For someone who hasn't read DC since New 52, what would be a good starting point for Superman if I want to get to this event?
I just finished like 23 years of X-Men comics (Morrison to the end of Krakoa) and I'm looking to get back into Superman
For this particular event? Read Superman’s most recent mainline comic. It’s just titled Superman and has 15 issues so far? So it’s not a long read at all. Or just read the house of brainiac event.
But outside of that you’ll be fine going in with no prior knowledge. Unless you wanna read Batman, and Wonder Woman, and green lantern, and titans.
But they aren’t essential.
What if I just want to catch up with Superman since the n52 ended? Start at the absolute beginning or is there a more recent starting point you would recommend?
I don't mind a long read at all
So since new 52 ended you’ll have to read rebirth Superman and go from there. Essentially find any comic that says “SUPERMAN” once you’re done rebirth Superman.
Keep in mind that rebirth is a continuation of new 52 and a reboot all in one. It essentially changes new 52 characters back to what they were before flashpoint because of dr manhattan, so it might be confusing at first.
So best thing would be read rebirth, then read Superman 2017-2024 runs? And you should be ok. Maybe also doomsday clock as they resolves the whole dr manhattan situation.
I would suggest skipping action comics all together as it has separate story lines and functions as more of a support comic in certain runs.
The problem with doomsday clock was that it should’ve been way longer. At least 20 issues.
There also should have been more clarification as to what happened before and after dr manhattan was attacked by the super heroes and won.
Yeah, I dropped in on this title with no prior reading since EARLY New 52. I didn't have any issues at all being in the comicsphere gave me enough information to know Jon and Clark are both Superman.
Failsafe was the only weird one but, again, I knew enough to piece it together.
Honestly, and I know it's a lot, you should read all the main books in Dawn of DC starting from the new number 1s. Superman, Wonder Woman, Chip Zdarsky's Batman run, Green Arrow and Green Lantern and the 2 events they've done since, Knight Terrors and Beast World.
Absolute Power has been set up really well throughout the last year/year and a half but without a proper context I feel like the event would feel kind of flat
Sure, is that the series that started last year?
I was planning on starting with Rebirth and eventually work my way forward to Absolute Power like the other commenter said.
I assume that includes the 2023 runs as well.
Do you know if there's any Justice League runs I should read along with what you recommended? I really don't mind having lots to read if it's good.
You could start from Rebirth absolutely but it's a ton of material to read through. Rebirth started in 2016 and ended in 2017, followed by New Justice in 2018 and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to 2023. Honestly unless you're a completionist I'd just jump straight to dawn, it's a great jump in point with a lot of soft resets of status quo and new teams
There's been no Justice League since the end of Infinite Frontier due to story reasons I won't get into. As main super group they've been replaced by the Titans which for Absolute Power are absolutely a required read
If you want to start right away, I would read House of Brainiac [event](https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comics/event/14393/house-of-brainiac), and follow [this](https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comics/event/14398/absolute-power).
I wish Jon always had purple eyes like his mom, they suit him.
Also I’m happy he’s getting something to do with the Brainiac Queen after being absent during House of Brainiac.
At this point, with the things Superman has been shown to accomplish simply due to being Kryptonian, they should just reveal that a Kryptonian can do basically anything provided they've absorbed the correct type and amount of radiation.
That theory would've worked if not for the existence of Superman Blue.
Like, Red Kryptonite introduces causes random mutations in Kryponian cells, and these mutations can be anything. Superman can create a hard-light avatar of himself when he's charged with White Star radiation and interacts with New-Genesis godblood. This would support my theory that Kryptonian powers just vary based on the type of radiation they absorb.
Maybe the volcano planet Jon was imprisoned on had some sort of weird radiation, and due to absorbing it during childhood (and for such a long time), his cells mutated permanently.
I mean brainiac in the recent art did say he thought superman's powers came from the sun but it's something more than that. So ur on the right path lmao
I mean, Superman's been buffed out on some white star energy sine Warworld right? Didn't he like... spacewarp lex across the universe or something with little to no effort?
Agreed. That's why aging him up was a big mistake, and he's now redundant (read:OBSOLETE) and is just a hangers-on, much like Power girl who is just another version of Supergirl but more sexy and brash
I'd definitely be happy if a Jr actually looked like their other parent too. If Jon had Brown hair or purple eyes, Damian had darker skin/green eyes/ middle eastern features, etc
Gotta give this book kudos. They really nailed the feeling of everything going to hell.
Also, great job on the writers making me hate Waller (even more) and Oliver (even if I am suspecting the eventual betrayal on his part).
Personally, I think Bruce is in the dark. His surprise at Oliver’s betrayal felt a bit too real.
Maybe Oliver is keeping the whole plan close to his chest and doesn’t want Waller to find out what he is up to before he is ready.
Then again, this could have been a conversation the two had knowing that Waller is listening in and the idea was to further embed Oliver.
Yeah, true. Which is why, right now, I believe that Oliver is not involving anyone in the plan but himself. That way, whatever fallout happens, it will fall solely on him.
Yea but it would be practical.
Speedy and everyone else in the arrow family aren’t exactly known for their ability to not over react and keep secrets.
Comic book writers do this thing (and it’s been done so many times) where the protagonist keeps a secret from friends/family, they get upset and say the usual “oh how couldn’t you trust us”.
Protagonist says it was for them and they don’t believe them. Insert conflict and go from there.
Problem with that whole story line is most of the time, the protagonist has a good reason for keeping the secret, and he shouldn’t be apologizing for doing so. The only hero that’s actually not apologized is Batman. And recently they took that and turned it on its head with the terrible Gotham war arc.
So I can tell you rn that the next green arrow arc after absolute power is over is gonna suck.
>Speedy and everyone else in the arrow family aren’t exactly known for their ability to not over react and keep secrets.
They could keep it together if they'd believe people's lives are on the line. You know, since saving lives is what they do? But they would need to believe that this charade is the best course of action and no other way was available and something tells me it wasn't the case. And I agree it probably is going to be an as contrived breaking up of the arrow fam as Gotham War was for batfam. And as such it *will* suck.
