Superman #1 (Possible Spoilers)

[sustainentropy]

I thought this issue was great, and just a little bit better than last weeks Jurgen's Action Comics issue. As an animal lover the cat thing really shocked me in a way that I don't think a human being being maimed or injured would have.

Unfortunately I'm used to seeing people injured and killed in entertainment, and this really drove home the point that Jon is like a loaded weapon when his powers aren't kept in check. Prime Earth is lucky Clark and Lois are raising him!

[Tayswift]

Just to address the "why is this dark when Rebirth is about hope", I'm not sure what people mean by that. Were you in the market for 60s Batman? Hopeful doesn't mean everything is great all the time and cartoon physics are king. Hope doesn't even mean no one dies. It just means you don't let these characters become consumed by whatever bad situation they are in.

This, to me, was graphic violence used in a pretty tasteful way. It wasn't depicted as sadistic or enjoyable. And the very idea of violence like that being in a Superman book does not make it less hopeful. Take a look at something like Harry Potter. That's straight up a kids book, but you've got people being legitimately killed left and right. If you're not gonna insult a child's inelegance and explain to them that people and animals can die, then don't do that to me.

That scene served as creating new dimension in the character on jon (he was dangerously close to becoming a textbook Gary Stu) and introducing perfectly reasonable conflict.

Agree with you. But I don't think it was necessary, but comparing this book to the batman & robin #1 by tomasi and gleason this was miles more hopeful and brighter. At least Jon didn't create a monster because he likes violence.
it was a horrible acident, but wasn't Jon's fault. It just happened.

Now I think lois and clark should have checked Jon when he answered his father in anger. It's not normal for him do this, hope next issue this will be adressed.

dammit Tomasi

[SuperCrab]

I think they're setting up the difference.

Look. I think the core of what they're getting at comes from an assumption and it only makes sense if you start from that assumption (which is more a real world assumption than a comic book logic assumption).

The assumption is:

Somebody under 18 shouldn't be a super-hero. It's a dangerous job. Not killing people is hard. Not getting killed is hard.

The exception exists for Damian because he's a living weapon who's already too broken to live any other kind of life. Bruce can't re-fashion Damian into anything else even though he might want to.

The exception exists for Jon because he has such amazing powers. He will traumatize himself and hurt people unless those powers are harnessed. Clark might want a childhood much like his own for Damian (minus a Superboy career which we're not ENTIRELY sure if Clark even had). But Jon's development is different and so Clark is going to have to position Jon as a super-hero against what he'd prefer.

This assumption works from a real world sense. It clashes with a Teen Titans/Legion of Super-Heroes/Golden-Age sidekick mentality which assumes there is nothing necessarily dangerous or traumatizing about being a super-hero that a kid can't handle. It's kind of a "Codename: Kids Next Door" kind of assumption that kids are hyper-capable, maybe more capable than adults. That assumption probably isn't very realistic but it's flattering in comics aimed at kids.

Modern comics aren't entirely aimed at kids (most aren't at all) and so you have this need to JUSTIFY why Superman is forced to make Jon a super-hero and why Batman and Superman sponsoring kid sidekicks can be somehow different from Joseph Kony using child soldiers in Uganda.

I don't see this as a shock value moment. I see it coming from an authorial place that presumes teenage super-heroes (and pre-teen ones especially) are an immoral, abominable practice and that it takes something horrific as an alternative for Superman or Batman to consider allowing them to operate much less working with them. This is building a case that Tomasi thinks needs to be made to morally justify the existence of teenage super-heroes. If you don't see that as a case that needs to be made, it looks like shock value. If you see sidekick and think "war crime" or "child soldier" (which is hard to miss if you grew up on Frank Miller Batman comics) then this is laying out an argument in steps for why this is an exception, for why Superman isn't Kony for enlisting his son as a super-hero.

This is a fair point. I have been repeatedly hammering home for months now that one of my objections to SuperDad and SuperJon is that I do think "war crime" and "child solider" when I see a 10-year old being told to go fight bad guys who will try to kill him (I'm not sure if I used the exact quoted words or not). I don't even think "He's going to do it whether I want him to or not" is a good excuse- as a parent it's your job to control your child. I get that Jon has superpowers, but he is still emotionally and psychologically the same as a 10 year old human and thus too young to decide to go off and fight. Even theorizing for a moment that he is more powerful than Superman- Superman is older and should be able to out think him, especially in combination with Justice League allies and so on and so forth. This is a decision for Jon to make when he is 18 and has come of age. I would not object to Jon being taught how to use his powers to some degree, essentially training, and so he doesn't fry random cats because of a lack of control but that's a) a boring comic book and b) not something that *should* lead to anything for at least 8 years. The kid should not be allowed to fight bad guys. That's how I feel about it.

