New Action Comics and Superman Solicits (SPOILERS)

[SuperCrab]

ACTION COMICS #979

Written by DAN JURGENS • Art by PATCH ZIRCHER • Cover by RODOLFO MIGLIARI • Variant cover by GARY FRANK
“REVENGE” part one! Superman, Lois and Jon return to their lives in Metropolis while Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, Metallo and Mongul unite to destroy the Man of Steel!
On sale MAY 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

ACTION COMICS #980

Written by DAN JURGENS • Art by PATCH ZIRCHER • Cover by RODOLFO MIGLIARI • Variant cover by GARY FRANK
“REVENGE” part two! Both Superman and the Revenge Squad must traverse the deadly Black Vault in a race against time to reach General Zod! Amanda Waller’s secret Kryptonian weapon reveals himself to the world, but Cyborg Superman and Eradicator move in to recruit him. Tying directly into the events of this month’s Suicide Squad issues—and no matter who wins in this epic showdown, it spells certain doom for the Last Son of Krypton!
On sale MAY 24 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

SUPERMAN #22

Written by PETER J. TOMASI and PATRICK GLEASON • Art by DOUG MAHNKE and JAIME MENDOZA • Covers by RYAN SOOK • Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL
“BLACK DAWN” part one! What is the secret of the Dead Man’s Swamp? Superman is tested by a mysterious force that pushes his convictions to the limit. Can the Man of Steel save face in the eyes of Hamilton and his son, Superboy?
On sale MAY 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

SUPERMAN #23

Written by PETER J. TOMASI and PATRICK GLEASON • Art by DOUG MAHNKE and JAIME MENDOZA • Cover by RYAN SOOK • Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL
“BLACK DAWN” part two! The mysterious force behind Superman’s defeat reveals itself. Superboy wonders what is so great about Truth, Justice and the American way. Will Jon turn against his father?
On sale MAY 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

Source:
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/02...amanda-waller/

[Prime]

Yup, "Clark" is Hank.

[RedWhiteAndBlueSupes]

Yup, "Clark" is Hank.

well we know for sure "cyborg Superman" shows up so....yeah I'd say it's looking more likely. And I don't know about this next "Black Dawn" story but it's looking pretty awesome from the solicits, Jon turn against his father? I'm interested.

[SuperCrab]

And I don't know about this next "Black Dawn" story but it's looking pretty awesome from the solicits, Jon turn against his father? I'm interested.

I don't think Jon will he a full-on "heel" turn and truly fight his father and become a villain. I think this is more going to be a story about growing up and learning your father isn't perfect, and questioning who you are in relation to him- Do you really believe in exactly the same things? Or, as you've come to understand yourself as a fully developed independent human being, do you have different values? Something that happens here, where Superman makes a questionable choice, I think is going to trigger this thought process in Jon. It's part of normal childhood development, I'd imagine- although in this case with added superhero stuff.

[SuperCrab]

Oftentimes fans like to try to figure out which story arc is occurring first and which is happening later, chronologically speaking, when there are two books about the same people that are telling different stories. It looks pretty clear here that the Superman title's story arc occurs before the Action Comics story arc in these new solicitations. I guess it's possible the Kents keep two homes (Although, the question would be, with what money? Two newspaper staff writers' salaries don't combine for a great downtown apartment with a stellar view plus a big farm), or they return to Hamilton to fight a bad guy or something, but the simplest answer would just be one is before they move to Metropolis, and one is after.

It'd be nice to see Tomasi move on from Hamilton and start doing some Metropolis stories that aren't so Jon focused. Honestly, the guy is not a bad writer when he isn't doing childhood tales about a superhero-in-training in the middle of nowhere, but the current Superman title beginning with the new numbering has been pretty lame.

I liked the arc with the parallel universes and I think there was one other one, but of course the one I recall had no Jon (Thank goodness) and wasn't in Hamilton unless you count Clark Smith driving down a street in the middle of nowhere at the beginning as it being set "in Hamilton". They probably should have given the parallel universe thing more issues and talked about who the characters were and what their universes were like and so on and so forth, and there could have been some introspection about what it means to be Superman, given that Rebirth Superman's whole character arc is really "What does it mean to be Superman" in the wake of New52 Superman's death and with the 10 years in hiding and so on and so forth.