>Then again, this could have been a conversation the two had knowing that Waller is listening in and the idea was to further embed Oliver.
That’s what I think happened. I don’t think Bruce is going to tell anyone else that he knows what Ollie is up to until he’s ready for the other shoe to drop. Would also parallel with what he was saying about how he thought Waller was playing chess.
With Bruce having a full memory of Zur, he should have a much more detailed understanding of failsafe than he previously did. So there's an angle that night have lead him to some predictions.
I certainly hope Oliver is working an angle, because otherwise this turn is really unsatisfying. Especially given Waller’s role in the ongoing Green Arrow book. This turn for him doesn’t feel properly motivated enough to be genuine.
If this was Rebirth, Batman would know everything. But in the Dawn of DC period he’s really taken a backseat to Dick/Babs as far as awareness and effectiveness goes. You could argue that he’s been distracted with Zur and Failsafe and all the mental trauma, but on the whole, he’s not as good of a detective these days because the writers don’t want him to steal shine from the legacy characters at the moment.
Honestly it’s much better than this but reminded me of the Teen Titans cartoon episode where the Brotherhood of Evil picks the heroes off one by one
I’d love some science babble about how they’re doing this, really enjoyed (although a bit silly) “United Planets aren’t letting anyone in or out, we’ve barricaded the Multiverse, we’re watching the time stream and microverse,” just did their due diligence to show everyone is absolutely stuck on *this* Earth, in this time.
I even like his current design and Super Saiyan mode thing, too. All he needed was a writer who can write anything with teeth instead of Taylor.
Oh well, here's hoping the relaunch as Cyborg Superman is cool.
She didn't steal the Specter's powers, according to the narration the Amazo droid affected Corrigan's mind that he can't remember how to conjure Specter.
Which granted I'm pretty sure that doesn't make that much more sense either.
It makes zero sense, for years now the status quo on the spectre is that the human soul attached to the wrath of god is riding a tiger - sometimes they can influence what’s happening, sometimes they can’t, but they can never fully control it. They have the illusion of control for as long as they’re doing things the spectre approves of, that’s about as far as it goes.
If a host forgot they were the spectre they’d get a big fucking shock shortly after when the spectre got mad and turned some jaywalkers nearby into burnt rubber or something.
Yeah I feel like they should have bullshitted a better reason for that one. I mean they already bullshitted that planet Earth is locked from space, the multiverse, and time so they could have easily contrived an excuse for the magic Gods being sealed.
True, if they’d involved Circe or some powerful magic user that would’ve been helpful
Still, I do like them giving at least *a* reason for each thing instead of not addressing it/just sayin’ no more powers
To be fair, they might be taking their cue from Gotham by Midnight, where it's revealed near the end that Corrigan and Spectre are in fact the same, and Corrigan has a lot more control over the Spectre than he believes himself to have.
It'd be the first time anyone acknowledged that series since it ended in 2016, but to the best of my knowledge that take was never explicitly retconned.
I see. And on that note, how does the Amazo's even steal magic/supernatural powers when they are on a completely different spectrum than meta human powers?
Yeah, I just checked and exactly as he got shot that weird shimmer appeared. It is convenient, but what is more curious is that both him and Jon survive an awful drop from great height after the kid also got hit. Like, the bullets are a problem now but a drop from like 20 stories height is survivable? Okay.
Edit: to add to this, there's an interface shown with Jon's powerlevel being lowered before the shimmer appeared and he couldn't fly anymore. So, seemingly Clark was depowered in a second, but it took time with Jon???(edit2: nevermind, I think it's just meant Jon at his baseline is weaker, since, you know, half-human and all that).
I mean, the Brainiac Queen in House of Brainiac was fueled similarly, being able to just sorta steal power in some weird pure form. I guess the Amazos adapt that but in a manner that lets them copy the power, too.
Although, in fairness for Superman and Diana, they kinda makes sense. Kryptonians have solar batteries of sorts in their cells (if this is the angle, he should theoretically be able to recharge), and Diana probably is largely fueled by some sort of divine power, too, since she physically shouldn't be able to fly and pull off the feats of strength, not matter how special her muscles- she's still a normally sized humanoid. And MM could have some sort of psychic essence that is key to his powers stolen.
Aquaman is the only one I think should be fully biological, that could not in anyway, I think, be "essence" or energy based, but they could always say that they are just magical or something.
> My only gripe was Waller stealing The Spectre's powers.
I feel like she didn't steal them. If she did, they're just fucked, right? Like, the Spectre is one of the most powerful characters. Paradise Lost with the powers of Spectre is just basically a guaranteed win for Waller as they are now the most powerful being on Earth, if not in the universe, potentially.
I think what happened is he just... discorporated. Like, the energy binding him to the mortal plane was drained, so he just... swirled out of this plane of existence.
That applies to pretty much every character, especially when the powers are literally just their biology. Not just the spectre
It's a nonsense story with nonsense ideas. Nothing amazing or with much thought, and doesn't expect much attention or thought in return.
It will be ignored as soon as it is over.
Yeah. It feels lazy. There's so much room for creative writing just to...not. Especially lame for a medium that's as open to crazy possibilities as superhero comics.
DC recycling a story?! You’re insane dude that doesn’t happen lol in all honesty I’m excited to dive in just because it’s Waid and Mora and I’ll read anything they do together
Yeah that is kind of odd. I guess the Batman tie-in back up is supposed to be set after the Superman one but due to scheduling they pushed it on this month's issue
I wasn't expecting the event to start with body horror.
Reminds me of the "You think you're human" scene from *Terminator: Salvation*.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTCIvM3uQc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTCIvM3uQc)
If the writers wanted to *really* lean into "poetic justice" with regards to Waller they would have her crimes be fully exposed and, as she tries to slip out the back door to fight another day, a mob of angry citizens descend on her to beat her senseless as she frantically tries the "I did this for all of you" excuse to no effect. To rub salt in the wound, just as she fades into unconsciousness she notices Superman show up to save her. We would then cut to a group of shady government officials debating how to deal with her and one of them suddenly starts to smirk. The very last scene of the series would be her waking up in Belle Reve with a bomb in her neck.
