PKJ Action Comics Discussion and Spoilers

[Superlad93]

I wonder what's going on with the Phaelosian's ability to seemingly see the future? The old storyteller says "just as we dream of great battles in the sky and someday finding a place we belong..." implying that this is an ability they all seem to share as a race. This ability may actually be how Thao-La knows of Superman and his adventures. She's been both hearing stories and dreaming of it.

But what's also interesting is the fact that the storyteller also says "...so too do some of them" as is some members of the Els have these "dreams" too. Maybe that's implying that it's members of the future House of El in the 31st century having these dreams? Maybe that's why Brandon gives up the cape to Ronan? He may even see his own death in this issue. Just like the old storyteller here, Brandon used to tell his daughter stories like the one about the moon dragon. But in that case it could just be stories passed down to him since they're in the past.

But since we're talking about future knowledge and characters wondering about where they belong directly important to this run, it's hard not to bring Jon. The idea that Jon has had knowledge of how his father would leave him and how he'd have to take the role of Superman has been a large part of this run since issue 1, and it's what's currently driving Jon's skepticism towards the refugees.

It sounds like the Phaelosians have the power inherent to them, and since that's not a Kryptonian power, the most likely candidate is Jon and his time in the 31st century. Interestingly enough, both Thao-La and Jon have holes in their knowledge of the future, so neither seems to know anything with complete certainty be it via powers or reading the history books from the 31st century.

_____________

It may even be worth mentioning that both Thao-La and Jon emit blue heat vision. We get the explanation that Jon was tapping into the hyper violet light spectrum, and we can assume that maybe the Phaelosians take in light in ways that Kryptonians normally don't. They may be taking in this newly discovered hyper violet light?

[Quinlan58]

Knowledge of the future in the form of stories is also a pretty fun reinvention of the "future knowledge" trope the franchise has had since the Legion of Super-Heroes was created, too.

[oneveryfineday]

So...she's SERIOUSLY not going to be the new Supergirl??? Like, does it have to be the little girl from King's book? Seeing little Thao playing with a make-shift Superman toy and wearing a make-shift Super suit is so damn cute! Genuinely hoping the little girl becomes her own thing (like the moon dragon from Future State) so Thao can be Supergirl. There's already so much linking her to the overall Super family narrative, Lois, Clark, Jon, and even Kara to an extent. Like, starting things off with Jon, our new Superman, being kind of mad at her because she marks the day his dad leaves is an interesting spot to start that dynamic from. Lois being the person she seems to bond with first is also great. And Thao feeling a bit disillusioned with the whole idea of Superman and the House of El is a fantastic place to start.

But if it's that little girl from Woman of Tomorrow then the reaction is more like "oh. Hey. I'm sorry, who are you?" I genuinely be sad if Thao isn't Supergirl. And the idea that she takes the S that was branded onto her as a sick punishment-- the S that never came down from the sky to save her and her people-- and makes it into her own is freaking powerful.

Might be worth noting that this seems to be the original design for Thao-La, which looks VERY similar to Kara’s.


https://twitter.com/mikeljanin/statu...646129154?s=20

It looks like Thao-La’s outfit was re-worked for story reasons, as well as the race change. The crest could be the symbol of the Phaelosians. Based on the fact that she was designed with a Super suit and crest makes me think it’s possible that she could be integrated into the Superman family, whether as Supergirl or something else.

As for Thao-La’s arc, I’m waiting to see what PKJ does before I make up my mind. I actually want her to go to back to Warwold with Clark and be the one to ultimately liberate the rest of the slaves. It would be hugely empowering for her, be thematically satisfying, and would avoid the white savior trope.

