Action Comics 976 Discussion

[StrikeJP]

Glad to have ONE Superman back!

Continuity is going to be really screwy now. I am really curious to see how Jurgens explains his history in the next two issues of Action. My guess is he'll be really vague and just mention the big milestones like the Death, Wedding, etc. Pretty much like the splash page in this issue.

Vague enough so that the reader can cram whatever Superman story they like into his history and kinda make it work. Which I think I would be ok with.

[Miles To Go]

I wouldn't go THAT far, but yeah

Neither would I, OMIT assassinated every character in it to the point noone is recognizable. Reborn course corrects and the only character assassination isn't even that bad and evolves Myx to another level.

Though I can actually see Marvel doing a much better version of Reborn if they ever decide to merge 616 with Renew Your Vows

[bat39]

A great issue!

Yeah, a little underwhelming after the MASSIVE expectations created in the previous two issues - and what was going to happen was predictable but yeah, it certainly was a solid conclusion.

My favorite part of the issue of course was the moment of the 'merge' - when Nuperman and NuLois kiss and are bathed in the 'Blue' energies of Superdad and MaLois - and the new timeline snaps into place with a montage of Superman's history.

A lot of questions remain of course-


-Do Superman and Lois remember being split? Do they remember their separate lives as 'Red' and 'Blue? They clearly know that something happened to them and they've been 'fixed'.

-So does Jon remember everything, even if his parents don't?

-It seems pretty obvious now that Manhattan is the one responsible for the 'split'. But why? Why split Superman and Lois Lane and not do so for the other heroes and their loved ones?

-How does Convergence and Telos play into all this (even if it seems to be retconned from the timeline)?

-Last but not the least...how does the chronology work, now that Jon is established as having been born as Lois and Clark's son in continuity? Does this mean Clark has been active as Superman for 15-20 years? How old are Clark and Lois supposed to be now, chronologically?


REALLY looking forward to the next issue.

[Miles To Go]

-Do Superman and Lois remember being split? Do they remember their separate lives as 'Red' and 'Blue? They clearly know that something happened to them and they've been 'fixed'..

Yes, Clark wouldn't be investigating his history and the way reality is next month if he did'nt

[David Walton]

So is that Lex in the Smallville High image?

I'm also curious to see the status of Ma and Pa Kent. Nothing to go on here--but it would be funny if they popped back up, alive and well, after months of nothing being said one way or the other! (I'm a big fan of them still being alive.)

[FishyZombie]

Enjoyed this conclusion and I'm glad they've merged. Could have gone for some more emotional dialogue from Lois and Clark right before it happened though. Kinda expected more considering they were suddenly gaining memories of their son and an entire life they didn't know they had. Also as I feared, Mr. Oz just chilled in the background like he always does.

[DragonPiece]

New Interview: http://comicsalliance.com/superman-r...ive-interview/

"CA: How exactly has reality changed? Do Clark and Lois walk back into the Daily Planet and everyone knows they’re married and have a kid?
DJ: In effect… yes.
The events of Action #976 reset and reshape the entire Superman timeline. Where there had been two Superman, their realities have now been fused into one timeline with just one of them. And, yes, Clark and Lois are back at the Daily Planet. Not only does everyone know they had a child; they were there shortly after Jon was born. The Daily Planet crew has known Jon his entire life.
Action Comics #977 and #978 will delve a bit more deeply into that timeline, so readers have a common understanding about Superman’s past.
"

[Last Son of Krypton]

How/when/why did Superdad and MaLois turn into energy ghosts?

[David Walton]

How/when/why did Superdad and MaLois turn into energy ghosts?

Well, their energy was said to be dissipating the longer they stayed in Mxy's battleground. Presumably they evaporated when they lost their memories of Jon, but he brought their true essences back (as he did with Nu52 Supes and Lois). At least that's how I read it.

[Kirby Krackle]

I am beyond happy right now.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Well, their energy was said to be dissipating the longer they stayed in Mxy's battleground. Presumably they evaporated when they lost their memories of Jon, but he brought their true essences back (as he did with Nu52 Supes and Lois). At least that's how I read it.

With the exception of the final outcome, what happened seems really confused.

