Action Comics 976 Discussion

[Superfan90]

So,

spoilers:

1. New 52 Clark and Lois kiss 2. Both Supermen and Lois merge 3. Mxy inform someone else will be coming at Superman 4. To Superman and connected to him, there would be only one reality now

end of spoilers

[Dispenser Of Truth]

Assuming we can talk spoilers here...this was all totally meaningless as a story unto itself, right? The merger had nothing to do with Mxy or Mr. Oz, but we don't know what actually caused it or the mechanics of them being split in the first place, nor do we have any real sense yet of what it actually did, the New 52 guys showing up again meant nothing, and the emotional crux of Lois and Clark rediscovering their love is all but empty when they've already been back together for almost a year. It was nothing but an unexplained, contextless series of random events resulting in something we can't even begin to articulate yet. This didn't just lack answers, it actively resisted them on all fronts, and rather than heightening the mystery it just left the whole thing a pointless mess without emotional catharsis or as-yet comprehensible consequence. I literally cannot say what happened beyond "Mxy peaced out, and then Superman and Lois believed real hard because of Jon so SWIRLY ENERGY, and then something happened to continuity that gave Superman a better costume, and then they all went home". If it was going to amount to so little, why didn't they just merge at the end of Final Days rather than dragging this out for what turned out to be no reason at all?

[Miles To Go]

Despite being spoiled on this earlier in the week, the rest of the issue had plenty of other surprises

spoilers:

Mxy really wants Jon as a playmate. Having seen what sort of fun he got up to in Paul Dini's story, it was good to see a follow-up to that plot point, and definitely transitions Mxy into a Jon nemesis more, maybe Mxy could turn up in Supersons one day and really get down with the kids. A pity N52 Lois could'nt just kiss Clark before the merge...I don't know, I feel that would have given the characters more emotional closure, they acted a bit robotic and cold right up until the energies of PF Lois and Clark passed through them, but I chalk that up to Jurgens dialogue. Oz saying "to them and all those that are connected to them, twin realities are one" is interesting...does that indicate others are aware reality has changed? This will be a talking point of next month's Trinity so we'll have to see if Bruce and Diana have some awareness too. Wonder what kind of home they're heading towards? They were back in Metropolis when reality settled down, but that will be carried forward into "Black Dawn" I guess.

end of spoilers

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I enjoyed the issue and the overall story as a fun Mr. Mxy story, but this didn't really answer any questions beyond confirming what most people had already figured out.

We still don't know who exactly split Superman & Lois.

We still don't know anything about Mr. Oz.

They're still hinting heavily that Dr. Manhattan is involved, but not outright saying it.

While that quick look at Mars implies Dr. Manhattan, J'Onn is still MIA. Given how the New 52 robbed him of his founding spot on the League, maybe he's a bigger part of this.

Lots of questions...

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Assuming we can talk spoilers here...this was all totally meaningless as a story unto itself, right? The merger had nothing to do with Mxy or Mr. Oz, but we don't know what actually caused it or the mechanics of them being split in the first place, nor do we have any real sense yet of what it actually did, the New 52 guys showing up again meant nothing, and the emotional crux of Lois and Clark rediscovering their love is all but empty when they've already been back together for almost a year. It was nothing but an unexplained, contextless series of random events resulting in something we can't even begin to articulate yet. This didn't just lack answers, it actively resisted them on all fronts, and rather than heightening the mystery it just left the whole thing a pointless mess without emotional catharsis or as-yet comprehensible consequence. I literally cannot say what happened beyond "Mxy peaced out, and then Superman and Lois believed real hard because of Jon so SWIRLY ENERGY, and then something happened to continuity that gave Superman a better costume, and then they all went home". If it was going to amount to so little, why didn't they just merge at the end of Final Days rather than dragging this out for what turned out to be no reason at all?

This was essentially a teaser for the DC Universe vs Manhattan event, whenever that's coming.

[The Learner]

Though we have no answer to who split Superman and Lois, it didn't disappoint me at all. They would probably give us some clue in the next two issues. The contract, it is hilarious. Whoever the big bad behind the curtain is, Mxy seems pretty scared to go against him. So did Mxy go out of the multiverse and all planes of existence? I hope he didn't. He should visit Super-family often. Was that Mars at the end of the book?

phr011.jpg

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Was that Mars at the end of the book?

Yes, it's a reference to Doctor Manhattan.

In 'Watchmen', Doctor Manhattan goes to Mars after he leaves Earth.

[Korath]

Assuming we can talk spoilers here...this was all totally meaningless as a story unto itself, right? The merger had nothing to do with Mxy or Mr. Oz, but we don't know what actually caused it or the mechanics of them being split in the first place, nor do we have any real sense yet of what it actually did, the New 52 guys showing up again meant nothing, and the emotional crux of Lois and Clark rediscovering their love is all but empty when they've already been back together for almost a year. It was nothing but an unexplained, contextless series of random events resulting in something we can't even begin to articulate yet. This didn't just lack answers, it actively resisted them on all fronts, and rather than heightening the mystery it just left the whole thing a pointless mess without emotional catharsis or as-yet comprehensible consequence. I literally cannot say what happened beyond "Mxy peaced out, and then Superman and Lois believed real hard because of Jon so SWIRLY ENERGY, and then something happened to continuity that gave Superman a better costume, and then they all went home". If it was going to amount to so little, why didn't they just merge at the end of Final Days rather than dragging this out for what turned out to be no reason at all?

The point was to reintroduce Clark Kent as Superman "secret" identity, undoing Truth. That's not much, but that's a thing.

[The Learner]

Yes, it's a reference to Doctor Manhattan.

