Bendis's run: How'd it rank?

[Jon Clark]

A bunch of Decent ideas with no real development.

We have a United Planets that seem to exist just to either come to Superman's rescue or vice-versa. No real development of the organization. I get working out trade deals and writing interplanetary law are boring, but that is what this type of organization would be there for, so why create it and put Superman in the center of it if those aren't the stories you want to tell?
Lots of time devoted to the undeveloped plot threads that are Leviathan.
OOHH- let's pull the Earth into the Phantom Zone just for spectacle. But it's just another Wednesday in the DCU and no one really notices.
What if Jon Kent was lost for half-a-decade and no one really noticed? Jon comes back and rather than spend time with his family (who he hasn't seen in years) instead runs off to join the Legion. Superman shrugs and Lois is too busy with some news article to even be bothered.

Bendis was all talk (pun fits perfectly) and no follow through. He built a bunch of shiny story engines that should be changing the DCU (Leviathan, UP) but no one else seems to have any idea what to do with them (and Bendis moves on to the next idea).

[Robanker]

Gave him a 4.

Bit generous of me, really, given the uneven pacing and a number of plot points and arcs that really didn't shine, including the stuff that "made sense" but wasn't given the necessary amount of panel time to marinate into a good story. Plenty of stuff to criticize, but gods know we've seen enough of that in this forum the last couple years so I'll leave it at that. But it was definitely better than Clark's modern "average run" of a 3 and definitely not a "consistently great" 5, so 4 it is!

Bendis got Clark's voice down better than almost anyone else, certainly better than any of DC's usual stable of writers who think he's either a perfect saint, a vanilla Everyman, or some combination of both, and Bendis made Metropolis and it's citizens matter in a way that we haven't seen in many years. He also pushed the franchise forward with the United Planets and open identity, and while I still have my doubts about DC's ability to manage that open ID with any nuance, understanding, or skill, I still appreciate the fact that Bendis pulled it off in a organic manner that felt authentic to where Clark's at in life, and ensured that Clark made the choice himself rather than having someone else leak it.

Never, ever thought I'd actually enjoy Bendis on Superman. Haven't really enjoyed much of his work since Daredevil and Ultimate Spidey. But I had a cautiously optimistic feeling when he was announced, and despite all the (many) flaws and Bendis-isms, I found his run to be far better than Tomasi's pedestrian, out of character Superdad, or the "throw crap at walls" nonsense that pervaded the New52.

Yeah this sums up my own thoughts as well. Aside from Romita Jr. the art was amazing as well, so glad Reis got to come back and draw some more Superman.

It was a mixed bag to be sure. The highs were very high, but there was a lot of misfires and dead-ends as well.

I loved the Invisible Mafia stuff, but it sort of ended with a "meh" thanks to JRJR's underwhelming art.

I still have no clue what the whole Rogal Zhar/Jor-El stuff was supposed to be about.

I like Bendis/Sook's Legion, but I fail to understand why it needed to be a reboot. Why not just set it in the 32nd Century like he originally said it would be?

The Jon stuff was oddly rushed, while other stuff was glacial in pace.

The art was generally fantastic.

And, most importantly, Bendis absolutely nailed Clark's voice. He understood how to write him as a person, even if the stories surrounding him were sometimes lacking.

These guys get me.

[rpmaluki]

It's a mixed bag for sure. I definitely enjoyed Bendis' run. It wasn't perfect, some things were cringe bad but over all, for me, the somewhat good outweighed the not so great. I loved his voice for Superman, I appreciate his use for the DP cast and Lois (barring #1004). I thought he had some great ideas, the problem was his execution, that could have been better by a large margin.

[manwhohaseverything]

2.5/3
from me.The run was bad.His voice for superman as this benevolent figure got old as well which was actually the only good thing.I liked some of the world building.It was boring.

[The Frog Bros]

A run that didn't live up to the hype or potential. We got bombarded by the Bendis is Coming ads for quite a while (a la Gabbo is coming), so the hype train was rolling big time. Got off to a poor start with Rogol and how Jon got de-aged made little to no sense at all, even for a comic book. As mentioned, he did make good on his promise to make Metropolis more of a factor as a living breathing city with relevant characters (although he did kinda fridge Melody Moore). Invisible Mafia was a nice way to add to the city's vibe. United Planets is a good concept but would get an incomplete; let's see where it goes in future stories. Secret ID reveal was something I surprisingly liked. It could still end up being god awful depending on where it goes from here, but I am curious to see what new writers can do with the concept. Could end up being a cool way to show growth and modernization of the character. Just as likely though, the SI could crash and burn (some would say it already has) and just get rebooted. I can't help but wonder if the run would have been better received with someone other than JRJR to close out AC.

On the whole, I'd say AC started out as the stronger title, but the later half of Superman got better while AC receded.

[Kuwagaton]

In terms of Bendis I'd say

1 - an embarrassing situation. No one has an idea of how to make it work going in or during, and the creators emd ip ribbing this creation in the future to endear themselves to fans

2 - a stumble, a misfire that never corrects. Whatever tools are given are poorly utilized. Maybe poor working relationships or admittedlack of enthusiasm for the subject

3 - strong efforts without much consistency or balance. Could've gotten better in time, or the creator can very seemingly come back to the character for a good effort with what they've shown.