At first I thought they had been told to wrap up the parallel universe thing more quickly than planned in order to get to Reborn, and that was why after 2 promising issues, issue 3 sort of wrapped everything up as quickly as possible, but then they did a whole issue about Jon eating ice cream and wandering around in a swamp- and then it was like, "Oh yeah, I'm reading the stupid book.".

I mean, I'm not a big fan of Jurgens (Who afterall invented Jon- and did the really boring Lois and Clark thing, which essentially created SuperDad, too and paved the way for the dsytopian post-New52 Superman world we find ourselves in... ) and Action Comics dragging everything out, but at least Jurgens seems to hit the best settings and characters and have decent instincts about what fans want to see (I like Luthor as a good guy, the Daily Planet, etc..). Even in this solicitations, note that the Superman title still has Jon heavily involved hanging on in a swamp in Hamilton, while Action Comics is in Metropolis and features Superman battling Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, Metallo and Mongul; while trying to race to prevent them from teaming up with General Zod. Like, yeah, I'll take the one in Metropolis with 5 of the best Superman villains at once, please (Though I don't think current human Clark should be Henshaw. The storyline has gone on too long for that to be a satisfactory conclusion- it'd be better for them to do something cool with Clark and just have Henshaw become Cyborg Superman again without it involving new-Clark).

At some point, I'd like to see the Superman title get over it's Jon-centric stuff in the middle of nowhere and just tell Superman stories again.

[Superlad93]

I don't think Jon will he a full-on "heel" turn and truly fight his father and become a villain. I think this is more going to be a story about growing up and learning your father isn't perfect, and questioning who you are in relation to him- Do you really believe in exactly the same things? Or, as you've come to understand yourself as a fully developed independent human being, do you have different values? Something that happens here, where Superman makes a questionable choice, I think is going to trigger this thought process in Jon. It's part of normal childhood development, I'd imagine- although in this case with added superhero stuff.

I agree completely.

It should also be noted that issue 23 makes a pretty strong reference to Action Comics issue #775 aka "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & the American Way?" (learn about it here.) Also issue #21's solicitation says “Superman black” part two! A “Superman Reborn Aftermath” tie-in! The Man of Steel is challenged to break his code against killing in front of his son as the mystery surrounding Hamilton deepens." Then issue 22 follows up with "Can the Man of Steel save face in the eyes of Hamilton and his son, Superboy?"

Going off issue 23's strong callback to Action Comics 775, the mention of Clark's no killing code being tested, and "Superman defeat," I think this will see Superman's no kill code land him in an unfavorable and ineffectual light with the people of Hamilton and his son. Likely it will be something like the person controlling the swamp has captured some loved ones and Kathy is one of them. In order to save them, Superman must kill the person, but he wants to find another way. Jon then has his faith in his dad's way of doing things tested. The reason for this issue is likely twofold: 1) firmly reestablish Superman's no kill code and it's understandable drawbacks as a plot point. 2) have Jon make an informed decision on if he wants to adopt a similar code as his father. The boy will also be feeling a bit more growing weaker because his powers are fading (likely due to the swamp).

[RedWhiteAndBlueSupes]

I don't think Jon will he a full-on "heel" turn and truly fight his father and become a villain. I think this is more going to be a story about growing up and learning your father isn't perfect, and questioning who you are in relation to him- Do you really believe in exactly the same things? Or, as you've come to understand yourself as a fully developed independent human being, do you have different values? Something that happens here, where Superman makes a questionable choice, I think is going to trigger this thought process in Jon. It's part of normal childhood development, I'd imagine- although in this case with added superhero stuff.