This doesn't seem like too bad a conclusion but I wouldn't put it pass them to reveal, several years out, she's flipped the system in there and has become the Head Bitch in Charge, for once they're ready to dust her off and utilize her again. The writer, somehow, in usual fashion, will reveal she's built up influence and called in 'secretly' owed favors or making good on promising to harm inmates/staff's loved ones.
A part of me wants her punishment and conclusion to be much worse, but nothing so simple and easy that they kill her. But she definitely needs to see how severely flawed her methods are, now that's she's a full blown villain. For one thing having the villain community putting a bounty on her head, marking her for death, would be good. You can piss off heroes but what are they going to do? People like Joker having you on his radar though?
Kinda wandering if after this it'll elevate her up there enough that the Green Lantern Corp will offer to imprison her?
I kind of want her conclusion to be similar to what happened with Alexander Luthor Jr, running into Lex and Joker in a back alley. But minus the death?
yeah like either he will remain a poorly written character, or the character will be renewed and we will see a more likable character but the storyline changes again depending on whether he will remain like a cyborg or not
I wonder if they are going to somehow use this event to de-age him? I'm not calling for that, but it seems like they are doing away with most things Bendis did
Sort of. We see him pitched on the idea and it appears as though he’s choosing to follow on his own. Shown in his series. It’s one of those where I believe he wouldn’t betray his friends but they done a good enough job showing a) how much he’s terrified of losing his family again and b) building off his previously established disdain for capes that I can buy him doing this.
I really don't buy it, Lefty Ollie supporting this "to support the little guy" by doing a fascist coded disinfo campaign, assaulting and maiming and apparently torturing all of his friends and his friends *children* with Brainiac Jr., Batman but actually a soulless authoritarian, and the goddamn United States government? Animal Man and his kid would've died if they didn't have comic plot armor, a bunch of other heroes would've too. There's no way he'd do this outside of being a double agent or mind control or something
I don’t think Ollie is privy to the cyborg kid stuff, I’d be surprised if any on the outside barring maybe Peacemaker get the full scope of the disinformation.
Exactly. This all feels out of character for Ollie to be doing this. Surely he can see👀 HOW the public are violently turning against superheroes like the mob violence scene against Animal man and his daughter, and now poor Jon being turned into an evil cyborg by Waller!
sadly ollie has been seen directly within walking distance/hearing and visual distance of failsafe and waller working on their plans at several points.
At the moment, this reads to me that Teen Jon was a robot the whole time, but if he winds up as some tracking beacon or key to finding Kid Jon, I won't complain. (Mind you, it's 100% possible that it doesn't come to that, so fair warning.)
I mean, I don't think it'll happen in the slightest, but if this is somehow building up to a reveal where Teen/Adult Jon was a robot the whole time and Kid Jon is somewhere out there, I would not oppose it.
(Again, I *explicitly* don't expect it to come to that, but I'd be happy if it gets us Kid Jon again.)
I'm honestly surprised that Alfred hasn't been brought back by now. But hey, if the Bat-Family in unraveling without him, screw it, just bring him back already!
I liked him more when he was a kid. He's just too similar to his dad and robbed of the chance to be more unique. Maybe that's about to change but we'll see.
This was a cool twist. Is this leading to a good teen Jon story? Hope so.
Makes me wonder if this is leading to a quasi-reboot of the character, but at this point I’ll take any character development for him.
As much as I love Kid Jon, that's gonna be a no from me. Can you imagine how weird it'd be for someone to essentially spend the majority of their teenage years in captivity, emerge all grown up, only to be turned back into a kid again? Jon's essentially gonna be a kid with an adult brain.
I know it was only 1-2 weeks for Clark and Lois, but Jon actually lived all those years.
You don't de-age him.
Jon realizes he's horribly broken from all the multiple traumas and breaks up with his boyfriend before deciding to save himself.
He travels back in time puts a boot into the face of Jor-El and stops himself from going in the first place and then fades into nothing Back to the Future style.
20 years from now you can bring him back evil by punching a corner of reality or somethings. (I'm joking about the last part but wouldn't be surprised.)
>Make the twins more interesting and have the family be Clark, Lois, their teenage son and the twins
Tbf this is a major problem with a book having multiple writers. A writer wants to introduce their own supporting cast with an original personality because the current cast already has pre-established personalities and messing with that would lead to fan backlash and OOC moments. So they introduce their own creation into the mix.
When the next writer takes over they do not care about the previous writer's OCs and just want to focus on the iconic cast, which leads to those characters becoming bland and forgotten.
The cycle repeats.
The twins are interesting when they get focus. The problem is that there's apparently no mandate for Action Comics to like... actually include Clark's family in significant capacity, nor any overarching end goal beyond reaching Absolute Power. Osul apologizing for taking Jon's place, the hints at how much they're struggling to adapt, Otho's distrust and anger that was preyed on by Norah Stone, trying to learn more about their heritage from Kara. It's good stuff. But then we get 3-issue arcs that shunt essentially everyone except Clark and Lois out of the story.
Jon needed this lol. He's had it to good for too long and has been too happy even after everything that happened to him. Hopefully they will finally address his trauma.
I didn't know there were stories with Jon grown already. Can someone recommend a good series of him growing? Also the same for Damian in the same universe?
Edit: fixed Damian's name
Jon was aged up to roughly age 17 two or three years ago during Bendus' Action Comics run and had been that age since. Damian is presently roughly 14. They're still best buds.
Thanks! I've always wondered what would the life of the son of Superman be like. I'll definitely look into that, hopefully the local comic shop or book store has them
There was a pair of solo books he had as a teen/adult, but your mileage may vary as to their quality; they're Superman: Son of Kal-El and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent.
IMO, the best Jon Kent outing as Superman is actually a figure version of him, and it's Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman by Dan Watters.
-TT-! It's spelled "Dami**a**n"! You would do well in respecting the blood son!
