Superverse 2019 - Year In Review

[daBronzeBomma]

The calendar year 2019 is almost up. 11 months and change down, a couple weeks to go before 2020 and the new decade gets here.

So, let's all review:

A. How was 2019 overall for Superman the character?

B. How was 2019 overall for Superman the franchise (aka the Superverse)?

How would you grade this calendar year (commonly thought of as the final year of the 2010s) for the Big Guy?

Poll forthcoming.

[Sacred Knight]

I'd say typical for both. For Superman himself, late spring saw the end of Rebirth and worst of the boring "Superdad" take, and Bendis got off to a decent start revitalizing his voice and letting him spread his wings from the prison of family man. Autumn saw things take a turn. That bad stuff, losing the Legion all over again and this removal of the secret id, are bad enough that the year takes a huge hit, but happened late enough that I don't think its fair to drop the entire year down to D or F scale (that's being saved for 2020, apparently). So I round it down to C.

For the whole franchise its much the same thing, Superman's supporting cast saw a revival which helps the lore, mid-year saw the return of Conner, and Supergirl is as steady as she can get (though right now she's stuck with this Infected crap, which is just Dark Supergirl all over again). But then there's the teen Jon controversy, the continuity remains just one gigantic tangled ball of mess, the Jor-El situation wasn't resolved satisfactorily, and Superman lost his tie to the Legion which counts heavily as a lore-based failure as well as a characterization loss for Superman himself.

Long story short, late 2019 began the process of dropping things off a cliff, its just the thud won't happen till the new year.

[Blue22]

My own personal feelings about certain things aside, I'mma go ahead and give this year a C. It's not New 52 levels of low. But it's not the high point that I felt Rebirth put Supes on track towards reaching. Like a lot of post-Rebirth titles, things are moving forward when it comes to innovation, but it feels like they're taking steps back in terms of being enjoyable. I'm getting a lot of "we've never gone this route before so that automatically means it's a good idea" vibes.

Superman, Teen Titans, Young Justice, Batman, Nightwing. This year for all of these characters has been "meh" at best, in spite of the authors' experimental approaches with them.

[Jackalope89]

Kept taking steps back. Nearly everything I didn't want to happen, did. And yes, that includes more than just Jon.

Honestly, I can say that about a lot of DC lately, comics wise at least.

[daBronzeBomma]

Overall, went with a B, although it's technically a B-.

We're roughly where we were this time last year. 2019 was the first full year of Brian Michael Bendis in control of the Superverse.

He continues to be a mixed bag for me. In a vacuum, it seems like Bendis gets Supes. But with Supes' own wife and son, Bendis clearly doesn't.

He's swinging for the fences with this double-whammy of a single public identity plus becoming "president of Earth".

Both ideas lend credence to the idea that DC will blow it all up in a few years and start everyone over from scratch ... probably in 2025 (DC's 90th anniversary).

The Good in 2019:

1. Bendis keeping the Super- titles in the spotlight in general
2. Public Identity seems like it will last the rest of Bendis' tenure on the Superverse (SUPERMAN #50 is the likely endpoint), so we should see this idea played out to its natural conclusion.
3. Conner returns to the DCU.
4. Announcement of SUPERMAN & LOIS television show on CW network next year
5. Crisis on Infinite Earths TV miniseries with 3 different Supermen
4. Jon Cryer as the absolute best Lex Luthor ever
5. Lois Lane gets her long- overdue solo (maxi) series
6. Superman Smashes The Klan


The Bad in 2019:

1. Jon being aged up
2. Jon stealing Clark's place in forming the Legion of Superheroes
3. Lois and Clark becoming the universe's dumbest parents overnight due to Jor-El
4. The ultimately pointless character assassination of Jor-El
5. The ultimately pointless existence of Rogol Zaar.

The good barely outweighed the bad, enough to slip past the C range.

[Jackalope89]

Aw, crap. Forgot about other media.

I'd bump it up to a C with that.

[manwhohaseverything]

My own personal feelings about certain things aside, I'mma go ahead and give this year a C. It's not New 52 levels of low. But it's not the high point that I felt Rebirth put Supes on track towards reaching. Like a lot of post-Rebirth titles, things are moving forward when it comes to innovation, but it feels like they're taking steps back in terms of being enjoyable. I'm getting a lot of "we've never gone this route before so that automatically means it's a good idea" vibes.

