• Would it be too much to ask for Superman to go FORWARD - not always "back to the origins"...*sigh*

• Dear god, that design on the right is horrendous. The trunks are part of Superman's costume, and the people who make fun of it are idiots. Look at old-school strongmen or acrobats, which Superman is based on, and you'll see they often wear underwear over their tights, too. You can't wear underwear under tights because they show through and can damage the tights, so the briefs help provide comfort and conceal junks in case the costume rips. Without them, Superman's big Kryptonian junk is hanging out, concealed from the world by only tights, all the time (and the people that think this is less gay than the trunks need to punch themselves). And if the costume rips while he's fighting, or lifting something, or stretching? "Flash! Oh-oh!" And look at the art! If I didn't know who Superman was, I'd think he was going to throw the Daily Planet into the fire, not stop it from falling. He looks like he's screaming at the reader, and his eyes are glowing bright red even though he's not using laser vision - one of Superman's biggest traits is his protectiveness, and laser vision, being a strictly offensive power, is meant to be sort of like his dark side. When Superman pulls out laser vision, it means he's pissed and he's probably going to try and burn your face off. It's not how you introduce one of the most moral and righteous characters in all of comics to your new readership! Finally, it's just filled with loads of extraneous details, mostly relating to the weird patterns on the arms and boots. Part of what makes Superman's costume work is simplicity, and extraneous details don't work for him. It actually looks more like the outfits of Ultraman or Eradicator, which is a bad sign, because they were both psychotic murderers! I love George Perez, and all, but seriously. This is your reader-friendly jump-on-point, your return to simplicity and iconography? Then why the hell are you changing the most iconic, famous costume in comics?

• so what, Rob can dish out mean spiritedness but not take it?  he seems to be doing fine with  himself, he's a big boy.

• I apologize for calling you greasy.

• Man, why are people so down on the reboot. Do people not understand that they're keeping the most important and world shattering arcs intact? Frankly with the names attached to the big ones (detective comics, actions comics....etc), I don't see how people can get upset....it's exciting! I was very very skeptical about this and then i read this......http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dcnu-bob-harras-eddie-berganza-history-in-tact-110615.html (article is awesome for those who are worried about the reboot; at least it put me at ease). Granted, they will have to work hard to keep something like "Killing Joke" in the mythos (which they said , they will), when Barbara Gordon is set to be F-ing BATGIRL! Wheel chair grapple hook FTW!

• You can TOO change Superman and should have years ago. The underwear on the outside look has always looked ridiculous, even when we're kids most of us thought so. Everyone I know thinks they should've lost the red speedos long ago. You've become like the Trekkie nitjobs who boyvott any trek idea that even hints at evolving the product, or the Gee-Wun asshats who refuse to accept any Autobot born later than 1984. Lighten the hell up dude, he's FICTIONAL. The world will not spin off it's axis if Superman gets a tiny makeover.

• Tim Gunn would not approve of these outfits. Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fQwU7uUPcU Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FxMcEZA-9k

• Lol @ Superman's costume should never be changed. His costume has been changing ever since his debut back in 1939.

• This must have something to do with the impending Superman copyright debacle, where some aspects of the character will revert to the Siegel & Shuster estates and other aspects of Superman, mostly the aspects that were introduced after DC bought the character, remain with DC/WB.   

• No, the costume that the creators have partial right to has little in common with the current outfit. For an idea of what the original creators DO have partial rights to, you can read Action 1 online at  http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/yeung/actioncomics/cover.html. The Superman story is only the first 15 pages or so, and the only really critical part of the mythos that's covered in it is the Clark Kent secret identity. Lois Lane, the Kents, Smallville, the Daily Planet, Perry White, Krypton and the other key parts that alarmists always claim are included in the rights are nowhere to be seen.

• Okay. I tried. I try not ot care too much about what's in comics because I didnt' want to be ThAT girl that's ranting about nerdy things to people who don't really care. It's comics, I tell myself. If i don't like it. I don't have to read it. that being said.... fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck

• Didn't they have to change the costume because of the partial rights going back to the creators?

• Really TR?? You're going to shit the bed about this? Superman's costume has changed many times since 1938. Black "S", Long trunks, short trunks, short boots, high boots, no cape, small cape, BIG cape... so stop your whining. I normally come to TR to get some nerd laughs and because "wow, Topless Robot gets it!"  but this time your getting whiny prematurely. Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, Thor, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America (both Bucky and Steve) all have had reboots and new threads. Why NOT Superman? I like the new look with no speedo. (I would like to see no belt either, just blue all the way down to the boots but 'meh'.) It looks good and NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET. So calm down and get a cookie and wait until you read it. DC is still going strong! At least DC is still universal and not "america only"

• Ironic statement there, Ric, since the classic costume is nothing like the current one, and Lois Lane isn't in Action Comics #1, which is all the Siegels and Schusters have the rights to. A character named Lois is, Lois Lane IS NOT.

