Rumour: Superman to Lead The Authority in 2021?

[Sam]

I don't expect this to actually happen, I don't take BC with anything more than a big grain of salt.

Frankly, dismissing Bleeding Cool rumors out of hand is silly at this point. This may not end up happening (which Bleeding Cool fully acknowledges), but their track record with predicting what's coming from DC has been pretty good in the past.

[Ascended]

I haven't. I have seen apollo here and there. I get they are extremists.but,what kind of extremists is the question? Isis is a religious supremist fundamentalalist group. What's the lengths they are willing to go? I am familiar with the punisher, though. Superman and punisher working together wouldn't deal-breaker for me. In fact, it would be something i would like to explore.

They're not religious extremists (maybe isis was a bad example, I just consider terrorism terrorism; I don't care what excuse someone uses for it), the Authority.....they're terrorists in superhero form.

The industry has shifted towards the extremes in the years since these characters mattered, so their actions don't seem as wild today as they did then, but conceptually they're not people Clark would team up with, they're people he'd stop. Even OG Superman. Maybe especially OG Superman. They have a lot in common, but the Authority don't care what the cost is, even if the cost is what they're trying to save in the first place.

They aren't like the pulp heroes you seem to be thinking of, handing out two-fisted justice because the system is broken. These are the people who blew up your national monuments, defiled your most sacred history, killed your whole town and destroyed your government, throwing the remains of your country into chaos and the economy into a tailspin.

I highly recommend you read the Ellis Authority. Incredible stuff. But getting them and Clark to work together? That'd require some serious character breaking to accomplish, because as they are there is no reconciliation possible. I'm willing to break the characters for it, but it's still breaking them.

[Ascended]

Frankly, dismissing Bleeding Cool rumors out of hand is silly at this point. This may not end up happening (which Bleeding Cool fully acknowledges), but their track record with predicting what's coming from DC has been pretty good in the past.

They have indeed gotten more than a couple things right lately. But this isn't about BC, this is just my stance on any rumor or headline. Until I have confirmation from legit sources, everything is treated as suspect. For comics, that generally means an official announcement from the publisher or a creator with first-hand knowledge making a statement.

[king81992]

I don't see how this works unless the Authority's roster is completely replaced.

[Myskin]

I haven't. I have seen apollo here and there. I get they are extremists.but,what kind of extremists is the question? Isis is a religious supremist fundamentalalist group. What's the lengths they are willing to go? I am familiar with the punisher, though. Superman and punisher working together wouldn't deal-breaker for me. In fact, it would be something i would like to explore.

I have got a feeling that if you like proactive heroes who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty you may really, really like them (in their original version - Ellis and Hitch - and maybe Millar/Quitely too). Possibly more than you like Superman.

[manwhohaseverything]

I have got a feeling that if you like proactive heroes who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty you may really, really like them (in their original version - Ellis and Hitch - and maybe Millar/Quitely too). Possibly more than you like Superman.

I like proactive heroes and men of action. It's just, i grew up with phantom, he man and luffy from one piece. Phantom and he-man are the reason i got into superman. But, i don't like guys that brood and be moody all the time. I also, want some conviction and resolve in characters. You know, guys who are willing to tear of their own arms for some goal or to punch through a wall even if it breaks your hands. I also like many old westerns and samurai movies.

[Myskin]

I like proactive heroes and men of action. It's just, i grew up with phantom, he man and luffy from one piece. Phantom and he-man are the reason i got into superman. But, i don't like guys that brood and be moody all the time. I also, want some conviction and resolve in characters. You know, guys who are willing to tear of their own arms for some goal or to punch through a wall even if it breaks your hands. I also like many old westerns and samurai movies.

You could try the first series, it's short (29 issues, I think EDIT- way fewer, maybe just 12) and it's one of the milestones of the 2000s.
I don't consider them terrorists, mostly because of the tone adopted by Ellis. They are basically a hyper-powerful Justice League. Some members are analogues of classic DC characters and others were introduced in a previous series by Ellis with similar premises, that is Stormwatch.

In their first series there are three main arcs with some menaces which are reminiscent of classic superhero archetypes. A supervillain, an invasion from a parallel earth and an alien invasion (I won't give any details not to spoil them). What's really incredible and innovative is the scale on which everything happens. It's like a 300-million blockbuster, the villains are so ruthless that their actions somehow justify the actions of the Authority.

