PKJ Action Comics Discussion and Spoilers

[SuperX]

I am 100% pro secret identity but the comment is 100% truth. "especially if there is no credible reason given to hide." how did Clark revealing his identity do to his personal life? Did it put constant paparazzi at the farm? Constantly swarmed by fans? Lois constantly in danger?

Nope,just like everything in super comics,nothing done ever has consequences or anything thst they have to change because of it,just look at Jon and his time away

[Prime]

Lol at the OMD jab

[Vordan]

To be honest even when Jimmy found out in the Bendis era it didn't really seem to change their relationship much so I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

Johns tried to make Jimmy Clarks' main confidante and sounding board but other writers might not want to use him that way (especially because of Lois).

I feel like Ma and Pa are the real culprits. If they weren’t around when Clark becomes Superman I believe it would be the norm for Jimmy to be the first person outside of Smallville to know. It just makes so much sense for him to know, he’s supposedly Clark’s closest non-hero friend but we never really get to SEE that because writers prefer to have Clark pour out his troubles to the Kents before marrying Lois, and then she’s the one he goes to after they get married. Should be Jimmy in that role before the marriage at least.

[Quinlan58]

We've read Jimmy finding out about Clark's secret ID three times by now. Post-Infinite Crisis, during the New 52, and during Bendis' run. Having him not know again is... dumb.

Re:Manchester Black, no corpse, just Lex's word that Manchester Black is dead, during a moment in which he was trying to get Clark as pissed off as possible. Really, they've set it up in a way that the dude can just appear out of nowhere in the books and contradict nothing. Still, this does mean he's most definitely not going to be present in the books in the near future... then again, with how crowded AC is, that was probably going to happen anyway. Seriously hope PKJ manages to get that Authority book made.

Anyway, as for the issue itself:

Man, Lex really comes off as a deeply pathetic man here. From the childishness of "It'll be MY Superman" to him going over how sad he was as a kid and thus the rest of the world doesn't deserve to know, he looks like a petulant child that just so happens to be older, more resourceful and more, well, evil. If that's Williamson's take on the dude (because PKJ has said elsewhere that he does not like Lex and Clark knowing each other as kids), then... yikes.

The fight itself was fun. I'm not going to consider it among the best I've seen or anything (not even close), but it's fun. Lex constantly trying to gain the upper hand only for Clark to trivialize everything he does never gets dull. And yep, that final moment where Clark finally shows him a bit more of the kind of power he has now is great.

I'm glad that they're framing this as something Clark doesn't want at all, so as to not directly contradict how he felt about it before. Admittedly, Batman going "Lois is no longer just the wife of Superman" feels... weird? Like, off the top of my head, the only time we've seen someone from the "general public" react to Lois since the reveal was Jay reacting to her, and he was in awe. Like, I'm not saying I find it unbelievable or anything, but it comes across as retconning in problems that were never shown to make this more "palatable". And really, Jon's joy at his anonymity was already doing that.

Speaking of Jon... I don't think him being happy with the secret identity now contradicts anything about his thoughts on it prior? Like, yes, in Rebirth he shouted at Clark that he felt like they were living lies, and in Bendis' run he was apparently fine with the public ID too (I'll be honest, I don't remember any of it), but I can believe that, after being a public Superman for months now, he'd have changed his mind on the issue. And that simple scene just carries such joy and freedom to it, I can't really complain about it. Alongside the initial Lex/Manchester Black scene, the strongest part of the issue for me.

As for the teases of future stuff, PKJ got rid of Metallo's "unfeeling" problem, which has been the dominant character trait for him since the Bronze Age. I, for one, am glad PKJ's moving Metallo onwards from that status... even if he'll most definitely be having these issues against the second some other writer gets a hold of the dude. Taylor showed Val-Zod talking to who I'll assume is the mystery woman and seeing a dead Kal-El... very bland scene, really. Oh, and Williamson closes up with Lex locked up in Stryker. Nice spot to leave him in for this issue, I guess.

Overall, a decent issue, fun fight, but really, can we move on to AC1051 already? That's what's really exciting me here.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Damnit I just realized Jimmy Olsen isn’t included in the list. That sucks, I’d rather have him know over the Titans. Nightwing should know but why on Earth does it matter whether the rest of those guys know compared to Jimmy? I guess Williamson doesn’t want him knowing the secret because he wants a more traditional dynamic but I don’t see how Jimmy knowing for sure who Clark is messes with their relationship.