• It was nixed in order to relaunch Suicide Squad, more likely.  With Deadshot and King Shark moving books.  Although, going by the cover art, King Shark is now apparently a hammerhead shark for no apparent reason? DC seems perfectly happy to sink one book in order to relaunch a related title that has more established (re: older) name, regardless of reader interest.

• DC said that they were altering some origins, and that they were altering some character ages as well.  They just aren't changing everything. It looks like something of a mess, with some books continuing on pretty much as they were before September, with other books being reinvented, and still others having their history changed in some fashion. Speculation based on the Teen Titans info is that Tim Drake's history is getting adjusted.  There is speculation as well that the Lois/Clark marriage is going away. DC seems to have forgotten that Stephanie Brown was Robin for a while, considering they've said that each Robin has their own title presence come September, but Stephanie remains unaccounted for.  (Why might this matter?  Because acknowledging Stephanie's brief Robin run is something that DC goes back and forth over.  Sometimes they acknowledge it, most of the time they don't.  One writer was rather vocally opposed to acknowledging it, back when there was a movement to get her costume in a Batcave case like the other Robin outfits.) Some of the Wildstorm characters are apparently being fully brought into the DC universe.  Stormwatch has Martian Manhunter on its cover image, and Grifter and Voodoo are getting books. Some of the Vertigo characters are being reintegrated into the DC superhero universe.  That's a difficult situation to judge, as they've sat on the borders of the superhero universe even as their titles were separate before.

• interesting since DC/Warners no longer owns the rights to Smallville or Superboy I can bet your wrong. And funny how you have read something that isn't out yet and no plot points are out yet either..... hmmmm.... can you smell the bullshit ??? I know I can. From Ric The Real Stooge www.dailystooge.com STOP TALKING SHIT

• I love when people write stuff without doing there homework. The reason DC is changing the costume is because they no longer own the rights to the classic one. In fact you wont be seeing Lois Lane again either DC/Warners no longer owns the rights to that name. Before writing a post do your homework so you don't look like a clown. From Ric The Real Stooge www.dailystooge.com GET YOUR FACT RIGHT OR FOREVER LOOK LIKE A CLOWN

• Oi, Rob, you sound like some of the Transformer fans that have been blowing their horns over Mirage not being blue in the new movie.  Let's look here... on the left, I see a Superman wearing something that you could actually wear to this sort of work in real life - as opposed to spandex or latex rubber - which, while odd for a comic, is oddly titillating to the part of me that always scorned comics for exactly that sort of reason.  And on the right, honestly, I see a Superman outfit close enough to the usual that I didn't see what you were saying was so different at first.  I had to compare it side-by-side with an older Superman shot to see it.  Even then, I mostly noticed that he was no longer wearing red underwear on the outside of his costume.  Uhh, cue bitching? I'm pretty sure that no costume in comics is sacred, no matter how "entrenched in pop culture" it is.  Honestly, the wardrobe changes are probably going to be the least of DC's problems with this whole reboot/overhaul thing, anyway.

• I think the butthurtin' might be on the other foot?... (wait)...butt?... not sure how to end this

• Maybe Action Comics #1 is set on washing day - so he has to wear his spare cape from when he was five.

• No probs, buddy. Hope you feel better soon. :3

•  You just made my night better I am ill thanks so much for a good laugh.

• It's so kewl that Superman is clutching the AIL PLANE globe on that cover.

• To go with his starship?

• ...I sense another reboot for Steel.

• He cuts down trees, wears high heels Suspenders and a bra He wish he was a girlie Just like his dear papa

• Or, you know, make Bizarro and Lex and Brainiac have a threesome and then writing about it before posting it on the internet. >:3

• Just remember, sir: "A fool and his gold are soon parted".

• Only the Action Comics 1 suit, which looks absolutely nothing like the current suit. Actually, the ONLY major thing they lose is the name "Clark Kent" when the rights revert. Nothing of the Superman mythos is in Action 1: Lois Lane is only identified as Lois in Action 1, Krypton isn't called by name, The newspaper is the Daily Star, not the Daily Planet, Very little is actually lost, check it out for yourself. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/yeung/actioncomics/cover.html

• And I'm done with DC. Take a cue from Avengers: EMH.