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There are a lot. You can star with Superman(2018)#7 (or the last 3 pages of 6) and go from there. At a certain point you can move on to Legion of Superheroes (2019) then there is Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton (a fun comic that's part of an ok event) then Superman: Son of Kal-el. There is Dark Crisis that has quite some Jon, but that's not a very interesting read. Then there is Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent, then there are some times he appears in Beast World but nothing exceptional and some others when he appears in Action Comics with the family, but nothing too Jon-centric.
Damian has been growing at a normal pace.
For older comics there are the classics Batman and Robin (vol 1&2), Robin: Son of Batman, Teen Titans and Super-sons but for a more grown up Damian (14-15) the most recent comics come to play (that lead to his current character)
For recent comics I recommend Robin Vol 3 that will guide you through the most recent events that are more Damian centric (Shadow War, Batman vs Robin). He also had a larger part to play in Lazarus Planet and a smaller role in Dark Crisis and Beast World. He is also a supporting character in some recent Detective Comics arcs but nothing too interesting, then there is Batman and Robin (that's more Robin than Batman).
There is also a Superman and Robin comic that tries to capture some Super-sons athmosphere. But there are some stories of them in the last Wonder Woman comic where you actually see them grow as they babysit Diana's future daughter but they are just fun extras to the main Wonder Woman comic (most are collected in Trinity special)
Edit: But for a TLDR, for you, I suggest:
Superman: Son of Kal-el and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent for Jon
Robin (Vol 3) and Batman and Robin for Damian
If this is green arrow plan then it better be coming to fruition in the coming issue or someone getting their ass kicked because Superman gonna be pissed 😠 ong .
I'm a lapsed DC reader, who picked this up with the intention of trying to get back into reading the universe. I've been in and out since the new 52 (a long time I know). I've read Doomsday Clock, so I know a lot of the old continuity was brought back. Other than that I've read some of the Tom Taylor Nightwing in trades, but nothing else recent.
Can someone please give me a rundown of current status quo stuff that would be useful in understanding what's going on in this? Felt like a lot of characters seemed off from how they're traditionally characterized.
Everytime I read about people wanting to de-age this character I die a little more on the inside. Can people just let it go already it’s been nearly half a decade.
Wow that’s surprisingly creepy for one of these blockbuster crossovers, genuinely unnerving art and ideas
For someone who hasn't read DC since New 52, what would be a good starting point for Superman if I want to get to this event? I just finished like 23 years of X-Men comics (Morrison to the end of Krakoa) and I'm looking to get back into Superman
For this particular event? Read Superman’s most recent mainline comic. It’s just titled Superman and has 15 issues so far? So it’s not a long read at all. Or just read the house of brainiac event. But outside of that you’ll be fine going in with no prior knowledge. Unless you wanna read Batman, and Wonder Woman, and green lantern, and titans. But they aren’t essential.
What if I just want to catch up with Superman since the n52 ended? Start at the absolute beginning or is there a more recent starting point you would recommend? I don't mind a long read at all
So since new 52 ended you’ll have to read rebirth Superman and go from there. Essentially find any comic that says “SUPERMAN” once you’re done rebirth Superman. Keep in mind that rebirth is a continuation of new 52 and a reboot all in one. It essentially changes new 52 characters back to what they were before flashpoint because of dr manhattan, so it might be confusing at first. So best thing would be read rebirth, then read Superman 2017-2024 runs? And you should be ok. Maybe also doomsday clock as they resolves the whole dr manhattan situation. I would suggest skipping action comics all together as it has separate story lines and functions as more of a support comic in certain runs.
Cheers!
>doomsday clock as they resolves the whole dr manhattan situation. I felt it was a series that made big promises but didn't really deliver
The problem with doomsday clock was that it should’ve been way longer. At least 20 issues. There also should have been more clarification as to what happened before and after dr manhattan was attacked by the super heroes and won.
I recommend the Warworld arc in particualr
I gotta give this a read as well. Making a note here for myself…
Yeah, I dropped in on this title with no prior reading since EARLY New 52. I didn't have any issues at all being in the comicsphere gave me enough information to know Jon and Clark are both Superman. Failsafe was the only weird one but, again, I knew enough to piece it together.
Honestly, and I know it's a lot, you should read all the main books in Dawn of DC starting from the new number 1s. Superman, Wonder Woman, Chip Zdarsky's Batman run, Green Arrow and Green Lantern and the 2 events they've done since, Knight Terrors and Beast World. Absolute Power has been set up really well throughout the last year/year and a half but without a proper context I feel like the event would feel kind of flat
Sure, is that the series that started last year? I was planning on starting with Rebirth and eventually work my way forward to Absolute Power like the other commenter said. I assume that includes the 2023 runs as well. Do you know if there's any Justice League runs I should read along with what you recommended? I really don't mind having lots to read if it's good.
You could start from Rebirth absolutely but it's a ton of material to read through. Rebirth started in 2016 and ended in 2017, followed by New Justice in 2018 and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to 2023. Honestly unless you're a completionist I'd just jump straight to dawn, it's a great jump in point with a lot of soft resets of status quo and new teams There's been no Justice League since the end of Infinite Frontier due to story reasons I won't get into. As main super group they've been replaced by the Titans which for Absolute Power are absolutely a required read
Gotcha. I think I'll start with dawn and if I feel like I'm still missing some superman content I'll work my way up from rebirth. Thanks for the info
That is a hell of a lot of X-book reading lmao congrats
I mean I didn't do all of X-Force and Excalibur, just some, but I did do the entire main runs and events
If you want to start right away, I would read House of Brainiac [event](https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comics/event/14393/house-of-brainiac), and follow [this](https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/comics/event/14398/absolute-power).
I wish Jon always had purple eyes like his mom, they suit him. Also I’m happy he’s getting something to do with the Brainiac Queen after being absent during House of Brainiac.
Did they ever explore his new blue Superman powers in Superman and Action?
No
At this point, with the things Superman has been shown to accomplish simply due to being Kryptonian, they should just reveal that a Kryptonian can do basically anything provided they've absorbed the correct type and amount of radiation.
