PKJ Action Comics Discussion and Spoilers

[HsssH]

Oh yeah, him getting promoted from being GL's punching bag is a plus. I'd just prefer if they didn't try to make them look that similar to each other.

[Vordan]

Oh yeah, him getting promoted from being GL's punching bag is a plus. I'd just prefer if they didn't try to make them look that similar to each other.

Kind of hard to avoid when they’re both buff bald dudes with “rocky” skin, but I’ve often hoped they would change Mongul’s design to make him look much more different from Darkseid. Personally I’d redesign him to look more like an ankylosaurs:

[Superlad93]

From tomorrow's issue.

Guessing Bruce has noticed Clark's powers taking a dip, and that's why he's so uneasy. I dig how unbothered Clark and self-assured Clark is. But I also imagine his apparent dip in power is on his mind. Maybe he's so unbothered because he got a glimpse of what his son can do, and he'll ride it out with his powers on the decline for as long as he can, but he knows Earth's in good hands.

And Bruce and Clark communicating this issue may be why Damian shows up in this issue too?

[Yoda]

Given they are using Jon's convoluted history explicitly in this run, I wonder if they are going to tie this back into Clark's powers fluctuating from way back in the Lois & Clark series.

[Vordan]

Given they are using Jon's convoluted history explicitly in this run, I wonder if they are going to tie this back into Clark's powers fluctuating from way back in the Lois & Clark series.

That would be one hell of a callback. That plotline basically got dropped, I assume because Jurgens got word that Superdad would become the main Superman again.

[Yoda]

That would be one hell of a callback. That plotline basically got dropped, I assume because Jurgens got word that Superdad would become the main Superman again.

Reborn seemed to resolve that issue more or less. I think I recall it getting a mention somewhere in Rebirth Action or Superman. I was thinking if Jon's history is back in play maybe that is too? But I supposed Jon's could be the result of Death Metal.

[manwhohaseverything]

That would be one hell of a callback. That plotline basically got dropped, I assume because Jurgens got word that Superdad would become the main Superman again.

No,it didn't.I believe swamp thing fixed clark's power fluctuation.It was due to new52 earth rejecting this superman and the energy he put out.

Guessing Bruce has noticed Clark's powers taking a dip, and that's why he's so uneasy. I dig how unbothered Clark and self-assured Clark is. But I also imagine his apparent dip in power is on his mind. Maybe he's so unbothered because he got a glimpse of what his son can do, and he'll ride it out with his powers on the decline for as long as he can, but he knows Earth's in good hands.

that would be exactly like goku and gohan situation.

[Korath]

So, hum. Huge spoilers but...

spoilers:

I think PKJ just made Warworld a Kryptonian engine at its heart? That'll be interesting to deal with

end of spoilers

[manwhohaseverything]

So, hum. Huge spoilers but...

spoilers:

I think PKJ just made Warworld a Kryptonian engine at its heart? That'll be interesting to deal with

end of spoilers

Well,mongul did steal it from fortress,Once upon a time or something like that.if i remember correctly.this was great issue.Jon felt like the goofy,energetic,sunny...etc.Basically,everything i complained about in bendis's run.The interaction between jon and damian was on point.It's always damian who tells jon to take charge right from super-sons #1.The difference is, it used to be damian that sought jon.Now,it's reversed.Jon is coming back constantly from future for damian.

That interaction was good and finally felt like supersons in main continuity.Clark is pretty chill about his powers.Also,lois's doing research is an intriguing idea.

[Vordan]

So, hum. Huge spoilers but...

spoilers:

I think PKJ just made Warworld a Kryptonian engine at its heart? That'll be interesting to deal with

end of spoilers

I loved the little worldbuilding he did with Krypton, the marriage of arts and sciences spoilers:

Refugee Kryptonians reciting an old prayer

end of spoilers, also liked Kal and Lois going into Kandor to study up on old lore. This issue makes me think that spoilers:

the underserved portion of Superman’s universe PKJ talked about is definitely going to be Warworld

end of spoilers

[Yoda]

Lengthy podcast with PKJ came out yesterday. I found it to be a bit more substantive than previous ones, likely because he can now talk about how Taylor and his books will work. There's a little bit more on the Future State books, more on generally how he sees Superman and Clark, what of his run has come out and how the storylines fit in the future.


http://theaspiringkryptonian.com/202...nnedy-johnson/

Some tidbits I found interesting:

- Taylor's Superman #1 appears to be set after his first arc of Action and possibly the September Event. He said Taylor has written it so we won't get spoilers for the Action run, but it will all fit together eventually.