PKJ does have big plans for revamping Metropolis and making it more scifi, starting with the Irons revamping Metropolis’ energy with Warworld tech that Superman recovered. To what extent will we see Metropolis change aesthetically remains to be seen.


This is just the reset issue, not the culmination of either PKJ or Taylor’s work thus far. It’s just wiping the slate clean for a bold new era, like an issue 0 before a new issue 1. If you do want to check out PKJ’s run go read Action 1030 and see if that holds your interest, Taylor and Williamson have new number 1’s coming that will do more in terms of setting up “hooks” I expect.

From what I understand, this was largely set-up for 1051, which is the real start of what we're going to get.

I have heard good things about his run, to be fair, but dedicating a 48-page anniversary issue to resetting the status quo just seems a waste to me. Loads of people who don't regularly read a title jump on for these sort of issues so this was a rather weird choice.

[Robotman]

I’m very happy the secret identity is back but overall it was kinda “meh” for being the big Action 1050 issue. We were already told everything that was going to happen. But I am excited for most of the stuff coming up. Though I don’t know how PKJ is going to make Metallo interesting.

I want to see some more exploration of his new powers. The taste we got here was pretty cool.

I guess Lex must have been on the run or something because they locked him up super fast. We didn’t see Manchester Black’s body so there’s no evidence of murder. Did Superman just take him to the police station and say “hey this guy killed someone. I have no evidence to prove it and also he shouldn’t get a lengthy trial. Just put him in the sci fi bubble cell.”

[Frontier]

I feel like Ma and Pa are the real culprits. If they weren’t around when Clark becomes Superman I believe it would be the norm for Jimmy to be the first person outside of Smallville to know. It just makes so much sense for him to know, he’s supposedly Clark’s closest non-hero friend but we never really get to SEE that because writers prefer to have Clark pour out his troubles to the Kents before marrying Lois, and then she’s the one he goes to after they get married. Should be Jimmy in that role before the marriage at least.

Jimmy didn't know Pre-Crisis so I feel like the likelihood that they would consider him finding out early is as likely as Lois.

I feel like modern Jimmy is conceptualized more as a guy who gets into random @#$% and makes the most out of it and helps Supes out than a strict confidante.

Man, Lex really comes off as a deeply pathetic man here. From the childishness of "It'll be MY Superman" to him going over how sad he was as a kid and thus the rest of the world doesn't deserve to know, he looks like a petulant child that just so happens to be older, more resourceful and more, well, evil. If that's Williamson's take on the dude (because PKJ has said elsewhere that he does not like Lex and Clark knowing each other as kids), then... yikes.

I feel like that's not new for Lex though, at least insofar as his feelings towards Superman are concerned.

I'm glad that they're framing this as something Clark doesn't want at all, so as to not directly contradict how he felt about it before. Admittedly, Batman going "Lois is no longer just the wife of Superman" feels... weird? Like, off the top of my head, the only time we've seen someone from the "general public" react to Lois since the reveal was Jay reacting to her, and he was in awe. Like, I'm not saying I find it unbelievable or anything, but it comes across as retconning in problems that were never shown to make this more "palatable". And really, Jon's joy at his anonymity was already doing that.

I wonder if Williamson (and maybe less so PKJ knowing his thoughts on it) will be developing Clark accepting and embracing having a secret identity again. I mean, you probably don't want to have your protagonist continually begrudgingly accepting the return of the classic status quo.

[Mantis-Ray]

I really like how good that shot of Lex building his mech suit and then towering over Supes looked. Really good paneling. Good look at Dragotta's work on the upcoming Superman ongoing.

Fun-ass fight scene, really shows why these 2 are nemesis above all.

Yeah I feel like the fact we didn't outright see Black's corpse opens the door to him coming back at some point. Rather sweet of Supes to get so furious hearing what Lex did to him, cause damn Lex really did **** him over.