• Haven't you noticed that when DC said they were rebooting for a modern era, they meant rebooting to the 90s?  Jim Lee costume designs, Rob Liefeld on a book, etc...

• Just a quibble, Rob. You wrote that "Second, DC isn't calling this thing "an event" like Flashpoint or Identity Crisis orCountdown or anything" - it's part of the Flashpoint event. They've said it's part of the Flashpoint event. It's fallout from the Flashpoint event. Pay more attention next time?

• When most of these "52 new" titles have gone the way of the dodo due to bad sales over the coming 2 years, everything will gradually revert back to some semblance of normality (whatever that is).

• That's BatWing. He's a African representative of Batman Inc (a worldwide organization of Wayne funded heroes that Bruce is pulling together to help save the world from a threat he can't handle on his own). 

• The fact that Grant Morrison is going to write Superman in _Action..._ is reassurance enough. PERIOD. 

• Think the pic on the left is just casual wear.  That "cape" is probably just a red towel.  Doubt anyone's giving him a costume akin to Superboy's casual duds.

• it's possible that they're doing multiple universes, it's also possible these books are set at different periods.

• Rebooting is starting over. DC is not changing character origins so they're calling it a relaunch. Most of what has come before will remain canon. If you follow the DC comics blog they have explained this.

• Maybe he's got the history of Krypton in there, like the rumored JL movie suit.

• John Henry Superman? No way; that would never possibly work.

• There we go; that's the difference between a re-launch and a re-boot. {g}

•  A re-LAUNCH sounds positive, like going forward. Ex: We the publishers are going to give 52 new titles a launch! A re-BOOT sounds negative, like going backward. Ex: we the readers are going to give 52 new titles the boot!

• A SUPER railroad worker.

• And why Hancock is. Or is not rather. One of those.

• That's obviously Harley Quinn's new cape, duh! How it got there... well... {ahem} it involved a sledgehammer and dental floss apparently. I have this on good authority.

• He's walking across the country and some roadwork got in his way.

• Utterly agree. PAD's Aquaman was arguably too awesome to continue and had to be nerfed. Sigh. Meanwhile, insert joke here about Action #1 being about Superboy Prime stuck on a ruined Earth-22, shuffling the rubble around.

• I wonder if the whole Flashpoint event was set up to cover that transition (now that you remind me of it)...

• At this point, almost anything they did with Aquaman would be an improvement--his story has been so jacked since Peter David's amazing run.

• And then DCAU had to abandon their own meticulously created and highly respected canon to create animated original stories and (mostly) retellings of popular arcs and issues. What the hell? Did DC pull the plug on them because they were becoming too popular with their own canon, then agreed to finance them only if they remade wacky alt-canon versions of regular canon or alt-canon stories (different from DCAU's own standardized awesome alt-canon)? Granted, they've done some fine work after the series, all things considered. But really, I agree with Andrew up there: DCAU is now the only reliable canon. (And it's dead. Let us mourn.)

• He certainly did for "All-Star Superman". The captions were even shorter than SlyDante's paragraph. I don't even recall them being sentences or clauses with verbs, just nouns and prepositional phrases.

• Those are where he keeps his glasses, and his folded up micro-compressed clothes, I'm guessing. (I'm half-serious; back in the Silver Age, Superman had a pouch built into his cape for that. Luthor once got hold of them and couldn't figure out what the gray things were, much less why Superman kept glasses in his cape. {g})

• It's a Rock-abilly Superman maybe?

• His jeans feature Chuck Norris gussets...

• IIsn't the iconic outfit one of the things that DC can lose when the rights revert? Maybe they are testing a couple new ideas in preparation.

• Didn't Morrison himself write Superman's origin in something like four panels for a "Free Comic Book Day" issue a few years back?

• Wasn't this the point of the point of the whole Superman Earth One book? A jumping on point for non-DC readers to get into an Ultimate type 'verse for DC. Hell, in it Clark's about as young as Johns and Lee are regressing the regular DCU Superman in to.

• ...my first thought was that he looks like a railroad worker.

• Trolls be trollin'!

• Wait, you think a blue shirt with a Superman logo can only be bought at a Hot Topic? C'mon Rob, give the world a little credit.

• But aren't those 3 comics good because none of them are DC? or is that what in fact you are trying to say?

• He's a Superman and he's OK He flies all night, he fights all day

• And who designed Jubilee???