- Lois, Supergirl, and Krypto will be featured in his Action run and that it's "full" with them so no Connor. It does sound like the way he was describing his run before seems like it was kind of vague because of Taylor's involvement, but he's a little more candid. I don't know if its because of the pushback, but he mentions Lois being in the book.

- He mentions how he gets tweeted at daily by kid Jon fans and he's sees it as kind of like Jon may look different but he's still the same kid. He went through tough things and because of who his parents are he came out intact. He sees that as a good character for Jon. And he again notes that if you want Kid Jon, he's still in the Super Son's books.

- He liked Mongul a lot, but sees him as previously being kinda generic. Meaning most of his stories, including the classics like Moore's, could be told swapping in any of Superman's rogues. He wants to change that. This Mongul is a descendant of the original, so he's building off Bendis' use of Mongul as a title. We are going to see a lot of War World "culture" like the idea of chains and Mongul's sidekick there being seen as a respected warrior or War World.

- He didn't like the idea of Jon bottling Metropolis in Future State and said "his" Jon wouldn't do that. Though he thought Watters handled it well. He said he told Watters he better have a "damn good" reason for it cause it was such a drastic action. Similarly, his Infinite Frontier story wasn't meant to foreshadow any dark future for Jon and he said Spectre is proven wrong at the end.

- The events of the future that Jon knew are already been changing because of his presence in the present. So it remains to be seen what of Future State actually happens.

- He envisions his Jon as having returned from the future after finishing his time with the Legion. But that will be left open in case someone wants to use him with Legion. It's noted that given the nature of time travel, it really doesn't matter and doesn't prevent anyone from having Jon in the Legion concurrently.

- He demurred on whether or not Jon will still be in a relationship with Saturn Girl in Taylor's book, saying Taylor has plans for that and he didn't want to get into it.

- His Action and Taylor's Superman will cross over in the future, after these initial storylines - so not like this year or anything. Down the road a bit. They haven't worked out the mechanics of it yet, but he said it is in the plans.

- House of El wasn't his idea. It was brought to him. He did work out genealogies of the descendants of Superman but he said the idea that Clark went off and had tons of kids isn't how it works. Conceptually he said they all could be Jon's descendants. He did say the background genealogy he created does have Clark remarrying centuries in the future, but its not a situation where he's having kids left and right. There's no breakup with Lois or kids in the immediate future.

- He's envisioning a "Jurgens" style run, i.e. for a very long time. Whether he stays on that long isn't up to him.

There's a lot more to it. He gets into his conceptualization of Superman a bit more than I've heard in previous interviews.

[Vordan]

Lengthy podcast with PKJ came out yesterday. I found it to be a bit more substantive than previous ones, likely because he can now talk about how Taylor and his books will work. There's a little bit more on the Future State books, more on generally how he sees Superman and Clark, what of his run has come out and how the storylines fit in the future.


http://theaspiringkryptonian.com/202...nnedy-johnson/

Some tidbits I found interesting:

- Taylor's Superman #1 appears to be set after his first arc of Action and possibly the September Event. He said Taylor has written it so we won't get spoilers for the Action run, but it will all fit together eventually.

So whatever happens in Sept is what prompts the switch. Guess plans did change then because it’s odd that a series taking place after this huge status quo shakeup event is launching before we even know what it’s about. Originally it was supposed to come after, wonder what pushed DC to launch it before?

- Lois, Supergirl, and Krypto will be featured in his Action run and that it's "full" with them so no Connor. It does sound like the way he was describing his run before seems like it was kind of vague because of Taylor's involvement, but he's a little more candid. I don't know if its because of the pushback, but he mentions Lois being in the book.

She’s been in all of his issues of both series so far, it’s not like she’s been absent she’s just not been the focus. We’ll see if that continues or if he’s got more substantial plans for her. Kara we knew about thanks to Sampere postings TT of her, wonder if after King’s mini Kara will return to the Superbooks? And I’m glad to see Krypto will appear!

- He mentions how he gets tweeted at daily by kid Jon fans and he's sees it as kind of like Jon may look different but he's still the same kid. He went through tough things and because of who his parents are he came out intact. He sees that as a good character for Jon. And he again notes that if you want Kid Jon, he's still in the Super Son's books.

Least he was able to pawn the fanatics off on Taylor lmao. Did he mention why DC wants Jon to be Superman so bad? What prompted all of this, just wanting to make something out of the ruins of 5G?

- He liked Mongul a lot, but sees him as previously being kinda generic. Meaning most of his stories, including the classics like Moore's, could be told swapping in any of Superman's rogues. He wants to change that. This Mongul is a descendant of the original, so he's building off Bendis' use of Mongul as a title. We are going to see a lot of War World "culture" like the idea of chains and Mongul's sidekick there being seen as a respected warrior or War World.