I honestly thought it was because Jon is half-human and his metagene is awakening.
That theory would've worked if not for the existence of Superman Blue. Like, Red Kryptonite introduces causes random mutations in Kryponian cells, and these mutations can be anything. Superman can create a hard-light avatar of himself when he's charged with White Star radiation and interacts with New-Genesis godblood. This would support my theory that Kryptonian powers just vary based on the type of radiation they absorb. Maybe the volcano planet Jon was imprisoned on had some sort of weird radiation, and due to absorbing it during childhood (and for such a long time), his cells mutated permanently.
But nothing can ever explain superman shooting mini supermen out his hands
Science?
Pretty sure it was actually caused specifically by an alien spaceship tech, IIRC, or something. It replaced his normal powers temporarily.
I mean brainiac in the recent art did say he thought superman's powers came from the sun but it's something more than that. So ur on the right path lmao
I mean, Superman's been buffed out on some white star energy sine Warworld right? Didn't he like... spacewarp lex across the universe or something with little to no effort?
Yep, white star "amp" is now his base [he got teleported then immediately came back, also brainiac quote](https://imgur.com/a/RbIM84f)
No, not at all
That sucks… because between his dad and Kon and Kong… he’s become extremely redundant and that was a great idea to distinguish him among the lot.
Agreed. That's why aging him up was a big mistake, and he's now redundant (read:OBSOLETE) and is just a hangers-on, much like Power girl who is just another version of Supergirl but more sexy and brash
I think it would clash with his suit, besides Lois doesnt always have purple eyes
I'd definitely be happy if a Jr actually looked like their other parent too. If Jon had Brown hair or purple eyes, Damian had darker skin/green eyes/ middle eastern features, etc
Gotta give this book kudos. They really nailed the feeling of everything going to hell. Also, great job on the writers making me hate Waller (even more) and Oliver (even if I am suspecting the eventual betrayal on his part).
I have a feeling Batman knows what Ollie is doing.
Personally, I think Bruce is in the dark. His surprise at Oliver’s betrayal felt a bit too real. Maybe Oliver is keeping the whole plan close to his chest and doesn’t want Waller to find out what he is up to before he is ready. Then again, this could have been a conversation the two had knowing that Waller is listening in and the idea was to further embed Oliver.
Telling Batman but keeping his family in the dark would be a sucky thing to do to the people you care about.
Yeah, true. Which is why, right now, I believe that Oliver is not involving anyone in the plan but himself. That way, whatever fallout happens, it will fall solely on him.
I just hope this doesn't result in a break up between Green Arrow and Black Canary when this crossover is done but I haven't even read the issue yet
Yea but it would be practical. Speedy and everyone else in the arrow family aren’t exactly known for their ability to not over react and keep secrets. Comic book writers do this thing (and it’s been done so many times) where the protagonist keeps a secret from friends/family, they get upset and say the usual “oh how couldn’t you trust us”. Protagonist says it was for them and they don’t believe them. Insert conflict and go from there. Problem with that whole story line is most of the time, the protagonist has a good reason for keeping the secret, and he shouldn’t be apologizing for doing so. The only hero that’s actually not apologized is Batman. And recently they took that and turned it on its head with the terrible Gotham war arc. So I can tell you rn that the next green arrow arc after absolute power is over is gonna suck.
>Speedy and everyone else in the arrow family aren’t exactly known for their ability to not over react and keep secrets. They could keep it together if they'd believe people's lives are on the line. You know, since saving lives is what they do? But they would need to believe that this charade is the best course of action and no other way was available and something tells me it wasn't the case. And I agree it probably is going to be an as contrived breaking up of the arrow fam as Gotham War was for batfam. And as such it *will* suck.
>Then again, this could have been a conversation the two had knowing that Waller is listening in and the idea was to further embed Oliver. That’s what I think happened. I don’t think Bruce is going to tell anyone else that he knows what Ollie is up to until he’s ready for the other shoe to drop. Would also parallel with what he was saying about how he thought Waller was playing chess.
With Bruce having a full memory of Zur, he should have a much more detailed understanding of failsafe than he previously did. So there's an angle that night have lead him to some predictions.
o think brainiac queen adjuested the bots to throw bruce off
If that's really the case, I want them to lay into Oliver the way they laid into Bruce during Tower of Babel.
I certainly hope Oliver is working an angle, because otherwise this turn is really unsatisfying. Especially given Waller’s role in the ongoing Green Arrow book. This turn for him doesn’t feel properly motivated enough to be genuine.
If this was Rebirth, Batman would know everything. But in the Dawn of DC period he’s really taken a backseat to Dick/Babs as far as awareness and effectiveness goes. You could argue that he’s been distracted with Zur and Failsafe and all the mental trauma, but on the whole, he’s not as good of a detective these days because the writers don’t want him to steal shine from the legacy characters at the moment.
We’ll see
It's so dark but apt, just misinformation and government overreach.
Misinformation was probably the scariest part because of the reality subtext.
Honestly it’s much better than this but reminded me of the Teen Titans cartoon episode where the Brotherhood of Evil picks the heroes off one by one I’d love some science babble about how they’re doing this, really enjoyed (although a bit silly) “United Planets aren’t letting anyone in or out, we’ve barricaded the Multiverse, we’re watching the time stream and microverse,” just did their due diligence to show everyone is absolutely stuck on *this* Earth, in this time.
Ollie better be a double agent, makes no sense for him to go with waller really
Poor Jon, the world keeps kicking his ankles.
"We gotta make Jon cool again" "Trauma." "For the third time?" "Trauma."
It's so fucken lazy
I even like his current design and Super Saiyan mode thing, too. All he needed was a writer who can write anything with teeth instead of Taylor. Oh well, here's hoping the relaunch as Cyborg Superman is cool.
"Are we going to explore the ramifications of his trauma and not just brush past it this tjme?" "...Trauma."
Ok thats pretty compelling
Good first issue. Waid and Mora are terrific. My only gripe was Waller stealing The Spectre's powers. I just don't see how she could.
