On paper, it would seem that DC's coup of Brian Michael Bendis and his subsequent joining of the Superman titles would be an instant hit. He was, after all, one of Marvel's most successful writers in the 18 years prior to joining DC and his taking over Superman seemed like an interesting combination.

However, his run with the Superman titles thus far can best be described as divisive, and sales have been extraordinarily mundane. Now there's talk that he'll be taking over the Batman book at the end of the year, which would seemingly end his run with Superman (although that last bit is more speculation on my part, as I don't believe DC would have Bendis write both Superman AND Batman at the same time, although I could be wrong).

So putting aside the "because he sucks, that's why!" business that I'm sure this thread will attract, since regardless of how you feel personally about Bendis the fact remains he has been critically and commercially one of the best writer's in the industry, what exactly has gone wrong with his Superman run?