Future State: Superman books

[Robotman]

Not of a fan of either SoM issues. This one was a bit better but that’s not saying much. I liked seeing the Supermen from different eras. I wonder if this was written when they had the original 5G plan to have Kal show up in the 40s. Still don’t like how quickly Jon chose the nuclear option for Metropolis and the fact that they celebrated him at the end seemed ridiculous.

The Mister Miracle story was again pretty pointless. I did enjoy the Guardian backup. I hope we see more of the character in current continuity. Maybe even have Mal Duncan put the suit back on.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I still don't know what "Swallow your fears like I did during the red scare". What were Clark's "fears" and what does he mean by "swallow them".

That would be the Super-dickery era is my guess

[Superlad93]

Issue 2 is a strong conclusion to a story that we know was heavily edited and advised on. I wish Lewis had gotten the chance to do his own thing like many of the other Future State books, but given the fact that in an interview he seemed to imply that he came in as more of a fill-in than the first choice, it's not hard to imagine why this story didn't completely have him in it like say his Guardian back up which was what he was originally approached to write.

That said, I loved the theme of taking responsibility as an adult, and how taking on that role is an active choice that you have to make every single day even when it's hard. Jon's words to the city at the end were damn near character defining. The idea of treating the whole city with the same sort of care and passion that Spider-Man or Daredevil treat their respective little slices of New York is a pretty solid way of really brining the title of Superman of Metropolis to life. On top of that, building his relationship with the city off Jon wanting to make amends for a mistake he made when he was more immature about his role and only pretending at the idea of being a Superman aka an adult is pretty inspired in how simple it is while opening up a whole new dynamic. In theory, this would be a Superman who has to earn the public trust day in and day out in a way Clark has usually never had to. And it acts as a clear origin point for the character. Highly adaptable.

And in regards to Jon's power in the issue, it seems to conflict a bit with what PKJ has repeated several times in interviews, unprompted. He's said that Jon does in fact have the potential to be more powerful than his dad, but he just hasn't shown it yet. Since this second issue was more Lewis being able to do his own thing with his own notions of the character, I imagine that reading of Jon's powers was mainly him. That said, I don't think PKJ will be having Jon overpower either Clark or Kara in the present day. Rather, I think he'll actually stay the 'runt of the litter' in terms of power, and that will only heighten the feelings of him not feeling ready for the title of Superman in present day, but having it thrust upon him because Clark will be both weakened and he'll be leaving Earth. So that'll allow DC to push Kara as the new top dog in terms of power in the present while having Jon's potential remain an idea to aspire towards.

____________

Bit of news: Lewis makes it clear in an interview that he's actually not going to be writing any Jon/Superman for the foreseeable future, and the only DC work he's got coming is his back-ups for 10 months. He's got a big project coming up at another place that will be taking up his time.

So, he's out of the running for taking over the Superman book when PKJ switches just to Action.

My guess for who takes over? Honestly, Bendis coming back seems pretty likely right now. He's said on Twitter that he's got a big Superman related project coming up that's outside of Justice League (Clark) and Checkmate (Lois). But maybe my biggest indication is simply just how much PKJ, unprompted most of the time, tends to mention Bendis in relation to Superman. He keeps making it absolutely clear that he's doing a continuation of what Bendis started especially when it comes to Jon. Logic would dictate that the next writing after him, after he goes strictly Action Comics with Clark, who takes on Jon will be continuing on that same thread, right? He's clearly their to set that up. Chances seem good that it's Bendis, imo.

My other guess is that it's Matt Fraction. On Word Balloon he explained that DC came to him after his Jimmy Olsen book asking him to be a much bigger part of 5G. The trend seems to always be that if you were looked at for 5G then you're more than likely a first round draft pick for Post-Infinite Frontier. Plus, Fraction is a screenwriter for TV and movies, and that's something DC's actively looking for with their talent these days. Fraction is also a very, very close Bendis collaborator and friend, and quite a few of the ideas in the Superman world that PKJ is continuing were helped along by him, so that would fit nearly just as well as Bendis doing it again himself. And Fraction was also one of the names, along with Zdarsky and Ellis, rumored by Bleeding Cool to be working on a Superman related thing for what we know know is Post-Infinite Frontier. And since that Ellis has been outted as a creep, and Zdarsky is now rumored to be doing a Justice League thing. So Fraction could be doing the Jon-Superman book as a counter weight to the other screenwriter, Ridley, doing Jace Fox-Batman. The screenwriting may have even been what kept him from setting aside a little time to do Future State. But he may have more time for a Jon book-- possibly starting with a digital first mini like Ridley's Jace-Batman?

Outside of these two, it's hard to imagine who else it could be.

[Morgoth]

My guess for who takes over? Honestly, Bendis coming back seems pretty likely right now.

But that's the point to take him out of the books, just to give it back a few months later? Especially given negative feedback.

My other guess is that it's Matt Fraction.

It would be perfect. But didn't he say that he won't write ongoings anymore?

[Superlad93]

But that's the point to take him out of the books, just to give it back a few months later? Especially given negative feedback.

Because he's ultimately the driving force behind all of the 5G Superman related stuff (outside of WB and editorial itself), and as PKJ made clear, those 5G ideas are being worked into the present day stuff going forward in one way or another.

Chances are more than good that Bendis was supposed to continue working on Jon when he became Superman for 5G. The idea may be to cleanse the collective palates of the ill will with PKJ closely continuing Bendis' plot thread, then having Benids show up again, but this time relegated to just the Superman book as far as the Super line goes. This time instead of being tasked with all the books, he'd be doing the thing that ultimately made his name in mainstream comics: doing a book about a kid who has to take on the responsibility of being an adult before they're ready. It's why they went to him for RiRi. It's why his Ultimate Peter is so defining. It's why Miles is Miles. It's why they gave him Wonder Comics. It's why they gave him Legion. It's why Naomi is a thing. He is That Guy, and they've wanted an "Ultimate Superman" since forever.