well yeah, it would be downright character assassination to have him go fight his dad. But mainly what I was getting at is this continued thread that Jon is not a perfect boy scout like his dad and maybe won't turn out to be. You remember the Jon Kent from Superboy a few years ago who went bad and had power fluctuations etc.? Initially I dismissed any theories that he would resemble him in any way, being a completely different Jon, but also in aftermath it seems from the solicits Jon will take sick somehow and now questioning his dad's methods? very un-superboy for sure, and the phrase "turn against" seems a bit strong, "doubt his father" "disappointed" yeah ok, fine, but I figured they would have dropped this "questionable Jon" subplot a long time ago. But who knows, its just a solicit.

if you dont like it than its a pretty good sign that its good

lol too funny dude, yeah Superdad is gonna be with us for the foreseeable future

[Superlad93]

the phrase "turn against" seems a bit strong, "doubt his father" "disappointed" yeah ok, fine

However, "turn against" would be apt if his best friend, Kathy, is in danger, and killing the bad guy is the obvious way to save her. He might turn against his dad's way of thinking if it's his friend that could pay the price for said thinking. I think this because of the solicitation's clear homage to Action 775 (the arc is even being drawn by the same person) where the people of the world were questioning how good Superman's no kill rule was. I imagine a similar appreciation as in the one from that story (but hopefully brought about in less of hypocritical way) will be what Jon has by the arc's end.

[RedWhiteAndBlueSupes]

[QUOTE=Superlad93;2622667]

the phrase "turn against" seems a bit strong, "doubt his father" "disappointed" yeah ok, fine

However, "turn against" would be apt if his best friend, Kathy, is in danger, and killing the bad guy is the obvious way to save her. He might turn against his dad's way of thinking if it's his friend that could pay the price for said thinking. I think this because of the solicitation's clear homage to Action 775 (the arc is even being drawn by the same person) where the people of the world were questioning how good Superman's no kill rule was. I imagine a similar appreciation as in the one from that story (but hopefully brought about in less of hypocritical way) will be what Jon has by the arcs end.

I would have no problem if that's what happens.

[BrianWilly]

Do people really think that a Superman comic is going to end with an eleven-year-old child thinking that murdering your enemies is really the right thing to do sometimes? Seriously?

What do you think this is, the New 52 or something?

[SuperCrab]

Do people really think that a Superman comic is going to end with an eleven-year-old child thinking that murdering your enemies is really the right thing to do sometimes? Seriously?

What do you think this is, the New 52 or something?

What issue of Superman or Action Comics did that happen in? Refresh my memory.

New52 Superman was not what his detractors stereotyped him as. He was a great Superman.

[bat39]

I actually don't see the problem with the Kents keeping one foot in Hamilton honestly.

I dunno how much of Lois and Clark's past history will be restored, but one or both of them have been Pulitizer Prize winning journalists and authors. Lois did a stint as a TV producer (if the New 52 counts in any way), and Clark as a news anchor (if the Bronze Age counts). Clark was a foreign correspondent at one point. I dunno where this idea of Lois and Clark being some 'ordinary' workaday reporters struggling to pay the bills comes from or what's so appealing about it. At this point in their careers, they are definitely highly-paid upper-middle class professionals.

Of course, its also more than likely that they still own the farm, and that its Bruce who gifted them the apartment (maybe its the same one they had before the New 52 restored to history).

[Sacred Knight]

I don't know, its sounding an awful lot like they'll be forced to leave altogether. Something's wrong with the town, which will be coming to a head in the Superman title. And considering how they just got rid of the secondary fortress, I could easily see them getting rid of Hamilton in a similar manner. The farm will probably be outright destroyed or something.

[Miles To Go]

I do fear for Kathy and her family...seems their lives being at stake could be a justifiable means for Jon to question his father's moral compass so they are not compromised. I also suspect that classic dramatic cliche of a kid reacting badly to moving away from his friends and school life, rebelling against the wishes of his parents, could factor in to the story also. You always need something relatable channeling the escalation of angst.

[stephens2177]

The whole Hamilton having something wrong with it has me remembering lemires superboy run when he didn't he same to Smallville.