Superman by Josh Williamson and Jamal Campbell Discussion & Spoilers

[Last Son of Krypton]

Apparently it’s sort of a weird relationship. The WB higher ups don’t care about issuing demands except in rare cases, but DC definitely tries to coordinate with what the movies do. That’s how we got Asian Mercy, Black Adam getting a mini, Batgirl was going to get a bunch of projects next year to tie in with the movie, and given the rumors about film side Superman I do think a lot of what we’re seeing is tied to developments going on over there.

The likes of Jim Lee (Johns too in the past) usually ask for synergy with the movies. Adding Black Adam to the JL in 2021 for example was because the upcoming movie:

"He said he looked for what would be the best line-up for this specific moment in time for the characters. The only character he said DC, specifically Jim Lee, asked him to include was Black Adam, given the upcoming film starring The Rock."
https://www.comicsbeat.com/justice-l...iew-dc-comics/

[Vordan]

Trying to find photos of all the Campbell concept art that was shown for Williamson’s upcoming run. Sadly it doesn’t look like there are that many pics from the panel. This is apparently a new anti-hero that Superman will be working with:



She’s definitely the female figure in shadows in the promo art. Also apparently that cop is a new character too, not a revamped version of Henderson, and he will be the new head of the Metropolis Police Department. Ugh I’m sure we would’ve gotten Maggie in that role if Taylor hadn’t poached her.

[Robanker]

Trying to find photos of all the Campbell concept art that was shown for Williamson’s upcoming run. Sadly it doesn’t look like there are that many pics from the panel. This is apparently a new anti-hero that Superman will be working with:



She’s definitely the female figure in shadows in the promo art. Also apparently that cop is a new character too, not a revamped version of Henderson, and he will be the new head of the Metropolis Police Department. Ugh I’m sure we would’ve gotten Maggie in that role if Taylor hadn’t poached her.

With some luck, we'll get Maggie back.

[Sacred Knight]

Williamson is generally pretty middling to me, but I'm so happy to see DC investing some more talent and time in Metropolis. I'll be supporting this book for a while to see if I like Williamson's Superman (he is one of the few writers who wrote a Damian I enjoyed, so anything's possible even if his event comics put me to sleep). The art alone may carry it, though.

He's not a writer that makes me say "Oh goddamn what a get!" or something like that, but at the same time I don't think he's outright bad or anything. I think he's capable enough to set up a new platform going forward. At least I hope so.

[Vordan]

Listening to the interview that DP posted back on the first page, some tidbits:
-He’s got other projects coming but this is the biggest in his opinion (damn does that mean no Legacy League?)
-Williamson was asked to do Superman and he accepted after a weekend of thinking about it, part of why he took the book is he wanted Superman to be the one leading the DCU into this bright new era after the Dark Crisis
-One of the big themes he’ll be exploring in his run is “a hero is only as good as their villain”, he thinks Supes has a great Rogues Gallery that hasn’t been utilized to their full extent and he wants to showcase them by demonstrating why they’re specifically Superman villains. Superman is the greatest hero so then what does that make the people he’s up against. Using them to test Supes is part of his ambitions for the book.
-Lex has finally accepted that the world needs Superman but being an egomaniac he’s determined to make that his Superman
-Williamson will be doing a bunch of shorter arcs, first up is a three issue arc with Parasite called Night of the Parasite, second arc is a two parter focused on Silver Banshee, he’s really been inspired by the way the STAS cartoon structured it’s storytelling and tone. Says it will mainly be 3 and 2 issue arcs before building to something bigger
-Brainiac is another one he mentions planning on using, does say there will be some new villains too
-Supporting cast core will be Lois, Lex, and Jimmy (no surprise there). Lois is editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet as DP already mentioned
-Jimmy is dating a supervillain and doesn’t know it (since the name of the second arc is So I Married A Supervillain I think the one he’s dating is Silver Banshee).
-Mercy Graves is in the book and has gone through a major change because of Lazarus Planet
-Recapturing the Triangle Era is a goal of the new book, they seem to all be building to something

[Frontier]

Trying to find photos of all the Campbell concept art that was shown for Williamson’s upcoming run. Sadly it doesn’t look like there are that many pics from the panel. This is apparently a new anti-hero that Superman will be working with:



She’s definitely the female figure in shadows in the promo art. Also apparently that cop is a new character too, not a revamped version of Henderson, and he will be the new head of the Metropolis Police Department. Ugh I’m sure we would’ve gotten Maggie in that role if Taylor hadn’t poached her.