[Vordan]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000525461986

Daniel Sampere was also interviewed on a podcast recently:

-Said he got into art thanks to his grandpa who raised him and was a cartoonist
-Huge fan of manga growing up (I’m noticing that a lot of Spanish artists have strong manga roots)
-Walked into a premiere Spanish company and asked for a job, the editor in chief was amused and asked to see his portfolio. He was impressed by Sampere’s work and gave him some tips
-Growing up he wasn’t a Superman fan, Batman was more his guy, but he’s gotten a deeper appreciation for him thanks to the influence of guys like Jorge Jimenez and Tom Taylor who are huge Superman fans
-Loves the classic Superman costume and doesn’t want to change it
-Big influences on him were Alex Ross and Jim Lee. Ross he thinks draws the best Superman by making look strong and powerful without being cartoonishly muscled
-Most important parts of Superman to depict for him are his contradictions: He’s powerful but also gentle, he’s alien but also very close to humanity
-He had mostly been doing fill ins here and there so when he finally got offered Action he was a bit shell shocked. He asked to think about it and called his girlfriend and Bruno Redondo both of whom told him “what is there to think about?” and pushed him to take the gig. He was super excited once it really sunk in
-His three favorite DC Characters right now are Superman, Batman, and Aquaman
-He and PKJ have a good relationship, he says what we’re reading right now is the pot boiling on the stove, and when it erupts it will have everyone’s attention

[manwhohaseverything]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000525461986

Daniel Sampere was also interviewed on a podcast recently:

-Said he got into art thanks to his grandpa who raised him and was a cartoonist
-Huge fan of manga growing up (I’m noticing that a lot of Spanish artists have strong manga roots)
-Walked into a premiere Spanish company and asked for a job, the editor in chief was amused and asked to see his portfolio. He was impressed by Sampere’s work and gave him some tips
-Growing up he wasn’t a Superman fan, Batman was more his guy, but he’s gotten a deeper appreciation for him thanks to the influence of guys like Jorge Jimenez and Tom Taylor who are huge Superman fans
-Loves the classic Superman costume and doesn’t want to change it
-Big influences on him were Alex Ross and Jim Lee. Ross he thinks draws the best Superman by making look strong and powerful without being cartoonishly muscled
-Most important parts of Superman to depict for him are his contradictions: He’s powerful but also gentle, he’s alien but also very close to humanity
-He had mostly been doing fill ins here and there so when he finally got offered Action he was a bit shell shocked. He asked to think about it and called his girlfriend and Bruno Redondo both of whom told him “what is there to think about?” and pushed him to take the gig. He was super excited once it really sunk in
-His three favorite DC Characters right now are Superman, Batman, and Aquaman
-He and PKJ have a good relationship, he says what we’re reading right now is the pot boiling on the stove, and when it erupts it will have everyone’s attention

That honestly sounds like me.Growing up superman wasn't my guy either.Though i did get into him briefly,i quickly realised the dudes just not for me,that's a contrast.I just knew the character.Though i didn't care for batman either(too down).I hope manga influences mean some fleshed out action sequences..

[Quinlan58]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000525461986

Daniel Sampere was also interviewed on a podcast recently:

-Huge fan of manga growing up (I’m noticing that a lot of Spanish artists have strong manga roots)

As a Latin American, the impression I've gotten from the internet is that anime was way bigger in Latin America and Spain than in the USA in the 90's and 00's, partially because of more faithful dubbing.

-Big influences on him were Alex Ross and Jim Lee. Ross he thinks draws the best Superman by making look strong and powerful without being cartoonishly muscled

Heh, now that it's been mentioned I can definitely see Ross's influence in his Superman. Considering the cited reason, very curious that Lee was his second reference.

-Most important parts of Superman to depict for him are his contradictions: He’s powerful but also gentle, he’s alien but also very close to humanity

Always a very good approach to Superman.

-He and PKJ have a good relationship, he says what we’re reading right now is the pot boiling on the stove, and when it erupts it will have everyone’s attention

Tons of building up hype for what's coming. Hopefully they stick the landing.

