Gene Yang Talks "Superman" #42's Major Developments

[CBR News]

CBR News talks in-depth with writer Gene Luen Yang about features the reveal of a new villain and Lois confronting Clark with his big secret.


Full article here.

[protege]

I'm not sure i like the idea of Hoard_root being this Mark Zuckerberg type- I'd kind of like it if he were more like Edward Snowden,misguided in his belief that the truth must be told, without really thinking of the larger ramifications. And while i like the idea of Toymaster being Clark's ally, I still miss the days when he had a toy themed adversary.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

So, did Condesa say "I seen" b/c it's ghetto talk or just bad editing?

[DocSpin]

I'm not sure i like the idea of Hoard_root being this Mark Zuckerberg type- I'd kind of like it if he were more like Edward Snowden,misguided in his belief that the truth must be told, without really thinking of the larger ramifications. And while i like the idea of Toymaster being Clark's ally, I still miss the days when he had a toy themed adversary.

How naive to think that Snowden is "misguided". The super-villain choice and Google-like atmosphere was well chosen. But really: Lois "finally figures out" who Superman is. Ms. Pulitzer Prize had everything thrown directly in her face. There was no figuring out -- just overcoming denial if that. And typically she responded with the usual waspish comments rather than acknowledging the burden her best friend has carried for years. Wonder if she'd handle a gay friend's coming out story like this. "Jimmy knew FIRST"?! Total witch mode. Especially in light of her earlier acknowledgement -- while under Braniac's influence -- that she would, of course, out Clark to the world because she's a "serious" reporter. As a woman of power in a dog-eat-dog industry we've never seen her nurture or mentor the men under her. We're just always expected to respect and admire her "competitive" nature. I would really like to see Yang soften her antagonistic nature and flesh out her human side a bit more.

[misslane]

How naive to think that Snowden is "misguided". The super-villain choice and Google-like atmosphere was well chosen. But really: Lois "finally figures out" who Superman is. Ms. Pulitzer Prize had everything thrown directly in her face. There was no figuring out -- just overcoming denial if that. And typically she responded with the usual waspish comments rather than acknowledging the burden her best friend has carried for years. Wonder if she'd handle a gay friend's coming out story like this. "Jimmy knew FIRST"?! Total witch mode. Especially in light of her earlier acknowledgement -- while under Braniac's influence -- that she would, of course, out Clark to the world because she's a "serious" reporter. As a woman of power in a dog-eat-dog industry we've never seen her nurture or mentor the men under her. We're just always expected to respect and admire her "competitive" nature. I would really like to see Yang soften her antagonistic nature and flesh out her human side a bit more.

Are you talking about New 52 Lois or Lois in general? Because everything you're saying Lois should have done -- acknowledge the burden her friend carried and mentor men under her -- were things Lois Lane has definitely done in other incarnations. As for this New 52 Lois Lane, she did not have the truth thrown directly in her face. She noticed a similarity between Clark and Superman, and then she studied him to prove her theory. What Lois said while under Brainiac's influence has always been suspect due to the effects of her transformation. Dr. Veritas confirmed this as a fact. A "serious" reporter would expose Superman's secret identity to the world if the public's right to know exceeded the need to minimize harm, which is likely to be the case here. In addition, Lois has mentored men under her, including this continuity's Jimmy Olsen. She's also the same Lois Lane who has on multiple occasions credited Clark for making her a better person and better journalist.

[DocSpin]

Are you talking about New 52 Lois or Lois in general? Because everything you're saying Lois should have done -- acknowledge the burden her friend carried and mentor men under her -- were things Lois Lane has definitely done in other incarnations. As for this New 52 Lois Lane, she did not have the truth thrown directly in her face. She noticed a similarity between Clark and Superman, and then she studied him to prove her theory. What Lois said while under Brainiac's influence has always been suspect due to the effects of her transformation. Dr. Veritas confirmed this as a fact. A "serious" reporter would expose Superman's secret identity to the world if the public's right to know exceeded the need to minimize harm, which is likely to be the case here. In addition, Lois has mentored men under her, including this continuity's Jimmy Olsen. She's also the same Lois Lane who has on multiple occasions credited Clark for making her a better person and better journalist.