The members of the group are cynical and idealistic at the same time. They are all incredibly smart, hard-headed and powerful and none of them tries to act as a boy scout. They literally don't give a damn of what governments think of them. What they do is often destructive (think of Snyder's MOS, but better), but you always get the impression that - no matter what they do - they are always a preferable choice in comparison to the menaces. At the same time they are idealistic, because - and this is often repeated throughout the story - they are REALLY trying to make the world a better place and it is hinted that they are pretty successful at that. The second series, created by Millar (and not as good IMHO but still pretty interesting), is basically world elites (political powers, world companies, etc) as villains trying to react against the Authority, who is undermining their power. This run was more political and had a lot of censorship problems because of several reasons, including references to real-world leaders like George W Bush, obviously presented under a negative light. After the second series, the book was basically dead. None of the attempts at relaunching it was really successful.

You can argue that the Authority's actions may have a lot of negative consequences for normal people, and I'd say that in a more realistic context that's something they would explore, but - as far as I remember - there never really is an issue focused on this. Everything is over-the-top (as in Mad Max Fury Road), there are a lot of one-liners which are incredibly funny, even if it is not a parody nor a comical series. In addition, all of the members of the Authority have some peculiarities which you normally don't see in superhero books - one of them loves drugs, one is a smoker and two of them are basically Batman and Superman as a gay couple. None is mild mannered, but they are all, let's say likeable, in their own specific way.

There have been some moments in the past when I wasn't really interested in the Authority, but let's say that this and Planetary are probably the most important books after the 1990s. Authority was a huge influence on Millar's Ultimates, for example. So I'd say that they are both somehow unmissable if you want to understand something about contemporary comics.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Here's a thought: isn't the t-shirt/jeans Superman still running around in the cosmos somewhere?

What if he's the Superman leading them? Given the JL interaction, this team would give him exactly the opposite feedback, and he'd be checking himself at times as well as them?

Now that is a great idea.

[Ascended]

Planetary is absolutely a must-read. I think there's a new omnibus coming out soon too.

For my money, that book was better than Authority, and the Authority was one of the best books out there at the time.

Actually, just about everything WS was doing back then was pretty great.

[king of hybrids]

BC gets just enough right just often enough that I won’t dismiss it out of hand

That said, you’d actually need to do leg work to integrate the WS characters instead of the “oh yeah, these guys are here too” if New 52

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Planetary is absolutely a must-read. I think there's a new omnibus coming out soon too.

For my money, that book was better than Authority, and the Authority was one of the best books out there at the time.

Actually, just about everything WS was doing back then was pretty great.

Agreed about Planetary. It's probably the best and most thorough deconstruction of pulp fiction that comics have seen, with the notable exception of Watchmen.

[SpideyCeo]

Oh hell no, please let this be only a rumor, midnighter looking wrong and weak to make supermans jesus status even more out of place.

[Rich Johnston]

They have indeed gotten more than a couple things right lately. But this isn't about BC, this is just my stance on any rumor or headline. Until I have confirmation from legit sources, everything is treated as suspect. For comics, that generally means an official announcement from the publisher or a creator with first-hand knowledge making a statement.

And that is absolutely the right attitude to take, but for one thing. There is no guarantee that an official announcement is the truth either.

[Yoda]

Didn’t the Elite end up in like on of the offshoot Justice Leagues with Manchester Blacks sister? Or am I making up some mid-aught comics?

I don’t see this being that big of a stretch, The Authority has been watered down quite a bit since the original run. So it could work for me.

Only disappointment I have is I really liked the version Ellis rebooted in The Wild Storm. But apparently that is done and forgotten now. And with a Ellis being outed as a creep it likely ain’t coming back.

[Vordan]

Didn’t the Elite end up in like on of the offshoot Justice Leagues with Manchester Blacks sister? Or am I making up some mid-aught comics?

I don’t see this being that big of a stretch, The Authority has been watered down quite a bit since the original run. So it could work for me.

Only disappointment I have is I really liked the version Ellis rebooted in The Wild Storm. But apparently that is done and forgotten now. And with a Ellis being outed as a creep it likely ain’t coming back.

Justice League Elite, I remember that yep.