Superman issue #16 (Super Sons reunite) preview/(spoiler) discussion

[Frontier]

This is basically where I am.

Funny enough, the vocab Bendis has Damian use doesn't really bother me mostly because of the hilarious and strangely fitting image of Damian with a fidget spinner over in the Batman/Deathstroke crossover by Priest. Before that image I kind of had Damian as this little adult caricature at default (not counting the more subtle nuances). Morrison's Batman Inc 2012 made me remember he was a kid, but that image made it click that he's a modern kid.

If he'd just strive for a few more of his verbal signatures, I think Bendis could have a really solid Damian.

I'm just reminded of Tim Seeley who seemed to be able capture Damian as a kid well while still getting his voice down to pat. And established he loves arcades .

(But yeah, some of the words Damian said here I just can't buy him saying at all).

[Rac7d*]

The older Jon looks really weird, but I appreciate Lafuente in general and his ability to tweak his style on a frequent basis.

Damian saying "yo!" is one of those Bendis things where you wonder just how deliberate. But I always like the way he does Damian's personality. I guess you can say he's a hard character to write poorly.

He looks like a plastic action figure, and why are his black pants blue

[Jackalope89]

It was pointed out in the Damian Wayne thread, but Jon in that last image looks like Anakin Skywalker.

[Blue22]

I was corrected. Apparently he looks like Kylo Ren lol

Honestly...I can see both. Makes sense considering the two are related.

[Pohzee]

Both saying “yo” and playing arcades are hardly contemporary. That’s like 20 years outdated at this point, practically the equivalent of the “hip” speak in the ‘60s Teen Titans.

The fidget spinner is on point though.

[Tzigone]

Both saying “yo” and playing arcades are hardly contemporary. That’s like 20 years outdated at this point, practically the equivalent of the “hip” speak in the ‘60s Teen Titans.

The fidget spinner is on point though.

Oh, don't me think of that slang in '60s Teen Titans. It's painful to read. I really don't know what slang was in, though. I wondered when reading it if it was so fake sounding to me because I wasn't used to it, and it would sound more natural to ear if I was. For example, I watched Mod Squad (late '60s to early '70s) and there was slang there that would been jarring to read in a period piece, but sounded perfectly natural when the characters used it.

Fidget spinners have been in a few years now - do you think it a fad and how long will it last? While I do fidget, I've never been interested in a dedicated fidgeting device, so haven't paid attention to popularity. I'm just curious as to how long their popularity lasts relative to slap bracelets.

[Superlad93]

Very fun issue. Lot of great moments. The structure seemed to be a homage to Damian and Jon's first patrol back in the Old Man Damian arc in Super Sons. But beyond that I love how this is their version of holding a conversation. They're saving the city (and sometimes the world) while talking about "future college" and current events. I wonder how Jon's gonna go about asking if Damian can join? My guess is that Damian's about to become the Legion's first official honorary member/reserve member. It was common place for Clark's friends to become honorary members or reserve members (Jimmy, Lana, and Pete) in past continuities.

The moment with Clark at the end was really solid stuff. The stand out moment for me personally was Clark pointing out that he never had as many choices as Jon did when he was growing up. There's a lot to unpack there in terms of narrative, but it's the allegory that really hit me. As the son of immigrants myself, I've had a version of that talk just before college, actually. From a narrative standpoint, it's reinforcing Bendis' idea that being Superman was something that was in part placed on Clark's shoulders (Event Leviathan issue #5 kind of elaborates, and I can now pretty much agree with the line of logic there). And the fact that Jon has these choices even being Superboy is a choice for him) is a testament to the world and life Clark and Lois have built for him and his peers. That's genuinely a beautiful sentiment to transcribe onto a comic about super people.

Glad we addressed the "will he ever be home again" thing. As expected, it's an update to the silver age back and forth deal. But Bendis really wants to hammer home that this is less like an after school club, and more like college (which makes sense given the fact that apparently all the members are from different worlds in the UP), so he'll likely be home for breaks, holidays, and some weekends. In a narrative sense, he can kind of be home as little or as often as anyone wants.

I also liked the little quite moment at the end with Clark. It really says it all. He's happy for his son, but this was still very hard. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say he didn't want to influence Jon's choice with his own. I noticed that he waited only till after Jon made his choice, and most importantly he approached his advice from the perspective what he would feel at a similar age, rather than how this is making him feel now as a father.