Interesting rationalizations with absolutely zero documentation. Apparently having Superman's armor ripped and exposed in front of her and watching him battle gunmen and shadow warriors to a standstill is evidence of her extensive research and documentation. Also Lois was NOT under Braniac's influence when she made those assertions to Clark but was in a hospital room recovering from Braniac's assault. Superman's altruism and self-sacrifice for Metropolis and the world have always outweighed any miniscule consideration of "harm" and journalistic integrity does NOT include outing people for it's own sake unless you're Perez Hilton. Giving Clark a kudo for "making her a better person and a better journalist" has done less than nothing to advance his career. And if constantly criticizing Jimmy or questioning if he got the shot is your definition of "mentoring" then I agree.

I get your allegiances based on your s/n but let's not be blinded by the facts.

[adkal]

Interesting rationalizations with absolutely zero documentation. Apparently having Superman's armor ripped and exposed in front of her and watching him battle gunmen and shadow warriors to a standstill is evidence of her extensive research and documentation.

Only read the issue once, quite quickly, but:

Didn't she tell him she had been putting the pieces together for a while, denying what they were telling her, and only accepted it when Clark showed up all battered?

So she had known for a while but was 'ignoring the patterns'.

[manofsteel1979]

Only read the issue once, quite quickly, but:

Didn't she tell him she had been putting the pieces together for a while, denying what they were telling her, and only accepted it when Clark showed up all battered?

So she had known for a while but was 'ignoring the patterns'.

That seems the implication....meaning the foreshadowing of her knowing as far back as the Perez issues, thought to have been retconned away, is now firmly in place again. Sorta.

[Auguste Dupin]

That seems the implication....meaning the foreshadowing of her knowing as far back as the Perez issues, thought to have been retconned away, is now firmly in place again. Sorta.

Well, technically, she says something that he has been piecing things together "recently", with the implication that it was after he started using his flare thingy.

[misslane]

Interesting rationalizations with absolutely zero documentation. Apparently having Superman's armor ripped and exposed in front of her and watching him battle gunmen and shadow warriors to a standstill is evidence of her extensive research and documentation.

No, what counts as her "extensive research and documentation" are Lois' actual words from the actual issue:



Clark, you know I've been following Superman since he first came on the scene. Lately, I've noticed that he's gotten slower, weaker, sloppier. He gets hurt in ways he didn't used to. I can actually track his appearances now, so I've been putting it all in this database. Whenever I get a free moment, I go through it looking for patterns. At first, I couldn't find any--maybe a part of me wanted to ignore what the patterns were trying to say. You know what finally got me to stop ignoring the patterns? [...] You. When you came in all busted up...It was like you were trying to reenact my last set of data. I brushed it off as a coincidence. But then I triangulated the locations of all of Superman's appearances and found more coincidences. And then Condesa finds us and all these crazy things happen, and when she talks about secrets, she stares at you like you're hiding the biggest secret in the world. And then, just now, those ninja guys pop out of nowhere and you beat them to smithereens. So I already know, Clark.

Lois clearly states that she was seeing the patterns and coincidences long before the ninja guys attacked. Lois had been putting the pieces together for a long time.

Also Lois was NOT under Braniac's influence when she made those assertions to Clark but was in a hospital room recovering from Braniac's assault.

So you're just going to flat out ignore Dr. Veritas's diagnosis?

Superman's altruism and self-sacrifice for Metropolis and the world have always outweighed any miniscule consideration of "harm" and journalistic integrity does NOT include outing people for it's own sake unless you're Perez Hilton.

Unless, of course, you have an organization like Hordr using his secret identity as leverage. We don't even have the full story yet, and you're already to pass judgment on the legitimacy of Lois's motivations?

