A new era begins for Superman as a threat from his earliest origins reemerges to destroy the Last Son of Krypton. As Superman struggles to come to grips with what has happened to his wife and son, he must also face a new threat that’s determined to burn down Metropolis!
Greetings!
Welcome back to another exciting week here at DC Universe Book Club! DC Universe’s very own community run book club. I’m so happy to see you!
It’s been a while! Thanks so much to @JLWWSM for stepping and covering for me while I got over a virus!
This week we are checking out Man of Steel (2018). This book marked not only a new era for Superman, but DC as a whole. I’m so excited to hear what you all think!
Cool selection, though I think you kinda poached this off of the New To DCU book club.
I haven’t read this, but it’s one of those stories where it was talked so much as it came out that I kind of already know what happens. I’m looking forward to giving it a try for myself and crafting my own opinion.
I…uh…don’t really like this series. The way it built off of The Oz Effect was utterly confusing, and the new villain felt like he had wandered in from the New 52, which kinda defeats the whole point of sweeping that era under the rug.
Is this your first time reading Man of Steel (2018)? No I’ve read it 4? times now. When it came out, when the whole arc finished, and twice for book clubs;
How did you feel about Jon leaving with Jor-El? Was Jon wrong to want to leave? I think Bendis handled Jon very well here. I didn’t mind Jon wanting to go explore on his own. However it’s hard to appreciate this given what happened to Jon on the trip. It’s hard to seperate the two, which is frustrating.
What did you think of our new Villain, Rogol Zaar? Still don’t like him. I keep feeling like there’s an interesting story to tell (which could be told by just having an issue/arc dedicated to him as “the hero of his story” versus the angry being he is. Bendis makes him scary with shock value versus actual conflict. I would have loved Rogal Zar to hunt down Superman’s family and really ground the story in the strength of the entire Superman cast of characters’s relationship to Superman, then a shock value relationship with Superman, but he “sent” them away. I mean, he has so little argument for the ethnic cleansing of Krypton.
What was your favorite page or panel? The moment that stands out to me is when Lois and Superman hug in the air toward the end. It’s such a beautiful sky mixed with the right amount of emotion.
I’m 99% sure we have the same opinion on what Bendis did with Jon. Re reading this is hard because it seems (from the very limited time) that Bendis had a good voice for Jon. Before the changes were made.
I mean that he reeked of New 52 edginess, which itself was a repackaging of 90s comic book edginess. From his laughable design to his dull characterization, he felt very much like a misguided attempt to appeal to a certain subset of fans who were not at all the fans who had been rejoicing over Rebirth. Heavy hints of Liefeld in him.
Yeah that’s what I thought you meant. He defiantly felt uninspired design wise. I thought connecting him to Supe’s origin was neat but outside of that he’s definitely forgettable.
Jon’s a kid who just got kicked out to the teen titans. No one really understands him. I completely understand why he wanted to leave and don’t think he’s wrong for wanting to leave. He’s hurt and feeling rejected. He probably feels this is an opportunity to hang out with his grandfather and become the man he thinks he needs to be to be worthy of the teen titans.
He is scary and now everything I thought I knew about how Krypton was destroyed has been challenged. There’s a lot of room for more story-telling on Rogol Zaar and his interactions with the Green Lanterns. I’m intrigued by that. I also agree with Nathan’s statement here.
I’m really curious about how Jor-El is still alive.
Lots!
Bendis does a phenomenal job of capturing relatable, human moments:
a. This is totally me
Read all three issues between 2019-11-18T05:00:00Z → 2019-11-24T05:00:00Z 
Tackle the below discussion questions at your leisure
Let us know what you thought of the book as a whole!
Spoiler discussion begins right now!
Discussion Questions
