How Long is Bendis Going to Stay on Superman?

[Timothy Hunter]

Has Bendis ever said outright how many issues his run will consist of on Superman and Action Comics?

How long do you want Bendis to be writing the Big Blue Boyscout?

[Ascended]

I think he said a little while ago that he's already written more than he expected, or something along those lines. But I don't think he's said how long his run will be.

I'm generally enjoying his work, outside of a few issues that haven't been terribly enjoyable and a few creative choices I disagree with. But I think his run is infinitely better than what we usually have and Bendis actually seems to understand the character, which is something DC itself doesn't. So Bendis can stick around as long as he likes as far as I'm concerned.

He's managed to piss off a bunch of posters here, but I don't give a rat's ass about Jon being aged up and I'm willing to trade the Legion in Clark's origin for the United Planets being an active concept Clark deals with on a regular basis (still want the Legion for Clark but I'll accept the trade), and I'm digging this "next step in life" approach Bendis is spinning. Generally I wouldn't agree with Clark going public with his identity or becoming involved in politics. But Clark today is in a very different place in life than what we usually imagine, and a lot of what Bendis is doing has plenty of precedence behind it in the form of stories set in the near future. So I'm cool with (most of) it.

Bendis can stick around until he runs out of good ideas. From my perspective, what usually happens is DC will put a good creator on Superman for a brief time, then spend at least a few years giving us garbage, and then the cycle repeats. I'm not looking forward to Bendis leaving and starting that cycle again, it's been nice having Superman on my pull list and I don't want to drop the books.

[Superlad93]

TLDR: He was brought on specifically to do a very, very long run.

Read on for greater detail and sources.

The most clear Bendis has been on the matter is him on a Word Balloon interview saying that he was hired with the understanding that he'd be "rolling up [his] sleeves and doing a number" and not some couple dozen issues and he's gone thing. He went on to say that that's what he'd personally want from a creator, and especially from a creator who was bringing in so much new and change. And recently on a Comic Pop interview he said that he was offered both books with the idea that he was legitimately taking over Superman.

As Ascended pointed, he also recently said that he's gone over what he expected to write on Superman. Normally that would clash with his previous statements, but we also have the added wrinkle of 5G, which Bendis is confirmed to be a part of, to factor in. In the Word Balloon interview regarding the reveal of the Clark Kent identity, Bendis makes mention (in a non direct way) of 5G and how Jon's destiny that he's been setting up in Superman will be revealed in Legion, and then it and other story points will spill back out into the DCU proper. We've since confirmed (via issue 5 of Legion) that he was talking about Jon being Superman when he's grown.

From that I can only imagine that Bendis was talking semantics. Meaning, he's now written more Clark Kent Superman than he originally planned for, but his run on the Superman IP would still technically continue with Jon Kent as Superman like he's been personally grooming. The shift that made it so Bendis is now writing more Clark Kent Superman than the upcoming Jon Kent Superman seems to be due to the shake up with DiDio's exit. Reports are hazy if 5G will still happen, but with the Jon Kent tease in Legion seeing the light of day, Snyder's Death Metal now being what ushers in the Generational timeline, and WB/AT&T apparently still pushing for this (they apparently see adaptation potential here), it seems to still be on but altered. We've even heard that instead of an immediate line-wide launch, there will be a more gradual roll out. That may be the reason for Bendis now writing more Clark-Superman than he originally signed on for.

______________

But all that's moot right now because of the state of the actual world. All production on big projects like 5G have been put on hold at DC, and the same is true for Marvel. But unlike Marvel, DC is still in production with monthly stuff, and the writers and artist have been told to keep it going. Bendis commented on this on the Comic Pop interview saying that it'll allow for Legion to get back on scheduled (as it had been noticeably slipping) and keep its high art quality with Sook.

[Vordan]

I think 50 issues for both Superman and Action are what Bendis *wants* to do. No real reason why just a gut feeling. I like his ambition and his Bronze Age sensibilities. I like his voice for Superman. I like the side books he’s gotten set up and made. I’m cool with him continuing on for as long as he likes right now. With Didio gone however, it’s unclear whether the current status quo will continue.

[DragonPiece]

My hope is he wraps up his run in both superman and action omics by the fall as it seemed like most DC books are currently reaching towards a conclusion before 5G was supposed to originally start.

[Ascended]

My hope is he wraps up his run in both superman and action omics by the fall as it seemed like most DC books are currently reaching towards a conclusion before 5G was supposed to originally start.

