He was created as a kind of Superman villain so I guess? But like, really he feels more like a general DC Universe character that’s just closer to Superman than others.
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BENDIS RE-READING #1
First phase of re-reading Bendis complete. Finished Man of Steel and the first couple of his issues of Superman and Action Comics.
Rogol Zaar seems unnecessary, as well as the new story about what destroyed Krypton. The writing has been good, though. Double gut punch between Clark “losing/missing” his family, and everyone thinking Lois left him and the destruction of Kandor. I believe Bendis also wrote Kara well.
Now one thing that I do remember I “liked” was Lois coming back, not telling Clark, moving to a different city, then everyone thinking she was having an affair with Superman…I “liked” it because it gave me a pretty intense emotional reaction at the time…and still does re-reading it. I think this could have been really explored more…peeling back a raw, rough patch in their marriage.
I also believed that Bendis was going to go somewhere with this part of the story. What was really going on with Lois. She couldn’t/wouldn’t talk about what happened in space (and not wanting to talk about it was re-emphasized in the Lois series with Rucka…which then got watered down to she was “was nervous in space”…yeah…right).
Anyways, I thought this hiccup in their relationship was gold…despite being hard to read (I was actually feeling jealousy on Clark’s behalf)…and thought this part of the story should have festered a bit more and developed into something.
Looking back now…was it all just a stupid vehicle to age Jon? He really had no direction with this part of the story? ugh…
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I appreciate your input, friend! I’m glad that you liked the Bendis run so much. I’m sure I’ll read it again someday, and I hope that I’ll go in with an open mind, thinking, “Great Superman fans like @moro really enjoyed this.”
I will sign on to your request for more Jimmy and Lois and Bibbo content. I liked Lois’ recent mini-series overall, and I think she always deserves more time in the spotlight. I thought Jimmy’s was beyond fantastic.
My dream would be to get Jerry Ordway to write more Bibbo, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
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In my perception, pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Kal-El was more Superman by nature. The Kents were certainly great people who were a very positive influence and whom their adopted son dearly loved, but Kal-El was born to be Superman.
I think John Byrne, with his reinterpretation of Krypton as a society that almost deserved to blow up, put a lot more stock in the nurture of the Kents in forming Superman. For better or worse, you can find Byrne’s influence in almost every incarnation of Superman since the mid-80s.
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I’m also a big fan of good Jimmy and Lois and Bibbo stories. I really loved the Bibbo stories that ran as backups in Superman recently. And the supporting cast is one of my favorite things as I’ve been reading through the Triangle Era comics.
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That’s a good description of it! Personally I think I prefer the newer, post-Byrne depiction more. I like Superman more when he seems more human than alien.
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I also loved Doomsday Clock, but I’m a sucker for a Geoff Johns/Gary Frank team-up.
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Nothing wrong w/ that. The writing was definitely what I loved most about it, but the art was also absolutely incredible and really elevated the whole story to another level. These 2 are just a perfect combo
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The very first Superman origin from Action Comics #1 and later used in the Fleischer Cartoons and radio show was him raised in an orphanage. No Kents at all.
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Superman’s got some good stuff this week:
Action Comics #1042
Regular cover by Riccardo Federici
Variant cover by Julian Totino Tedesco
Justice League #75
Regular cover
Variant by Dan Jurgens
Variant by Todd Nauck
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I love those Tedesco covers so, so, so much. 
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Action Comics brought us more action in Warworld and Lois joins the story, once again!
The art in this issue looked rougher but fit the story being told. Superman seems to have his hands full with Mongul and his dastardly schemes. Then again, Mongul isn’t the only one with tricks up his sleeve. The upcoming issues should be providing us with what Clark and his team have planned in an uphill journey.
To think, this all spun out of a Grant Morrison mini is pretty amazing. I had no idea that the mini would connect with the ongoing Superman story, let alone that it would lead into a huge storyline. PKJ has done a great job with Action and I can’t see what he has planned for us after Warworld.
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I just finished reading Superman and the Authority last night, and I apparently completely forgot it tied right into the Warworld storyline. The whole time I was reading it I just assumed it was out of canon, or an alternate universe/future story. I am very excited to read the Warworld story in Action Comics.
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Yeah, I don’t think it was advertised as anything other than a Grant Morrison mini. I almost passed on it when it was coming out due to that but then Grant Morrison’s name on that cover pulled me in.
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During the course of Superman and the Authority I had no clue it was supposed to be canon until… the day the last issue came out and it announced it lead into stuff with Action Comics?
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I knew I got that impression from somewhere! I got to the last page slightly confused (like I usually am after reading Morrison) and then saw the “to be continued!” and was very surprised. I almost feel like I need to read it again. 
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I think a lot of why I thought it wasn’t canon is just based on Superman’s appearance. He has gray in his hair, and he’s not wearing the S anymore, which I don’t think I’ve seen reflected in any other stories. I’ve read Action Comics up until #1034, and I never noticed any gray, so I’m not sure where S&TA fits in, chronologically.
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I think the explanation was that its… idk somewhere in the tail end of the setup and that he was dying his hair for most people? I think? That was weird yeah I don’t think they did the best job of coordinating there (partially cause S&A was written like, a long time before it came out iirc)
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I think there has been a bit about his powers fading since Death Metal ended. I remember that being a big concern of Jon’s at one point. I just wasn’t sure about the hair. It did confuse me at the end when Lois appeared and didn’t look any older. Although I should have probably realized that none of the other characters in the story looked older than normal. I think what I was thinking was that this was an alternate universe story where Superman had been active since the sixties and so he would probably be in his sixties (at least) here.
This is usually the reaction I have after reading something by Grant Morrison. I’m never really sure how it fits into other things, or if I just missed something.
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The book was conceived and possibly written for 5G so I imagine a lot of the weird stuff comes from that legacy of weird aging that made no sense
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