A lot of comics can get confusing fast when you try and tie in a character who debuted 80+ years ago to specific historical events. It’s very hard to do well.
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For those wondering about Supes’ gray hair (@Green.Lantern @Schroeswald), from Action 1036:
The radiation poisoning mentioned in the panel is from PKJ’s first arc, when Clark & Jon fought the monsters from the breach.
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I kind of wondered if that’s what was causing it. Thanks!
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I also almost missed it because I thought it was an elseworld type story…and it sounded ridiculous that he would team up with Manchester Black…but I ended up enjoying it. Seems like they are really trying to age and depower Clark. Hope that turns around soon.
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Bendis re-reading 2
Continuing on with my re-reading of the Bendis era Superman…The Jor-El and Rogol Zaar storyline can be completely written off as far as I can tell. It seemed like its only purpose was as a vehicle to age Jon up, and set up the United Planets and Jon taking his place on the Legion. There were some good scenes with Kara joining the fight and seeing the House of El all working together, and the truce with Zod was compelling (something that I think could lead to a nice arc in the future…trying to establish a New Krypton with two small families). Everything else seemed uninspired.
The explanation for Jon’s aging was believable by comic standards, but the presentation was irritating. Some good Clark (but not Lois) reactions. Jon’s story, the way he told it…like it was all a lark, I got through it, I’m so proud and can joke about it…instead of exhibiting at least some mild ptsd was annoying… And then a couple of days later, “See you, have fun in the future son!”…sheesh!
His depiction of Lois is all over the place. I’ve read a lot of comics about how he wrote Lois as a *itch and a horrible Mom…but I did not get that from it. My biggest problem was him writing her as weaker than she is or getting flustered. For example, she left Jon alone in space and came home after a week in space because it was just too much. He got better (or more inspired) with writing Lois the closer it came to Rucka doing his Lois series and the Leviathan saga.
I know a lot of people were deeply offended during the storyline where it looked like (to the rest of the world) that Clark was being cucked by Superman…but as I said before, I found this part of the storyline compelling and realistic.
I must say, I really enjoyed the Leviathan arcs…all the way to the ending (which whimpered). It had intensity and mystery. I wish Bendis had some help with this, because with the way it started, this could have been a much longer arc, filled with intrigue, and Leviathan could still be a nice DC boogeyman today…instead of the joke it became with the second Leviathan series.
Overall…it hasn’t been terrible so far. Some compelling, interesting components…with a couple of severe misses.
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You know maybe I’m just inclined to see Bendis’s writing negatively and this isn’t even all that bad of an example but hot damn the Bendis speak that man needs someone else to script his comics.
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From what I am reading, he seems more like a faucet…running hot or ice cold…when he is good, I love it! I think he needs a colleague along for the ride who would ask the right questions and give honest feedback. I think this would sharpen him. You could tell when he was conversing with Rucka trying to match up their stories because Bendis’ Lois suddenly became much sharper and better written. I think he could definitely be the “big idea” on a crew (ex. Leviathan was a great idea…execution was just off).
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He does have good ideas yeah. But his plotting beat to beat is not the greatest and his dialogue is baaaaaaad (nowadays, USM is very popular and reportedly very good).
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I didn’t take this as a vehicle to age Jon, but more of a vehicle to get Clark to a place where he wants to share his truth with the world. Having seen the secrets his father kept, what with being part of a cosmic cabal that put Rogol Zaar to do unspeakable tasks. Jor-El thought he was doing the right thing at the time, but was operating in the dark, and history was not in favor of that group’s actions. Clark didn’t want to be that guy; decided to come out so that Clark Kent’s actions were in the open. Or at least that’s how memory serves me anyway 
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Agreed. I honestly hadn’t thought of this until others pointed it out. At the time, I just took it as “this Jon kid is pretty badass to go through that and come out the other end of it in one piece!”
Didn’t take this that way either. As a parent, I know it takes strength to leave my child anywhere and let them do things on their own. She left her super powered kid with his super powered grandpa, after watching them save a bunch of aliens (if I remember correctly), and went back to her super powered husband… who should be able to intervene at any point if need be. Was it a questionable, or even wrong decision? Absolutely, but it doesn’t make her weak, just human.
Agreed. Given how much Lois is saved by Clark, something like this was bound to happen, given both their celebrities. Another motivation factor for Clark to come out as Superman.
Different folks, different strokes. It was my least favorite Bendis contribution to DC. It didn’t just end with a whimper, it meandered. I felt like it needlessly disrupted the ongoing arcs.
