Superman Speaks His Truth *Spoilers for Superman #18*

[Yoda]

I'm kinda into this. I like the scope of it as it seems to be looking to explore the ramifications of it across the line. They don't seem to be shying away from the impact it'd have on his job and it should be fun to see people like Luthor (which seems to presuppose Luthor returns to something like his normal self eventually). I like it far better than the scenario that BC cooked up (time to take the "L" Rich) which would have been gross and just unseemly IMO.

I particularly like that he's going to explore it from the angle of why does he have this secret, who is he really protecting and what is the cost of that. The idea that secret identities are necessary to protect their loved ones really is kinda strained, particularly in Superman's case because it's not like his association with Lois, Jimmy, Perry, or the Daily Planet in general is any real secret or ever has been. There's been a push recently to drop a lot of them and it's pretty telling that in most other media this gives way pretty quickly because it's seen as a shitty way to deal with people you supposedly care about.

The interesting thing will be how Bendis explores Clark's role as a reporter. He talked a lot about how that was one of the only things he choose to do for himself, the rest being his birthright, so I'm glad that the choice he's making to give that up is also for himself. Exploring what that means, and whether the UP stuff and however else it works out, fills that roll could be interesting.

Also, there are supposedly two one shots that are going to deal with this. This one, and presumably a "Villians" version.

As for the longevity of it all. Well, I'm of the opinion that DC has likely been told from on high that their publishing model needs to change. The parring down to a smaller number of books and the emphasis on the imprints and young adult lines is pretty significant. The audience for monthly floppies is a fraction of that of books like Smile, Dog Man, and the like. But we'll see.

[Celgress]

I do give Bendis credit. This is about the only truly compelling story you can tell with a traditional superhero that has not been overused unlike, for example, the tragic death of a love interest/sidekick, temporarily losing their powers or setting aside their superhero identity in favor of a successor.

[Tzigone]

Not important. Never mind.

[Superbat]

I’m confident Bendis will tell some great stories with this new status quo. Personally, I think the secret identity concept is outdated. That this pushes Superman into some new territory I think will be exciting. No way someone is going to put glasses on and blend in without people recognizing him. If he went to a complete disguise then I’d buy that. I can’t except glasses. I don’t really like secret identities on anyone. People will find out! That’s a guarantee.

It's a story about a flying man from space.

It isn't too much to ask for that we suspend our disbelief that Superman can go unrecognized with a pair of glasses.

[Frontier]

I’m confident Bendis will tell some great stories with this new status quo. Personally, I think the secret identity concept is outdated. That this pushes Superman into some new territory I think will be exciting. No way someone is going to put glasses on and blend in without people recognizing him. If he went to a complete disguise then I’d buy that. I can’t except glasses. I don’t really like secret identities on anyone. People will find out! That’s a guarantee.

Well, this isn't really disproving the concept since it actually works in-universe, just that he's revealing it himself.

[manwhohaseverything]

Fourteen years until Superman enters public domain. This might be the beginning of the end.

[Being intentionally melodramatic]

I would love superman entering public domain. If it meant people who loved the character gets to do something with without dc or wb or their nonsense

[sifighter]

I will say I like this better then the last time they did this with DCyou Superman because it sounds more like Superman decides to reveal his identity of his own accord and confidently as a more positive thing. That being instead of you know getting depowered, becoming kind of moody, and his identity forcibly revealed by Lois because villains were gonna abuse it or something(I honestly forget the key details of why she did it).

I’m just saying I like the imagery I’m seeing with this more then that so I’m at least willing to run with it to see where it goes.

[Badou]

All Bendis has done on his Superman run is just try and do as many shocking or surprising things as he can when the actual quality of the story has been really sub-par. It is telling when a story about Superman revealing his identity receives a collective "meh" from most of the fanbase. It is turning into a bigger mess than his X-Men run and that took a while to finally fix. Of course this won't last but I really think Bendis is going to leave the book in a bad state and whoever comes on after him will have to sort out this out. I don't think that Crisis event is going to reboot things and fix all this too because DC is figuring out their timeline and all this stuff is included in it unfortunately.

[Killerbee911]

I am interested for me Superman has always had two secret identities Clark Kent and Superman. So it is always interesting a story where Kal El doesn't have to hide being Kal El from anyone on Earth. It is a refreshing change to have all aspects of the character together out in the open and the character doesn't have to lie about anything anymore. I find secret identities to be dated but not every in comics hero should be out in the open, While I think Superman method of keeping secret should have been something that made a tad more sense Superman is one of the small group of characters where the trope is fine imo. That said superheroes like Batman, Spiderman and Superman we have seen so many stories with them trying to protect their secret that telling a good story about it finally being revealed and what would happen is interesting. I mean we know the genie can be put back into the bottle I mean as long it isn't with a devil who takes away his marriage who cares

[Agent Z]

Bebore that,there is a large amount of people in story that figured it out that he is Peter Parker.

Keep in mind that when Ultimate Spider-Man came out, it was very common in superhero comics for the heroes' secret identity to be known by a limited amount of people or for them to be public. So Bendis was just following an established trend.

[manwhohaseverything]

So, i have been thinking. Is superman getting replaced because he entering the public domain in few years? They might be pushing jon because jon won't be entering the public domain. Coupled with the fact that, jon won't be hindered by constraints that has to be dealt with while telling stories with clark. Jon is essentially a blank slate now. They can do whatever with him. Clark on the other hand has an established fanbase who might take issues with directions.
This might be a way to have clark be around and not be the main superman.

[adrikito]

REVEAL HIS IDENTITY for then make it secret again..

The previous time that this happened was a disaster(TRUTH).

What will happen with his work in the DAILY PLANET and CLARK KENT identity?

[seismic-2]

What will happen with his work in the DAILY PLANET and CLARK KENT identity?

Presumably that will be dropped, once he becomes president of earth.

[rpmaluki]

Bendis insists he's not getting rid of Clark. I take it he'll focus on the consequences of this reveal in his daily life, particular the DP which i assumed was either swept aside or ignored completely in the past. The horror that was "Truth" had him abandon pretty much everything for a supposed life on the road. Apart from his (and DC's) appalling treatment of Lois, we never truly saw the consequences of the reveal with Clark living his life no longer in the shadows. The true impact of this story lies not it the reveal (we've had a million of those that always get reconned due to inadequate planning) but in the people around him reacting to the reveal. Isn't that what made Reign of Supermen such a good story, because delving deep into a world without Superman was THE story and not a gimmick to exploit? This will likely be reconned away but I'm actually curious to see a Superman who's no longer hiding. I want to see a world that now knows the big guy is actually mild mannered Clark Kent and see them respond to that. Let me get the people's POV for real this time before doing away with it to begin again from a place of familiarity.

[DragonPiece]

Presumably that will be dropped, once he becomes president of earth.

Nope, Bendis just said on twitter Clark Kent will still be here and said keep reading.