[Vordan]

I’m assuming Lee is more of an influence on his Batman. One other funny tidbit was that people have told him his Superman reminds them of a bunch of different Supermen: Clay Mann’s, Jim Lee, Alex Ross, Curt Swan, etc. At first he was annoyed by the constant comparisons but he later on actually was happy about it, because it was impossible for his Superman to be drawing on all of them since their styles aren’t the same. Sampere thinks he’s taping into some kind of “ur-Superman” where people see their favorite depiction reflected in his art and that makes him happy. Says the public response so far to his art has been very positive (no surprise there).

For what it’s worth I think his Superman is closest to Clay Mann’s more than anyone else but I can definitely see some Ross too.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

That's why I hate this whole timeline moving Clark's origins back to the early 20th century. It's a messy story to make sense of, and it makes for weird characters. Clark and Lana being children of the 1920s should give them a really different perspective than they've had before in modern times. Jonathon and Martha would literally be Victorian! And then you have to make these time travel/unaging concessions for every hero's supporting cast that are being moved to that era. A sliding time scale is a much more elegant solution.
That modern Lois and Clark were once adults in the 80s never bothered me, it seems like a solution looking for a problem.

I don't think they're going to explicitly make Lois & Clark having been around since 1938, but I think the general idea of the Infinite Frontier era is that our characters now remember their prior incarnations, even though their current lives are still on that ever-sliding timeline that they've existed on since the late 40s.

So, Lois & Clark may have dream-like memories of their 1938 adventures, along with their Post-1956 and 1986 lives, but they won't be something that they'll be referencing regularly or have much impact on their current day exploits beyond the understanding that they don't have ordinary lives. The timey-wimey nature of their existence has been something they've already been aware of for the last few years. The details of just how crazy has just been made a little more clear to them, is all.

[The Frog Bros]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000525461986

Daniel Sampere was also interviewed on a podcast recently:

-Said he got into art thanks to his grandpa who raised him and was a cartoonist
-Huge fan of manga growing up (I’m noticing that a lot of Spanish artists have strong manga roots)
-Walked into a premiere Spanish company and asked for a job, the editor in chief was amused and asked to see his portfolio. He was impressed by Sampere’s work and gave him some tips
-Growing up he wasn’t a Superman fan, Batman was more his guy, but he’s gotten a deeper appreciation for him thanks to the influence of guys like Jorge Jimenez and Tom Taylor who are huge Superman fans
-Loves the classic Superman costume and doesn’t want to change it
-Big influences on him were Alex Ross and Jim Lee. Ross he thinks draws the best Superman by making look strong and powerful without being cartoonishly muscled
-Most important parts of Superman to depict for him are his contradictions: He’s powerful but also gentle, he’s alien but also very close to humanity
-He had mostly been doing fill ins here and there so when he finally got offered Action he was a bit shell shocked. He asked to think about it and called his girlfriend and Bruno Redondo both of whom told him “what is there to think about?” and pushed him to take the gig. He was super excited once it really sunk in
-His three favorite DC Characters right now are Superman, Batman, and Aquaman
-He and PKJ have a good relationship, he says what we’re reading right now is the pot boiling on the stove, and when it erupts it will have everyone’s attention

Right on!

Would be great if these two stayed on for a nice long run. They really have a solid synergy going.

[Superlad93]

Might be worth noting that this seems to be the original design for Thao-La, which looks VERY similar to Kara’s.


https://twitter.com/mikeljanin/statu...646129154?s=20

It looks like Thao-La’s outfit was re-worked for story reasons, as well as the race change. The crest could be the symbol of the Phaelosians. Based on the fact that she was designed with a Super suit and crest makes me think it’s possible that she could be integrated into the Superman family, whether as Supergirl or something else.

As for Thao-La’s arc, I’m waiting to see what PKJ does before I make up my mind. I actually want her to go to back to Warwold with Clark and be the one to ultimately liberate the rest of the slaves. It would be hugely empowering for her, be thematically satisfying, and would avoid the white savior trope.

