The Man of Steel #1

[history79]

Comments

[dragontail]

Just to check: so Lois and Jon ARE in this issue? Is it a present-day scene or a flashback?

I'm willing to trust Bendis when he says he's not about to run roughshod over the work of Jurgens et al, but I wouldn't put it past him pulling a "my new villain is so dangerous that Lois and Jon had to go into hiding" routine for the duration of the weekly series...

[shadowpsykie]

hiding wouldn't bother me... they've done it before... hiding doesn't mean Lois Lane is sitting on her laurels.

[matrix_dragon]

Remember, if you've managed to piss off Lois Lane and have managed to lose track of her, she's currently finding out all your secrets and will use them to break you.

[kamino_neko]

It's a flashback...he's looking at the picture of them on his desk, and it apparently triggers the memory. (It's not marked as a flashback, but the bulk of the issue is after Lois goes missing - note how he checks himself when telling the firefighter to call him and almost says Lois, and the new character introduced in Action 1000 is there.)

[dragontail]

Thank you!

Much as I'm... curious... about this run, and cautiously optimistic given the scans and the general reactions I've seen online, I'm not willing to spend money until I know what's going on with Lois and Jon. Looks like a trade-wait for me.

[captainbellman]

I foresee this new character standing the test of time and becoming well-known by all fans of Superman!

[icon_uk]

You mean the mystery villain, or Melody Moore? Because I could see Moore being a semi-regular like Maggie Sawyer, who was introduced in much the same way.

[captainbellman]

...Who?

[matrix_dragon]

... Dammit now I feel old.

[icon_uk]

Not sure if sarcasm or...

But on the chance it isn't. That would be Maggie Sawyer, introduced in Byrne's run just after the LAST "Man of Steel" miniseries Superman relaunch in about 1986.

She was a Captain of Police in Metropolis, and the first canon lesbian in the DCU as far as I know (She couldn't be referred to as such for the usual homophobic bullshit reasons of the mid 1980'2 but her sbtext drowned out the text most of the time, and she makes Northstar's implied homosexuality look subtle)

Been an ongoing charatcer ever since, transferred to Gotham a good few years back, has had a relationship with Kate Kane, but broke up and more recently moved back to Metropolis.

[mastermahan]

She also had a recurring bit on WB's Supergirl as a love interest for Alex Danvers.*

*That was clearly meant to be Renee Montoya, since she was a Hispanic detective rather than a white captain. Presumably this was because Gotham had already had Renee but then proceeded to waste her completely, but no, I'm not bitter

[kamino_neko]

Maggie also gave Alex basically the same speech about intersectionality as Renee gave Maggie in the comics.

[zachbeacon]

Maggie Sawyer is the cop on the 90s Superman cartoon that DOESN'T look like Jack Kirby.

[deh_tommy]

Wasn’t she Batwoman’s girlfriend and would-be wife had editorial not stepped in with their ‘No Superhero Marriages’ policy?

[caivu]

Yes.

[tcampbell1000]

It seems like loading the dice against new ideas to judge them based on whether you can immediately imagine them continuing twenty years later. Not all of them are supposed to. Moore seems charming, and the idea of a capable firefighter with a crush on Big Blue is a solid one. I'm less enthused about the Krypton-killer whose name I can't remember, but he hasn't really had a chance to prove himself one way or the other.

[coldfury]

The problem is that introducing a character who has a crush on Superman at the same time he avoided using Lois Lane's name is a flag of where the story is going to go.

Now, this could be a red herring, but having followed Bendis' work over at Marvel, usually the simplest interpretation turns out to be correct. So right now the implication is that we're in for an arc where the biggest boy scout in the world, devoted husband, caring father, is going to have a marital strife arc. Probably with the intent of 'grounding' him, or making him feel 'realistic'.

We'll see, but I've got a bad feeling about this.