Superman, Teen Titans, Young Justice, Batman, Nightwing. This year for all of these characters has been "meh" at best, in spite of the authors' experimental approaches with them.

I would take morrison's, pak's or heck! Snyder's unchained over anything currently.New52 was far better than this year for me .

[Celgress]

I'll give it a C.

[Yoda]

I gave it a "B". Comics side, Bendis has kinda evened out with his run. Action has had a better run this year, while Superman kinda leveled off. Leviathan Rising was great, the Leviathan Special was awesome. Over in Superman though, Bendis kinda went downhill. Jon's flashbacks, and the back half of the Unity Saga was all over the place. Superman 18 closed out the year on a high note though, and I'm intrigued about where this is all going. We've gotten the excellent Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen series this year, both of which are solid. I thought Lois Lane 6 was one of the best single issue Lois stories we've ever gotten (as a part of the greater whole of the series, it is kinda a interlude, but really as a stand alone, it's a fantastic character book.) Jimmy Olsen is going to be an evergreen, I'm willing to bet. So much fun. Both are great supplements to the monthly Super books. Legion had a solid first issue and I really like the overall premise. Out of the main DCU, Superman Smashes the Klan is excellent so far and King's Walmart series had several really interesting issues in the back half. The Superfamily had some great moments in DCeased as well.

Outside of comics, I've enjoyed Crisis on Infinite Earths so far, I think Hoechlin is being handled well, Routh is doing great, and Tulloch is solidifying herself as Lois Lane. I enjoyed the Smallville section as well, even if I don't agree with the choice they made for Welling's Superman. We're getting a Supermen and Lois Lane show, so that is highly anticipated for next year. Reign of the Supermen came out in January, and that was a really good too. So overall, I'd say outside media has been a lot of great stuff.

Negatives would be Year One, which was just awful. And the Lois issue of Up in the Sky dropped last January, which is also a terrible comic, and still kinda mars an otherwise really great run for King there. And Bendis kinda losing the thread on the Unity Saga with the second half of the story. It's not bad in the sense of Year One, it was just a misfire with over a years worth of comics to kinda putter out and end an epic story.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

Easy B - Bendis was good, King was amazing except for that Lois story, Loveness had his two Lois stories, Lois and Jimmy's books, Sixth Dimension as Superman's spotlight arc in Justice League, great stuff in Crisis, even Year One was the interesting kind of bad, and Superman & Lois is tentatively in the cards. Not quite enough to pull it across the board into all-timer territory, but his best year since...boy, probably 2008ish?

[titansupes]

-- Loving Bendis on these books. He's captured so much of Superman's voice in a way few have over the last... many years, and it's a treat to read. Plus, he's genuinely shaking things up-- not by deconstruction or artificially imposing grittiness or whatever-- but by embracing and evolving things. The negatives are the pacing issues and some missed hits here and there, in terms of story decisions or execution, and some of the supporting characters voices... But the good well and truly outweighs the bad.
-- Enjoy King's book.
-- Jimmy and Lois books have been a bit 'meh' for me. Comics are expensive here in Australia, so 'meh' is enough for me to have dropped them. But as a fan of the characters, I'm thrilled they're happening at all.
-- For as little 'screentime' (pagetime?) Superman has had in Doomsday Clock, what he HAS had has been high quality. I usually enjoy Johns Superman, but he really has upped his game here so far. And it's always nice having Supes play a key part in a big book and the universe in general.
-- Year One... I still haven't read it. But any year with a prestige Superman comic is welcome to me. I'll have to check that out, maybe tonight.
-- Enjoyed the Sixth Dimension arc, even though I'm not following JL.
-- Getting over the utterly horrible quality of the CW stuff in general-- Hoechlin continues to give a good performance even though he's-- by necessity-- jobbed and shunted to the background.
-- Routh's Superman has always held a special place in my heart, so seeing him reprise the role-- even in this form-- has been a great gift. Glad he got a nice suit and a more confident demeanour, and thrilled that he's been so well received by the fandom this time around.
-- Was never the biggest SV guy, but it was a nice little nostalgia hit seeing that version again. And you know what, even though I think SV Clark is a fool for so easily dismissing the DESTRUCTION OF EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIMSELF AND HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTERS... I thought that scene was arguably the best done of the whole Crisis so far, along with 90's Flash big scene. Welling did well, the music etc.
-- There's a new show coming! Where Hoechlin Superman can be the actual star and won't have to take a back seat! Come on, that's great.

