PKJ Action Comics Discussion and Spoilers

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

honestly if Jon had been kidnapped instead of twisting Clark and Lois into callous idiots that would have fixed like 80 percent of the problem I have with Bendis Jon.

[Blue22]

but he really just comes off as Reed Richards at his most "I know better than you, so let me save you" than any sort of bad guy.

Using Reed Richards might not be the best example since I've got my own slew of issues with him too. Dude's shady as **** and always has been. Good intentions be damned lol

I wouldn't trust Reed Richards alone with my kid in a place where I can't follow them. Half the time I don't even trust Reed Richards alone with his own kids XD

honestly if Jon had been kidnapped instead of twisting Clark and Lois into callous idiots that would have fixed like 80 percent of the problem I have with Bendis Jon.

Or just have Jon willingly go with him while his parents are too occupied with something else to notice. There were a million other ways they could have done this without taking the route that they did. I wish they didn't do it at all but there were still ways they could have done it without me losing my respect for Clark and Lois.

[Flash Gordon]

Yes. Given everything that happened the last couple of times they met (regardless of whether or not Bendis wants to acknowledge those events happened) and the fact that Clark's only interactions with him beforehand were from old archives in the Fortress of Solitude (unless there's something I'm missing, which there very well could be), neither Clark nor Lois had any reason to put so much trust in that man that they were perfectly fine with leaving their kid alone in space with him for weeks. Clark knows of Jor-El but he did not know Jor-El. And low and behold, Jor-El ended up proving that in the end.

If Bendis isn't acknowledging stuff that 'happened' before his run, it doesn't really matter to the story all that much.

I mean, broad strokes, Jor-El moved heaven and earth to send his only son away from death. By default that's someone who's random appearance would have clout to it.

I think it works fine, and has weight. Bendis' whole run reads really well in a big full swoop.

[LordUltimus]

If Bendis isn't acknowledging stuff that 'happened' before his run, it doesn't really matter to the story all that much.

Except that the very fact that Jor-El is alive means that Bendis is acknowledging stuff that happened before his run.

[Celgress]

Honestly, if Bendis really had to do it the Jor-El way, he should have just had the guy straight up kidnap Jon. Or have Jon sneak off with him after his parents told him "no"

Those are, like, the only logical ways that could have gone down without making Clark and Lois look inept.

This indeed could have worked.

[Yoda]

Except that the very fact that Jor-El is alive means that Bendis is acknowledging stuff that happened before his run.

He handwaved a lot of it away though. That was obvious from Jor El's first appearance in the Man of Steel mini. I think some of it was meant to be dealt with in either Doomsday Clock or it's aftermath, but it is clear that Jor El in Man of Steel is in a significantly different place than the Jor El in Oz Effect. It wasn't handled well, but it's misrepresenting things to not take that into account.

[Sam]

Having Jor-El kidnap Jon would have helped with the Clark and Lois being out-of-character thing, but regardless of how that went down, aging Jon up at all still robbed fans of the character to enjoy tons of different aspects of the character: his unique perspective, his relatability, the opportunity to see him grow. Bendis made use of one of the laziest tropes in comic storytelling and that sucked, independently of everything else awful he did with Jon.

[Ascended]

* Reaffirmed that Morrison consulted on Future State, they suggested something relating to the Fourth World that PKJ can't reveal yet. They were very complimentary to PKJ's ideas.

Yay!

* He's doing lots of worldbuilding stuff ala Last God.

Yay! Hopefully he puts some effort into the less defined aspects of Clark's world, like Almerac, the 5th dimension, etc., as well as creating his own new corners of the Super-verse.

* He's not deaging Jon, he's not putting the secret identity back in the bottle.

Don't care either way for Jon (though I think potential was lost when they aged him up) but I'm intrigued by them not putting the ID back yet; there's potential in this that I think should be explored. So many "future" tales of Superman have his identity go public, and it feels like he's at the right point in his life where this is actually sorta viable. Whether PKJ can actually pull it off and make it entertaining, true to character, and respectful of the Clark-Superman dichotomy and Kal's dual lives.....that remains to be seen but I'm pleased the effort is being made. Better than just recycling the same old sh*t again.

* We're not going to see much of Lois or the Daily Planet crew due to the cosmic scale the run operates on, the purpose of the backups is to highlight them because of that (and Sean Lewis won't be writing all of those).

