Superman reboots in the works; JJ Abrams producing.

[Besouro]

I've heard his comics stuff isn't that good. Is that true?

Just take a quick peep into the BP apprecitation thread and find out.

Personally, I have only read his BP work and in spite of good dialogue his plot and story are steaming pile of hot sh*t.

[Prime]

Is it really hard to just hire Grant Morrison?

[Celgress]

He was never shown stopping it. The Doras that broke off did it themselves.

Coates also had Shuri tell the same Doras that they should accept being raped for wakanda if need be.

BP was not heroic or inspirational at all. He was mopey, indecisive, and always relied on others to do stuff for him

Worst of all... its all incredibly slow and boring

Thanks for the info.

I'm honestly disgusted by what you describe happened along with the lackluster reaction of our heroes. *yuck*

[Vordan]

Is it really hard to just hire Grant Morrison?

WB passed on his Flash script, he’s probably fed up with dealing with them.

[Prime]

WB passed on his Flash script, he’s probably fed up with dealing with them.

The anger that build inside me man. How do you deal when you read how stupid WB really is?

[SiegePerilous02]

He was never shown stopping it. The Doras that broke off did it themselves.

Coates also had Shuri tell the same Doras that they should accept being raped for wakanda if need be.

BP was not heroic or inspirational at all. He was mopey, indecisive, and always relied on others to do stuff for him

Worst of all... its all incredibly slow and boring

Man, I'm sorry you guys had to put up with that.
We've all endured rough runs for our favorites, but this one (at least hearing all this second hand) sounds especially rough.

[rpmaluki]

Jon is probably an easier pitch but then why approve the S&L show? That’s shaping the idea of what “Jon”/any son of Superman would be. Reeves got a lot of creative freedom with his Batman, I feel pretty safe in saying that Abrams and whoever will direct this are going to get total freedom as well. I mean Snyder did until he started bombing.

I dunno man, I can see it going either way. That DC is pushing Jon so hard does help your argument, especially since creative synergy is the name of the game at DC these days. But they could just as easily announce a Calvin or a Val movie and put on an ongoing to tie in.


I bailed around that point, but apparently Shuri or Ramonda told the rape villains to basically suck it up. It was a really damaging take on the BP mythos. Also Coates made the Wakandans into colonizers who killed off the original inhabitants of Wakanda. He did a lot of stuff that BP fans hated. Neither he nor Abrams being involved fills me with much enthusiasm.

Having digested this news a bit, it's probably best this supposed Superman isn't Clark if his BP stuff is anything to go by. The whole things is just disappointing.

[Prime]

I'm just perplexed why this company keep hiring people that do NOT understand the character? Like at all.

[Superlad93]

Jon is probably an easier pitch but then why approve the S&L show? That’s shaping the idea of what “Jon”/any son of Superman would be.

That's like asking "why create a Flash TV when you plan on making a Flash movie?" They've answered this recently by saying they're all in the same multiverse, but the creative teams are aware of each other, so they make sure not to step on each other's toes in terms of directions they're taking the same characters. Thus Jon in the show is quite possibly the most All-American young man you've ever seen in your life, and thus far powerless with little to no link to his comic self beyond his name and being a good person. That then leaves any potential movie using him to make their version.

Another example is how Supergirl was defined on TV yet clearly the films will not feel the need to follow that model.

Like I said earlier, if the new writer for Jon's Superman book (lets stop dancing around it and call it that) is Black then I think we'll have our answer. But even before that, if Jon's love interest does in fact end up being that young Black woman from the cover of 1031 then I'm straight up counting that.

[Vordan]

That's like asking "why create a Flash TV when you plan on making a Flash movie?" They've answered this recently by saying they're all in the same multiverse, but the creative teams are aware of each other, so they make sure not to step on each other's toes in terms of directions they're taking the same characters. Thus Jon in the show is quite possibly the most All-American young man you've ever seen in your life, and thus far powerless with little to no link to his comic self beyond his name and being a good person. That then leaves any potential movie using him to make their version.

Another example is how Supergirl was defined on TV yet clearly the films will not feel the need to follow that model.

Like I said earlier, if the new writer for Jon's Superman book (lets stop dancing around it and call it that) is Black then I think we'll have our answer. But even before that, if Jon's love interest does in fact end up being that young Black woman from the cover of 1031 then I'm straight up counting that.

You’re winning me over. Giving Jon a black LI like you hypothesized could definitely be a way to line things up. If it the new writer is black, consider me a convert to your theory. I’m still hoping for Calvin because I think he would suit Coates best, and I’ll always be rooting for Morrison’s stuff to get used.

