#rogal zaar

[thevindicativevordan]

Is there anything good about Rogol Zaar?

A guy who worked as a behind the scenes kneebreaker to keep the peace between the major galactic powers isn’t a bad idea. Execution missed the mark. We get no real details on Rogal beyond he hates Kryptonians and wants them dead (plus he might have been intended to be Kal’s half-brother which is nuts). I’d rather he’d have been a guy who did a lot of sketchy shit to keep the peace, and if you want to tie him directly to Krypton, then he should have secretly made sure that Jor-El’s efforts to convince the Science Council/build rockets failed.

Maybe Jor actually was closer to building a successful rocket than he thought, but secretly Rogal was sabotaging his experiments. Only reason Kal’s Rocket worked was because it wasn’t meant for people, and Rogal didn’t consider the idea that Jor and Lara would send their infant son off in a rocket to save him. Why would Rogal sabotage Joe’s efforts? Because an entire race of yellow sun empowered Kryptonians would have completely changed the power structure of galactic politics, and Rogal was dedicated to preserving the status quo. He’s the guy who fights to keep what we have now, because this is as good as it gets, in opposition to Superman who wants to fight to better our lives.

#superman #rogal zaar #brian michael bendis

[dccomicsnews]

Review: Superman #14

Review: SUPERMAN #14

  [Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artists: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert

Colours: Alex Sinclair

Letters: Wes Abbott

  Reviewed By: Derek McNeil

  Summary

Superman #14: Lex Luthor is back in Metropolis—and he’s ready to wreak havoc! First stop, the most dangerous woman in the DC Universe: Lois Lane! Alone, her family a…

View On WordPress

#Alex Sinclair #Brian Michael Bendis #clark kent #Cosmic Boy #DC comics news #DC Comics News Reviews #DCN Reviews #General Zod #Ivan Reis #Joe Prado #jon kent #jor-el #Legion of Super-Heroes #Lightning Lad #Oclair Albert #review #Rogal Zaar #Saturn Girl #superboy #supergirl #superman #Wes Abbott

[argyle-s]

Ok, Ignoring the lost potential of the current supergirl comic run how awesome is Kara with her axe, I mean semi-sentient axe that can find Kara anywhere changes it’s size depending on her mood fly her to space and create an artificial atmosphere because her friends can’t survive in space. That shit is awesome, I wish you could add it to Future Shock as one of the weapons Kara has in her arsenal?? Because for some reason i love the shit out of that axe, and Kara deserves an awesome weapon.

Kara is working on a weapon to use against Darkseid.  You’ve seen glimpses of it already, but you’ll get a MASSIVE hint in Chapter 63 of Devils in the Dark.  But keep in mind, I’m stealing liberally from the Green Lantern mythology and from the various Darkseid stories done over the years.  Sadly, I was way to far into writing Future Shock when Man of Steel dropped for me to incorporate Rogal Zaar or his ax into the story, which makes me sad, because he would have been perfect as the actual assassin.

#supergirl #future shock #kara danvers #green lantern #rogal zaar #Anonymous

[davidmann95]

Thoughts on Synmar? Thought he was actually an interesting idea as the alien take of "We Should Have Our Own Superman" and far better kicking off the ground running than Rogol Zaar, conceptually. That being said, I wish the name was better, given the sun motifs.

Sat on this for a few days so as to give time for everybody to read it themselves, and SYNMAR! THE GREATEST THREAT SINCE DOOMSDAY! THE ANTITHESIS OF ALL SUPERMAN STANDS FOR! THIS IS WHAT HE WAS SENT HERE TO SAVE US FROM!...is good, actually. This sucks, I hate it, it’s not even “could in theory have something on the ball” like Rogal Zaar before he was entirely botched, he’s actually good. An alien as the product of a world that wanted a Superman for themselves but didn’t really understand him and so made something brutal and ugly in the process, a well-meaning warrior without a place in the utopia he helped bring about, is a killer idea and I’m really eager to see how it plays out when he comes face-to-face with the real thing. Dammit, I was really looking forward to dunking on it, but I guess with this as Bendis’s farewell DC wanted to play the arc up as a big deal in a way that ended up completely misrepresenting it.

(He’s also as a friend pointed out major evidence for ‘Clark setting up his own Authority’ rumors, the council of Synmar roughly lines up with the membership, and Eisno Alkor himself is a light-powered being modeled after Superman who’s the product of a gay union.)

#Synmar #Superman #Brian Bendis #Ivan Reis #The Authority #Opinion

[dcmultiverse]

DC Comics' Supergirl title is returning - not in a new series, but in a continution of the "Rebirth" era series which was cancelled earlier this year. First reported by Syfywire, Supergirl will return in August with issue #21 and an all-new creative team of writer Marc Andreyko and artist Kevin Maguire. The new story will tie into Brian Michael Bendis' Superman plans, exploring the origin of his newly-introduced villain Rogal Zaar.

#supergirl #kara zor el #c: supergirl #news

[topato-matato]

A rant on The Man of Steel #5

So it’s been a few issues since I posted my thoughts on The Man of Steel #1 and I thought I share how I think Brian Michael Bendis is doing with Superman. The answer is far, far better than I thought he’d do but still very, very imperfectly. There are definitely highs to The Man of Steel miniseries, it’s definitely the best thing I’ve read from Bendis in the granted short time I’ve been reading comics, but this series also had its awkwardness and this specific issue had some irritations.