Giving Clark a kudo for "making her a better person and a better journalist" has done less than nothing to advance his career. And if constantly criticizing Jimmy or questioning if he got the shot is your definition of "mentoring" then I agree.

Lois didn't need to advance Clark's career; he was already doing fine without her help. You claimed Lois neither mentored or nurtured her male colleagues. Do you honestly believe that crediting someone for making you better because that person is just that awesome isn't encouragement? Part of being a good mentor is offering constructive criticism as well as praise. Lois praised Jimmy plenty.

I get your allegiances based on your s/n but let's not be blinded by the facts.

What facts? You provided none.

[Darth Kal-el]

I absolutely love how she is about to betray Clark after saving her life, well to be fair she gave him attitude after it as well, kick a man when he's down, since it looks as if he just had his powers stolen, and feel justifiable in her actions from that scene in Batman/Superman. Also we learn she has been spying on him to discover his secret for awhile. What if Luthor or someone hacked her computer. Oh right she doesn't care about Clark. With friends her...

[adkal]

I absolutely love how she is about to betray Clark after saving her life, well to be fair she gave him attitude after it as well, kick a man when he's down, since it looks as if he just had his powers stolen, and feel justifiable in her actions from that scene in Batman/Superman. Also we learn she has been spying on him to discover his secret for awhile. What if Luthor or someone hacked her computer. Oh right she doesn't care about Clark. With friends her...

Again with the spying - I honestly don't know where you're getting that from. She wasn't trying to 'discover his secret', she was trying to determine why Superman was getting sloppier and getting hurt so often.

And, again, those last panels of the issue - they show a Lois concerned for Clark, not one who's looking to kick him while he's down.

[MarvelMaster616]

I really like the concept. I think Clark keeping a secret identity with just glasses in an era of smart phones and social media just doesn't work as well as it used to. But in my opinion, the way it played out in this issue just didn't work. The way Lois found out about Clark's identity just felt forced. He was downright reckless, basically abandoning his clumsy, Kent persona and becoming this prototypical action hero when they're attacked. In the past, he usually finds a way to fight them off without making it obvious. He's Superman. He has that kind of power. But he didn't even try, despite Lois and Jimmy being right next to him. That makes no sense.

Then there's the way his powers got messed up. That felt too forced too. Some nameless figure just does "something" to him? That's it? I get that there's a mystery that has been unfolding in other comics, but this just felt too contrived. And given how long the other comics have been exploring Superman's new status quo, this series as a whole is really starting to drag. It's getting to the point where I really don't care as much about how he lost his powers and got his identity revealed. I'm more interested in how he'll move forward and whether his powers will come back. I get the sense that DC wants to humanize Superman, which I'm all for to some extent. But the overall organization of this story has been pretty disorganized and I hope at some point, it starts to come together.

[Darth Kal-el]

Again with the spying - I honestly don't know where you're getting that from. She wasn't trying to 'discover his secret', she was trying to determine why Superman was getting sloppier and getting hurt so often.

And, again, those last panels of the issue - they show a Lois concerned for Clark, not one who's looking to kick him while he's down.

If it was only to see why Superman was acting sloppy she could have asked him. I believe she was trying to track him like her father tried with Wraith. Yes I will concede she looks concerned at the end like most of us would if we saw someone we knew hurt but we know the concern doesn't last from the words Next: Betrayal and their phone call where she basically told him to get over her destroying his life already

[adkal]

If it was only to see why Superman was acting sloppy she could have asked him.

She says why she was doing it in the issue - in the preview pages, even.

Besides, how forthcoming would Superman be in that scenario, anyway?

I believe she was trying to track him like her father tried with Wraith.

Based on what? That she has followed his escapades since day 1 is no secret - in fact, as she quite rightly says, it's something Clark knew.

Yes I will concede she looks concerned at the end like most of us would if we saw someone we knew hurt but we know the concern doesn't last from the words Next: Betrayal and their phone call where she basically told him to get over her destroying his life already

Yet the 'betrayal' doesn't necessarily have to come from her. They were already betrayed in this issue when they were taken to the HORDR base.