Bendis's run: How'd it rank?

[LordUltimus]

Well, the last issue of Action Comics came out, might as well talk about it. How does Bendis' run on the Superman books rank among all the Superman runs you've read, and how do you feel about it?

[Jackalope89]

Cut it out from history, and toss it into the incinerator. He got good artists, and that's about all the positive I can say on it.

[Celgress]

I rank it as best to be forgotten trash tier.

I rank it so low not only because I hated it but also because of the potential lasting damage it has wrought on Superman as a viable comic book brand moving forward.

[charliehustle415]

If you have chatted with me you know that I am a big fan of Bendis' Marvel works, but this was so bad.

The thing with me is that I simply don't understand what his thesis was, I mean what was the point of the run?

Most writers have point to what they write, so what was the point of Bendis imploding Superman's family and imploding Superman's civilian identity?

What was Bendis' pitch for this run? I mean he introduced Leviathan, but for what end and why in a Superman book?

[Ascended]

Gave him a 4.

Bit generous of me, really, given the uneven pacing and a number of plot points and arcs that really didn't shine, including the stuff that "made sense" but wasn't given the necessary amount of panel time to marinate into a good story. Plenty of stuff to criticize, but gods know we've seen enough of that in this forum the last couple years so I'll leave it at that. But it was definitely better than Clark's modern "average run" of a 3 and definitely not a "consistently great" 5, so 4 it is!

Bendis got Clark's voice down better than almost anyone else, certainly better than any of DC's usual stable of writers who think he's either a perfect saint, a vanilla Everyman, or some combination of both, and Bendis made Metropolis and it's citizens matter in a way that we haven't seen in many years. He also pushed the franchise forward with the United Planets and open identity, and while I still have my doubts about DC's ability to manage that open ID with any nuance, understanding, or skill, I still appreciate the fact that Bendis pulled it off in a organic manner that felt authentic to where Clark's at in life, and ensured that Clark made the choice himself rather than having someone else leak it.

Never, ever thought I'd actually enjoy Bendis on Superman. Haven't really enjoyed much of his work since Daredevil and Ultimate Spidey. But I had a cautiously optimistic feeling when he was announced, and despite all the (many) flaws and Bendis-isms, I found his run to be far better than Tomasi's pedestrian, out of character Superdad, or the "throw crap at walls" nonsense that pervaded the New52.

[Rakzo]

Do you even have to ask?

[manofsteel1979]

I rank it a solid 3. Not a disaster but nothing special. As Ascended mentioned, he succeeded in making Metropolis and it's citizens matter in a way we haven't seen in almost 20 years,and while I should hate the idea of Clark's identity being outed,It was pulled off well and was done in a thoughtful way that seemed to be going somewhere. Plus he got Clark's voice more right than literally anyone that has written Superman in recent memories. Also his artists were mostly steller. At least in general he knew what he wanted to accomplish and he had a clear idea of Superman himself,even if he had less of a grasp on everything else.



However there were some questionable things done with the Superfamily,some half baked plots that went no where and some frankly baffling odd choices,continuity lapses.. and weird characterization problems. it is a mixed bag for sure and disappointing in many ways. Not as terrible as some make it out to be,but fell short of what this run could have been. I think the biggest issue was giving Bendis so much of the creative real estate. I think a co-writer on one or both books would have done wonders with helping develop certain aspects a maybe temper Bendis' worst impulses.

One thing I'm grateful for is that Bendis had the creative pull to bring back the classic Superman costume for at least awhile. While I enjoyed the Reborn suit, it's hard to top the classic look.

[Blue22]

I can't fairly vote since I didn't read the whole run...But the fact that I stopped after about 6 or 7 issues and had no desire to come back to it should say enough about how I felt. And giving it that long was me being generous.

I've followed Bendis since he was at Marvel. Almost all of my worst memories as a comic book reader are connected to him in some way. He's one of the few writers to get any kind of genuine emotion out of me...but it's never good emotions.

When he's good, he's good. Miles was good. His Avengers was good. Naomi was good. But when he's bad, he becomes my least favorite author in the history of...well, everything. So the fact that he, of all people, was brought on to Superman during a time in my life when I was actually starting to like Superman comics was....just my luck lol

[TheCape]

I rank it a solid 3. Not a disaster but nothing special. As Ascended mentioned, he succeeded in making Metropolis and it's citizens matter in a way we haven't seen in almost 20 years,and while I should hate the idea of Clark's identity being outed,It was pulled off well and was done in a thoughtful way that seemed to be going somewhere. Plus he got Clark's voice more right than literally anyone that has written Superman in recent memories. Also his artists were mostly steller. At least in general he knew what he wanted to accomplish and he had a clear idea of Superman himself,even if he had less of a grasp on everything else.



However there were some questionable things done with the Superfamily,some half baked plots that went no where and some frankly baffling odd choices,continuity lapses.. and weird characterization problems. it is a mixed bag for sure and disappointing in many ways. Not as terrible as some make it out to be,but fell short of what this run could have been. I think the biggest issue was giving Bendis so much of the creative real estate. I think a co-writer on one or both books would have done wonders with helping develop certain aspects a maybe temper Bendis' worst impulses.