[ABH]

The outcome was exactly what I wanted, but something about this just feels so rushed to me. I mean, I'm glad this wasn't unnecessarily dragged out longer than it needed to be, but I also can't believe the Supes and Loises are already merged. Anyway, again, I'm just happy we're finally here and the timeline has been merged/reset, and that Jon is the official and public son of Lois and Clark.

I think Jon is going to be the real threat to Doc Manhattan, I imagine him to be a key player in the final battle, I do not think it's a coincidence that he stole 10 years and Jon is that old

You may be onto something there.

I'm also wondering if they'll tie this back around to the New 52 Superman/Wonder Woman relationship -- as in Superman being romantically occupied with Diana, was another way to keep him from Lois.

[Shriveling_memo]

New 52 suit was better then superdad customs

[Maxi]

All things considered, I don't understand why they had to use Mxy as the villain. He didn't have anything to do with the merge after all.

Also, the money shot with the new suit was almost perfect, but the belt was drawn differently from both sides. I guess that's what comes with a double shipping.

[Myskin]

I’m out of the shadows for a while, just to give my 2 cents about this crossover I had some interest in. I’ll go straight to the point: story-wise, in my opinion it is probably the lowest point ever touched by a Superman comic in my whole life.

Not because of the plot. The plot was conceived in order to reach a point, and it is successful in that regard. The point was making SuperDad the official, one and only, Superman. Don’t be deceived by the “merging” thing: it is not a merger in any way, this is 100% SuperDad. We shall see what will happen in the future, but every single element from the splash page (yes, also young Lex, even if someone missed him) is compatible with SuperDad rather than Nuperman. Yes, Jor-El has a headband, but if you look very closely you’ll see it wasn’t even properly drawn by Mahnke – it is just a result of the colouring. This makes me think that it is an afterthought, or something which they added “just in case”, but I think that Nuperman is completely, definitely gone. I don’t think that this should shock anyone.

It is not the lowest point because of the dialogues. Don’t get me wrong, the dialogues and the story development are TERRIBLE, as bad as we can expect from Jurgens (“true love can conquer all”??? Seriously?) It’s basically a bad fanfic in that regard, but nothing we haven’t seen before (or even worse) in the past.

It is not the lowest point because of the art, which is great, and I think that we can all agree about it.

What I seriously find unforgivable is that we have reached a point in superhero comics where character development and psychology of the protagonists simply don’t mean anything anymore. We can seriously suggest that a major character has his own psychology forged by a “fusion of memories/feelings”, not because he lived some experiences and the reader followed him and his fictional life – which should be the basic element of a story, any story. One of the discarded solution to end the Spider-clone saga is now a reality, by the way. I am starting to think that the editors find ideas on message boards and later they implement them in the stories. I am serious.

We can seriously have a story where a kid saves the day thanks to the POWER OF LOVE and someone is dragging the characters from Watchmen into it because Manhattan stole 10 years of the characters’ life and he made them miserable because… Who cares, seriously? And more importantly – what does it ultimately mean?

Even worse, I am increasingly worried by the level of masturbatory self-reference Superman comics have reached. It’s a red queen’s race where the main purpose of Superman adventures is not getting the characters in unexplored territories. What a lot of people are aiming at is not a good development and a good conclusion, but rather a good starting point. The FINAL Superman origin. The DEFINITIVE Superman. It should sound familiar to all of us – it’s an obsessive and vaguely unhealthy nerdish ambition every Superman reader has experienced in their own life (yes, including myself) and which dates back to Return to Krypton (does anyone remember the half-silver age, half-Byrne Jor-El and Lara?), maybe even earlier. And Birthright. And Superman 200 and the three possible outcomes of reality created by Superboy’s punches. And I think that 16 friggin’ years are more than enough to have the story done (or – I speak just for myself – just read other comic books).

Seriously, it’s not about the costume, or the kid (which – at this point – I think that we can consider the new breakout character), or SuperDad vs Nuperman, a comparison which doesn’t mean anything. It’s just about proper storytelling, good or acceptable character development, new ambitious ideas. Say what you want about TRUTH – I stopped reading it halfway, just to be clear – but the scope of that story and its main ambition were infinitely more daring and interesting than this. Even GROUNDED – which is probably the worst Superman story ever written - had a more interesting premise.