Edit: Damian throwing baterangs at Jon's head while he's trying to talk, and the unstoppable super hug were great too. And I really dug how they could still argue, get in each others faces, and just chill out without the slightest hint of condescension on Jon's part. That's still his best friend in the whole world.

[manwhohaseverything]

So, this issue foreshadowed jon being superman. The 5g thing might be spot on. I knew going in that this wasn't going to be great or decent at the very least. I was surprised not at the quality. Which was as expected. Abysmal . But, how bendis referenced the "older and taller" thing is what that did it. I never thought bendis actually read supersons(maybe he hasn't. He might have gotten some notes or something).
Anyways, Bendis doesn't get jon or damian. His voice for them were atrocious. Their dynamic was ok. I liked some stuff the batarang thing and hug was something i expect them both to do to each other . But, everything else was pure unadulterated trash.

I liked superman's "lack of choices" speech growing up. And how if he had the same offer he would take it. It felt like irony that Clark's choice /offer was taken from him and given to his son by the metaverse and manhattan. Really felt bad for the original superboy. It also gives clear indication of how hard it was for clark growing up alone like an outsider.

I am still dreading this direction for jon. it might end up killing the character as awhole. I would want jon to be around present more often than not. I don't care for the only breaks thing. I hope this isn't a ploy to disconnect jon's connection to his parents and remove it completely later on when they do their damn reboot nonsense. It feels a lot like what they did to mon and kal relation,which doesn't exist anymore.

[Blue22]

Well this was....cute. Didn't hate it. Didn't even remotely like it though. I did like that Damian hugged Jon before he left. But.....I never want Bendis writing Damian Wayne EVER again. Good lord, he does not know how to write this kid. I thought people might have been exaggerating because Damian is, by no means, a difficult character to write. But holy **** he spent most of the issue sounding more like an amalgam of Dick and Tim. Bendis' voice for Jon is....okay. But his Damian is terrible.

So yeah, Legion is basically Super college, like Lois called it. Whoopee, I guess. Is it too late for Marvel to take Bendis back? And Didio. After three straight years of loving DC, I'm getting tired of now finishing a story and thinking "....meh".

[Sam]

Yeah, that was pretty much what expected. Terrible out-of-character Damian dialogue used basically to justify Bendis's terrible Jon direction, attempts at pandering to the fun-loving aspects of Super Sons while understanding little of the draw of that series (I wouldn't be surprised if Bendis hasn't actually read that much of Super Sons), and random references to sex that are extremely weird for both Damian and Jon. He needs to get far away from both these characters.

Edit: If he had read any of Tomasi's work with Damian, he might have known Damian is a vegetarian.

[Journey]

At this point I just wish Jon had been killed off as a kid. Him going out in a blaze of glory would have been preferable. Bendis ruined Supersons for me and he ruined Jon for me. Some people like this I don't get why, but Bendis does have a lot of yes men for fans. I'm just not for this **** it's been badly executed from beginning to present IMO. *shrugs*

[Blue22]

At this point I just wish Jon had been killed off as a kid. Him going out in a blaze of glory would have been preferable.

I hate how much i agree with this. Death in comics usually doesn't mean jack ****. At least if he was dead in Bendis' run there'd be a better chance of the next writer who comes along bringing him back to how he was xD

****, dying and coming back was actually pretty good for Damian lol

[manwhohaseverything]

At this point I just wish Jon had been killed off as a kid. Him going out in a blaze of glory would have been preferable. Bendis ruined Supersons for me and he ruined Jon for me. Some people like this I don't get why, but Bendis does have a lot of yes men for fans. I'm just not for this **** it's been badly executed from beginning to present IMO. *shrugs*

That would have been better. This just dragging people on for no reason.

[Blue22]

I wouldn't say no reason. There is a reason. Bendis has made that very clear. It's just....I hate his reasons

[Frontier]

Well this was....cute. Didn't hate it. Didn't even remotely like it though. I did like that Damian hugged Jon before he left. But.....I never want Bendis writing Damian Wayne EVER again. Good lord, he does not know how to write this kid. I thought people might have been exaggerating because Damian is, by no means, a difficult character to write. But holy **** he spent most of the issue sounding more like an amalgam of Dick and Tim. Bendis' voice for Jon is....okay. But his Damian is terrible.

From what I've seen it seems like Bendis just writes Damian as a more typical quippy, angsty, and confrontational teenager...but that's not what he's supposed to sound like at all.