Controversial opinion: Superman up in the Sky is better than any of Bendis

[king81992]

Bendis's Superman hasn't been great but I don't really trust King's writing. Sooner or later, King always inserts some traumatic nonsense that derails the character he's writing.

[Bruce Wayne]

Nothing in Action 1004 is as bad as the Lois chapter in Up in the Sky. I’ll take shaky character actions and the rough start she got under Bendis that led to a solid Lois returned to form over an anxiety attack snuff dream King’s given in this.

Nope. Bendis is just as bad in his own way especially his obsession with inserting the spy genre into all his books as well as breaking up the Superfamily and the character assassination of Lois/Clark.

[Vordan]

Nope. Bendis is just as bad in his own way especially his obsession with inserting the spy genre into all his books as well as breaking up the Superfamily and the character assassination of Lois/Clark.

There’s nothing wrong with telling a Superman spy story. Beats the hell out of Hank Henshaw showing up again imo.

[Celgress]

While I'm not the biggest fan of Bendis on Superman I must give him props for never writing anything quite as disgustingly violent as that one infamous issue of "Up In The Sky". *shudders just thinking about the imagery involved"

[Robanker]

Tom has gone on record saying he can't write uplifting, fun stories. He feels best work is writing what he knows, which trends towards damaged people, and I'm not sure I want that from Superman. His story in Action#1000 was great, but I don't care for a lot of his recent work including the upcoming issue where Clark's worry gives him an excuse to publish a Lois Lane snuff story. Sorry, but hard pass.

Bendis at his worst still reads like he cares for and respects Superman. He always has his voice down, which I can't say for most.

[HandofPrometheus]

Hmm I've enjoyed the collected issue of Up in The Sky but hearing that it gets bad is disappointing.

[Robanker]

Hmm I've enjoyed the collected issue of Up in The Sky but hearing that it gets bad is disappointing.

Read until you're unsatisfied. Just because others didn't like it doesn't mean you won't. Hope it never loses steam for you.

[Kuwagaton]

It's like apples to oranges, or a tv series vs a movie rather. Even the six part opener was clearly written to establish the Bendis titles, where King's story is designed as a true "in and out" stand-alone. As a result, one issue in it feels like a massive checklist. Like "Lois can't spell haha" sandwiched between a random splash of fighting Doomsday and some alien guy telling Superman that the impossibility is impossible. Bruce and Pa stop by to explain Superman to Clark, while Perry needs those Spider-Man pix asap.


With all the space in the world Bendis can do completely different moods and explore character, while King's Superman has to be strapped into the moving plot. Which is overly melodramatic, but that is what you expect of this sort of project. For the past 30 years a memorable DC stand-alone has seemed all but required to go to the territories with which King is familiar. Kubert, Hope, and Anderson are perfectly cinematic partners where Bendis has been tweaking his plots for like a dozen collaborators now, so I think if you have to stop at getting one collection it may be just getting Up in the Sky for its singular vision. But stopping at one collection is a pretty bad idea for a continuing character. Not King's fault, but I don't see anything to imply that he would actually write a continuing Superman.

I really want the Bendis Batman story now because that's a fair comparison.

[DragonsChi]

Tom King Vs. Brian Bendis.

Whoever wins, we lose.

This, /close thread.

[Steven Caldwell]

Just some points.

1. Tom King is getting kicked off of Batman, so him going on Superman is probably not the best idea.
2. Can we all agree that Dan Jurgens should come back. I love that guy.
3. There is no number 3.

[Pohzee]

Just some points.

1. Tom King is getting kicked off of Batman, so him going on Superman is probably not the best idea.
2. Can we all agree that Dan Jurgens should come back. I love that guy.
3. There is no number 3.

1.) King's removal from Batman had nothing to do with his writing ability and all to do with his busy slate writing a movie and the upcoming changes to DC.
2.) No.
3.) Yes.

[Kuwagaton]

I know there is a sort of negative connotation set to the thread, but this isn't here to serve as a debate for whether or not a writer deserves their gigs.

[Myskin]

Up in the sky is not better than any of Bendis. It's just tonally different and made me want to read a Tom King Superman run. If Steve Gerber had had his chance at writing Superman in the 1980s, his run would have probably been very similar to King's.

Also, Up in the Sky is a standalone story and King didn't have to deal to the biggest narrative burdens in Superman's recent history, that is Jon Kent and Jor-El (even if Bendis himself could have probably ignored Mr Oz altogether).

[mikelmcknight72]

Basically, the ground rules for getting to be a Superman creator should be as follows:

Main Universe (Print/Film/TV): The characterizations of All-Star Superman is required, not optional. If he were a god in a mythical pantheon, he'd be the god of the sun, hope, and life. Print only, Lois/Clark/Jon are a family, and Lois and Clark are the happy couple privately and publicly. The Kents being alive is optional but encouraged.

Alt Universe (Print/TV/Animated Movie): You may deviate from the characterizations in All-Start Superman as long as you make it clear that this is an Elseworld/Imaginary Story.

King belongs in the latter, and Bendis should only get to do the latter given his history of disrespect for past continuity/characterizations.

[Vordan]

Basically, the ground rules for getting to be a Superman creator should be as follows:

Main Universe (Print/Film/TV): The characterizations of All-Star Superman is required, not optional. If he were a god in a mythical pantheon, he'd be the god of the sun, hope, and life. Print only, Lois/Clark/Jon are a family, and Lois and Clark are the happy couple privately and publicly. The Kents being alive is optional but encouraged.

Alt Universe (Print/TV/Animated Movie): You may deviate from the characterizations in All-Start Superman as long as you make it clear that this is an Elseworld/Imaginary Story.

King belongs in the latter, and Bendis should only get to do the latter given his history of disrespect for past continuity/characterizations.

Sounds utterly boring. All-Star Superman was itself an Elseworld, why on Earth should it dictate how Superman is in the mainline? Batman was at his worst when he was written by writers aping Miller’s TDKR, I doubt seeing writers try to copy Morrison will end any better.

Your characterization is barebones. Clark has far more aspects to his personality than just “hope, light, or even life”. Some of his best stories have been about despair, darkness, or death.