• You, sir, are my people. Yes, what Internet Jesus did with the mess that was Stormwatch & Wildcats remains the best product to ever come out of what Jim Lee started. Point by point, I agree with everything you said, excepting Fraction as he's a new player and I've been out of comics for a few years now.

• I think he's still up on Newsrama, isn't he? Loved those columns, it was so interesting seeing all the tiny permutations in a character's lifespan.

• The more I look at this reboot, the more I wonder if I should simply give up on DC (and Marvel since they're creatively bankrupt.)

• You are not alone. Secret Six was for my money DC's best series, so of course it got nixed in favor of four Green Lantern titles.

• I wonder if DC is going to do another "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" ending story like they did when Superman transitioned from pre-Crisis to post-Crisis? Then again, will there be any transition from the current title numbering to the post-Flashpoint/ post-#1 issues?

• Trophies. He uses the miniaturization tech that made the Bottled City of Kandor to shrink his defeated foes, then he shoves them in the pouches for play time. 

• Why does Superman need a utility belt?

• Yeah, because we've NEVER heard Superman's origin before. Guy's practically an enigma. Seriously, DC's done at least four arcs involving Superman's origin over time (I believe), with at least two in the past five/ten years alone. Here, let me save you all at least ten bucks: An alien child is sent from a dying planet to Earth, gets raised by farmers, learns he has superpowers, is taught morals, ethics, & to use his powers responsibly, gets a costume, goes to the city, gets a job (& secret identity) as a reporter, & then fights for truth, fights for justice, & punches the f*** out of criminals, all while having the hots for his female co-worker. There. Was that so hard, DC?

• It baffles me that Jim Lee got to be seen as a major creative force. He created a buzz in the 90's around his art style, which wasn't terribly hard to do. You had Art Adams, John Byrne, Neil Adams, Michael Mignola and a handful of interesting artists (I'm sure there were others) grouped in with a ton of really, really awful vanilla artists. But as a storyteller? Please name for me the really, really great comic that Jim Lee WROTE. Yes, he "created" Wildstorm. Like Michael Bay, the titles were primarily concerned with shit getting blown up. Then along came Warren Ellis with The Authority and you had a smarter title... but Jim Lee had what to do with that exactly? I think Grant Morrison is a decent writer. He's not the second coming of jesus -and he is annoying in the "let's think outside the box" way that Matt Fraction is annoying- but at the end of the day, if writers require a complete open sandbox to play in, then they aren't good writers. Somehow other writers (including Grant Morrison) were able to tell good stories in this "massively convoluted mess" that was DC Continuity. A BRAND NEW EXCITING continuity doesn't equal good stories.

• Two weeks ago when this news hit, just asking around at my local comic shop an astounding 14 people stated they dropped the DC books from there grab bag. Last week it was up to 27 according to the store owner...I wonder what it will be this week?

• Tim Gunn... great idea

• i'm so tired of people complaining about what DC is doing to breathe new life into a very stale medium.  its horrible right now as a long time comic reader/collector that i have to put up with the crap that's come out this last decade. news flash: not everyone likes 'summer blockbusters' that do nothing and waste money and only make people stop collecting. comics aren't pokemon and you don't have to catch them all. also, different appearences have been explained as Action Comic's first arc is an origin and the early years. superboy, well, i don't know, but i also don't care. i'm excited about this new direction. in fact, i'll be increasing my total DC books collected in a month. and since i live no where near any decent comic shops, i will also be getting them digitally.

• I wouldn't worry about Karen, she- like pretty much EVERYONE to do with the JSA (Except Mr terrific) including Huntress, haven't even featured at all in the 52 launches yes thats right, Now Power Girl series, or JSA or FREAKING SECRET SIX..... (yes, I know Six has nothing to do with the JSA, but I'm damn pissed over that one!)

• What purpose could they possibly serve? Well, why ELSE did they start this whole bullshit nonsense, Rob? The answer is simple: SELL. MORE. COMICS. DC could give a rat's ass about continuity. Hell, they could care less about their character's status as an acceptable icon in pop culture. The only thing they care about is making money, in any and all stupidest possible sense of the words, and their business plan seems to just be running along just fine with that. All the way straight to hell. Thank Evil Flying Jesus I don't follow DC comics anymore. Otherwise, I would be joining the chorus of a million angry nerds for having DC shove a metaphorical iron rod up their collective asses.

• that's not grease, that's just the vaseline he covers his body with during FFF

• Wait, who was that guy from Project Runway who did the superhero costume reviews before. Can we get him back? I want to hear him go on a tear about Harley!

