again, for the millionth time) spoilers:

Grandpa El is crazy is not news. We knew this. He was being controlled, and we still don't know what happened after his time as Mr. Oz.

end of spoilers

It's not quite enough to fully pull me out of things, but as Yoda said.. it feels rushed. Which is ironic, given how frustrating the decompression is elsewhere.

It does present the idea of Lois being in over her head and a third wheel somewhat convincingly, I think conceptually that all works. Because realistically she is both. Her presence there as a check on Jor El doesn't really ensure anything because it's not like she could stop Jor El from just spacing her and running off with Jon. There is a level of trust for Jor El built into this whole plot that wasn't really earned and honestly Bendis really needs to address at some.point. It has to be Doomsday Clock that is leaving this plot hole open.

And Jon was shown to be capable himself in those three scenes. If you can establish that there was an initial level of trust for Jor El then her actions (and Clark's) aren't that out of character.

[cookies]

Wow.. Bendis hate Lois that much huh

[InformationGeek]

I'm gonna quote a review here.

‘Grandpa is completely insane’? To whom is this a revelation? Prior to leaving Earth, Jor-El had been revealed as the face behind Mr Oz, who had been kidnapping heroes and villains while manipulating wars and disaster on Earth. He fought Clark and tried to kill him. That Lois and Clark should ever let Jon join him on a space vacation because he suddenly presented as a reasonable man made no sense… the guy should have been locked up and given treatment for his mental health.

It was this move by new writer Brian Bendis in his Man of Steel mini-series that had me really worried about his tenure as architect of the Superman line. As it happens, I’ve really enjoyed what he’s been doing, while having qualms about the suddenly mysterious Clark/Lois relationship. But now we’re back to the Jon storyline and Lois compounding her appalling decision to take Jon into space with Jor-El by leaving him there because he’s good in a fight…

How would seeing how scary the spaceways are provoke any response in a sane parent but the desire to return home? Jon is a super-powered kid but he’s still a kid – and a massive target for Superman’s enemies.

[rward777]

spoilers:

Lois breaks down as she realises Jon is telling the truth, she is emotional over "missing everything", she asks Jon to give her the details. Jon goes straight into flashback mode and covers what happened when they left Clark at the end of Man of Steel. After a bit of turbulance, we learn Jor-El's ship is actually a smaller one in contrast to a massive vessel which soon comes under attack from Dominator vessels. Lois thinks she's in over her head while Jon and Jor-El spring into action and deal with the intrusive Dominators. Jor-El reveals the Dominiator fleet is on it's way to Earth. Lois switches to the Reborn outfit, much to Jon's amusement, and the three arrive on a nearby planet. Jon meets Lobo on the planet and has a bit of a stare-down. Lois is approached by the planet's inhabitants who are drawn to her outfit. The three learn that the Khunds of Daxum are taking children for slave labor. Jon and Jor-El liberate the slaves. Afterwards, Lois realises she's not needed and departs for Earth. Cut back to present day, and Jon tells his parents Jor-El is insane and they have to do something about it

end of spoilers

Reading this issue was quite fun. Bendis kind of uniquely deals with Lois as someone who feels a little in over her head dealing with the lives Clark handles in his Super-routine. I can't exactly say I like the general idea it takes one heroic task from Jon to convince her it's OK to leave them behind (gives me a "that's it?!" sort of vibe), especially with what Bendis said in interviews, but perhaps Lois has had adventures on the way back to Earth that informs her behaviour in Action Comics? I hope that's the case otherwise AC#1004 looks even worse.

Oh, and those clean-up workers eavesdropping on the family...that is gonna bite them.

Only 3 weeks. Then again, even a minute without your loved ones would seem like a eternity.

[Scott Taylor]

Jor El might be Dr. Manhattan, who knows. At the very least, it seems that all this is Manhattan's fault.

As to Lois, I don't really hold it against her being a bad mom. Have you even read some of the Golden Age stuff? She's bad news and Superman is a dick.

[Darkspellmaster]

Okay after reading this thread here is my thoughts for those that are okay with this. There's this argument that this will make Jon more memorable, but to the contrary we've seen in seen in several cases that that is not true.