[Jon Clark]

Am I the only one who thinks it would have been interesting if the restoration of the secret ID had at least initially effected everyone? Only Jon, Clark and the twins being in on the secret and Clark having to keep Lois and his parents in the dark (until someone finds a way to exempt them from the "you know and it kills you"). Better yet how would Bruce handle being in the situation where he knows that the information is gone from his memory- but restoring it would kill him? Would he still be driven to learn Clark's ID? If not would he have to somehow actively work for his detective mind not to put the clues together?

[LordUltimus]

Am I the only one who thinks it would have been interesting if the restoration of the secret ID had at least initially effected everyone? Only Jon, Clark and the twins being in on the secret and Clark having to keep Lois and his parents in the dark (until someone finds a way to exempt them from the "you know and it kills you"). Better yet how would Bruce handle being in the situation where he knows that the information is gone from his memory- but restoring it would kill him? Would he still be driven to learn Clark's ID? If not would he have to somehow actively work for his detective mind not to put the clues together?

It would have been pretty funny to see Lois worrying over her dorky husband's health whenever he tries to make up an excuse to leave and treat Superman like an ex that won't take no for an answer.

[Blue22]

I am 100% pro secret identity but the comment is 100% truth. "especially if there is no credible reason given to hide." how did Clark revealing his identity do to his personal life? Did it put constant paparazzi at the farm? Constantly swarmed by fans? Lois constantly in danger?

I mean...realistically, those are all things that SHOULD have happened. Him not having a secret ID greatly increased the chances of those things happening.

His parents did end up losing their house for a while. Even if that too ended up being about as consequential as the Xavier Institute exploding for the umpteenth time.
(Inconsequential. SoKE in a nutshell)

[manwhohaseverything]

The celebrity and privacy reasoning is overstated..you don't see celebrities running around with secret identity.This is a grown ass man playing pretend not hannah Montana.it ain't cute.

I would support something like superman/real clark creating a pen id for writing purposes.. that he doesn't want the world to know about.For talking the talk not just walk the walk and putting forth his opinions.

[Blue22]

He doesn't do it to be cute. He does it so he and his family can have some semblance of normalcy and privacy in their day to day lives. So they aren't hounded by fans, detractors, and villains whenever they go out. So their every move isn't viewed under a microscope like EVERY A-list celebrity ever. So maybe his kids actually have a chance at going to school and having lives and deciding for themselves whether or not they want the whole world knowing who they are. In addition to just...you know...wanting to be seen as himself first and "the world's greatest Superhero" second. That's not really an unreasonable desire.

I'm glad not every superhero has a secret identity (in fact I really like how a good chunk of Marvel's heroes don't). But I totally understand why some would want that. I'm sure a lot of celebrities in real life wish they could do the same sometimes (Hell, if I recall, Michael Jackson had to disguise himself just to go grocery shopping)

[manwhohaseverything]

That's the same reasoning as hanah montana.Hannah montana does the same shtick.i am saying it's dumb.A 16 year old,clark ain't.Clark needs to learn to cope with it the way any star would and their families.

He is superman..not normal..normalcy shouldn't be expected or in the purview of his life.They not only made batman superman(everything about batman is extraordinary)..They made superman...normal.Then they ask why people prefer batman.

[JBatmanFan05]

I really like how good that shot of Lex building his mech suit and then towering over Supes looked. Really good paneling. Good look at Dragotta's work on the upcoming Superman ongoing.

Fun-ass fight scene, really shows why these 2 are nemesis above all.

Yes! Such a great Lex vs Superman moment/battle that I have been hungering for. PKJ went out on a high note regarding Lex.

If [Lex in #1050 is] Williamson's take on the dude (because PKJ has said elsewhere that he does not like Lex and Clark knowing each other as kids), then... yikes.

Interesting thing to ponder indeed. Some of Lex's characterization might be because he was apparently intentionally baiting Superman:

Williamson: Here's my question for you -- do you think Lex doesn't want to be behind bars? Do you think it's not part of Lex's whole plan? There's a reason why he starts something. He picked a fight on purpose. Not only does Lex steal his truth from him, but he also suggests that he would steal his marriage and his child. Of course, Clark was going to knock him one. He was picking a fight on purpose. Obviously, there is a lot to be said, and it's an emotional scene, and there are things of truth in there that he's saying in these moments, but he was picking a fight on purpose.

https://www.cbr.com/action-comics-10...son-interview/