In November of 2017, the comic book world was shocked to learn that Brian Michael Bendis, the man behind Miles Morales and Jessica Jones, was leaving Marvel for DC. Bendis had made Marvel his home for seventeen years, spending his time there kicking off the Ultimate Universe, bringing readers back to Daredevil, and wiping out almost all the mutants. Bendis had left a mark like few other writers, and now he was headed to DC to try and do it again.
Now, two years into his time at DC, we can start to look at what Bendis has accomplished at his new home and see if he's making the same kinds of waves that he did at Marvel. Here are five great ideas Brian Michael Bendis has brought to DC, and five ideas fans are divided on...
10 Great: Showing The Creation of The United Planets
One of the most important moments in the history of the DC Universe is the creation of the United Planets. First introduced in Adventure Comics #340 in 1966, readers have known for ages that the United Planets was inspired by Superman, but it wasn't until 2019's Superman #14 that we finally see the moment the United Planets is created.
In the issue, we see that Superman has brought the leaders of many planets together to try and end decades of conflict and tension, but it is Superboy who actually comes up with the idea, basing it off the United Nations right here on Earth.
9 Mixed: Aging up Superboy
Speaking of Superboy, Bendis rankled a lot of fans when he aged up Jon Kent by seven years. When DC kicked off the Rebirth years, Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, and Dan Jurgens took over Superman and Action Comics, and put the focus of the two books on a Superman who was married to Lois Lane and raising a young superpowered son.
Tomasi would spin-off Superboy into a new series, Super Sons, where he teamed up with Damian Wayne AKA Robin. Again, fans loved seeing the young Jon Kent. When Bendis came on board, he quickly aged Superboy seven years and then shipped him off to the future.
8 Great: Bringing Back The Legion Of Superheroes
There was a time when the Legion of Superheroes was one of the biggest selling comics DC had. But for the last twenty-five years, DC just couldn't seem to figure out what to do with the Legion. The problems really started after Crisis on Infinite Earths when DC erased Superboy from existence. The entire origin of the Legion was built around Superboy, and without him, no writer could figure out a way to really make them work.
But now, with both a Superman and a Superboy running around, Bendis saw the chance to fix the problem. The Legion was inspired by Clark Kent, but it was Jon Kent who would join them. A simple shift changed everything while also making the Legion work again.
7 Mixed: Revealing Superman's Identity To The World
When Bendis took over Superman and Action Comics, he promised he was going to shake things up, and he certainly has kept his promise. His latest shake-up is having Clark Kent reveal to the world that he is Superman. The move, built on the culmination of everything Bendis has done since he took over the books in 2018, has really divided readers.
One thing that stuck out is that the story of Superman's identity being revealed had just been done four years earlier by Greg Pak, and Aaron Kuder, so how would this be different and why should anyone think it will last? The revelation of Superman's identity is currently playing out in the comics, so it is too soon to see if Bendis' story will stand the test of time.
6 Great: The Return Of Young Justice
Since the third Robin (Tim Drake), the second Superboy (Conner Kent), and Impulse first came together in Young Justice: The Secret way back in 1998, the team of teen heroes who are too cool to be Teen Titans have grown in fame. While their original series ended in 2003, the Young Justice animated series has that premiered in 2010 has built a whole generation of fans.
What may be most important here is that Bendis brought back the original Conner Kent Superboy, who had not been seen since 2011. While this Superboy, a clone of Superman and Lex Luthor, has been back for over a year, he hasn't had a chance to reconnect with Superman yet, but that day is coming soon.
5 Mixed: Robin Became Drake
One issue DC Comics is dealing with these days is too many characters with the same name. There are three Flashes, two Superboys, and until recently there were two Robins. For the Robins - Tim Drake and Damian Wayne - Bendis ended the confusion by changing Tim's codename.
The reveal of Tim's new name and costume were teased for months, and then just when readers were about to learn the new identity, it was pushed back an issue. All that waiting ended up leading to mixed reactions when we finally learned that Tim Drake's new superhero identity would be... Drake.
4 Great: Naomi, Jinny Hex, and Teen Lantern
It's rare when a new comic character catches the attention of the world these days. During his time at Marvel, Bendis created two of them; Jessica Jones and Miles Morales. And now that he's at DC, it looks like Bendis is trying to do it again. Teaming up with David F. Walker and Jamal Campbell, Bendis introduced Naomi. The character, a teenage girl who learns that she is actually from another reality, first appeared in her own six-issue series before making appearances in Action Comics and joining Young Justice.
As a member of Young Justice, Naomi will be teaming up with two more new Bendis creations; Jinny Hex and Teen Lantern. Whether any of these characters will end up in an Oscar-winning movie like Miles Morales is anyone's guess.
3 Mixed: Event Leviathan
When it was first announced that Bendis would be moving to DC, it was assumed that his love for crime stories would lead to the writer taking on Batman or one of the other great detective characters at the company. While Bendis ended up taking on the Man of Steel, it wasn't long before he started playing with DC's mystery solvers.
Event Leviathan saw the greatest detectives of the DCU come together when a masked madman named Leviathan systematically took down every secret organization on Earth. When Event Leviathan ended, the identity of the villain was revealed, but the story was far from over.
2 Great: Helping Shine A Light On Some Characters Who Deserve Attention
With his move to DC, Bendis has helped kick off a number of miniseries that focus on characters that DC tends to ignore. Through the Wonder Comics imprint, both the Wonder Twins and Dial H For Hero have had critically successful minis that were extended from six to twelve issues. In the pages of Young Justice, Bendis brought back Amethyst, and now she is getting her own six-issue series this year.
On the Superman side, Bendis roped Greg Rucka and Matt Fraction into putting the spotlight on Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen respectively. While Rucka has worked with DC many times in the past, Jimmy Olsen is Matt Fraction's first work for the company.
1 Mixed: Destroyed The Bottled City of Kandor
The Bottled City of Kandor is a big part of Superman mythology. The last remaining Kryptonian city, it was taken from the planet, shrunk, and bottled by Brainiac. Superman, who kept the city safe in his Fortress of Solitude, promised to find a way to get the people of Kandor out of the bottle but after the events of Man of Steel, it looks like that promise won't be kept.
The Bottled City of Kanor, along with everything else in the Fortress of Solitude, was destroyed by Rogol Zaar. Countless Kryptonians were killed, and so far Bendis hasn't spent much time of the aftermath of those deaths.