You know what, I'd rather read more about this phase of Clark's life than have Jon replace Clark in the books.

I have no problem with Jon becoming the next Superman. I mean, I don't really think there *should* be a next Superman, I don't think that's a mantle that should be a legacy. But that's not the world we live in so Jon is as good as anyone and better than most, if we have to have replacements at all. I'd be willing to read a "Superman Beyond" book with Jon at the helm.

But how many "What If?" stories have we seen where Clark's gone public, retired from the Planet, all that "it'll happen someday" stuff? Tons. There's tons of stories out of continuity or set in the never-reachable future that touch on the subject, but we've never seen it tried, in a organic and honest way, in the main canon. We've had plenty of gimmicks, but stuff like Truth was never designed to last forever, it was always about the shock and the shake up more than it was about advancing the overall narrative. This is different, it's not a attention grabbing deviation from the norm....it's a attention grabbing advancement of the story. Like the marriage was. Like Jon was (and still is). And I want to see what can be done with this part of Clark's life that we've seen glimpses of but never actually lived in.

It's all gonna reboot anyway, and this is *new.* Y'know how rare it is to get something like that?

[DragonPiece]

You know what, I'd rather read more about this phase of Clark's life than have Jon replace Clark in the books.

I have no problem with Jon becoming the next Superman. I mean, I don't really think there *should* be a next Superman, I don't think that's a mantle that should be a legacy. But that's not the world we live in so Jon is as good as anyone and better than most, if we have to have replacements at all. I'd be willing to read a "Superman Beyond" book with Jon at the helm.

But how many "What If?" stories have we seen where Clark's gone public, retired from the Planet, all that "it'll happen someday" stuff? Tons. There's tons of stories out of continuity or set in the never-reachable future that touch on the subject, but we've never seen it tried, in a organic and honest way, in the main canon. We've had plenty of gimmicks, but stuff like Truth was never designed to last forever, it was always about the shock and the shake up more than it was about advancing the overall narrative. This is different, it's not a attention grabbing deviation from the norm....it's a attention grabbing advancement of the story. Like the marriage was. Like Jon was (and still is). And I want to see what can be done with this part of Clark's life that we've seen glimpses of but never actually lived in.

It's all gonna reboot anyway, and this is *new.* Y'know how rare it is to get something like that?

I'm kinda just rolling with whatever DC does at this point, I stopped really worrying about status quo changes after they killed off new 52 superman and had to get forced into accepting post crisis superman. That's why this teen Jon kent change never bothered me that much.

As long as we get good stories, I'm fine by it. I've been a support of Bendis for the most part on here so I don't mind if this status quo continues a bit longer, but I'm kinda ready for new blood on the books.

[lotchj]

If Jon replaces Clark as superman and DC comics does do the 5G thing!! It will be the death of DC comics!! Comics are almost dead anyway!!

[manwhohaseverything]

You know what, I'd rather read more about this phase of Clark's life than have Jon replace Clark in the books.

I have no problem with Jon becoming the next Superman. I mean, I don't really think there *should* be a next Superman, I don't think that's a mantle that should be a legacy. But that's not the world we live in so Jon is as good as anyone and better than most, if we have to have replacements at all. I'd be willing to read a "Superman Beyond" book with Jon at the helm.

But how many "What If?" stories have we seen where Clark's gone public, retired from the Planet, all that "it'll happen someday" stuff? Tons. There's tons of stories out of continuity or set in the never-reachable future that touch on the subject, but we've never seen it tried, in a organic and honest way, in the main canon. We've had plenty of gimmicks, but stuff like Truth was never designed to last forever, it was always about the shock and the shake up more than it was about advancing the overall narrative. This is different, it's not a attention grabbing deviation from the norm....it's a attention grabbing advancement of the story. Like the marriage was. Like Jon was (and still is). And I want to see what can be done with this part of Clark's life that we've seen glimpses of but never actually lived in.

It's all gonna reboot anyway, and this is *new.* Y'know how rare it is to get something like that?

I would like to read jon as superman. Bendis has set him up as the man of tomorrow. But, that's not largely a forgotten epithet of superman . I would rather jon be like luffy and cause clark, kara headache. You know, goldenage style. Besides, jon is pretty mischievous and adventurous. He has a certain disregard for rules as well.