This is absolutely nuts!

I mean, she even has the "2" S shield like Superman Secondus from All Star. Almost like a "Supergirl Secondus". It's very possible that they early sketches of her had her looking very similar to Kara-- or at the very least lighter skin-- and a suit more obviously similar to Kara's, but they changed it to make it more of a surprise, and to give a little more visual distinction to her.

And it's possible that this is DC mixing the idea of a black Superman stand alone movie, and a Latino Supergirl DCEU movie into one. This wouldn't be the first time they've done something like this for the sake of synergy. Remember Lighting Lad and Lightning Lass from Bendis' Legion? They started out white, and even made it like that to the covers before being changed. It was later revealed that they changed them because they wanted to visually link them to present day Black Lightning as a why of synergizing with the then popular show.

Signs seem to be pointing towards Thao-La being our new Supergirl in time.

[Vordan]

Guess they didn’t tell PKJ about the Annual getting pushed back a week. Or anybody else for that matter considering there are people posting their reviews. Bizarre.

[Superlad93]

Incoming THAT GUY theory. Avoid at all cost if not interested:

I've been trying to shake this thought for a while, but it's finally caught up with me: Phaelosians, the warworld fragment, and PKJ's big event are all connected. Now you're likely like "well, duh, he's writing it all", and yeah, that's true, but I think it's all linked in a way that not a lot of us were expecting.

So first off I want to talk about the warworld fragment and the Phaelosians. We actually saw Phaelosians for the first time in House of El. It's Khan-El (full Phaelosian) and his wife Alura (Kryptonian with Phaelosian blood), and I noticed that neither of them displayed Thao-La's blue heat vision. Khan in particular showed no signs of any powers beyond strength, durability, and the power to fly. Alura seemed to have full Kryptonian powers plus beams that shot from her hands. Then I remembered that 1) when Jon noted that yellow sun wasn't making any changes that he could see on a cellular level to the Phaelosians, Kara said that they couldn't be sure how energy would effect that. 2) they were on a ship with the warworld fragment all the way from warworld to Earth. We saw what happens when beings are in the same space as that fragment for too long, right? But what if that being were of Kryptonian ancestry with the power to convert energy? They may not change into monsters on the outside, but rather make use of that power in a more direct way.

Plus, when Clark went into the belly of beast and spoke to the voice about the "one who sleeps", the idea of dreams beyond time and space were talked about. Now over in the new annual we're hearing about how the Phaelosians seem to be able to dream about the past, present, and future of the House of El. It's possible that Mongul or his mystery benefactor knows of the effect the fragment has on Phaelosians.

Mongul's ultimate goal may be to use the Phaelosians' power of multiverse/future sight to his gain in some way, and that may be what the mystery benefactor is there for? That's likely how this being the multiverse event PKJ said it would be.

______________

Now I'm about to take some pretty wild swings (not baseless, but still wild). When asked about his "in" to writing Clark, PKJ has brought up the fact that making Clark a father has been almost like cheating it's so easy for him now, and about how he uses Jon as the point of focus to explain how Clark can love every being in the universe so unconditionally. He's brought this up multiple times. He also said that his short run in Superman would funnel into his Action Comics run and event. Most people were complaining about how it seemed like filler, and why Taylor didn't just come on right then. Well it's likely that arc may have been more important than we knew.

Jon's new "hyper violet" vision that was achieved via his more nuanced powers is interestingly enough NOT the color violet...but rather blue. It's blue like the warworld fragment, and blue like Thao-La's heat vision. Why not just make it, ya know, violet? It's possible that spectrum of light/power Jon tuned into is the same spectrum as the warworld fragment. What does that ultimately mean? Well, if there's one thing that we all kept noticing PKJ say in all his Superman interviews was that Jon would be wildly powerful. He kept saying it without fail. And in the time since his run started we've seen Jon tank attacks and radiation that his dad had no chance against (the Golden Age), and display nuanced control over his heat vision in a way his dad can't. We've also heard Batman and Mongul's servants talk about how powerful Jon is growing.