Booo! I appreciate the backups will feature these guys, but come on, you need Lois (at the very least) there.

* The event makes the universe "bigger and older" by expanding something PKJ considers underserved; it might affect other books but it's a Superman thing first and foremost.

Okay? Not much to go on but it sounds like it could have potential.

* Asked about Power Girl he noted that while he doesn't have plans for her, she'd theoretically fit well in the event so it's not impossible she could show up.

Booo! Not surprising though. I never expected Karen to show up in this. But I hope it actually happens.

* He listed Waid and Morrison as his favorite Superman writers, with an additional mention of how much he likes Ron Marz's take

Excellent taste. At least we know that this guy can recognize the good Super-writers from the ones who just don't get him, or want him to be someone he isn't.

* Krypto isn't in his stuff

Noooo!

Honestly I'm liking most of what I'm hearing. Not everything, but a lot. Definitely think I'm gonna give his run a few issues. Love me some cosmic Superman.

[Konja7]

He handwaved a lot of it away though. That was obvious from Jor El's first appearance in the Man of Steel mini. I think some of it was meant to be dealt with in either Doomsday Clock or it's aftermath, but it is clear that Jor El in Man of Steel is in a significantly different place than the Jor El in Oz Effect. It wasn't handled well, but it's misrepresenting things to not take that into account.

This is Bendis loose continuity issue. Bendis takes the parts of continuity he wants to use, but he would ignore others aspects connected to that.

I really doubt Bendis expected Doomsday Clock will especifically correct the Jor-El issue. At most, Bendis will use the constant reboots concept in Doomsday Clock to explain why Jor-El is different.

[LordUltimus]

He handwaved a lot of it away though. That was obvious from Jor El's first appearance in the Man of Steel mini. I think some of it was meant to be dealt with in either Doomsday Clock or it's aftermath, but it is clear that Jor El in Man of Steel is in a significantly different place than the Jor El in Oz Effect. It wasn't handled well, but it's misrepresenting things to not take that into account.

I did take that into account. That's the problem, this stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum, but Bendis treats it like it is.

[Celgress]

I did take that into account. That's the problem, this stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum, but Bendis treats it like it is.

I wish those following Bedis were allowed to do the same, *sigh* if only....

[13th Superman]

Definitely intrigued by this cosmic journey Clark will embark on. PKJ is saying a lot of the things I like. Funny enough my first thought was the sword of Superman which I hated and that was the same for PKJ lol. Hearing this coupled with that image of the gladiator Clark is freaking awesome. Let's hope this can be put into proper action.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

Having Jor-El kidnap Jon would have helped with the Clark and Lois being out-of-character thing, but regardless of how that went down, aging Jon up at all still robbed fans of the character to enjoy tons of different aspects of the character: his unique perspective, his relatability, the opportunity to see him grow. Bendis made use of one of the laziest tropes in comic storytelling and that sucked, independently of everything else awful he did with Jon.

sure, plus to top it off the general redundancy of having both him and Conner be the same age, the bizzare lack of impact his years of captivity should have had on the character but didn't, the scar he got with no explanation. There are almost no pros to what Bendis did to the character. The remaining 20 percent of it all still irks me, but it's how he wrote Clark and Lois that really ticks me off.

[The Frog Bros]

Honestly, if Bendis really had to do it the Jor-El way, he should have just had the guy straight up kidnap Jon. Or have Jon sneak off with him after his parents told him "no"

Those are, like, the only logical ways that could have gone down without making Clark and Lois look inept.

Yup, this certainly would have worked a million times better. The fact that Bendis didn't take this route (or even consider this route) just goes back to what is patently obvious. He just doesn't get Lois. Or alternatively, he really dislikes Lois to the point where it didn't matter to his story overall. Either way, not a good look.

[Ascended]

Y'all still *really* overestimate Clark and Lois' skills as parents.

Bendis didn't roll out that whole Jor-El thing like he should've; it was rushed and didn't take the time to really delve into the situation or the decision making processes, but Clark is not and has never been very good with family. Tomasi's perfect Superdad is the example of Clark being out of character, not the other way around.

He lets his ten year old son run off-planet with Damian Wayne. You *really* think Clark would pass up the opportunity to let Jon have the relationship with Jor that Clark never got?

But after two years of debating this point there's really no purpose to continuing it.