Superman#11 Discussion and Spoilers

[Miles To Go]

Zarr and Jax-Ur approach Zod and offer to give him answers about Krypton in exchange for tips on how to escape the Phantom Zone. We flash forward to Clark and Jon finding Jor-El's ship under attack by war vessels belonging to the Thangarians, the Kunds, and the Trillium Collective. According to Jor-El, this is an assassination attempt disguised as a military battle. Clark spots Rogal Zarr, who seemingly retreats. Jon offers to help Jor-El prepare the ship for a jump, Jor-El tells him he returned him to Earth for a reason and to stay safe. Jon tells Jor-El to bite him, but is then ambushed by Zod. Clark is distracted by the armies attacking the ship and Zarr himself. Suddenly, Kara and Krypto arrive

[Rakzo]

Jesus Christ, is Rogol one of the most uninteresting Superman antagonists in years and the fact that Bendis is trying so hard to sell him as "the next big Superman villain" is inexplicable. We have wasted way too many issues on his derivative ass and he plays such an important role in the plot that affects the whole read.

The plot has a little, little progression but is still rather decompressed. The characterization for Clark is decent but Jon might as well not be in the story at all since he's basically a non-entity and him being older apparently doesn't have a clear purpose.

Art was good. I wouldn't say this is bad buuuuuut...

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I still don't have any strong feeling about Rogol Zarr one way or the other. I'm hoping his backstory gets filled in soon because he remains a giant hulking blank slate so far.

While Ivan Reis remains one of the very best artists working in superhero comics, and Bendis continues showing what makes Superman so special in his tactics during the battle.

[Journey]

This weeks issue was kind of meh I don't really feel much happened. Sure a few fights but nothing to really move the plot along. I'm kind of over the Jor-El arc.

[qwertyuiop1998]

The story worst problem: Rogal Zarr, He is one of most uninteresting Superman's Villains I ever seen, I even want replace his part with Ultraman in this story arc
Apart from him, The rest story still ok.

[Yoda]

It was reminiscent of the better issues of the first arc. Reis' art is gorgeous and I really liked how Bendis wrote Clark in this issue, shows a tactical and intelligent battle designed to save lives and break up the conflict.

The Zod and Rogal Zaar scene in the beginning was also interesting, with Zaar seeming to think he could convince Zod of all people that Krypton deserved to be destroyed and Jax Ur kinda appearing to go along with it. The Zod and Jon scene in the middle of the battle makes it pretty obvious that he's not really working with Zaar. Zod doesn't attack Jon (Jon hauled off and clocked him when he appeared behind him) but then Zod just stops him and seems to let him go like he wants to speak to him. I think Zod and likely Jax Ur are going to betray Zaar at some point.

Kara appearing on the flying rock is no less ridiculous looking here than it was in Supergirl last week. But I'll take a little ridiculous with my Superman books.

Good issue overall, would have been great if we got a little more information out of the Jor El scenes. I'm guessing next issue or so we'll get the typical Bendis information dump with Jor El telling Clark, Jon and Kara what is going on.

[Superlad93]

Read it pretty fast first time around and wasn't really feeling it. However an following second pass made me change my mind. Made me appreciate how celebratory this issue was of Superman, and how the bedrock of this issue was Clark wanting to be the very best version of himself in front of his son. The whole issue was basically Ma Kent's "make this into a moment." But it had a double edge to it because on top of the general pressure of stopping this large scale battle and understanding the situation, Clark is also putting himself under the pressure of his son watching.

Favorite parts:

* "oh you guys are in superspeed" being a casual thing for Clark, Jor, and Jon.

* The Zod and Jon interaction

* Super diplomacy

* And Jon having a giant goofy grin on his face for most of the issue as he watches his pops put in work.

I just kind of wish we'd slow down a bit. I know the info dump is coming (likely similar to Naomi issue 5), but I could do with a breather, and just an issue or two of character interactions. Don't get me wrong, I'm buying into the frantic nature of situation, but if we could get a calm-before-the-storm issue or two that would be great.

Also, I'm thinking during Jor-El's travels through time and space looking for Jon, he likely ran into Zaar in the past, and that's how they know each other.

________________

I also still think Zaar is half kryptonian. I even still think he's Clark's half brother. But I'm now thinking he was conceived during Jor-El's time travel adventures and deal making where Jor-El was at his most emotionally vulnerable alone. Maybe he wanted to create another miraculous half-breed like Jon?

At the start of the issue Zaar says "a whole army of Jor-El's greatest nightmares all escaped from his own nightmare world come to punish his entire for what he has done." If this were Game of Thrones he'd be "Rogol Zaar, The Bastard of House El" lol But

[ArthurCurry]

Jesus Christ, is Rogol one of the most uninteresting Superman antagonists in years and the fact that Bendis is trying so hard to sell him as "the next big Superman villain" is inexplicable. We have wasted way too many issues on his derivative ass and he plays such an important role in the plot that affects the whole read.

The plot has a little, little progression but is still rather decompressed. The characterization for Clark is decent but Jon might as well not be in the story at all since he's basically a non-entity and him being older apparently doesn't have a clear purpose.