Thanks for sharing, friend. Your write-ups have been fun to read. I appreciate your balanced approach to a Superman run that otherwise garners more negative comments than it deserves (imo, of course ).
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Thanks…I think you may be correct that it was a vehicle for Clark to reveal his secret identity…or maybe for all three…but the reveal happens right after so…and one clarification: I wasn’t disappointed that Lois left Jon…it was because of the reason…she was scared (or that was the way I read it)…Lois just got finished busting her dad out of a cell from a ruthless dictator not long before. Leaving because she was flustered seemed out of character…although, he wrote her much better after that (Rucka influence?) Thanks for the input!!!
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lol…yeah…some of his dialogue is really bad…not all the time, but when its off, its almost laughable…
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Yeah, I very much agree. Is it just me, or do Clark and Lois call Jon “boy” frequently?
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They kept forgetting his name.
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Your read is much more recent than mine, which was when it came out. My understanding was that she just felt like “what purpose am I serving here?” Not dissimilar to the feeling one gets when our kids don’t really need our help or protection the way we’re used to… except in Lois’ case it was a pretty extreme situation .
This reminds me of another favorite sequence of mine. The expressions on Clark’s face here get to me:
And as I was fishing for that, I found an explanation for a question that was bugging me for a long time:
I always wondered how is Rogol Zaar Kryptonian and where does his hate come from? I totally missed Strange’s statement about Jor-El creating him with genetic enhancements. That admission obviously happened off-panel as Jor-El was being tried. I feel a little bit of closure about that now. Always bugged me 
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Anytime; always up for a good Super chat, my friend!
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lol…In Bendis world…yeah…but I thought it was endearing the way Lois did it.
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@D4RK5TARZ: Yes, Superman, has a great supporting cast. To the wonderful characters you mentioned, you can add Lana Lang, Martha, and Jonathan Kent, Cat Grant, Steve Lombard, John Henry Irons, Kon-El, Pete Ross, and the man everyone loves to hate–Lex Luthor. And last, but never least–Krypto, the Superdog!
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I have just read Superman Returns: The Prequels tpb. This was a 4 issue mini in 2006 to help promote Superman Returns. Each book had an individual focus, the retelling of the last days of Krypton, Martha Kent, Lex Luthor, and Lois Lane. The series gave a reason why Superman had left earth while doing a character study of character during Superman’s time away from Earth.
While the stories tie into the movie, the movie or even knowledge of the movie isn’t needed. In Martha’s story, we explore the loneliness and pride of a woman who has lived her life. Her ups and downs of being a wife and mother. This story was sentimental which added a nice touch.
Lex’s story was the normal, “It isn’t my fault, it’s Superman’s fault” story. He is serving the last days of his prison sentence. Honestly, there is nothing interesting here. He manipulates people, he does Lex Luthor things inside of a prison.
Lois’ story was a little different. While I liked Martha’s story more, this brought the most changes. As with all of the stories, this is a world without Superman story. More importantly, this is a story of how Lois moved on. Her growth here was excellent. We see how she went from waiting for Superman to living her life. We see how she fell in love and her journey as a mother. This is a side of Lois that we haven’t seen and honestly, I would like to see more of.
Now the weird thing about this book is that Bryan Singer’s name is front and center. Not Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, or Marc Andreyko, who actually wrote the stories. I would like to see this on DCUI one day but honestly, with Bryan Singer’s name on it, I don’t see it happening anytime soon.
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Bendis Interlude
So there were two silly non-stories alluded to in the Bendis run during Leviathan Rising. The first came out of Superman: Leviathan Rising Special Lois is saving Clark from being kidnapped by Talia Al Ghul…we have no story how she got there, but she shows up to rescue him dressed up like Talia, with Jimmy in a gorilla costume and Dex-Starr on his shoulder, and Firestorm (of all people)…I would pay some good money to read how all of this came about…
The next is a fake comic cover from Clark and Lois going undercover as Chaz and Andi…agents of Spyral…I would love to read this as well…if it existed! Sidenote: In the actual story, Lois gets really excited in having Clark turn into Chaz and going undercover as Andi…it read like Lois has a kink for going undercover…and I mean this respectfully…it was cute).
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I haven’t read them since they came out, but I remember the Superman Returns preludes being pretty good and adding some additional meat onto the movie’s bones (similar to the Green Lantern tie-ins from 2011).
As for the new ish of Action, its on my desk, but I’ve yet to read it. Soon, though!
Speaking of soon and Superman, the final issue of World of Krypton comes out this Tuesday. I’ve enjoyed this mini, especially Oeming’s art.
After his Midnighter backup in Action and now World of Krypton, I hope Oeming will have more Supergigs in the near future.
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