He’s completely correct and this is the most exciting thing so far for me. FTMWHE is a great story but it’s not really about Mongul, it could’ve been Brainiac or Luthor and nothing would’ve changed really. I hope he follows through on this which it looks like he will considering he’s already diving deep into Warworld and referencing that Mongul is a title you inherit. Heh, PKJ killing off all of this Mongul’s sons was probably a proactive move to try to block someone from killing off this Mongul and replacing him with a new one too quickly.

- He didn't like the idea of Jon bottling Metropolis in Future State and said "his" Jon wouldn't do that. Though he thought Watters handled it well. He said he told Watters he better have a "damn good" reason for it cause it was such a drastic action. Similarly, his Infinite Frontier story wasn't meant to foreshadow any dark future for Jon and he said Spectre is proven wrong at the end.

Must’ve gotten Watters and Lewis confused, I wonder why editorial insisted on that idea?

- The events of the future that Jon knew are already been changing because of his presence in the present. So it remains to be seen what of Future State actually happens.

Well he won’t be bottling Metropolis, and we’ll have to see what happens to Clark. Doubt he’ll be trapped in Warworld for centuries but the rest?

- He envisions his Jon as having returned from the future after finishing his time with the Legion. But that will be left open in case someone wants to use him with Legion. It's noted that given the nature of time travel, it really doesn't matter and doesn't prevent anyone from having Jon in the Legion concurrently.

Which is probably what Bendis will do if he returns to the book. Or if someone else takes up the book.

- He demurred on whether or not Jon will still be in a relationship with Saturn Girl in Taylor's book, saying Taylor has plans for that and he didn't want to get into it.

Going to guess “no” I’m sure Taylor has an OC he’ll want to push, he always does.

- His Action and Taylor's Superman will cross over in the future, after these initial storylines - so not like this year or anything. Down the road a bit. They haven't worked out the mechanics of it yet, but he said it is in the plans.

Far, far down the road I hope. I have no desire to go back to the yearly crossovers, maybe once every two years is fine.

- House of El wasn't his idea. It was brought to him. He did work out genealogies of the descendants of Superman but he said the idea that Clark went off and had tons of kids isn't how it works. Conceptually he said they all could be Jon's descendants. He did say the background genealogy he created does have Clark remarrying centuries in the future, but its not a situation where he's having kids left and right. There's no breakup with Lois or kids in the immediate future.

Were people thinking that? If so they’re dumb, Clark & Lois are never getting a divorce, the Big 2 would rather sell their marriage to Satan than have characters get divorced lol. Honestly I’m fine with Clark having kids with other people after Lois dies, Clark remaining the eternal widower doesn’t really feel believable to me even if Lois will always be his #1. But there’s no need to tell us who exactly begot who, them being descended from Clark in one way or another is all you need.

- He's envisioning a "Jurgens" style run, i.e. for a very long time. Whether he stays on that long isn't up to him.

There's a lot more to it. He gets into his conceptualization of Superman a bit more than I've heard in previous interviews.

I’m glad he’s enthusiastic about the job and seems to have lots of ideas, and good Lord could Superman use someone who plays the long game on his books. Did he mention anything about revamping other classic Rogues? Mongul is a good start but Brainiac feels like an obvious candidate as well.

Thanks for the write up! I hope Taylor starts talking soon, he’s the one who really concerns me.

[HsssH]

I was one of the people upset about "Superman has kids after Lois" idea, but it never crossed my mind that they actually could divorce. I thought it was obvious that Lois died of old age and it happened decades, maybe even centuries later.

[Blue22]

- He mentions how he gets tweeted at daily by kid Jon fans and he's sees it as kind of like Jon may look different but he's still the same kid. He went through tough things and because of who his parents are he came out intact. He sees that as a good character for Jon. And he again notes that if you want Kid Jon, he's still in the Super Son's books.

Unless he knows something we don't know, then we don't really even have Super Sons anymore. That book just ended again.

[Yoda]

So whatever happens in Sept is what prompts the switch. Guess plans did change then because it’s odd that a series taking place after this huge status quo shakeup event is launching before we even know what it’s about. Originally it was supposed to come after, wonder what pushed DC to launch it before?

The only change in plans he mentions was that his run was supposed to start in March and the April issues were intended to be the beginning. So it sounds like at most there was a shift of a month or two. He said he had been talking with Taylor all along so it sounds like this was always the plan, the shift of a few months just seems to have made them overlap a little different than originally planned.