• I'd actually like the one on the left without the S and the cape. He's supposed to have grown up around farms in the midwest, that's probably just his casual wear.

• Seeing as how Grant Morrison has stated he's wanted to write Superman in the same fashion as when the character was first created (back when he was a social crusader who threw people through walls), The outfit on the Action Covers cover may be more symbolic than an actual costume. Also, the continuity will go back to normal eventually.  Not only is this too gimmicky to last, but when sales start to dwindle they'll just do another "Crisis" and reboot everything back, keeping what worked.  Trust me dude, this is not permanent.  It can't be with that idiot Geoff Johns at the helm.

• You know what? Old artists should move on and let new artists surface and show their talent.

• How 'bout those Krav Maga classes, eh?

• Nah. You mean copying like in Marvel Zombies / Blackest Night? Nah. Don´t think so.

• Not only are the designs bad, that art is bad. Just bad, bad, bad. I foresee this relaunch being a HUGE success for DC.

• 90s are sooo back!!!!!!!!!

• As a 90's Kid, it is ENTIRELY due to the cartoon. For me at least. Wolverine in yellow with blue trunks, Cyclops vice-versa, Professor X in a pimped out hoverchair, Rogue in green spandex and a leather jacket, Jubilee just...being a total design mess really. Banana yellow trench coat, anyone?

• Why does he have glowing red eyes?

• Would you rather he look like blue-and-white lightning Superman?

• While I understand the concept of this Reboot\relaunch, I don't understand why they are throwing some old fans under the bus.  You want to relaunch so new people will start to read your comics, but who outside comic book fans even know?  If you want to restart some of the titles, just whip out the another dimension ploy and start some of your titles while leaving the regular universe alone.  Give them a fancy back name like  DC Extreme presents Superman Kal's story.  We comic book fans will not be confused as to which one's which.  I have also helped many of parent who was trying to help their kid get the right comic book.  You tell them, "Yes this one is DC Extreme" they will make that part number one priority when finding their kids comics.   In the end I know this is all about the money and not about story, fans, or iconic characters.  It's hard to watch what you supported and identified with be whipped away from you because you don't make them enough money.  I will try to at least keep an open head about this but from what I've seen and read it seems not all changes are for the better. Stories like The Killing Joke that turned Barbara Gordon's character into an Iconic hero with no challenge she could not overcome will just disappear.  I guess that's why old comic books have such value.  

• "The Freshmaker!"

• The thing that bothers me the most about this are the ROLLED UP JEANS.

• YOU'RE effing embarrassing.

• OR it's due to the age of those holding the opinion, as Jim Lee was likely the biggest name artist on the X-Books when these people were neophytes?  Mark Silvestri, anyone?? And@twitter-5447352:disqus ... I came to the comments to say essentially the same thing.  Jim Lee is a penciller, nothing more.  He's proven time and again to be a crappy story-teller, and does exactly what you noted about reboots again... and again.  He's become a self-parody.  Guy needs to find something else to do, as he's ill-suited to be an editor and he's woefully bad at being creative. This is gonna go down as a bigger bad idea than The Scarlet Spider.  ...I know!  Can you imagine??

• And how does a reLAUNCH differ from a reBOOT? and why so fucking condescending?

• I'm holding out that she rips off the upper-half of her costume, but I'm certain I'm alone in that...

• I would say they want it to be more movie like, but I ain't never seen a Superman movie that's actively afraid of the Superman costume. Not even Superman Returns nixed the trousers. So, yeah, I guess wrestling trousers over tights aren't cool no more. That's why people don't buy comics anymore.  Too much looking like an unmasked luchador, not enough looking like a construction worker on break. I will give it this though, the hairy arms are a nice touch. Blue collar Superman isn't putting no razor to his mighty arms.

• I just got back from my local comics store actually, had the new Batman and Robin and Batman in my hand and after some deliberation, put them back because of all this crap.  I did end up buying Flashpoint, but I used to spend at least 20 bucks a month on DC and now that's down to 3.  Are they really going to gain that many new readers and not lose a TON of their existing fans??

• they need to rethink their rethinking of the reboot... i am a batman fan and you can change up the dark knights costume because it is armor and has to change with the times and to adjust to what ever the hell is going on,  but dont mess with the boy scouts suit. you see it anywhere and you know off the bat its sups. it could be part of it and you know its him. i will keep reading the batman graphic novels that are good but this will make me stop reading any thing else. especially the ones with the man of steel

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