So, if Tomasi is writing with the idea in mind that some readers object to this and that he wants to explain why Jon should not fall into the categories you mentioned and should be allowed to fight bad guys, I think Tomasi has the right idea in so far as that he does need to persuade people if the concept is going to work. However, the flip side is that many of us who object to 10 year old superheroes are fairly un-persuadable. To me, the books become palatable if Jon is a regular kid in a very small role (or disappears, obviously). And that's pretty much it. I would say what we saw of Jon in Jurgen's return to Action Comics with the old numbering is pretty much my Jon-limit- above that, I don't buy the book, which is why I'm not buying the Superman title at all, and am going issue to issue with Action Comics.

But not everyone is me, and not everyone is the guy (General term here, not talking about any particular poster or reader) who will love this kid superhero stuff and read Superman no matter what. There is a middle ground Tomasi needs to persuade to make the concept work sales wise, people who doubt it but could be persuaded, and it makes sense for him to try to persuade them.

Now, it would make more sense to have just not done this whole stupid thing with SuperDad and SuperJon, but Tomasi is in a tough position, because he probably didn't set the direction, he was probably told "You're writing a book about SuperDad and SuperJon because you're the guy who developed Damian Wayne. Go." and he's doing the best he can with it. That doesn't mean, of course, that I owe DC Comics my money or the book my readership. They won't get it with this emphasis. *But* I am not being critical of Tomasi specifically when I say that- as I said, he may be doing the best he can. If new52 Superman comes back with no Jon in the picture in a given book, and Tomasi writes the book, I'll buy it. I'm not saying he's bad at writing, I'm saying I don't like the concept or, to some degree, the characters, he's writing about.

It would have been nice if DC Comics had at least thrown us a bone here with something for Superman fans who weren't into this stuff. That's what's really frustrating. They publish so many comic books every single month and they couldn't even have done one "Here's new52 Superman in a different universe", "Here's new52 Superman as Kal-El, the red, blue, and green costumed defender of National City- his new role", "Here's just an alternate Superman from an alternate universe kind of like new52 Superman with no kid", or even "Here's SuperDad, but Jon basically is just not going to be in this book" book.

I at times feel like they are really flipping my demographic the bird with this stuff.

I get that they wanted to go another direction, but there were at one point, counting miniseries, like 8-9 Superman related series being published simultaneously. Currently, if we count the double booked stuff as 2 books each, there are 4, and will be 6 in July with Justice League. They couldn't even throw us a bone with 1 book. It's all got to be SuperDad and SuperJon. They can do what they want, but it doesn't inspire much brand loyalty in me personally.

[LOSTie-chan]

I just hope Jon tells his parents what happened to the cat and I hope it has some lasting effect on the kid.
Otherwise it's just empty shock value and that's totally not cool. (Poor bird and kitty.)

Rest of the issue was pretty good tho.
Great art.

[Patrick Gerard]

I just hope Jon tells his parents what happened to the cat and I hope it has some lasting effect on the kid.
Otherwise it's just empty shock value and that's totally not cool. (Poor bird and kitty.)

Rest of the issue was pretty good tho.
Great art.

I think we'll quickly see that Clark knows. Whether Jon tells him or not, he'll know, and whether and how Jon tells Clark will have an impact on how Clark approaches parenting.

It may even be that Clark knows the cat is dead and is trying to figure out what happened. He's trying to give Jon the space to explain and is cranky with Jon because Jon hasn't come to him yet. That's a very "real" kind of father-son dynamic.

[Superlad93]

You know what I've been wondering? How will the narrative focus will be split? Like how will we switch POVs

Ultimately the focus is Superman in some way or another. Jon's drama spins out of his admiration for his father. I doubt we'll ever move away from the book dealing with Superman in some form at any given time.

But I ask this question because the issue opens with Clark at his "brother's" grave. It's a very intimate look at what he's currently feeling. So this tells me the book hangs it's hat on Clark before anything. So I wonder if coming up we'll see Clark's POV on Jon's current situation? This is new ground for both Clark and Jon so a mix of POVs would be nice.

I also remember Tomasi saying that sometimes Clark will go on adventures alone or with the whole family (Moore's Tom Strong sprang to mind instantly). So I wonder what the POV split will be there. Will it be Clark thinking about how much danger his family is in on this space adventure he's taken them on? Will it be Jon in awe of how his mom and dad stay cool while facing down a warlord? Or will it be Lois maybe feeling a slight disconnect now that her son and husband have this big thing in common?

