Ok, grade the whole Superman Red/Blue saga from the 90s for me

[tib2d2]

I've didn't read Superman during that part of the 90s, never read any issues during that weird Superman Red/Blue saga. I've heard very mixed reviews of it all.

For those who HAVE read it, give it a grade. We'll stick to the A-F school rating for this one, thanks!

[md62]

D. It was an entirely different character with different powers. I don't know about you but if I pick up a Superman book I want to read about Superman not "electric powers" guy. Having said that the powers were interesting. Morrison did the best with them in JLA of any writer.

[LordMikel]

B. It is a story arc. I worked at a comic store at the time and I remember one customer whining when were they going to bring back the real Superman? I called him out on the fact that he didn't buy superman comics so why did he care? If you go in with the mindset that this isn't permanent and how will they fix this, it isn't a terrible read.

[Patrick Gerard]

In general, the new powers and stories focused on them were strong.

What was weaker for me were the subplots. Millennium Giants never made much sense. Dirk Armstrong (aka Rush Limbaugh), the sale of the planet, Clark's unemployment, Scorn, the Kandor revamp effort (which I didn't care much for until Schultz showed up), Contessa. It was kind of a glum and murky era. Cyborg Superman lost his menace. Toyman lost his charm. Lex was unaccounted for. Brainiac 2.0 was bland. Vartox turned up at the end, kind of bland as well. Mongul was dead. Kismet went from enigmatic to a space sorceress with an angry ex-boyfriend.

The Loeb/Kelly era was a huge revival for me because they saved the Daily Planet, restored the Clark/Lois/Jimmy/Perry dynamic. They brought in Mongul II, restored Lex, reinvented Brainiac, reinvented Bizarro (with an oddball flair worthy of Ben Edlund's The Tick). It wasn't always Shakespeare but it was the first time everything clicked for me since the end of Reign.

I think Superman comics feel best when it feels like its own universe with certain core truths and with consistency for the supporting cast and villains.

[Truman Burbank]

It was a fair enough story that first appeared to be a nice nod to a famous Silver Age issue with modern twists (as the staff was prone to do), but the overall result was mixed up enough that I've often wondered if it was truly the creative direction the staff wanted to go or if it was the result of a mandate from WB/DC corporate to do something different since the legal issues with the Siegel family were flaring up at that time. So many of the core Superman elements were not being used at the time that, to me, it's always suggested interference.

I also can't help but think the response to the story contributed to the decision to replace the entire staff the next year, which is what started the Post-Crisis version down the road to the jumbled mess of the 2000s.

[manofsteel1979]

It was a fair enough story that first appeared to be a nice nod to a famous Silver Age issue with modern twists (as the staff was prone to do), but the overall result was mixed up enough that I've often wondered if it was truly the creative direction the staff wanted to go or if it was the result of a mandate from WB/DC corporate to do something different since the legal issues with the Siegel family were flaring up at that time. So many of the core Superman elements were not being used at the time that, to me, it's always suggested interference.

I also can't help but think the response to the story contributed to the decision to replace the entire staff the next year, which is what started the Post-Crisis version down the road to the jumbled mess of the 2000s.

Ive often wondered if both that,and the changes at the start of the New 52 were both influenced by the Siegel and Shuster legal stuff. I don't think it's a coincidence that both events happened in years where things surrounding that suit were reaching critical mass. It's interesting both were more or less reversed within months of when settlements were reached. of course we will likely never know.

As far as the OP.. the actual initial story about the power switch and the early stories of him acclimating to his new powers while trying to be the same Superman was interesting and actually fun,as was when they initially split Superman. The story fell apart IMO with the millinium giants story that ended it.

[tib2d2]

Ok I finally read it, and man what a let down. At first I really liked it, him getting used to his new powers and trying to figure out what he changed. Then somewhere he just stopped caring and trying to find out why because he was too busy. Then the split happened and that wasn't much better. Millennium Giants were pretty dumb, but the worst part is that they basically NEVER explained why he got the powers in the first place and why we went back to normal, so lame!

[RedWhiteAndBlueSupes]

D. it was ok, went on too long, and just was generally gimmicky and attention grabbing for it's day. I read it back then and it's not one of my favorite stories to go back to.