But who would the writer be I wonder? Easton maybe? Thomas would be my first choice given what a great Superman he wrote in his one off MoT issue.

[dornwolf]

So unpopular opinion, I know, but I’ve never been a fan of Calvin Ellis. The primary reason is because I don’t care for canonizing politicians and making President Obama literally Superman always seemed uncomfortable to me even as a Democrat who voted for the man twice. Obama is still a politician and he was still responsible for drone strikes and other war crimes even in his tenure as President. Again, I voted for him and respect him but I don’t believe in turning politicians into icons. Even ones I was proud to vote for. Coates is, as I recall, a notorious Obama apologist. So that’s big concern #1.

I also remember there being a pretty poignant conversation that took place years ago at the way the Ellis storyline failed Black women by not bothering to create a Black Lois Lane counterpart. The piece I’m linking was published in several places at the time and expressed frustration that they had gone out of their way to reboot Superman but without any care for what they could have also done for Black women in the process. It felt like representation that wasn’t entirely thought through.

https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/20...-lane-matters/

Given the news that apparently Coates has never been interested in Superman , I can’t say I feel happy or positive about this news.

I think you can tell a really poignant Superman story that truly tackles the ideas of immigration and assimilation but I tend to agree with others who have spoken at length about this elsewhere that there is an element of passing to Superman that is inherent to the character or it’s just a completely different story. And I agree that a lot of these writers have not thought long and hard about what that means and that includes the reality of how a Lois Lane analogue is often left out of these other stories despite a pretty good case that that would be important to explore.

But, overall, I just know in listening and really trying to understand these issues that representation is complicated. And I’m not sure anything that WB would come up with here will responsibly address that.

It’s fair to be upset that a black Lois is missing but stepping back to look at Calvin and his world as a whole we don’t really know too much. He’s had Final Crisis, one issue of Action, Muliverstity and a hand full of cameos as leading the multiverse Justice League. Despite fans actually liking him DC has never actually given him a mini. So Lois is still a possibility.


As for the Black Panther stuff, that’s fucking pathetic. I can’t believe reviews were heralding that run as special. I was kind of turned off by his writing when he had all the supporting characters explain America to Captain America.

[Vordan]

I think a mistaken assumption in that article is that just because Calvin doesn’t recognize “Lois Lane”, that means he doesn’t have an equivalent. Consider that Calvin is not a 1 to 1 copy of Clark. Beyond just his race he was raised in the city, chose a different career path, etc. He probably does have a black equivalent to Lois, but she wouldn’t have the name “Lois Lane” or be a journalist. If I was writing Calvin I’d have him be a lawyer before he went into politics, and his “Lois” was a fellow attorney at his first law firm.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I'm still excited and I don't see there being a Lois. I imagine it will be his universes Wonder Woman.

[Nelliebly]

I think a mistaken assumption in that article is that just because Calvin doesn’t recognize “Lois Lane”, that means he doesn’t have an equivalent. Consider that Calvin is not a 1 to 1 copy of Clark. Beyond just his race he was raised in the city, chose a different career path, etc. He probably does have a black equivalent to Lois, but she wouldn’t have the name “Lois Lane” or be a journalist. If I was writing Calvin I’d have him be a lawyer before he went into politics, and his “Lois” was a fellow attorney at his first law firm.

I mean, I think that would be fine. But it was problematic that no one involved at DC had even thought it through.

[Robotman]

Superman is definitely going to be black in this reboot. It makes sense since WB has had no idea how to use the character as he normally is portrayed. So making him black is an easy fix and a way to generate buzz for their studio. I’m sure the success of Miles Morales’ movie, all but sealed the deal. I hope they take a page from Marvel and don’t just change the character’s race. I’m really hoping it’s Val Zod or Calvin Ellis.

I guess I’m too “traditional” because this news doesn’t excite me. I’ve been hoping for a fun well made Superman movie where he finally fights Brainiac. I’m tired of the attempts at deep introspective Superman movies about his hardships, what the symbol represents, etc. Making Superman black will no doubt lead to the movie exploring heavily the issue of race in America (and the world). What happens when the most powerful man in the world is black? I think it’s an interesting idea to explore, but it’s not something I want to be the basis of a new Superman franchise. I’d be down with this if it were a new HBO series like Watchmen.

I'm just perplexed why this company keep hiring people that do NOT understand the character? Like at all.

Because they themselves don’t understand the character.