Art was good. I wouldn't say this is bad buuuuuut...

Completely agree. Bendis' Superman has been awful. I strongly suspect a lot of positive internet reviews that constantly defend every issue are from people who DESPISED nuclear family Super-Dad w/ young Jon and are willing to defend anything that moves farther away from that portrayal, regardless of how bad it is.

[Miles To Go]

I strongly suspect a lot of positive internet reviews that constantly defend every issue are from people who DESPISED nuclear family Super-Dad w/ young Jon and are willing to defend anything that moves farther away from that portrayal, regardless of how bad it is.

Most comics that are reviewed positively on certain sites is due more to access media privileges than any real professional objectivity.

That being said, the likes of Yoda and Superlad I beleive are big fans of the nuclear family set up and they do like Bendis. I'm more 50/50. There's things I don't agree with, I miss the Superfamily, don't think Lois should be living independently from her husband over an extended period unless she has writer's block, but I don't get angry when reading the book compared to other titles that DC put out like Williamson's Flash or King's Batman

[Yoda]

Most comics that are reviewed positively on certain sites is due more to access media privileges than any real professional objectivity.

That being said, the likes of Yoda and Superlad I beleive are big fans of the nuclear family set up and they do like Bendis. I'm more 50/50. There's things I don't agree with, I miss the Superfamily, don't think Lois should be living independently from her husband over an extended period unless she has writer's block, but I don't get angry when reading the book compared to other titles that DC put out like Williamson's Flash or King's Batman

Yeah, I am liking a lot of what I see with Bendis' take and I was a really big fan of Tomasi/Gleason and Jurgen's runs. Brought me back to buying Superman books monthly. Love Super Sons, it's the book that brought my own son into comics. I think those books definitely had some issues though, particularly after the first year. And as a really big Lois Lane fan I wasn't ecstatic with the way she was handled in Superman. So getting Lois Lane badass reporter back is an improvement for me.

And I do still have issues with Bendis' execution. I feel like he's rushing through things, particularly Lois' shift and Jon's time away. Both of those elements work for me as ideas, but the execution didn't develop it enough. I think Lois in the recent issues of Action Comics has been a real improvement over her portrayal in Action Comics 1004. I get a very Erica Durance/Smallville Lois vibe off of her that if it continues on this trajectory into Event Leviathan I'll be pretty happy. Plus, a Lois Lane series by Greg Rucka goes a long way with me. I liked this recent issue a lot, but I was pretty critical of the last. I thought on the whole, Jon's time away was wasted.

[Coco Loco]

Yeah, I am liking a lot of what I see with Bendis' take and I was a really big fan of Tomasi/Gleason and Jurgen's runs. Brought me back to buying Superman books monthly. Love Super Sons, it's the book that brought my own son into comics. I think those books definitely had some issues though, particularly after the first year. And as a really big Lois Lane fan I wasn't ecstatic with the way she was handled in Superman. So getting Lois Lane badass reporter back is an improvement for me.

Yea I agree with most of this. It remains to be seen whether aging Jon is a good decision in the long-term but for now I think it’s working pretty well. This issue was cool in that we got to see three generations of Els (sort of) fighting together. I like how Superman and Action feel distinct from one another.

[ArthurCurry]

Most comics that are reviewed positively on certain sites is due more to access media privileges than any real professional objectivity.

I'd agree with that too.

That being said, the likes of Yoda and Superlad I beleive are big fans of the nuclear family set up and they do like Bendis. I'm more 50/50. There's things I don't agree with, I miss the Superfamily, don't think Lois should be living independently from her husband over an extended period unless she has writer's block, but I don't get angry when reading the book compared to other titles that DC put out like Williamson's Flash or King's Batman

I'm not referencing anyone in this thread specifically so hopefully no one takes it that way.

[Celgress]

Most comics that are reviewed positively on certain sites is due more to access media privileges than any real professional objectivity...

Sadly, I think you are likely correct.

[Yoda]

There are smaller review sites, like GeekDad, Weird Science, and others that do still have pretty objective takes on these books. I like GeekDad quite a bit for reviews, and for example they had a really negative review of HiC 8 last month and have been back and forth on Bendis' Superman and Action Comics.

[Vordan]

Most comics that are reviewed positively on certain sites is due more to access media privileges than any real professional objectivity.

That being said, the likes of Yoda and Superlad I beleive are big fans of the nuclear family set up and they do like Bendis. I'm more 50/50. There's things I don't agree with, I miss the Superfamily, don't think Lois should be living independently from her husband over an extended period unless she has writer's block, but I don't get angry when reading the book compared to other titles that DC put out like Williamson's Flash or King's Batman

King’s Batman is no surprise I’ve often been tempted to drop the book myself, but I’m surprised by the level of vitriol Willamson Flash gets on the Internet. Do you hate it because of the setback in the Barry-Iris relationship? I know you’re a fan of the traditional romantic relationships for heroes. I’ve quite enjoyed everything Willamson has done, and I find people’s complaints about the Forces to be idiotic. Sure they’re stupid but we already crossed over into dumb comic book fun with the Speed Force itself.