Take for example Chris Kent. During his time fans of his, myself included , were hoping that he could get what Jon got with Damian, a friendship that was unique. Unlike Damian who was a biological son, Chris was adopted to Lois and Clark and made for an interesting parallel to Clark's own past. Growing up with adopted parents who were like his birth family, while dealing with powers, only, unlike Clark, Chris had someone like him to teach him.

There was also the dynamic that this was Zod's son and, like Damian, he was going to over come that. Then they went, aged him up, same age too, maybe a year younger, gave him a girlfriend and people loathed it. Writers didn't know what to do with him because he had no connections to other characters other than the Kents. So when they de aged him a lot thought that this could lead to a good story as there were hints for him to meet Damian at the time. Only new 52 came and screwed that up.

Then we have Bart being aged to Wally's age and forced into the Flash role when he was not ready and being an ass. Causing fans to hate the book leading to his death.

Then there was the adult Tim in Batman Beyond that made no sense.

The reasons why the likes of Damian, Dick, Tim, Kon, Wally, Cassie, Donna, Garth, Roy, etc. manage to be so loved is because we see them grow up. They have time to be kids, make mistakes. We see them go though trials and tribulations and come out stronger. We love them because we see them learn and grow and when the time comes for say a switch to being in the JL, we can get behind it because we know they are ready because we saw how they got to this point.

Wally, Dick, Donna, Roy and Garth are perfect examples. Dick was able to step into Batman because of how he grew as a character. Wally got to be Flash because readers, for the most part, could accept that Barry would say he was ready to take the role on. Donna was able to be Wonder Woman because she knew how to be a diplomat and bring hope. Roy could easily take on Ollie's role as Green Arrow and Garth could be Aquaman if he wanted, because they were allowed to grow up over time.

Jon and Chris never got that and I think it hurts them because kids can't grow with them if they are forced to be "adults". Wanna know why TT and YJ are so loved? Because those of us that care about these characters grew up with them.

I was hoping for the same for Jon. But apparently the o ly kid that gets to grow up is Damian. Because, you know, the Bat books are special.

[Jared S]

Okay after reading this thread here is my thoughts for those that are okay with this. There's this argument that this will make Jon more memorable, but to the contrary we've seen in seen in several cases that that is not true.

I agree, but at this point, one wonders what the point of arguing is. Bendis is going to do what he will do, he's made it resoundingly clear that this isn't a trick, and he's not going to change his mind for anyone, certainly not because you outargued him on an internet forum he doesn't read. I suspect the vast majority of the people who are arguing this is fine just never really liked Jon very much anyway, so its pointless trying to convince most of them to dislike changing his character, since this could be an improvement from their perspective, or a way to get rid of him entirely (for the more vengeful).

It's just...not the move for me, and no, I'm not willing to give it a try anymore. I don't care for teenage Jon and I'm not interested in him or anything he does or will do. At this point it just makes me sad about losing a beloved character to see him. I suppose I could just do what SacredKnight does and choose to tolerate the comic while disliking some of the changes, but honestly, I'd rather just go and read things where I am enjoying myself rather than comics where I have to constantly remind myself not to feel bitter towards the author and to appreciate the good things he does. Marvel has Fantastic Four back and DC has "Shazam" and together, that should satisfy some of my desire to read about superhero families, so I think I'll go and read those instead (at least, that's what I should do; we'll see how well I can control my curiosity in the next couple weeks). I wish there were a good alternative to Supersons, but I can't really think of one, so I guess I'll just read to the end and hope for a touching finale.

I suppose that's just how things go sometimes; I suspect the people who hated the Superman family had to make a similar decision and now are finally getting their moment.

[Miles To Go]

I suppose that's just how things go sometimes; I suspect the people who hated the Superman family had to make a similar decision and now are finally getting their moment.

It's kind of bittersweet in that those people are finally getting on board with the Super-family, but it took giving many of the characters the idiot ball in order to do it. It's kind of like how people feel about Superior Spider-Man...which is considered the most successful Spidey story of the decade yet many also feel it treated the characters inappropriately in order to succeed.

[Ishmael]

This was the first issue by Bendis i really did NOT like. I may rethink collecting the Superman books now.