It would be perfect. But didn't he say that he won't write ongoings anymore?

Depends on when he said that. Because he also said that DC came to him to be a bigger part of 5G.

Just based off the idea that so much of Bendis ideas are not only being kept, but followed through on and threated as defining seems to imply the possibility of his continued involvement or at least the involvement of a collaborator.

___________

Had Landis not been found out to be such a creep I have no doubt in my mind that DC/WB would've held Agent of Batman and all further American Alien follow ups hostage till Landis basic did for Jon what Morrison did for Clark during the New 52: a mid sized take/character defining run that would act as the true north for all writers after.

[Vordan]

Fraction handling Jon would be fantastic. Dunno, I’ve seen a couple people speculate that Bendis could come back but the Justice League book eats up a lot of his time I’m sure. We’ll see. There’s also still Watters and I guess (ugh) Taylor as options too.

[Superlad93]

Fraction handling Jon would be fantastic. Dunno, I’ve seen a couple people speculate that Bendis could come back but the Justice League book eats up a lot of his time I’m sure.

The man is no stranger to writing a multiple team books while running a solo too. He had solos going while he was doing his Avengers runs, and his X-Men run, and his Guardians run. Given the fact that he was overseening Wonder, writing YJ, Naomi, Superman, Action, and Legion all while getting ready for 5G and doing Leviathan, I'd say just doing a Jon-Superman book alongside JL and Checkmate is a much lighter workload.

[Frontier]

The man is no stranger to writing a multiple team books while running a solo too. He had solos going while he was doing his Avengers runs, and his X-Men run, and his Guardians run. Given the fact that he was overseening Wonder, writing YJ, Naomi, Superman, Action, and Legion all while getting ready for 5G and doing Leviathan, I'd say just doing a Jon-Superman book alongside JL and Checkmate is a much lighter workload.

I feel like that had the consequence of Bendis stretching himself way too thin during his tenure at Marvel, which is why I was hoping he could hold himself back a little at DC.

I mean, I can admire the productivity, but I feel like some of the books eventually suffer because of it.

[Vordan]

I feel like that had the consequence of Bendis stretching himself way too thin during his tenure at Marvel, which is why I was hoping he could hold himself back a little at DC.

I mean, I can admire the productivity, but I feel like some of the books eventually suffer because of it.

Yeah I agree. They need to restrict him to 3 books at most imo.

[DragonPiece]

Really liked how superman/wonder woman ended, definitely one of the highlights of future state. Hope it won't be too long before we see another Jon and Yara adventure. And I hope Dan Watters gets more work from DC, because this was very enjoyable.

[Vordan]

Watters is great. Good handle on both high scale fantasy and science fiction, exactly what I’d expect from the writer of Lucifer:


This is exactly the kind of stuff I want Superman dealing with! Would love to see Watters write Jon and Yara more, or to get another DC book at the very least.

[Kuwagaton]

Yeah, I have to say Watters and Del Luca are the first ones to really get me into Future state

[stargazer01]

Watters is great. Good handle on both high scale fantasy and science fiction, exactly what I’d expect from the writer of Lucifer:


This is exactly the kind of stuff I want Superman dealing with! Would love to see Watters write Jon and Yara more, or to get another DC book at the very least.

what book is this? It sounds like something out of All Star Superman.

[Superlad93]

Good lord that book was fantastic!!

While the first issue was just as strong overall, I couldn't help but feel Jon was underserved as a character in terms of really digging into things with him. This issue totally rectified that. It threaded the needle of a future confident Jon, his wide eyed and sweet core character, and his feelings of being flawed. And it does it in the most simple way: make Superman into a 9 to 5 job.

When Jon wakes up he "clocks in". He's got a schedule to keep, appointments to make, and a standard of "customer service" to uphold. And you know what? Like anyone who has ever had a job, he's almost perpetually tired and overworked, but since he's grown he puts his boots on, fixes his "nametag" (essentially the S shield becomes a nametag in this context), and he gets his ass out there. And his words on holding each other accountable because success is something you have to maintain day in and day out functions as both a great inside look at the character's views, AND a very strong follow up to Superman of Metropolis where he was uncertain he'd ever even reach success, but he'd still try.

I really can't say enough good things about the very unique gimmick of time and punctuality at play her with Jon. There's so much you can do with it, and there's this inherent sense of threat to it the idea of "what if I'm late". It's such an oddly relatable idea. That tightness in your belly and sense of panic you get when you oversleep and risk being late for work. It's so true to life but upscaled. I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it.

_________________

The actual dynamic between Jon and Yara is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the idea of the World's Finest. Yara's the "street smart" hot head, and Jon's the "book smart" straight-man. And shockingly the Superman in this equation is allowed to be both the science/tech guy AND the physically stronger one, yet it doesn't kill the dynamic or make Yara useless because ultimately she's the one that comes up with the plan to win since she's more cunning. Both are also allowed to be funny in their own way.

If they're gonna keep a Batman/Superman book going rather than calling it World's Finest, I say that that title to Jon and Yara for a present day book because these two are a lot of fun.

[Korath]

I don't feel like it's a job for Jon. He shouldn't be shackled with those problems, he ought to be the Man of the People his father stopped being decades ago. let old Clark, or Kara or whoever deal with those. Jon should be out there stating to powerful people that their bullshit won't be tolerated anymore. Make him more SoM and JL and less SM/WW in a sense.