[jlbarnett]

well, I hate to spoil you, but solicits haven't made people concerned about them splitting up, but concerned Lois and Jon are dead

[locuatico]

He is not going to kill Lois. She is the kind of character Bendis likes writing, so I have zero concerns he is going to have her kick the bucket before being able to play around with her for a while.
Jon, likewise, I feel pretty confident of his chances of survival. If only because, among other things, Bendis seems to enjoy writing kid characters as of late. That being said, I do think his chances of survival are considerably lower than Lois'

Now, characterization-wise. THAT I would be afraid.

[locuatico]

My prediction is that, given that Lois and Jon seem to be missing and no clear answer to their location, at one point Clark is going to fear the worst and may have a moment of weakness, but he stops himself in time for it to not be cheating.

Or she is actually the arsonist all along. take your pick.

[matrix_dragon]

"So right now the implication is that we're in for an arc where the biggest boy scout in the world, devoted husband, caring father, is going to have a marital strife arc. Probably with the intent of 'grounding' him, or making him feel 'realistic'."

I doubt it. Even with whatever protection from editors Bendis has as part of his contract, hopefully DC remembers just how badly it went the last time someone tried writing that storyline with Superman.

[bruinsfan]

Yeah, having both of them happen in the same debut issue is what's setting falling anvils ringing off my head. I'd be perfectly fine with Important New Supporting Character™ getting embarrassed over an admiring comment made within Superman's hearing if they didn't also have him apparently choked up over whatever happened to his wife within about five pages.

One thing I did find intriguing about the issue is Firefly's hushed warnings to the villain threatening him to keep his voice down. I only recall seeing the prospect of constant surveillance by a super hero's senses brought up as a plot point in deconstructions with heel turns by alternate versions or expys of Superman and other heroes. It could be interesting to see a man-on-the-street viewpoint about privacy when Big Brother is an unreservedly noble and admired character. There are hints of "It's a Good Life" there that could probably have the makings of a meaty story arc.

[wizardru]

Well, this certainly feels the most like Superman than I've seen in a while.

I'm not going to lie...just the restoration of his costume makes me happy. I'm assuming that Jon and Lois are still here, right? Some things really work, and Lois and Clark and Jon DO.

[jlbarnett]

well, there's a SuperSons series coming out soon, so Jon will be able to e around eventually

[zachbeacon]

I thought that series was explicitly stated to be set in the past.

[jlbarnett]

I hadn't heard that.

But if they know there's enough audience for a book with them in it, why get rid of him in the main book

[kalanyr]

Yeah, it is. It's also a limited series not an ongoing , so there's a reasonable chance it's entire point is to tread water until this arc is over and they can do SuperSons Volume 2.

[lordultimus]

As expected, Bendis is good at the "Superman at ground level" stuff and Daily Planet stuff. It's the "Superman at the cosmic level" that leaves me skeptical.

[shakalooloo]

That dialogue has just enough Bendis-ness to be natural-sounding without getting to the point of being annoying. Good!

[mizerous]

Bendis-ness? Annoying? Good?!

[goattoucher]

Why Miss Melody Moore, those are some bedroom eyes you have there.

[spider_man6]

I gotta say, this feels very refreshing and natural. I know this isn't the whole issue and all, but the conversation seems more nuanced than I expected it to be. Also, like how Superman's costume is back to normal.

[kore]

Ahh, that BENDIS dialogue.

[zylly]

This was overall better than expected. The stuff with the new villain falls flat, but the rest is pretty good.

Also, any luck on identifying the council new baddie was consulting? I know the Old Timer Guardian and I assume the guy with the goggles was Adam Strange’s father in law, but no idea on the rest

[bruinsfan]

The others don't look familiar to me. I assume Bendis is doing a riff on the council of cosmic beings from Kingdome Come, though.

[zylly]

That's a very distinct possibility.

[strejdaking]

I believe the bearded guy was Starfire's dad.

[zylly]

Yeah, that seems right. Oan, Rann, Tamaran... I'm surprised one of them wasn't wearing a Hawk-helmet.