Random Thoughts On... Brian Michael Bendis's Run on the Superman Books Part 2

So, where was I? Oh yeah, I was about to talk about villains and controversy.

A Bit Mixed on the Villains

We get some returning villains and new villains here, but I’m mostly focusing on the newer villains. First up, it’s Rogol Zaar who I already said my piece on. He’s okay, and unfortunately, we don’t learn too much about him here. He’s still on his hate boner for all Kryptonians. We don’t even find out how he possibly destroyed Krypton. Next, there’s Symnar Utopica, an alien from a part of the galaxy that has an orange sun. His deal was that his people turned him into a weapon to possible combat Superman. He instead turns on them and tries to kill Superman too. He was a bit on the “meh” side. We do get a villain named that shows up during the Doctor Fate two-parter, but that villain was so forgettable.

Yes, Zod! Beat the lameness out of Zaar!

Random Thoughts On... Brian Michael Bendis' Run on the Superman Books Part 1

I called it. I seriously called this one. When I heard that Brian Michael Bendis was coming over to DC, I wrote here that I hope they didn’t throw him on Superman first. Whelp, I think something screwed up with in the atmosphere or something because BMB came and did some Superman. Was it everything I was hoping? Dreading? Both? Meh? You’ll find out below.

For those not in the know, Brian Michael Bendis made his career with Marvel for a majority of the 2000’s. For whatever reason (I’ve heard various rumors), he left his exclusive job at Marvel and came over to DC. I think everyone was shocked by this especially me. I’m a BMB fan, but even I’ll admit that he has his low moments. Remember Civil War 2? While he was on the Superman books, he also helmed his own event (Event: Leviathan), revamped the Legion of Superheroes,  and handled a line of teen superhero comics (Young Justice, Naomi, and others). Anyway, his time on Superman came after what some would call a good period for the Man of Steel. His history was back, his marriage was back, and he had a heroic kid in tow. So, how does Bendis screw all that up? Well, he didn’t… sorta.

Here’s how it all panned out:

• Action Comics #1000 – a small side story that set up a new villain and the return of Superman’s other ally… his trunks.
• Man of Steel (not to be confused with Byrne nor Zach Snyder) – This set up the status quo with the Daily Planet and  with the new villain, Rogol Zaar, an alien who has a hatred for Kryptonians. We also have Lois and Jon Kent leave the book to hang out with Jor-El Debarge… yeah, I’m sticking with that name for this version. I talked about this mini last year.
• Superman #1-28 – With this book, Bendis pretty much goes cosmic on us. If you want Superman in space kicking butt and taking names, this was the book that had him on those adventures. First, we get “The Unity Saga.” Here, we get a Phantom Zone story that deals with Rogol Zaar and more recognizable Superman villains. Next, we get what is one of the first controversial moments with Superboy Jon Kent. The saga then concludes with the fate of evil Jor-El as well as some space shenanigans. After all that fun, we get The Truth (I touched on that here), more Mongul, a team up with Dr. Fate, and some more space fun.
• Action Comics #1001-1028 – As for Action Comics, it was more grounded and city-based. We get a lot of the Daily Planet here as well as a plot involving a gang called the Invisible Mafia. We get to see more of the new faces that were introduced in Man of Steel. While Clark is trying to figure out who the Invisible Mafia is, we also have Clark and Lois (who returns) go through some relationship woes. Add in a major tie-in to Event: Leviathan, and the return of Rose/Thorn. Next, we get a major fight involving the Legion of Doom, Leviathan, and Red Cloud (a new villain) in Metropolis, the meeting of the two Superboys (Conner Kent and Jon Kent), and John Romita Jr. unfortunately returning to Superman.
• Superman: Heroes and Superman: Villains – These two one-shots were basically the reactions of the different heroes and villains to Superman outing his double life.
• Superman: Leviathan Rising – This one-shot was basically another prologue to Event: Leviathan and other Superman-related titles. 

Tales from the $3.99 Bin! - Superman #18: "The Truth"

Next up is another big moment that Brian Michael Bendis pulled in his run on Superman: the revealing of Superman’s identity! I wasn’t a fan when I first heard this. I imagine most weren’t because this isn’t the first time in recent memory where DC’s revealed Clark’s double life to the world. That being said, I was curious on how it would be handled especially since the last time was… a bit much. I’ll get to that later this month. Luckily, Bendis did state that he would handle it differently, and when it came, I will admit that I was surprised. Superman #18 was written by Bendis, of course. Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, who have been regular artists on the book, handle the artwork.

Tales from the $3.99 Bin! - The Man of Steel (the Bendis Version)

Before I get to “The Truth”, I wanted to start at the beginning with Brian Michael Bendis’s run with Superman. I just found out yesterday that his run on Action and Superman will be ending. A lot is going on at DC these days, and this is just another one. I’ll have to read both Action Comics and Superman again, but his run is okay. I know it’s considered to be mixed with some folk, and I can’t blame them. It’s Bendis, after all.

BMB started his time with DC Comics with 2018’s The Man of Steel. Not only did he bring back the trunks (you can find my opinion here), he also brought in a new enemy to face the Man of Tomorrow. Bendis was joined with a variety of artists for these six issues. We had Ivan Reis, Jason Fabok, Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, Ryan Sook, Kevin Maguire, and Adam Hughes doing artwork. Ivan Reis also did all six awesome covers.

Graphic Novels - New Avengers: Breakout!

This installment of Graphic Novels is brought to you by Sexual Chocolat!!

Well, here it is (hmm…that sounds familiar…). This is the comic book that started the whole “walking to Outer Limits” thing. New Avengers is its name. I first heard about the book in a USA Today newspaper (in the Life section). Wow, Marvel has been doing that for longer than I thought (Example: THIS). Anyway, since I saw both Wolverine and Spider-Man on the cover, I knew I was going to get it. It was a somewhat cold day in November…or should I say December 2004 (what was I thinking), and I was supposed to be going to a party with a friend later that night, so I walked and walked and walked….and that street….ugh. After this incident, I found a better way to get to the store, but I still had to deal with Memorial Blvd. though. I know I got something else that day. I think it was either a Superman issue or the last issue to Identity Crisis (don’t know or care). So let’s get to the main creative team:

Brian Michael Bendis (aka BMB or BENDIS!) – BMB is probably the “Geoff Johns of Marvel” (yeah, I could not come up with another analogy). BMB is well known for his runs on Ultimate Spider-Man, Daredevil, Powers, and of course, just about every Avengers book that has come out in the last 6 years. He’s disassembled the Avengers as well as reassembled the Avengers over the years and has written just about every major crossover event book in recent years (House of M, Secret Invasion, and Siege). He’s a good writer (I do have most of his stuff of course).

David Finch – the penciller for the whole arc as well as the covers (which do look cool). He’s okay. He’s not bad, but he’s not one of my favorites. He's done a lot for Marvel, and now he's at DC.

SO with all of that out of the way, let’s get to the issues, shall we?