I dunno why, but she reminds me of that new villain that were in the Jimmy Olsen backups we were getting pre-Warworld.

I like Campbell's Lois even if I miss the long hair.

Well, at least Williamson is developing Metropolis.

Interesting it's just Superman instead of Clark Kent. Guess we won't be getting a lot of Clark versus 100% Superman (thanks Bendis).

Listening to the interview that DP posted back on the first page, some tidbits:
-He’s got other projects coming but this is the biggest in his opinion (damn does that mean no Legacy League?)

I feel like the prime expectation is Taylor is either getting Titans or a League book.

-Williamson was asked to do Superman and he accepted after a weekend of thinking about it, part of why he took the book is he wanted Superman to be the one leading the DCU into this bright new era after the Dark Crisis

Superman is being treated as the main guy for once!

-One of the big themes he’ll be exploring in his run is “a hero is only as good as their villain”, he thinks Supes has a great Rogues Gallery that hasn’t been utilized to their full extent and he wants to showcase them by demonstrating why they’re specifically Superman villains. Superman is the greatest hero so then what does that make the people he’s up against. Using them to test Supes is part of his ambitions for the book.

Finally! Someone who appreciates Superman's Rogues Gallery and wants to use them to their full potential!

-Lex has finally accepted that the world needs Superman but being an egomaniac he’s determined to make that his Superman

I like how Lex can accept the need for Superman but still won't actually accept the actual Superman because he hates him too much.

Maybe this is where Bizarro comes in?

-Williamson will be doing a bunch of shorter arcs, first up is a three issue arc with Parasite called Night of the Parasite, second arc is a two parter focused on Silver Banshee, he’s really been inspired by the way the STAS cartoon structured it’s storytelling and tone. Says it will mainly be 3 and 2 issue arcs before building to something bigger

This pleases me. Not everything needs to be drawn out for six issues until we get a big story.

-Brainiac is another one he mentions planning on using, does say there will be some new villains too

When was the last time Brainiac was a major villain in the main book? Doomed?

-Supporting cast core will be Lois, Lex, and Jimmy (no surprise there). Lois is editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet as DP already mentioned

I wonder what that means for Perry?

-Jimmy is dating a supervillain and doesn’t know it (since the name of the second arc is So I Married A Supervillain I think the one he’s dating is Silver Banshee).

Jimmy has a knack for attracting Supervillains and criminals.

Also kind of funny because Winn on Supergirl, who was basically the shows' equivalent to Jimmy (even though the actual Jimmy was on the show), dated Silver Banshee too.

-Mercy Graves is in the book and has gone through a major change because of Lazarus Planet

Half-cyborg!

-Recapturing the Triangle Era is a goal of the new book, they seem to all be building to something

I can appreciate that. I always found it commendable how much the Triangle Era tried to do a strong, serialized, storyline and develop the supporting cast. It was quite ambitious at the time.

[Mantis-Ray]

Listening to the interview that DP posted back on the first page, some tidbits:
-He’s got other projects coming but this is the biggest in his opinion (damn does that mean no Legacy League?)
-Williamson was asked to do Superman and he accepted after a weekend of thinking about it, part of why he took the book is he wanted Superman to be the one leading the DCU into this bright new era after the Dark Crisis
-One of the big themes he’ll be exploring in his run is “a hero is only as good as their villain”, he thinks Supes has a great Rogues Gallery that hasn’t been utilized to their full extent and he wants to showcase them by demonstrating why they’re specifically Superman villains. Superman is the greatest hero so then what does that make the people he’s up against. Using them to test Supes is part of his ambitions for the book.
-Lex has finally accepted that the world needs Superman but being an egomaniac he’s determined to make that his Superman
-Williamson will be doing a bunch of shorter arcs, first up is a three issue arc with Parasite called Night of the Parasite, second arc is a two parter focused on Silver Banshee, he’s really been inspired by the way the STAS cartoon structured it’s storytelling and tone. Says it will mainly be 3 and 2 issue arcs before building to something bigger
-Brainiac is another one he mentions planning on using, does say there will be some new villains too
-Supporting cast core will be Lois, Lex, and Jimmy (no surprise there). Lois is editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet as DP already mentioned
-Jimmy is dating a supervillain and doesn’t know it (since the name of the second arc is So I Married A Supervillain I think the one he’s dating is Silver Banshee).
-Mercy Graves is in the book and has gone through a major change because of Lazarus Planet
-Recapturing the Triangle Era is a goal of the new book, they seem to all be building to something

