Rumour: Superman to Lead The Authority in 2021?

[HsssH]

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?

Interesting idea, this could also bring back Sideway and be set on another Earth. And Superman being younger would likely work better in such team.

[Sam]

More info on the rumor from Bleeding Cool.

They're saying that this was originally the plan for 5G, with Jon taking on the role of Superman, and an older Clark stepping back into the shadows where he joins up with the Authority. And while 5G is not going to be as big as it once once, elements of this story still seem to be moving forward. Also, they seem to imply Bendis is a part of these plans.

[Korath]

It seems rather strange. As far as I know, the Authority is rather out there, isn't it ?

[manwhohaseverything]

I wouldn't say that the problem here is that Superman will work with people who kill (heck, Superman worked with Lex Luthor at one point). What's worrying is that the Authority and Superman live in completely different worlds.

The Authority's ideological stance is not that different from Golden Age Superman's. The difference is that similar actions had more gruesome consequences than they had for GA Supes because that was the tone of the book. Kal-L made cars derail (but we didn't see the corpse of the driver), kidnapped Hitler and Stalin and forced arms dealer to join the army. The Authority deposed dictators and put them in the hands of their victims' families.

I have got a bad feeling that this direction won't be a good thing for the Authority, rather than Superman. To make them mesh together they will have to dumb the Authority down. It's another "I am Dr Manhattan and today I have learned an important lesson about hope from Superman" situation.

i am fine with more gruesome consequences for the actions of goldenage superman. heck! i would love it. superman needing to deal with his own actions is appealing. They don't need to dumb down authority. That would be opposite of what i would want, Elevate superman.
but we aren't talking about goldenage superman. This is a different character whose work ethics is different.

[Ascended]

I don't understand the problem with superman working with people who have killed. What's next? Superman shouldn't work with jason todd?he is too good for them. Please, give me a break.

It's not that the Authority used lethal force. Hell, everyone on the League has killed. It's not the lethal force itself, it's that the Authority were basically terrorists who were willing to do anything, no matter how horrific, to bring about the changes they wanted to see. Imagine a group of people with almost Silver Age Superman power levels, with the goals and motivations of Golden Age Superman, and less moral stability than the Punisher. They were unpredictable and destructive and largely irresponsible.

I have got a bad feeling that this direction won't be a good thing for the Authority, rather than Superman. To make them mesh together they will have to dumb the Authority down. It's another "I am Dr Manhattan and today I have learned an important lesson about hope from Superman" situation.

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

But if it does happen? Yeah there's likely gonna be at least a little of that "Superman inspired us to be better" stuff but....is that necessarily a bad thing? Isn't that part of what Clark is supposed to do? Now, it's usually awful because DC sucks, but that doesn't mean it's *always* awful. And if he can inspire Lex, he can inspire Midnighter and the Engineer. And I think you can do that without ruining the Authority. I mean, when you get past all the cynical BS they were pretty idealistic people, and while they might never agree with Clark on certain things I can see them looking at Superman as a guy who generally gets the job done right and is worth listening to.

And assuming this spins out of Clark's position as earth president, that also smooths some things over too. That changes the Authority from a group of freedom fighters/terrorists trying to tear down corrupt systems, and makes them active participants in building the new world they want to see, with the undisputed greatest dude alive in charge. Its easy to be hopeful when what you want to build is actually happening, doubly so when the world is (more or less) supporting the effort (and I assume the world will quickly end up supporting Clark as earth president).

Like I said, I doubt this is gonna happen and I doubt it'll be good if it does...but I think it *could* be good in the right hands. You'd basically be giving the Authority what they wanted, including a role in defining and protecting the brave new world, but without the stress and pressure of being in charge or having to build everything on the corpses of what came before.

We also gotta consider that the Authority's crazy, extreme actions are no longer as crazy and extreme. Getting drunk and killing people? That's basically the last few years of Thor comics. The difference between the Authority and people like Batman or Guy Gardner is a lot smaller now than it was twenty years ago.

[Superlad93]

You know what sounds a lot like "what if Superman lead The Authority"?
Action Comics' upcoming "House of Kent" story.

Basic idea as told by Bendis: the Superman family becomes a good natured
crime family, and uses organized crime's own tactics (non lethal) against to shut it down
in Metropolis.

My guess is the results seen in "House of Kent" mixed with Clark officially being appointed
Earth rep are what inspire the formation of this Superman lead Authority down the line.

[Sacred Knight]

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?

While I'd love to see him again, he'd not agree with the way The Authority does things any more than the mainstream Superman or any other "normal" Superman. Only difference between the two would be that Morrison's Superman might clock one of them first before chatting.

[Sacred Knight]

More info on the rumor from Bleeding Cool.

They're saying that this was originally the plan for 5G, with Jon taking on the role of Superman, and an older Clark stepping back into the shadows where he joins up with the Authority. And while 5G is not going to be as big as it once once, elements of this story still seem to be moving forward. Also, they seem to imply Bendis is a part of these plans.