Scene starts at headquarters of united planets

Clark blissfully eats crackers as president of united planets. While, a female figure barges in angrily with some papers and slams it on Clark's desk.
kara as Secretary, "Claaaark!!!! Your son is causing trouble. Again!!!!!!!"
Then clark would, "That's my boy. Aha! Ha! Ha! ". */eats crackers. Cracking sound fx/*.
"Dammit! Clark, this is no laughing matter. Why is it that, it's always your son in the middle of all the chaos?"
Kara angrily takes the crackers away and eats it all.
"Those are mine! Give them back!!!"
Kara says, " be quiet!"
Clark being like "ooo!!!"
Note:-This scene plagurised from one piece.

[Vordan]

I'm kinda just rolling with whatever DC does at this point, I stopped really worrying about status quo changes after they killed off new 52 superman and had to get forced into accepting post crisis superman. That's why this teen Jon kent change never bothered me that much.

As long as we get good stories, I'm fine by it. I've been a support of Bendis for the most part on here so I don't mind if this status quo continues a bit longer, but I'm kinda ready for new blood on the books.

You reading Venditti’s Superman arc? I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how much I’m enjoying him. He wrote a good Zod over in Hal N’ Pals and I really like his Superman so far as well. Wouldn’t mind him getting one of the books if Bendis eventually steps down to just one book, which will probably be Action.

[Lvenger]

I'm kinda just rolling with whatever DC does at this point, I stopped really worrying about status quo changes after they killed off new 52 superman and had to get forced into accepting post crisis superman. That's why this teen Jon kent change never bothered me that much.

As long as we get good stories, I'm fine by it. I've been a support of Bendis for the most part on here so I don't mind if this status quo continues a bit longer, but I'm kinda ready for new blood on the books.

I second Vordan's recommendation of Venditti's Man of Tomorrow series. If you're not enjoying the current direction of Superman, Venditti's Superman is a breath of fresh air. It's not a groundbreaking revolutionary take on Superman but it is a back to basics enjoyable read. Simplistic one off stories set in a non canon universe with Superman, Lois, Perry and Jimmy at the centre of the plot. Pelletier's art is phenomenal too.

[Lvenger]

On Bendis specifically being brought on to do a long run on Superman (my personal living nightmare) he did say he's been on Superman for longer than he was meant to. Which if taken at his word means he was meant to be finished on Superman sooner than he currently is. It's difficult to speculate on whether Bendis was meant to finish writing Superman after the secret identity reveal or perhaps even sooner so dwelling on this would be a moot line of thought. What's clear is that Bendis still has plans for writing Superman which will likely last longer than they would have before thanks to the current pandemic.

Bendis mentioned on that ComicPop interview that he asked to write Superman and was told both titles were empty. His comment implies it was always the plan to shuffle the Rebirth teams off Superman and Action Comics. To Bendis' credit, he did say he didn't want to take away anyone's dream job of writing Superman, however there is evidence to indicate that Tomasi and Gleason planned to stay longer than they did. Someone on Twitter posted that they spoke with one of the duo two years ago at NYCC who told them that they had 2 more years of stories planned. It is anecdotal evidence but what isn't anecdotal is Gleason posting on Instagram that they had a 100 issues planned and that Imperius Lex was originally supposed to end with the reveal of Lois' pregnancy with a second child, a girl apparently. That ending must have been changed from up high perhaps to better accommodate Bendis' takeover. So I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest the Rebirth teams were removed to allow Bendis free reign over Superman.

As for how long I want Bendis to write Superman, I think I've made my opinion clear by now.

[Sacred Knight]

Considering he's been on longer already than he originally anticipated, I'd be surprised if he's not wrapping things up around autumn-to-year's end. Generally when I hear that a writer has been on longer than he anticipated, to me that's generally code that he's staying on longer out of the obligation to polish things as it ran long for whatever reason but he's itching to move on to the next project.

[daBronzeBomma]

I've maintained the earliest we could see Bendis exit would be SUPERMAN #50 & AC #1050.

But, if Bendis is now saying he's already run out of the original Kal-El stories he meant to tell, then maybe this concludes much earlier ... SUPERMAN #25 & ACTION #1025, perhaps?

Unless he means he thought both books would turn over to Jon instead of Clark by now, in which case I hope 5G is an abysmal failure right out of the gate.

[Man_of_Tomorrow]

Considering bendis didn't fully finish his first story about the invinsible mafia, I don't see how he is past his original plan.
Maybe he would drop the Superman title. But Action is still in the middle of the plot.

EDIT. but I do agree he would wrap his run by the end of Death Metal.

Which will lead to 5G despite Snyders displeasure.