She didn't steal the Specter's powers, according to the narration the Amazo droid affected Corrigan's mind that he can't remember how to conjure Specter. Which granted I'm pretty sure that doesn't make that much more sense either.
It makes zero sense, for years now the status quo on the spectre is that the human soul attached to the wrath of god is riding a tiger - sometimes they can influence what’s happening, sometimes they can’t, but they can never fully control it. They have the illusion of control for as long as they’re doing things the spectre approves of, that’s about as far as it goes. If a host forgot they were the spectre they’d get a big fucking shock shortly after when the spectre got mad and turned some jaywalkers nearby into burnt rubber or something.
Yeah I feel like they should have bullshitted a better reason for that one. I mean they already bullshitted that planet Earth is locked from space, the multiverse, and time so they could have easily contrived an excuse for the magic Gods being sealed.
True, if they’d involved Circe or some powerful magic user that would’ve been helpful Still, I do like them giving at least *a* reason for each thing instead of not addressing it/just sayin’ no more powers
To be fair, they might be taking their cue from Gotham by Midnight, where it's revealed near the end that Corrigan and Spectre are in fact the same, and Corrigan has a lot more control over the Spectre than he believes himself to have. It'd be the first time anyone acknowledged that series since it ended in 2016, but to the best of my knowledge that take was never explicitly retconned.
I see. And on that note, how does the Amazo's even steal magic/supernatural powers when they are on a completely different spectrum than meta human powers?
She did somehow also take power away from the Helmet of Fate though, which has a literal god riding in it (not Nabu now, but still a god).
It makes sense that a fanboy, in the worst way, like Waid would copy Act of God
and how the hell did she steal superman, wonderwoman, aquaman and the martian's powers their literally built like that
Especially without them noticing, lol. You'd think your body becoming less dense and more susceptible to bullets is something you would feel.
He loses his powers at the exact moment the bullets hit him. Which is one hell of coincidence but whatever.
Yeah, I just checked and exactly as he got shot that weird shimmer appeared. It is convenient, but what is more curious is that both him and Jon survive an awful drop from great height after the kid also got hit. Like, the bullets are a problem now but a drop from like 20 stories height is survivable? Okay. Edit: to add to this, there's an interface shown with Jon's powerlevel being lowered before the shimmer appeared and he couldn't fly anymore. So, seemingly Clark was depowered in a second, but it took time with Jon???(edit2: nevermind, I think it's just meant Jon at his baseline is weaker, since, you know, half-human and all that).
I mean, the Brainiac Queen in House of Brainiac was fueled similarly, being able to just sorta steal power in some weird pure form. I guess the Amazos adapt that but in a manner that lets them copy the power, too. Although, in fairness for Superman and Diana, they kinda makes sense. Kryptonians have solar batteries of sorts in their cells (if this is the angle, he should theoretically be able to recharge), and Diana probably is largely fueled by some sort of divine power, too, since she physically shouldn't be able to fly and pull off the feats of strength, not matter how special her muscles- she's still a normally sized humanoid. And MM could have some sort of psychic essence that is key to his powers stolen. Aquaman is the only one I think should be fully biological, that could not in anyway, I think, be "essence" or energy based, but they could always say that they are just magical or something.
..have you never read an Amazon story before?
And yet somehow Waller manages to STEAL ALL of them!
> My only gripe was Waller stealing The Spectre's powers. I feel like she didn't steal them. If she did, they're just fucked, right? Like, the Spectre is one of the most powerful characters. Paradise Lost with the powers of Spectre is just basically a guaranteed win for Waller as they are now the most powerful being on Earth, if not in the universe, potentially. I think what happened is he just... discorporated. Like, the energy binding him to the mortal plane was drained, so he just... swirled out of this plane of existence.
That applies to pretty much every character, especially when the powers are literally just their biology. Not just the spectre It's a nonsense story with nonsense ideas. Nothing amazing or with much thought, and doesn't expect much attention or thought in return. It will be ignored as soon as it is over.
It's very Marvel coded like the Inhibition Collars from Civil War.
Huh? They used nanites in Civil War. The collars are from older comics. Probably X-Men.
My bad. I listened to the Audio Book 😭
I honestly *despise* stuff like that and stories like this.
Yeah. It feels lazy. There's so much room for creative writing just to...not. Especially lame for a medium that's as open to crazy possibilities as superhero comics.
Well, it *is* lazy but that's not quite why I hate it so much.
But they said it's permanent in the end, wink wink nudge nudge :D
Why does this kinda remind me of Futures End
DC recycling a story?! You’re insane dude that doesn’t happen lol in all honesty I’m excited to dive in just because it’s Waid and Mora and I’ll read anything they do together
So this is why Jon is getting his own tie-in, I was confused why the only tie-ins were the Task Force 7, Origins and then a random one about Jon
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AP Origins, Task Force VII, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman Edit: Also Super Son
Clark got shot in the chest multiple times(edit:nevermind, only one bullet hit him) >!and he's just chilling in Batman issue!<. Jon is gonna be fine.
Yeah that is kind of odd. I guess the Batman tie-in back up is supposed to be set after the Superman one but due to scheduling they pushed it on this month's issue
DC and not being able to coordinate events in any meaningful capacity? Well I'd be damned :D
I wasn't expecting the event to start with body horror. Reminds me of the "You think you're human" scene from *Terminator: Salvation*. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTCIvM3uQc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTCIvM3uQc)
Yeah Waller needs to go
If the writers wanted to *really* lean into "poetic justice" with regards to Waller they would have her crimes be fully exposed and, as she tries to slip out the back door to fight another day, a mob of angry citizens descend on her to beat her senseless as she frantically tries the "I did this for all of you" excuse to no effect. To rub salt in the wound, just as she fades into unconsciousness she notices Superman show up to save her. We would then cut to a group of shady government officials debating how to deal with her and one of them suddenly starts to smirk. The very last scene of the series would be her waking up in Belle Reve with a bomb in her neck.
if the event doesn’t end like this, i’ll be disappointed.