Really solid B. Would've taken some better pacing from Bendis and higher overall quality from the CW to take it to an A, but overall, I'm happy.

[Jon Clark]

We haven't hit Electric Superman and the Millennial Giants territory yet or the Action Comics just before Crisis stuff, so the comics still could get worse. That said Bendis has missed for me far more than he has hit.

Don't like Superman as President of Earth.
Hated the whole Jor-El and Rogol Zaar
The invisible Mafia showed some promise but wound up hi-jacked by Leviathan and whatever is going on in JLA.
Haven't got Superman #18 yet, but it will take a lot for me to enjoy a public ID. That is like the exact opposite of what makes Superman the character I enjoy.
Legion, Supergirl, and Jimmy Olsen are either dropped or about to be. Lois Lane isn't quite interesting me, either but I'm willing to ride out the last half of the story.

Outside of the comics the TV Crisis was a great showing for Superman, it's just not a large enough part of stuff to offset the comics.

Overall grade: D with little hope 2020 will raise the grade.

[Ascended]

Solid B. Really, not a bad year at all, when everything gets totaled up. Tail end of Rebirth wasn't anything to write home about though.

Bendis' Action has been largely fantastic, and Event Leviathan was quality (even though I think the Mark Shaw thing was half a cheat). Metropolis and Clark Kent haven't gotten this much development or attention in forever. Action also gave us Chaz, who is a national treasure. I'd say Action and Leviathan on their own have been B+, A level material.

Superman's more of a mixed bag. Some big wins, some big loses. I appreciate the bigger focus on the cosmic side of the character, I adore bringing in the United Planets and the frenemy status with Zod. I'm impartial to Jon being aged up, but it was a premature move and the potential of Space Prince Jon hasn't been achieved. This book has wandered and been a lot less cohesive than Action. But when Superman gets it right, it knocks it out of the park. I give it a C.

Haven't been reading Supergirl but the sales don't speak well of it. Probably a break even, C effort there.

Lois and Jimmy have books. Which are excellent. A++.

Having the balls to try and out Clark as Superman, and building it in a way that's obviously supposed to be long-term? That gets an A for sheer audacity.

The Wonder Line, if we can include it as under the Super umbrella, is definitely A grade material. All those books have been damn fun and solid, and Naomi should be in the running for "best book of the year." Worst title of the bunch seems to be Young Justice, but it's still a solid ride and it got Conner back and mostly recognizable.

We've got the Legion back, which is wonderful. They've been pulled out of Clark's origin again, which is not. I figure that balances out to a C. Haven't had a chance to read Legion yet (or any comics for the last six weeks) but if it's a good title that C might become a B. The Legion has been out of Clark's origin for a long time and even though I think its criminal, we've managed to stagger on and I'll take a good Legion book over a Legion that's only used in reference to Clark's origin.

Three animated films were announced this year, which is good. Whether they're worth watching is a problem for next year, but the announcements and the positive showings of Clark and Conner in YJ season 3 earn a B for the cartoon side of things.

Well received showings in the CW Crisis and news of a new live action show. I don't watch the CW but it's great Clark's getting another show, even if I'm not the target audience for this one. Seems like a B.

Sadly a fun cameo in Shazam doesn't save the movie grade from a F. Potentially losing Henry Cavill and the continued silence on a new Super-film fail the movies like a pagan at Sunday school.

[Kuwagaton]

Surprisingly I guess I might have to say a B.

The opening shot of MoS and first arcs of each title last year, with spin offs, were solid. The following arcs on Superman and Action though have been pretty stale. Action Comics was initially helped by Leviathan but I don't think that really landed as an event. I dropped Action a few months ago and that's not something I had considered doing since I picked up again in 2016. Superman is kind of hanging on stunts but the execution has been decent. Supergirl, Jimmy, and the mini series (KKK, YO, Up) overall have been solid. Still have to binge the Lois comic. LoSH, JL, YJ, and whatever cameos are also not bad. I think there have been two great collections. That's a high C or low B for me.

The live action stuff... eh. Not into it so I can't judge. It's good because that kinda stuff is much more popular and wide spread than any comic though.

[Digifiend]

Bendis has been bad news for Jon (teen Jon just isn't the same at all), but good news for Conner (rescued from a reboot induced limbo), Lois, and Jimmy (who got their own books) as well as Kara (whose book had been cancelled before Bendis came along - it was brought back but retooled to tie-in to the Superman storyline). And a new TV show got announced as well. Overall, it's a win.