One thing I'm grateful for is that Bendis had the creative pull to bring back the classic Superman costume for at least awhile. While I enjoyed the Reborn suit, it's hard to top the classic look.

Yeah, this is pretty much me, some interesting concepts, ideas and some decent attempts to give Metropolis some importance back. But as whole is really uneven, especially with some parts in charactherization, even if his Superman voice was good most of the time.

Granted i'm not finished with the run yet, i haven't read House Of Kents nor the last 6 issues of Superman, but i think that i know enought to have a decent opinion on it.

[Vordan]

Gave him a 4.

Bit generous of me, really, given the uneven pacing and a number of plot points and arcs that really didn't shine, including the stuff that "made sense" but wasn't given the necessary amount of panel time to marinate into a good story. Plenty of stuff to criticize, but gods know we've seen enough of that in this forum the last couple years so I'll leave it at that. But it was definitely better than Clark's modern "average run" of a 3 and definitely not a "consistently great" 5, so 4 it is!

Bendis got Clark's voice down better than almost anyone else, certainly better than any of DC's usual stable of writers who think he's either a perfect saint, a vanilla Everyman, or some combination of both, and Bendis made Metropolis and it's citizens matter in a way that we haven't seen in many years. He also pushed the franchise forward with the United Planets and open identity, and while I still have my doubts about DC's ability to manage that open ID with any nuance, understanding, or skill, I still appreciate the fact that Bendis pulled it off in a organic manner that felt authentic to where Clark's at in life, and ensured that Clark made the choice himself rather than having someone else leak it.

Never, ever thought I'd actually enjoy Bendis on Superman. Haven't really enjoyed much of his work since Daredevil and Ultimate Spidey. But I had a cautiously optimistic feeling when he was announced, and despite all the (many) flaws and Bendis-isms, I found his run to be far better than Tomasi's pedestrian, out of character Superdad, or the "throw crap at walls" nonsense that pervaded the New52.

Yeah this sums up my own thoughts as well. Aside from Romita Jr. the art was amazing as well, so glad Reis got to come back and draw some more Superman.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

It was a mixed bag to be sure. The highs were very high, but there was a lot of misfires and dead-ends as well.

I loved the Invisible Mafia stuff, but it sort of ended with a "meh" thanks to JRJR's underwhelming art.

I still have no clue what the whole Rogal Zhar/Jor-El stuff was supposed to be about.

I like Bendis/Sook's Legion, but I fail to understand why it needed to be a reboot. Why not just set it in the 32nd Century like he originally said it would be?

The Jon stuff was oddly rushed, while other stuff was glacial in pace.

The art was generally fantastic.

And, most importantly, Bendis absolutely nailed Clark's voice. He understood how to write him as a person, even if the stories surrounding him were sometimes lacking.

[Sacred Knight]

Gave it a 2, because I do feel it had potential because I still feel that Bendis wrote Superman himself well, and the very early days of the run were quite good. It was just buried in gimmicks over time.

[Immortal Hulk]

I rank it as best to be forgotten trash tier.

I rank it so low not only because I hated it but also because of the potential lasting damage it has wrought on Superman as a viable comic book brand moving forward.

Trash tier, indeed.

[Riv86672]

Gave him a 4.

Bit generous of me, really, given the uneven pacing and a number of plot points and arcs that really didn't shine, including the stuff that "made sense" but wasn't given the necessary amount of panel time to marinate into a good story. Plenty of stuff to criticize, but gods know we've seen enough of that in this forum the last couple years so I'll leave it at that. But it was definitely better than Clark's modern "average run" of a 3 and definitely not a "consistently great" 5, so 4 it is!

Bendis got Clark's voice down better than almost anyone else, certainly better than any of DC's usual stable of writers who think he's either a perfect saint, a vanilla Everyman, or some combination of both, and Bendis made Metropolis and it's citizens matter in a way that we haven't seen in many years. He also pushed the franchise forward with the United Planets and open identity, and while I still have my doubts about DC's ability to manage that open ID with any nuance, understanding, or skill, I still appreciate the fact that Bendis pulled it off in a organic manner that felt authentic to where Clark's at in life, and ensured that Clark made the choice himself rather than having someone else leak it.

Never, ever thought I'd actually enjoy Bendis on Superman. Haven't really enjoyed much of his work since Daredevil and Ultimate Spidey. But I had a cautiously optimistic feeling when he was announced, and despite all the (many) flaws and Bendis-isms, I found his run to be far better than Tomasi's pedestrian, out of character Superdad, or the "throw crap at walls" nonsense that pervaded the New52.

^^^that was a great read, ty.
I went w. 4 as well, if only for the simple fact it’s the most interested I’ve been in the character since before the New 52. This was the closest to “my” Superman I’ve seen in years.

[Journey]

I think it was complete trash from start to finish Plus Ultra levels of Mediocrity.