What is the triangle era?

[Frontier]

What is the triangle era?

Basically an era of the franchise was all interconnected in an ongoing storyline and you could keep track of which issue to read next by the triangle marker on the cover.

[CitizenXXX]

What is the triangle era?

https://www.cbr.com/triangle-era-dea...man-dc-comics/

[DragonPiece]

I wonder what that means for Perry?

There was a lot of interveiws/quotes I read, so I can't remember where he said it, but Williamson mentioned something happens to Perry in Action 1050 that leads to someone needing to take over the daily planet. I doubt that means he dies since he's on the cover of the first issue though.

[Vordan]

I was encouraged by what Williamson said in the interview, sounds like he’s starting off leaning into his strengths. He’s not trying to write an epic at the start, just quick little arcs that highlight Superman’s Rogues and are presumably building towards something larger down the road.

There was a lot of interveiws/quotes I read, so I can't remember where he said it, but Williamson mentioned something happens to Perry in Action 1050 that leads to someone needing to take over the daily planet. I doubt that means he dies since he's on the cover of the first issue though.

He also mentioned that Lois taking over for Perry was temporary in the interview you linked, so it doesn’t seem to be a permanent deal.

[DragonPiece]

I was encouraged by what Williamson said in the interview, sounds like he’s starting off leaning into his strengths. He’s not trying to write an epic at the start, just quick little arcs that highlight Superman’s Rogues and are presumably building towards something larger down the road.



He also mentioned that Lois taking over for Perry was temporary in the interview you linked, so it doesn’t seem to be a permanent deal.

And honestly, I am excited for this run because he IMO his writer is better suited for these smaller, character focused stories. His Robin run was great up until shadow war happened and his flash run had a lot of great moments when he wasn’t aiming too high.

And yeah, I do wonder if they’ll acknowledge her working for truth at all after she becomes editor in chief.

[Mantis-Ray]

I'm glad we're getting shorter arcs with multiple villains.

A real problem with books now is that they are overtly serialized with these huge ongoing arcs that results in absolutely glacial pacing and barely any villains show up.

Both Son of Kal and the Warworld Saga were especially very guilty of this. Though Warworld Saga handled it better since it at least Mongul's various lieutenants to add spice in the arc. While SoK's Bendix Saga had no other other villains except Bendix and Luthor, with Bendix not even having any notable henchmen or hiring any named supervillains to battle Jon. It was just his brainwashed soldiers who all had the same personality of being an unwilling victim.

Meanwhile here we're confirmed to be getting Parasite and Silver Banshee in the first 6 issues.

[exile001]

Williamson gets a half-hearted "meh" from me. When his Flash was good it was a thrill ride, most of which were in the first 50 issues that he originally planned, but he failed hard a lot more in the second half (I'm looking at you, other "Forces").

I wonder how much can be done in 2-3 issues with characters who have been defeated countless times.

However, I hope this villain revitalising focuses, in part, on Superman's vision of converting them to his side. I like a Superman whose end goal is getting his enemies to become forces for good. I like to view his entire rivalry with Lex that way.

[Vordan]

Well given he’s naming the STAS as an influence this might also be something he’s drawing on:



Mark Millar’s run on Superman Adventures followed a similar format, short 1-3 issue arcs focusing on Superman’s Rogues and his supporting cast. It was great too, a lot of Millar’s best issues were one and dones like the Livewire story or the Lex story How Much Can One Man Hate? Totally possible to do good work with the villains without making them 6 issue arcs, and that kind of storytelling will likely be found in PKJ’s Action.