In 'Watchmen', Doctor Manhattan goes to Mars after he leaves Earth.

Thanks for clarifying it, I haven't read Watchmen yet.

[theoneandonly]

if superman was He man he would shout by the power of love and mxyplytxs shenanigans I am back.To Clark's apartment and a same new old life.

[Naruto1996]

I think merging them was the right choice.I like that.

[failo.legendkiller]

Superman Reborn conclusion it's been a little disappointing, after 3 strong issues my expections was high and not really confirmed.
No answer to how or when Superman and Lois were split into two.
Dialogue between Jon and NuSuperman, NuLois was very poor and the merge was not emotional at all.
In a panel the place was breaking apart and in the other they were back at the top of the planet without explanation.
Anyway, i'll be around to watch what come next.

[GSman]

I liked it. But like some other people I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't really get any explanation on how Superman and Lois were split or when but at the end I would say I'm satisfied on how they wrapped the whole two Superman Lois a merger was the only logical solution.

[DragonPiece]

It's all about the long game, I can't get mad at DC when they've been building up this Dr. Manhattan storyline for so long. I kinda suspect we won't get any real answers for a while at least until this button crossover since Johns apparently plotted that storyline.

As for this issue, I really like the new timeline, but at the same time, it's a wait and see, because we still don't know that much about it yet and how it works with the rest of the DCU. The double spread mentions people connected to supreman and lois changed as a result of the merge, but how is Superman still moing from Hamilton and why do we see them moving to Metropolis in a upcoming Action issue. Something is still not right about the transition to come.

Anyways, I'm even more buzzed and excited to read all of this, and this has me more glued to the line than I was before, so I definitely think the crossover succeeded for me. While I can't say I am a big new 52 at this point, I've all but fallen out of my love for the character besides a few stories of his, I think it would be nice if the social crusader aspect and him having a few independnt years early into his history was still a thing for this Superman, so we would know Nuperman did actually do something for the merged body instead of it being all pre 52 memories with just implied a few new 52 stories.

[victorsage]

Well I was right that the merger hadn't happened in Superman when Nuperman, and NuLois showed up. I was right when I said the "blue" version of SuperDad and MaLois would show up again.

Mxy won't be around until after this saga from the sound of it. According to the contract he won't e back until he find it advantageous. So now we get to the big parts of this saga.

1. Why is Lois and Clark such a threat to Dr. Manhattan?
I don't like the idea that Manhattan is the big bad, but the Mars thing is another in your face hint that indeed Manhattan is the baddie here. So why would he work to split up Lois and Clark? Is Lois and Clark the threat? Or perhaps it is Jon that is the being who could challenge Manhattan? The only thing I can think of, is that this entire "multiverse" came back in the first place because of Kal-L. Kal-L was the key to returning the multiverse.



Is this why the Earth 2 Superman of this new universe was so quickly targeted and killed? Did Manhattan direct events so the this "new" Kal-L couldn't stop him? Fearful perhaps of what his relationship with his Lois may develop?

Is Mainstream Clark Kent the closest person to a "Kal-L" type Superman, since he essentially has aspects of his "old" origins once again as a part of himself? Were these "Blue" aspects of his character, the parts that were a threat to Manhattan, because it gives Clark a "cosmic" connection that makes him the "key" to the universe, the same way the Kal-L was the "key" before him?

2. Mr. Oz is obviously shocked that Superman and Lois "won". Hinting again that either Superman or "him" is going to have the final word. Still now that Clark has won, what changes will this have on Mr. Oz's plan? He's been grabbing up characters from multiple timeline and universes, what will he do with them now? His original plan obviously isn't perfect, since he didn't believe "true love" would "conquer all". Of course a major problem is, we aren't exactly sure if Mr. Oz is Ozymandias or not. He's likely him, but it's not confirmed yet.

3. We still don't have any real knowledge of why Manhattan or Oz really care about this universe. What's driving them, or why? If this is the Watchmen, post those stories, what is their drive? Manhattan wanted to "create life" but never hinted at wanting to rule it. And if this is Ozymandias, how did a simple billionaire become a God like powerhouse who is able to cross dimensions? How does either of these men line up with the creation of this universe? Which brings me to...

4. We know how the New 52 was originally created, it was built up because of the events of Infinite Crisis. So... how does Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias play into that? Obviously neither character was a part of those events. There is a certain theme that may connect the two though. For a lack of a better term. One of the ideas of IC was that the world had become "corrupted", much "darker" and filled with less hope. This idea became a kind of meta debate, which could be talked about as the affect comic like Watchmen and the Dark Knight had on the comic book industry. Superboy-Prime became a caricature of the Silver Age fan boys, who longed for "purer" stories and in so wanting them became the bane of existence. Willing to destroy all of the modern continuity so long as their "perfect" Silver Age stories were brought forth front and center again.

Is Rebirth yet another meta debate playing before our eyes? Is it now the Watchman's turn to get to "Superboy-Prime" treatment? Or is does this instead have something to do with that Crisis itself?

A few things of note to remember about IC. It was from this story, that we saw the first return of Barry Allen. Who had been gone from the Post Crisis era mostly since he died in the original Crisis baring a few side apperance. Of course later Barry's desire to "change the past" would mess with the timeline, and create the New 52 changes. Was this a part of Dr. Manhattan's plan form the start? When Barry returned form the speed force to drag Prime into it, was it because of the desires of Manhattan so he could get the world he wanted? Has he been using people that far back? Does his desire for a "perfect" world of his own making start in the Post Crisis world? Perhaps as the darker counter point to Silver Age fan boy Superboy Prime?

Or is something else happening here? Right now, we simply don't have enough information, and can only meaninglessly speculate.