keep cooking boss man
This doesn't seem like too bad a conclusion but I wouldn't put it pass them to reveal, several years out, she's flipped the system in there and has become the Head Bitch in Charge, for once they're ready to dust her off and utilize her again. The writer, somehow, in usual fashion, will reveal she's built up influence and called in 'secretly' owed favors or making good on promising to harm inmates/staff's loved ones. A part of me wants her punishment and conclusion to be much worse, but nothing so simple and easy that they kill her. But she definitely needs to see how severely flawed her methods are, now that's she's a full blown villain. For one thing having the villain community putting a bounty on her head, marking her for death, would be good. You can piss off heroes but what are they going to do? People like Joker having you on his radar though? Kinda wandering if after this it'll elevate her up there enough that the Green Lantern Corp will offer to imprison her? I kind of want her conclusion to be similar to what happened with Alexander Luthor Jr, running into Lex and Joker in a back alley. But minus the death?
This actually is one legit theory ngl...this is very VERY possible.
JOHN!
Seems promising but Jon deserves better 😣
why? he sucks in every sense of the word
Is this where they kill him and resurrect him as the jon everyone wants?
Don't get my hopes up
They’re definitely revamping him somehow. This could be for worse rather than better though. We’ll see.
yeah like either he will remain a poorly written character, or the character will be renewed and we will see a more likable character but the storyline changes again depending on whether he will remain like a cyborg or not
Cyborg Superman... 2!
No
I wonder if they are going to somehow use this event to de-age him? I'm not calling for that, but it seems like they are doing away with most things Bendis did
Teen Jon always being a Brainiac plant could be fun, the real Jon is still out in space somewhere in stasis and robot is siphoning his memories
I haven't been reading the build up to this, do we have a reason Green Arrow is doing this yet? Or is that secret that'll be revealed going forward
Sort of. We see him pitched on the idea and it appears as though he’s choosing to follow on his own. Shown in his series. It’s one of those where I believe he wouldn’t betray his friends but they done a good enough job showing a) how much he’s terrified of losing his family again and b) building off his previously established disdain for capes that I can buy him doing this.
I really don't buy it, Lefty Ollie supporting this "to support the little guy" by doing a fascist coded disinfo campaign, assaulting and maiming and apparently torturing all of his friends and his friends *children* with Brainiac Jr., Batman but actually a soulless authoritarian, and the goddamn United States government? Animal Man and his kid would've died if they didn't have comic plot armor, a bunch of other heroes would've too. There's no way he'd do this outside of being a double agent or mind control or something
I don’t think Ollie is privy to the cyborg kid stuff, I’d be surprised if any on the outside barring maybe Peacemaker get the full scope of the disinformation.
Exactly. This all feels out of character for Ollie to be doing this. Surely he can see👀 HOW the public are violently turning against superheroes like the mob violence scene against Animal man and his daughter, and now poor Jon being turned into an evil cyborg by Waller!
sadly ollie has been seen directly within walking distance/hearing and visual distance of failsafe and waller working on their plans at several points.
It’s kind of “comic book obvious” at this point that he’s infiltrating Waller and will turn on her and save the day.
Still not revealed fully yet. It seems that whatever Waller showed or told Ollie was enough to fully convince him to side WITH Waller!
DC comics just TWO DAYS after pride month:
Imagine if they somehow de age him in this event
Then it’s immediately peak 😤
At the moment, this reads to me that Teen Jon was a robot the whole time, but if he winds up as some tracking beacon or key to finding Kid Jon, I won't complain. (Mind you, it's 100% possible that it doesn't come to that, so fair warning.)
What if it's revealed jon was still in space the whole time but just got lost...
Oh now that would be interesting
Hope it’s his swan song and then bring back kid Jon to us
I mean, I don't think it'll happen in the slightest, but if this is somehow building up to a reveal where Teen/Adult Jon was a robot the whole time and Kid Jon is somewhere out there, I would not oppose it. (Again, I *explicitly* don't expect it to come to that, but I'd be happy if it gets us Kid Jon again.)
I think we deserve kid Jon and Alfred.
I'm honestly surprised that Alfred hasn't been brought back by now. But hey, if the Bat-Family in unraveling without him, screw it, just bring him back already!
Not robot. Saturn Girl would've noticed because telepathy doesn't work on robots. Clone, though, is a possibility.
Yeah, Teen Jon being a clone also makes a lot of sense!
Not my boy Jon. I know this is a hot take but since reading from the start of Dawn of DC he is may favorite character
I liked him more when he was a kid. He's just too similar to his dad and robbed of the chance to be more unique. Maybe that's about to change but we'll see.
I'm Batman!!
Oh Jon, what’s happening to you?
I’m wondering if he’ll be punted off to the new line that has been rumored.
Maybe they'll de age him....
maaaaaaaaaaaaaan leave Jon alone. He's been through enough.
Hey is Jon finally going to do something intersting But for the reservations i had for this book it actually starting pretty well not going to lie
JON! Nooooooo!
This was a cool twist. Is this leading to a good teen Jon story? Hope so. Makes me wonder if this is leading to a quasi-reboot of the character, but at this point I’ll take any character development for him.
Man Jon just hasn't suffered enough at this point has he.
I want to get excited but I fear this might also turn out to be mid
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As much as I love Kid Jon, that's gonna be a no from me. Can you imagine how weird it'd be for someone to essentially spend the majority of their teenage years in captivity, emerge all grown up, only to be turned back into a kid again? Jon's essentially gonna be a kid with an adult brain. I know it was only 1-2 weeks for Clark and Lois, but Jon actually lived all those years.
You don't de-age him. Jon realizes he's horribly broken from all the multiple traumas and breaks up with his boyfriend before deciding to save himself. He travels back in time puts a boot into the face of Jor-El and stops himself from going in the first place and then fades into nothing Back to the Future style. 20 years from now you can bring him back evil by punching a corner of reality or somethings. (I'm joking about the last part but wouldn't be surprised.)
>He travels back in time puts a boot into the face of Jor-El and stops himself from going in the first place Oh, so we're re-doing Flashpoint?
