Action #982 Discussion

[darkseidpwns]

A lot of tough love was given to Kal-El on this day.

[Sacred Knight]

Only problem I had was the decompressed nature of it. It did what I was hoping it wouldn't; spin its wheels and wait till the end for the family get together. It was primed last issue for them to go to Kal's aid, why another issue was spent doing it all over again I don't know.

[Frontier]

I feel like that Kryptonian Mecha suit is going to be relevant later on...

[FishyZombie]

I feel like that Kryptonian Mecha suit is going to be relevant later on...

That bit basically screamed "Chekhov's gun"

[Sacred Knight]

Yeah, I'm guessing Superman will use it so he can fight better without his sight, or Jon will use it.

[SuperCrab]

I thought it was pretty funny at the beginning where the villains were meeting and only somewhat into the discussion did we learn that the discussion is taking place in Batman's moonbase, because, of course it is. I am not sure if they intend this as a running gag or not, but I'm enjoying that everyone seems to just be able to walk into Batman's moonbase and take control to the point where they don't even show the forced entry anymore or make a big deal about it. It's like a free hotel conference room on the moon.

I still like good-guy Luthor. I understand what people earlier in the thread are saying about a psychopathic villain like that not changing his spots, but Superman's whole ideology is built on the idea that people like that can become heroes. There's the oft-repeated "There's still good in you" line and things similar to it. Clark's ideology is that it's never too late to do the right thing and that everyone has that capacity. When he's arch-nemesis Luthor became a good guy, Clark struggled to accept it and had to wrestle with the difference between what he felt in his gut, his hatred of Luthor, and his ideological convictions that even the worst people can become a force for good in the world.

Now, I am not saying that Clark is *right* about what he believes, necessarily. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. However, that's his character. This is one of his books. It makes total sense in this context to have situations like the transformation Lex Luthor went through. It seems odd that Superman fans are complaining about it. I'm not criticizing people for complaining- people can complain about whatever they want. I'm just saying that right now Luthor is sort of "proof" that at least in this fictionalized universe, one of Superman's core ideological principles is true.

That bit basically screamed "Chekhov's gun"

It screamed "Robo-Batman armor" to me.

I also thought the Zod-Eradicator discussions were interesting. When one thinks about it, they have a lot in common. I'm kind of surprised that they haven't teamed up before that I remember, and that they aren't part of a permanent alliance. The others are just bound together by their hatred of Superman, but Zod and the Eradicator both desire to restore or recreate a "pure" Krypton- it's a very similar long-term motivation. You could see the two of them working together in the long after the hypothetical defeat of Kal-El, which of course will never actually happen, but if it did- the other members of the alliance of evil or whatever we're calling it would immediately turn on each other with nothing binding them together, but Zod and the Eradicator have common dreams that go well beyond the death of Superman.

Also, just throwing this out there, the New52 Superman ice sculpture's remains are no longer visible. I kind of expected that- the destruction in a prior issue was erasing sort of the last remnants of one of the prior timelines that wouldn't have carried over to the "There has always been one Superman" era. It was built to honor a Superman who retroactively never died. It'd be hard to imagine Superman just building a monument to himself one day. It's a little sad, but at least the adventures, personality, and the costume of the New52 Superman are part of the combined Superman's past and really happened in the current timeline in that respect.

[manofsteel1979]

Pacing wise a little off, but still fun. Loving the Easter eggs. Jurgens ACTION has been pretty consistently decent since REBORN sorted the two Supermen stuff. If anything Tomasi's Superman book has taken a slight dip in quality with the last arc. Still both books are great though. Wonderful time to be reading Superman.

[Sacred Knight]

Yeah, I had noticed the same thing. Since Reborn Action's gotten better and Superman's gotten a little worse. But while I think Reborn has nearly everything to do with Action getting better, I think its just coincidence that Superman's dipped a little. Nothing Reborn did is part of the past arc's problems, after all.