4 - novel, must have developments of character. Ideal creator relationships where they bring out the best in each other. You question the wisdom in letting the run end early.

5 - an even greater ideal. You talk about how thoroughly well done it was years later as a new standard and the biggest issue is probably going in to another run expecting to be let down.

So I think Bendis is a 3. He was given some pretty enormous advantages (editorial, artists, the monthly schedule, supporting books) and he did decently well with them. But while I don't think it's right to call it fluff or flash, when it came down to story or character there wasn't the strong substance. Lois, Jon, Jor, and Zaar had rough goings, the UP and outing stories were vague and decompressed ideas. The event style arcs went through the motions. It's an ugly baton to pass. I wouldn't mind more Bendis in the future but unfortunately I feel like I already have enough.

On the most important aspect, Superman himself... I think the voice and usage were strong. Most of the time I'd think, "this is just what I'd hope for him to say or do." A 4 in itself maybe, but Bendis didn't make him so much the primary character in a story full of characters as a character in the middle of stories for other characters. IMO. Superman is often a frustrating character that way but it's up to the writer to make that work and I don't think Bendis was very far above average with that.

[Quinlan58]

3. Interesting ideas (except some that were pretty bad) with mostly underwhelming execution (except for some moments which were great), buoyed by Bendis' almost perfect voice for Clark, and a desire to move the mythos forward. His Superman run I mostly liked, his Action Comics run I mostly hated.

[Jcogginsa]

4. Not perfect, but good, and and better than what came before, at least in terms of the Action Comics and Superman titles. Something to put into a list of Superman works to check out, but not a be all end all

[witchboy]

Terrible. His legacy here is how he aged up Jon and turned Lois and Clark into terrible parents whose appallingly bad choices ruined Jon's life. Or would have if the aging up and years of torture were written with any kind of honesty.

[Eto]

Terrible run. Best left forgotten.
How he handled Jon is thrash tier.
Red Fart and Boring Zaar were and are still boring and not properly developed characters.
Both Lois and Clark's motives regarding their son made no sense and still doesn't?

[kalai]

Mediocre seems about right. so 3/5.
The positive thing is that the art is good and there is at least a Bendis-continuity among Action Comics, Young Justice, Naomi.
And the characterization of Superman seems about alright.

The negative thing is that nothing worthy of mentioning really happened.
There are supposedly these big changes to the Superman status quo:
1, No more secret identity,
2, United Planets,
3, Jon is now an teenager but never went to middle school or high school
4, Lois and Clark living apart
5, Ma and Pa are alive
6, Krypton was destroyed by Rogol Zarr

But honestly nothing happened, these are suppose to be big moments,
Superman reveals his secret identity, nothing happened,
even the Truth arc of New52 had a bigger impact than Bendis's reveal.
And United Planets, nothing happened.
Rogol Zarr, nothing happened, maybe Bendis will use him again in Justice League, who knows.
Jon is teenager, at least we got Legions book, but again, nothing happened in that book.

[Thor-Ul]

3 of 5. Bendis had good ideas, got Clark voice better and returned to the Daily Planet to an interesting place. He also knows how to made th artists to work visually.
But his run it feels lacking. He knew how to write a good Clark Kent, but I feel he doesn't was capable to write adventures for Superman. And his changes at continuity, I don't think they will be the great impact he hoped they would be. The additons to the rouges gallery are like ciphers, maybe Leone and the Invisible Mafia were the most interesting developments, but they stories were truncated.
In my opinion Bendis failed in his objetive: leave changes than would last in the character.
In one word: disappointing.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

this run was the Superman equivalent of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Maybe one or two characters are written well but that doesn't make up for others that are trashed or straight up character assassinated (Lois). A handful of decent ideas but not executed well at all. Retreads past ideas but with worse execution. And like the SW sequel trilogy, we'd be better off with this run being removed from canon, so its a 1/5 for me.

[Batman Begins 2005]

Rubbish. BMB is nowhere near the writer he once was. Give me back Peter J Tomasi/Patrick Gleason Superman and Super Sons by PJT.

[jwatson]

As a whole? Now that it's done, honestly i would say a 2.75. Bendis basically just told one story it feels like. I know there were more but that is the feeling i am left with.

Then there were a few redunandces imo. Like i don't see the use for aging Jon, if your plan was to bring conner back in the first place. Legion could have been done as is with a younger Jon aside from the romantic moments which were the least interesting parts of the story anyway.

But there was a lot of good in there. He rebuilt Superman into a powerful figure and answered the one criticism i always had of superman. It's one thing to have a secret identity but it's a whole other to be outing others and being all truth and justice because your well, Superman.

I also feel this is the most the Superman Family has felt like an actual family and i enjoy his Supergirl and her personality far more than dreary kara or trying to find myself kara. The relationship between the cousins felt very organic and surprisingly uncringeworthy.

So in the end feel he did succeed in rebuilding the superman brand into something that is distinct and someone can move forward in interesting ways. But the whole run just felt like set up for someone else so i cant say thats a good feeling you want to be left with when thinking about what was suppose to be a run by a big name.