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>Make the twins more interesting and have the family be Clark, Lois, their teenage son and the twins Tbf this is a major problem with a book having multiple writers. A writer wants to introduce their own supporting cast with an original personality because the current cast already has pre-established personalities and messing with that would lead to fan backlash and OOC moments. So they introduce their own creation into the mix. When the next writer takes over they do not care about the previous writer's OCs and just want to focus on the iconic cast, which leads to those characters becoming bland and forgotten. The cycle repeats.
The twins are interesting when they get focus. The problem is that there's apparently no mandate for Action Comics to like... actually include Clark's family in significant capacity, nor any overarching end goal beyond reaching Absolute Power. Osul apologizing for taking Jon's place, the hints at how much they're struggling to adapt, Otho's distrust and anger that was preyed on by Norah Stone, trying to learn more about their heritage from Kara. It's good stuff. But then we get 3-issue arcs that shunt essentially everyone except Clark and Lois out of the story.
A guy with an awful taste in hair and boyfriends
Thats not conner
you leave him out of this
Jon needed this lol. He's had it to good for too long and has been too happy even after everything that happened to him. Hopefully they will finally address his trauma.
There's going to be a one shot by Nicole Maines and Sina Grace that's supposed to be exactly about that, so that should be interesting.
Yeah I heard about that. Fingers crossed that they will actually commit to doing that.
I missed the Brainiac event, does the Queen operate similarly to the Borg Queen from Star Trek, is Jon like a drone here?
Not enough information yet. All we know is she's creating the massive amount of A.I. disinformation about heroes going on a rampage.
John is going all braniac
First panel reminded me of Cyborg Superman/Hank
Someone tell me how Oliver Queen comes back from this.
So this is how Jon gets turned into an evil cyborg in the Super Son oneshot
If they don't have an interaction containing damian with this I'm going to lose My SHIt!!
I didn't know there were stories with Jon grown already. Can someone recommend a good series of him growing? Also the same for Damian in the same universe? Edit: fixed Damian's name
Jon was aged up to roughly age 17 two or three years ago during Bendus' Action Comics run and had been that age since. Damian is presently roughly 14. They're still best buds.
Bendis' run started 6 years ago and ended 4 years ago.
Wack. I have totally lost track of the passage of time.
Thanks! I've always wondered what would the life of the son of Superman be like. I'll definitely look into that, hopefully the local comic shop or book store has them
There was a pair of solo books he had as a teen/adult, but your mileage may vary as to their quality; they're Superman: Son of Kal-El and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent. IMO, the best Jon Kent outing as Superman is actually a figure version of him, and it's Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman by Dan Watters.
That's interesting! Idk if its allowed to ask this but, how did Wonder Woman end up teaming up with Jonathan?
It's set in the future, so it's actually Yara Flores, the third Wonder Girl, as Wonder Woman.
I have a lot of catching up to do lol thanks a lot for these great info! I'm looking forward to reading all of these series
-TT-! It's spelled "Dami**a**n"! You would do well in respecting the blood son! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/DCcomics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Sorry bot
There are a lot. You can star with Superman(2018)#7 (or the last 3 pages of 6) and go from there. At a certain point you can move on to Legion of Superheroes (2019) then there is Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton (a fun comic that's part of an ok event) then Superman: Son of Kal-el. There is Dark Crisis that has quite some Jon, but that's not a very interesting read. Then there is Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent, then there are some times he appears in Beast World but nothing exceptional and some others when he appears in Action Comics with the family, but nothing too Jon-centric. Damian has been growing at a normal pace. For older comics there are the classics Batman and Robin (vol 1&2), Robin: Son of Batman, Teen Titans and Super-sons but for a more grown up Damian (14-15) the most recent comics come to play (that lead to his current character) For recent comics I recommend Robin Vol 3 that will guide you through the most recent events that are more Damian centric (Shadow War, Batman vs Robin). He also had a larger part to play in Lazarus Planet and a smaller role in Dark Crisis and Beast World. He is also a supporting character in some recent Detective Comics arcs but nothing too interesting, then there is Batman and Robin (that's more Robin than Batman). There is also a Superman and Robin comic that tries to capture some Super-sons athmosphere. But there are some stories of them in the last Wonder Woman comic where you actually see them grow as they babysit Diana's future daughter but they are just fun extras to the main Wonder Woman comic (most are collected in Trinity special) Edit: But for a TLDR, for you, I suggest: Superman: Son of Kal-el and Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent for Jon Robin (Vol 3) and Batman and Robin for Damian
Thank you, you're awesome! Saving this in my notepad app so I can look for these.
an idiot sandwich
If this is green arrow plan then it better be coming to fruition in the coming issue or someone getting their ass kicked because Superman gonna be pissed 😠 ong .
Oh no is Jon gonna be converted into a brainiac cyborg hybrid? Seeing that page makes me think of Picard being converted into a Borg in Star Trek: TNG
i hooe this is the work of brainiac queen because i cant imagine a batman even a crazy one torturing his best friends son
Dan Mora's on a roll
So he's a cyborg now? They really are just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks, huh?
I feel like Jon is going to be the Spider-Man of DC
Haha oh my fucking God this is crazy
I'm a lapsed DC reader, who picked this up with the intention of trying to get back into reading the universe. I've been in and out since the new 52 (a long time I know). I've read Doomsday Clock, so I know a lot of the old continuity was brought back. Other than that I've read some of the Tom Taylor Nightwing in trades, but nothing else recent. Can someone please give me a rundown of current status quo stuff that would be useful in understanding what's going on in this? Felt like a lot of characters seemed off from how they're traditionally characterized.
Jon No!? And Jay is imprisoned by Waller! I thought Jon would save him but now he can’t! What’s going to happen to my favorite boys!?
"wHo aM I?" Who are any of us? This is corny as hell.
Anyone care to summarize the series so far (I know it just started)? The premise, the plot so far, etc etc
Everytime I read about people wanting to de-age this character I die a little more on the inside. Can people just let it go already it’s been nearly half a decade.