[vasir12]

You know what I've been wondering? How will the narrative focus will be split? Like how will we switch POVs

Ultimately the focus is Superman in some way or another. Jon's drama spins out of his admiration for his father. I doubt we'll ever move away from the book dealing with Superman in some form at any given time.

But I ask this question because the issue opens with Clark at his "brother's" grave. It's a very intimate look at what he's currently feeling. So this tells me the book hangs it's hat on Clark before anything. So I wonder if coming up we'll see Clark's POV on Jon's current situation? This is new ground for both Clark and Jon so a mix of POVs would be nice.

I also remember Tomasi saying that sometimes Clark will go on adventures alone or with the whole family (Moore's Tom Strong sprang to mind instantly). So I wonder what the POV split will be there. Will it be Clark thinking about how much danger his family is in on this space adventure he's taken them on? Will it be Jon in awe of how his mom and dad stay cool while facing down a warlord? Or will it be Lois maybe feeling a slight disconnect now that her son and husband have this big thing in common?

Most likely all of the above. Seems like the unit of the family will be a strong focus here.

[Ascended]

Dinner is nearly ready and I dont have time to read the thread, but my two cents.....

I said Id give Tomasi a shot even though the Rebirth Special was a let-down. This issue is what I was hoping the Special would be; a setup for the basic status quo going forward. And in that, I feel like the issue did a good job. I now have a general idea of what to expect from this title.

So, not gonna bother with spoiler tags. If youre reading this you should have already read the issue. Its been a few days after all. So you've been warned!

SPOILERS, MUTHA-F**KAS!!!!

Hated the opening scene at Nuperman's grave. This is the kind of pointless navel-gazing that made me hate post-Crisis. We get it; Superdad is sad because Nuperman died and no one (including Superdad and Nuperman) put more than a half-assed effort into preventing that death or triggering a return. There are better ways to explore that, that fit the character better, than lazy philosophy and promises to "fly the colors again." While it was just a couple short pages, and not a big deal in and of itself, it brought back the worst memories of Superdad's origin era. And I hate the whole glowing hand thing. You're a Superman who returned from the dead standing over the grave of a dead Superman, your hand starts to glow, and you just brush it off? What the hell man? If I were in the mood to give DC more credit, Id almost think the last few months have been someone mentally pushing people to accept Nuperman's death and not explore viable options of resurrection. That's how ham-fisted that has been handled; Id assume it were being done on purpose if DC itself weren't so ham-fisted lately.

The page of Superman flying, with his history behind him, was cool. This is a guy who has a decade or more experience over everyone else and I liked the visual of that coming behind him. Its not just Superman you're dealing with, its a Superman who has seen some sh*t. Though I gotta wonder, is this suppose to be Superdad's origin as well as his current actions? We see the Kents and the rocket leaving Krypton, which implies its a history image, but the costume we see is the new one. So is DC telling us that Superdad always wore the current costume? I have two issues of Convergence and eight issues of Lois & Clark that tell me otherwise. If its images of his newest adventures, then great, but mixing that with the Kents and Krypton is a tad confusing. All together, a minor complaint though. Maybe this was stuff from last week's Action? I didnt read it, but if that's the case it makes a lot more sense.

I liked the farm scene well enough, and the terrible turn Jon's day took with the cat was shocking. However, I didnt have a problem with it as many here have. Someone mentioned Ray Bradbury, and I feel like that's a good call; the entire issue had a certain...."Norman Rockwell seen through M. Night Shylaman" vibe where even the perfectly normal things seem slightly....off. It was well done, and I like the idea of Jon having some real bumps in his journey. I remember my childhood pets' deaths and my son has seen a few pets die, and I feel like its, honestly, just a part of growing up. That Jon did it himself is just a reality check for the kid who recently found out he's a universal refugee with powers beyond those of mortal men. Could turn out terribly but as it currently stands this is ripe for character growth. And kids bounce back quick from tragedy, so Im sure he'll be fine, hopefully with a new respect for his abilities and the damage he can cause if he's not careful.

Clark and Lois' dialogue was decently handled. This doesnt feel like the "idiot farmboy" Clark was written as in the 00's (Loeb), nor does it feel like the yuppie Clark of the 90's (Stern, who, god love him, did great work but wrote one hell of a yuppie Clark). This feels more like Kingdom Come Superman; older, seasoned, patient and understanding but not prone to put up with unnecessary bullsh*t. Of this particular character aspect, I approve wholeheartedly.

The creepy neighbor girl is.....well, we didnt see enough for me to form an opinion. She's either a terrible monster hellbent on eating everyone's faces, or she's a regular modern day child. Sometimes the difference is hard to see. Personally Id love for this to somehow be connected to Pak's Horrorville arc, but thats asking too much.