Yep, sounds ridiculous and par for course for what the original plans were, put Jon to the forefront by having him steal yet another aspect from Superman, and Clark on the backburner with just some random crap to do that doesn't make any sense.

[Lvenger]

Actually, gandhi had no problems with the British per say.Anyways,i find it interesting. Why? This superman needs to work away from his bubble. This seems really different. Him having to work with his ideological opposition without judgement or losing his own conviction is just the kind of thing i would want to read.

I thought Gandhi's protests were against British colonialism so it's interesting if he didn't have many problems with the British people. Anyway, it's fine to put Superman outside his bubble but this would be akin to putting him in a muddy lake. There's a lot of dirt and grey areas to consider with a character as optimistic as Superman.

"How do we make Superman cool in 2020"
"Undermine him?"
"You mad, beautiful bastard."

I expect four variants an issue and delays by issue 3.

Please no. I'm so tired of ironic Superman pitches. Can we just play the IP straight and stop apologizing for him? He's plenty cool as is, just stop being ashamed of him.

I wish we could like comments on this forum because your joke is spot on. And I wish writers who are embarrassed about Superman would stop writing for him because making him a part of a team that uses any means to defeat their opponents misses the point of Superman.

[Lvenger]

[QUOTE=Ascended;5030439]I give BC very, very, very little credit. I'll believe what they say when I see it on the printed page.QUOTE]

Oh I agree BC love to stir the pot with various clickbait articles and fake news on a slow day so I won't be surprised if nothing comes of this. However, some of their DC rumours have turned out to be accurate. They predicted Bendis was going to write Superman, that Batman and Catwoman weren't going to marry and that a classic DC character would be revealed as gay. If this turns out to be true, this does worry me as a Superman fan because it has a lot of potential to be handled poorly given DC's past track record.

[Adekis]

I'll be honest, while I completely get the 99 problems people have about this -especially the "Oh my Rao can we stop with ironic Superman treatments please?" take.

But, I'm still intrigued to see how Superman leading the Authority would play out. Don't much care for "What's So Funny" anyhow.

If this happens - er, especially if it happens without Jon taking over for Clark - then I might be interested enough to pick up comic again for the first time in a little while! Er, that is if I'm not still too scared to go into the local comic shop!

[Myskin]

I

But if it does happen? Yeah there's likely gonna be at least a little of that "Superman inspired us to be better" stuff but....is that necessarily a bad thing? .

IMHO... Yes, sorry. I mean, it would be against the very spirit of the book as it was originally created By Ellis.
The Authority was doing fine without Superman. In their specific universe they didn't need any moral guide. The Elite, maybe, needed a Superman, but the Elite wasn't the Authority. It was an incarnation of some of the worst aspects of the Authority, like the Homelander is an incarnation of some of the most detrimental aspects of Superman.

[manwhohaseverything]

It's not that the Authority used lethal force. Hell, everyone on the League has killed. It's not the lethal force itself, it's that the Authority were basically terrorists who were willing to do anything, no matter how horrific, to bring about the changes they wanted to see. Imagine a group of people with almost Silver Age Superman power levels, with the goals and motivations of Golden Age Superman, and less moral stability than the Punisher. They were unpredictable and destructive and largely irresponsible.

I am still not seeing the problem. If superman doesn't work with people that don't put less limits on themselves. Who does he work with? A bunch of gods morally set in there ways? What's so challenging about that? Besides, if this superman still has the motivation and goals of goldenage superman. All the more reasons to work with these guys and butheads on issues. Superman being obstacle to their unstability without preaching (as @sacredknight said clocking them if need be) would be what i would like. Ofcourse, goldenage guy was all those things. (power or no power) except for maybe irresponsibility and unstability.
Besides,goldenage superman having his own rag-tag team of daredevils, outlaws and true believers is what i have wanted to see. Superman being stuck with justice league is just boring.

[Ascended]

IMHO... Yes, sorry. I mean, it would be against the very spirit of the book as it was originally created By Ellis.

It would. But as a concept, maybe the Authority need to change things up. I mean, a lot of what made that book stand out originally has become common place, and the characters haven't exactly been on a high note in recent years. Switching things around and working with President Superman *could* end up being a positive development, even if it goes against the original intent.

Like I said, I dont think this will happen and if it does I'm not expecting quality. But I think it *could* work. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I have no real attachment to the Authority so if they get watered down a little bit it ain't gonna keep me up at night.

I am still not seeing the problem.

I'm guessing you haven't read Authority then? They weren't just "outlaws and true believers" they were basically villains and did crap DC rogues can't even get away with. Teaming up with those guys, as they were originally, would be sort of like teaming up with isis.

[manwhohaseverything]

I'm guessing you haven't read Authority then? They weren't just "outlaws and true believers" they were basically villains and did crap DC rogues can't even get away with. Teaming up with those guys, as they were originally, would be sort of like teaming up with isis.

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.