[Sacred Knight]

It was...not very great. The Electric stories before the split were way better. And the means of the split were quite goofy. And this was around the time when too many issues were dedicated to the supporting cast at the expense of Superman himself. AND Millennium Giants, the climax crossover event, was just terrible. Finally, to top it off, no definitive answer was ever given as to why Superman's powers changed in the first placed. All that was offered were theories, nothing concrete, thus a major letdown.

Honestly this is why I've never minded the theory that Johns might revisist this story and tie it into Rebirth somehow. Because there's really not that much damage he can do to this storyline.

[Slaughter]

My favorite electric Superman issues are JLA and that issue where Superman and Metallo (who has no kryptonite but is otherwise OP as hell at the time) have a face-off in the midst of downtown Metropolis. With nuclear weapons.

In one side, a super-hero with immense but untapped and nearly uncontrolled power.
In the other, a supervillain who pretty much eats tech and eventually resorts to tossing nukes at Metropolis.

Also, Booster Gold bails Superman out! Now who's the incompetent showboat? Bonus: Emil Hamilton saves the world from Booster's horrible 90s armor.

That Kandor two-partner is good too.

[Atomic Man]

It's not nearly as bad as those hipsters who have never actually read the story but love to bash things from the 90s would have you believe. It was, like other stories by the same creative teams, and attempt at looking at who and what Superman is. It asked the question "if he doesn't look like himself and still have the same powers, is he really Superman?" I don't think the answer to that question was as well-executed as it could have been, and I suspect some of that had to do with the backlash from fans. The Super teams at the time were really stuck in a Kobiyashi Maru: if they didn't do something as attention-grabbing and exciting as Death/Return of Superman, sales go down and they look like they've peaked. If they keep trying new things, they're criticized for constant "stunt" storytelling.

I wish the story had been wrapped up less quickly, but the good thing about that was that we got to the Dominus arc, which really is a wonderful love letter to Superman and his many eras.

[daBronzeBomma]

It was...not very great. The Electric stories before the split were way better. And the means of the split were quite goofy. And this was around the time when too many issues were dedicated to the supporting cast at the expense of Superman himself. AND Millennium Giants, the climax crossover event, was just terrible. Finally, to top it off, no definitive answer was ever given as to why Superman's powers changed in the first placed. All that was offered were theories, nothing concrete, thus a major letdown.

Honestly this is why I've never minded the theory that Johns might revisist this story and tie it into Rebirth somehow. Because there's really not that much damage he can do to this storyline.

This is my recollection as well.

I remember reading SUPERMAN FOREVER #1 in 1998 (it was the showcase piece for Supes' 60th anniversary IIRC). Didn't Red and Blue fly/fall over a hill in the distance and then suddenly Full Superman is back on the next page with no explanation (like, ever) given?

Yeah, put me down in the column that links Reborn to this story, as that had to be the most poorly-constructed ending to a Superman story that I ever read.

Overall grade: C-
Ending: F

[Sacred Knight]

Red and Blue sacrificed themselves at the end of Giants with one flying off into space, and the other boring into the Earth. I can't quite recollect exactly what it is they did, but they did save the day, and the beginning of Superman Forever has Kal crashing back down to Earth in Kansas reminiscent of his rocket when he was a baby. Ma and Pa find him unconscious and put him in bed, and when Clark wakes he realizes his old powers are back when he can hear them talking outside and then lifts up a tractor for them. That's pretty much the end, literally, of the electric conundrum. He just considers his restoration both in terms of split and powers a reward for Red and Blue's sacrifice and moves on.

[manofsteel1979]

Red and Blue sacrificed themselves at the end of Giants with one flying off into space, and the other boring into the Earth. I can't quite recollect exactly what it is they did, but they did save the day, and the beginning of Superman Forever has Kal crashing back down to Earth in Kansas reminiscent of his rocket when he was a baby. Ma and Pa find him unconscious and put him in bed, and when Clark wakes he realizes his old powers are back when he can hear them talking outside and then lifts up a tractor for them. That's pretty much the end, literally, of the electric conundrum. He just considers his restoration both in terms of split and powers a reward for Red and Blue's sacrifice and moves on.

Which leaves it wide open to be used as the answer to the current conundrum.

At this point with all the nods and allusions I hope it does play some role in all this. Otherwise it will be even more apparent they are just pulling this all out of their asses. We know already they basically are, but if they do somehow link it to Red/ blue electro Supes it will at least feel like a creative answer to all of the last few years of stories.

[Sacred Knight]

Its definitely a story ripe for the picking in regards to Johns' "This story is not what you always thought it was" trope.