The appearance of Batman and Diana was welcome and extremely well handled, adding to the slightly eerie vibe the issue had.

At the moment, Im assuming that Batman has had the farm under surveillance and they showed up because Jon nuked the cat. And Im hoping that Clark knew about it from the start and is giving Jon some time to process it and come forward on his own. If the guy with super senses missed Jon melting two animals and screaming his head off, but Batman saw it half a country away.....Im done with DC forever, you know? If Im right, then this adds to the theory that Jon is much more powerful than his father, or at least has a different kind of power, and it bears keeping a close eye on. Should be fun to see how it develops (if the next issue is good enough for me to stick around for issue 3).

I also liked that the issue didnt go for the needless fight scene or villain of the week approach. This unfolded naturally and organically, and forcing some traditional comic book troupes into it (more than there were already anyway) would have killed the whole thing.

Another thing I have come to realize is that Jon offers a great way to view Clark. It reminds me of Milestone's Icon. In that book, the real main character was the sidekick Rocket, and Icon remained this larger-than-life figure who was beyond Rocket's understanding, and that worked really well. We got great moments with Icon and we got to know him well, but not at the expense of him losing his mystique. This is a poor substitute for Clark losing focus in favor of Jon, and I have no doubt that is what is happening here, but at least we might get a regular dose of "Superman seen through another's eyes" out of it, and that's always fun.

I think, despite some stuff I disliked, I'll give this another issue.

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Why do people keep saying the neighbor girl is creepy? She seemed perfectly ordinary to me.

She was shocked at what she saw, but also saw he was sad about what happened so she covered for him.

[K. Jones]

I'm a major cat lover. But I also grew up on a farm with barncats, and folks who could care less if one dies a grisly death. Real life is dark, Jonny having a powers accident and feeling bad about it is less dark than real life. And it's relatable - we all get new powers and responsibilities. You turn 16, start driving cars, sometimes you accidentally run over a cat or dog, you feel like hell about it. Boy oughtta tell his dad about it soon, though.

In my case I remember turning 13, getting a BB gun. To clear out pigeons, starlings, pests. Shot a songbird with it. Felt awful about it. A farmboy relates.

[Comicazzi]

I'm a major cat lover. But I also grew up on a farm with barncats, and folks who could care less if one dies a grisly death. Real life is dark, Jonny having a powers accident and feeling bad about it is less dark than real life. And it's relatable - we all get new powers and responsibilities. You turn 16, start driving cars, sometimes you accidentally run over a cat or dog, you feel like hell about it. Boy oughtta tell his dad about it soon, though.

In my case I remember turning 13, getting a BB gun. To clear out pigeons, starlings, pests. Shot a songbird with it. Felt awful about it. A farmboy relates.

THIS! I feel sorry for those who have been sheltered from the grizzly realities of life. I had so many cats end up in farm machinery and dogs attacked by coyotes but it didn't scare me as a kid. It just gave me a healthy dose of death's finality and a respect for how delicate life can be. This accident of Jonathan's felt tragic and familiar. If you can't read a comic story about the death of a cat without being damaged you are going to have a wake up call someday. Excellent first issue in my opinion. Somebody finally wrote a Superman comic that was relatable and consequential. Been a while since those ingredients were contained in a Superman title.

[Kevin Street]

I didn't really care for this story. It felt melodramatic and a bit stilted, with really unlikely situations happening for the sake of character development. A lightning strike set the barn on fire? A hawk tried to eat a struggling full grown cat? And then there was the decompression. Way too many splash pages and pages with three or fewer panels.

Kathy Branden has to be more than she seems. She just happened to be behind the one tree on the farm when something dramatic happened, and then she came to their door later? If she was just an innocent kid she'd have been terrified of even going near the Smith place. She just saw a boy shoot laser beams out of his eyes, and it's not like the world knows that Superman has a son.

Bye the bye, Superman has to know what happened to that cat. He would have heard Jonathon scream "Let her go!" and then the sizzling sound.

[Kevin Street]

It's not Jonathan accidentally killing a cat that bothers me, it's the sheer improbability of the scenario ever happening that makes it feel melodramatic, imo. If Goldie had been attacked by a stray dog or coyote the same thing could have happened with Jonathan, and it would have felt more real.

EDITED TO ADD:

Sorry for spamming this thread, but I just thought of something else. When did Batman and Wonder Woman figure out this Superman's secret identity? Isn't that a huge deal? Would Superman even want them to know?

[upgrayedd]

loved the interaction between father and son. Good time to be reading Superman again.