She’s been in all of his issues of both series so far, it’s not like she’s been absent she’s just not been the focus. We’ll see if that continues or if he’s got more substantial plans for her. Kara we knew about thanks to Sampere postings TT of her, wonder if after King’s mini Kara will return to the Superbooks? And I’m glad to see Krypto will appear!

He does use the word "present" to describe them, but I think there is a difference between like the wordless appearance in the first issue, the fluff in last issue of Superman, and her appearance in Action yesterday. I think if it is limited to just the "wife" role for a couple of pages each issue the criticism is still warranted. There's room between being a focus of the run and having appearances that are more substantial to the plot than just being Superman's wife.

Least he was able to pawn the fanatics off on Taylor lmao. Did he mention why DC wants Jon to be Superman so bad? What prompted all of this, just wanting to make something out of the ruins of 5G?

He didn't. In another section of the interview, he did get into how he sees the evolution of Superman over the years, and how he likes how we've moved beyond the "classic" Lois & Clark relationship (meaning the fake weakling Clark and Lois being dismissive of him) doesn't work for him and that he sees the progression of him telling her his secret, the marriage, Jon, and eventually revealing his identity as being a natural and true evolution of the character. He said he was never comfortable with a version of Superman that lied all the time through the fake Clark Kent persona and Bendis' identity reveal as being something that he truly sees as a step forward. It got into his view of who the "real" person is. He says his Clark views himself as Clark Kent and that's shown through how he introduces himself. He doesn't think of himself as Kal El. I didn't get the sense that he sees it as a push, it clearly comes from editorial, but it may be that they see this as the natural evolution of the character and are just building off that. Having this established timeline to mine from kind of makes sense for mass media purposes.

He’s completely correct and this is the most exciting thing so far for me. FTMWHE is a great story but it’s not really about Mongul, it could’ve been Brainiac or Luthor and nothing would’ve changed really. I hope he follows through on this which it looks like he will considering he’s already diving deep into Warworld and referencing that Mongul is a title you inherit. Heh, PKJ killing off all of this Mongul’s sons was probably a proactive move to try to block someone from killing off this Mongul and replacing him with a new one too quickly.

He does say we are going to see a lot more of War World's culture. So it sounds like his plans are right in line with what you're looking for.

Must’ve gotten Watters and Lewis confused, I wonder why editorial insisted on that idea?

That is probably me. But it sounds like Worlds of War was more his baby, with House of El coming from editorial.

Well he won’t be bottling Metropolis, and we’ll have to see what happens to Clark. Doubt he’ll be trapped in Warworld for centuries but the rest?

Far, far down the road I hope. I have no desire to go back to the yearly crossovers, maybe once every two years is fine.

It did not sound like it was something years off. But it was something they haven't gotten beyond the planning stages for. He made it sound like he hasn't even written the final issues of the initial arc yet, but this was something they had in the plans and will address. I don't expect the plan is to keep Superman off Earth indefinitely. I would not be surprised if the Superman & Authority series is set initially on Earth or after Worlds of War.

Thanks for the write up! I hope Taylor starts talking soon, he’s the one who really concerns me.

I think some of it could be that Taylor is a lot busier that PKJ is and has a much more established presence among the fans. Taylor has like development deals and at least one Netflix show he works on. I'm assuming he'll do some interviews eventually, but I think PKJ just has more time and need to get out among us masses of fans.

Were people thinking that? If so they’re dumb, Clark & Lois are never getting a divorce, the Big 2 would rather sell their marriage to Satan than have characters get divorced lol. Honestly I’m fine with Clark having kids with other people after Lois dies, Clark remaining the eternal widower doesn’t really feel believable to me even if Lois will always be his #1. But there’s no need to tell us who exactly begot who, them being descended from Clark in one way or another is all you need.

I was one of the people upset about "Superman has kids after Lois" idea, but it never crossed my mind that they actually could divorce. I thought it was obvious that Lois died of old age and it happened decades, maybe even centuries later.

There were definitely people who seemed to assume that every member of the House of El was close to if not a direct descendent of a different line of Clark's. Implying there were many many wives out in the future. He said the time frame here was centuries after Lois' death and that conceptually the book still works if all of them are descended from a line that starts with Jon. So it doesn't really sound like he'll be exploring any of that. The dialogue in House of El sort of implies these aren't half kryptonians. I don't really have too much opposition to the idea that centuries later he has kids with someone else, but there is definitely a section of people who want him to shack up immediately afterwards or who thought the implication was that he basically "seeded" a civilization over the years. He kinda squashed both those ideas. Regardless, it doesn't sound like we're going to see any more of the direct descendants in the continuation and the genealogy is basically for his own backstory, though he was asked if he'd put out basically a Superman version of the Similarian.