It's been two years since Brian Michael Bendis, best known for co-creating Jessica Jones and Miles Morales at Marvel, went to DC Comics and started his Superman run with the weekly, six-issue miniseries, Man of Steel. In that time, Bendis has left his mark not only on the life of the Last Son of Krypton but across the DC Universe.
Some of Bendis' changes have been cheered, while others have been controversial. Whatever the reaction so far, when Bendis' run on Superman and Action Comics comes to an end, the lives of the Kents and their friends will be drastically different than when he first came onto the two books.
With two years of stories, it feels like a good time to take a look at what Bendis has brought to the Superman mythos. From the Man of Steel miniseries to Event Leviathan and beyond, Bendis has toyed with the past, present and future of the DC Universe in ways few creators ever have before.
Rogol Zaar, a new villain who claims to have been the cause of Krypton's destruction, kicked off Bendis' run. Whether Rogol Zaar is actually responsible for the destruction of Krypton is up for debate, but one thing everyone can agree on is his deadly hatred for Kryptonians. Rogol Zaar made his presence felt by destroying the Bottled City of Kandor and leading an army of Phantom Zone escapees against Superman -- all because of Superman's dad, Jor-El.
Jor-El's survival was introduced before Bendis began his run, but it was left to him to end that storyline. Jor-El was saved by Doctor Manhattan as Krypton exploded, which seemed to drive him insane. Bendis decided to send Jor-El back in time to the moment Krypton exploded, assuring he died when he should have. Sadly, Jor-El never got to know his recently aged-up grandson, Jon Kent.
The aging of Superboy from a pre-teen to a teenager is the most controversial move Bendis has made. In comics, characters rarely age naturally, but usually, when a character is aged up, it feels like the time has come to make that change. With Jon Kent, many feel that his aging happened before the time had come. Still, without aging Jon Kent, another major piece of Bendis' plan couldn't have happened: The return of the Legion of Super-Heroes and the birth of the United Planets.
The Legion of Super-Heros had been shelved for nearly a decade when Bendis reintroduced them. The reason DC needed an older Superboy was to keep the mythology of the Legion intact. In the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths stories, Superboy was the inspiration for the United Planets and the Legion, but after Crisis, Superboy was erased from history and DC struggled to make the Legion work. By making Jon Kent the Superboy who birthed the United Planets and inspired the Legion, Bendis fixed that problem.
Bendis hasn't just been building things up, though. He's also used his time to pull apart pieces of the DC universe by destroying A.R.G.U.S, the D.E.O. and countless other secret organizations in Event Leviathan. Connecting to Event Leviathan came the reveal of the Invisible Mafia in Metropolis, run by Marisol Leone, who also happens to own the Daily Planet.
All of this led to the biggest change Bendis has made: Superman revealed his true identity to the universe.
Already, this reveal has created a lot of problems for Clark Kent's loved ones. Ma and Pa Kent -- returned to life in Doomsday Clock -- still live in Smallville, but now the farm is heavily monitored and guarded. Lois Lane is now part of the story instead of breaking it, which is a significant role-reversal for her.
As Bendis continues his run on Superman and Action Comics, new stories are rising up. Superman has become Earth's ambassador to the United Planets -- a title he gave himself -- and he is doing everything he can to keep the new galactic group together. Lois and Jimmy Olsen have been having their own adventures in their own maxiseries, which have opened new avenues for the characters. Superboy just came back from the 31st century to learn about his dad's clone, Conner Kent.
To say the least, it looks like Bendis has a few more surprises up his sleeve before he leaves the Superman family of books.