[JAK]

I still like good-guy Luthor. I understand what people earlier in the thread are saying about a psychopathic villain like that not changing his spots, but Superman's whole ideology is built on the idea that people like that can become heroes. There's the oft-repeated "There's still good in you" line and things similar to it. Clark's ideology is that it's never too late to do the right thing and that everyone has that capacity. When he's arch-nemesis Luthor became a good guy, Clark struggled to accept it and had to wrestle with the difference between what he felt in his gut, his hatred of Luthor, and his ideological convictions that even the worst people can become a force for good in the world.

Now, I am not saying that Clark is *right* about what he believes, necessarily. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. However, that's his character. This is one of his books. It makes total sense in this context to have situations like the transformation Lex Luthor went through. It seems odd that Superman fans are complaining about it. I'm not criticizing people for complaining- people can complain about whatever they want. I'm just saying that right now Luthor is sort of "proof" that at least in this fictionalized universe, one of Superman's core ideological principles is true.

Speaking as someone who's a huge Post-Crisis '89-'97 era Superman fan especially, I actually really like the idea of Lex being a "good guy" and honestly trying to be one. And I really don't want him to have a quick heel-turn, either. It should be a struggle, back and forth. Kinda like a cross between Catwoman and Two-Face for Batman, in a way.

But regardless, I really liked seeing him lead the charge here - and I like the fact that the writers got me to that point. I'd actually like to see him stay a good guy for a good while, which means it'll be that much more dramatic and emotionally compelling when he eventually falls (as we all know he will).

Great time to be a Superfan. Loved this issue, can't wait for the next one!

[Sacred Knight]

If it wasn't for the fact that I'm against losing Lex as an arch-nemesis, I wouldn't mind it as much. I actually very much like the idea of Superman having his own Vegeta per se, I just don't think Lex is the villain to do it with. A character only has one arch-nemesis and Lex Luthor is Superman's. So to me its not worth losing.

[adkal]

I do agree with those saying this feels decompressed, but I did like that the villains decided to pile in rather than just take turns.

[stephtanner]

The Kents were mentioned last issue and now their smashed statues make an appearance. Couple all this with the weird voice Jon heard, I'm getting curiouser and curiouser about a possible connection between Oz and the dearly departed Kents.

Despite being badly outnumbered and having no vision, Superman put up a decent fight. Fortunately, the playing field is more level now with the arrival of the rest of the Super fam. The last page was awesome!

[SanityOrMadness]

Sure. He went from being the kind of guy who can be splattered by the putrefied flesh of a human being he just killed and then calmly return to his research without even wiping off the gob of flesh from his face to a noble hero because......reasons.

People who do the kind of things he's done don't just "turn over a new leaf." They established Lex as a psychopath. I can buy that he would fake being a good guy if he sees a reason to do so. Heck, that's classic Lex, as a matter of fact. But they've been trying to paint it as a genuine change of heart for him ever since Forever Evil and none of it was even remotely earned.

I'm not seeing him as a "noble hero". He's a "hero" because it feeds his need for acknowledgement and adulation. He's doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons.

[DragonPiece]

The Kents were mentioned last issue and now their smashed statues make an appearance. Couple all this with the weird voice Jon heard, I'm getting curiouser and curiouser about a possible connection between Oz and the dearly departed Kents.

Despite being badly outnumbered and having no vision, Superman put up a decent fight. Fortunately, the playing field is more level now with the arrival of the rest of the Super fam. The last page was awesome!

Yeah, it's still hard to see how it all connects, but it reminds me of Jurgens constantly keeping the Mxy mystery going. He seems to enjoy torturing us lol

[stephens2177]

I'm enjoying Action a lot right now,but if everyone of the bad guys are "Superman level" in power and he would have a hard time with any of them,then 1) he has been shown beating them a lil to easily,and not just in this issue,Eradicator and ol Hank should never be considered cannon fodder,even for a page imo,and 2) his rescue squad shouldn't have much of a chance against them imo,they are all weaker characters than Superman,and we are to believe they can just equal these insanely powerful villian.

Good time for a 20 year old powerhouse named kon-el to comeback and make things more believable.