But the thing that has me most interested is the fact when he was asked why Jon was so powerful, he didn't pass the question on to Taylor, and say "well, I don't want to spoil things for his run" even though he's passed along questions for that very reason before like when asked about Jon's relationship with Saturn Girl. On that he said that he knows Taylor will be dealing with that. So the implication here seems to be that PKJ is actually in charge of that. When he was asked he said that it was a theory by the characters that Jon was stronger because he was half Kryptonain, and the implication seems to be that it's more than that.

So, my theory is that Jon is the "sleeping god" Clark was told about. Well, not Jon exactly, but rather a future version of Jon. The voice that talks to Clark speaks of how the "sleeping god" experiences time as an all at once thing. Like, this being is living outside of time. Why would I assume this was Jon? *Just* based off blue heat vision? No. Remember PKJ's Infinite Frontier story? It was all about Specture and Diana debating if Jon would be Superman or not because he HAD NO PLACE AND NO TIME TO CALL HIS OWN. PKJ has also, on multiple occasions, called Jon a "man out of time". Specture says that because of the messed up life Jon has had he is this great beast and darkness, and that he's lost and Earth will pay the price for that one day.

I'm not saying that this is setting up Jon to go bad. We've already been told that Taylor is writing the complete opposite of that, and PKJ meant for that story to be in part about how Jon is every bit the Superman his dad sees in him. But what if that's not the case for all Jon Kents in existence? Once again, this is a multiverse event, and the stuff linked to Jon has been the only thing dealing with the multiverse.

And when asked where Jon is in the era of the House of El, PKJ has that he can't answer that because it's a spoiler. What if there's a version of Jon who couldn't handle what he went through, and it turned him into some sort of mad god?

_______________

So then why on Earth would this be a Clark/PKJ story when you have a perfectly good Jon-Superman book to explore this? I think it all goes back to two things: PKJ's Worlds of War Future State book, and the fact that he says ever since his son was born everything he writes has ultimately been a letter to him. Worlds of War story about Edger Watters that Clark writes about ultimately boiled down to him spending the rest of his life dedicated to humanitarian work in the name of his son.

As we all know the story of Edger Watters is ultimately supposed to be a parallel to Clark's struggles on War World to free slaves, but we weren't sure how that tied to Jon in the role of the son. Even with the addition of the Phaelosians, it still doesn't line up because 1) they aren't half Kryptonian like Jon and 2) Mongul has already stated he doesn't care about Jon because he's linked to the Earth so much. The parallel would work if the fragment and the Phaelosians whom are linked to the fragment were then ultimately linked to Jon as this "sleeping god".

It would be a Clark story more than a Jon story because it would ultimately be about him having to somehow stop his son when he's at his lowest point. This is paralleled by Clark's other son from House of El, the Red King.

All of that would explain Jon's growing power levels, the multiverse aspect of the event, and even tie into Morrison's Superman & The Authority in a thematic sense. That's a Superman who Morrison describes as a dad who has to step in to stop a self destructive child out of love, but in that case it's the people of Earth. That's just like PKJ saying that Jon is the personification of how you can understand how Clark can love everyone.

[Vordan]

I always enjoy reading your big “theories of everything” so please continue to be “that guy” lol.

[DragonPiece]

I always enjoy reading your big “theories of everything” so please continue to be “that guy” lol.

Same, I don't usually have much to say about them but they're always interesting to read and usually somewhat right.

[HsssH]

Interesting ideas.

And when asked where Jon is in the era of the House of El, PKJ has that he can't answer that because it's a spoiler. What if there's a version of Jon who couldn't handle what he went through, and it turned him into some sort of mad god?

Hopefully dead? I'd prefer if only Clark ends up living for thousands of years.