I love the A-plot. I said earlier that Rogal Zaar had a bad design and I wasn’t expecting much from him as a villain. But he has definitely turned into a real threat to the two Supers not only because of what he can do but because of the damage he’s already done. (Spoilers from here) By destroying the bottle city of Kandor he has hit Clark and Kara in a very personal place. They are both dedicated to their Kryptonian heritage and Rogal Zaar has just wiped away the last remnants of their home planet aside from themselves. Bendis makes you feel their anger and grief, and gives needed weight to the battle between the two heroes and Rogal Zaar.

I’m less enthusiastic about the two B-plots, meaning the under-whelming arson plot but more especially the (more spoilers) revelation behind Jon and Lois’ disappearance. Jor-El and invites Jon to travel the Galaxy with him so he can help him reach his full potential. Jon inexplicably immediately agrees to this. This is infuriating since it was Clark who was already teaching Jon how to use his powers and it seems to ignore “The Oz Effect” from Dan Jurgens run. The miniseries has been building this up and it’s supposed to be a big emotional moment but it feels more like Bendis’ thin justification to not have Lois or Jon in his Superman series. Considering how they’ve been a great part of the Superman books for the last two years, it’s a little upsetting that Bendis is benching them. I am, however, very glad that he didn’t kill them off or retcon them or something like that. While they may not be in the main books for a while it would be very easy for any writer after Bendis to bring them back, which shows at least a bare minimum of respect for the characters.

So The Man of Steel is mostly very good, with a very big flaw that’ll mean more for the following Superman books than it does here. I have a far better idea of how Bendis is going to be writing Superman now. He gets the character just fine, in fact sometimes Supes comes alive under his pen. But he’s shaking the world of Superman up in ways that can be both good, like the destruction of Kandor, or bad, like the shelving of Jonathon Kent. But who knows, maybe Superboy will be back sooner than I think, we’ll just have to wait and see.

#superman #dc comics #brian michael bendis #lois lane

[charlottefinn]

Thoughts on Rogol Zaar? Everyone's been so diverse on him and I trust your opinion. Or is it too soon to say?

I honestly don’t have any opinions on Rogol Zar as implemented, because I haven’t been reading the Superman books of late; the closest I’ve come is Action #1000, which had him show up and be Doomsday But He Talks. I’m heading back to school and have to pinch my pennies a bit more carefully (I might launch a Patreon - or two - soon.)

If you want my opinion on whether Rogal Zar is a good idea regardless of implementation, I tilt towards the negative, if only because I feel Krypton’s destruction should be, in part, its own fault. A failure to even try to see or acknowledge the danger of their swiftly ticking planet is more unique and resonant, in our age of climate inaction, than another revenge story. Superman’s tragedies are about coping with and learning from things you couldn’t really have done much about - Krypton, the death of the Kents - and having a central figure at the heart of it all feels a little played out, as if trying to yet again Batmanify Superman.

I will say, though, on reflection, I don’t miss Kandor that much as an idea - since the last good Kandor story ended with Kandor getting blown up and Superman and Supergirl falling into a depressive state over it, so it seems to be that Kandor’s just gonna get blown up regardless. It might have outlived its time, now that Superman’s home isn’t really the Fortress of Solitude anymore - there’s a good case to be made that the Fortress, period, is no longer a vital part of the lore. (I like it, but I like a lot of things I’m told only Bad Superman Fans enjoy.)

#Anonymous

[thevindicativevordan]

You really have done a good work on your takes on the Superman rogues. There are interesting and very original ideas than at the same time are really in the coherence of the characters. Not always I agree with you, but I congrat on how you have worked your ideas. Now, considering this, how would you create a list of enemies for Supergirl? In the CW series they practically stolen all of Superman enemies to give Kara something to fight against. Supergirl really lacks of her own rogues gallery.

With a Rogues Gallery you typically want a mix of villains who are physical threats and villains who are mental or ideological threats (and of course some that are both). For Supergirl you need to figure out what her status quo should be, what her long-term goal is, and what kind of themes do you want to explore with her that you can't do with the rest of the Superfamily. Then you can make or revamp Rogues to act as threats, roadblocks, or alternate paths to her goals. Love the idea of Kara forming a lunar colony from Future State and I'd still love a Supergirl run that makes that the focus, her building it and overseeing it. With that in mind here's some (not all of them) of Kara's existing Rogues I'd want to use for such a run:

The Worldkillers

Great fit for Kara to face living embodiments of Krypton's sins, given that she's the one born and raised on Krypton. Kara's idealization and nostalgia of Krypton running up against the rather unpleasant reality of the planet at it's worst adds some thematic weight to their fights. Plus they look cool and aren't connected to anything of Kal's which is a big plus. I would tie one villain of Kal's to them, but I'd also straight up give him to Kara in recompense for doing so. Given their role is destroying/conquering worlds, them showing up to torch Kara's new home on the moon feels like an obvious way to demonstrate how her old home is a threat to her new one.

Reactron

Reactron was badass in the Pre-Flashpoint era. Did a better job of living up to his potential than Metallo ever has, I have to concede that. You'd basically be starting over from scratch with him since I don't think he's reappeared post-Flashpoint, and New Krypton is not one of the stories that got recanonized given the state of Kandor. Think it's worth bringing him back all the same, he's a psycho who hates aliens and enjoys killing them, a simple and straightforward motivation that works. Given Kara in my eyes should be far more cynical about humans than her cousin, Reactron is the villain to trot out for when you want to have Kara see her worst beliefs about human nature confirmed. In my ideal take I'd use him as the one that finally pushes her to bail on Earth and start setting up that moon colony. Afterwards he's the muscle of the human forces who want Kara off of "their" moon.

Simon Tycho

Was this guy meant to be a revamp of Psimon? He sure looks like the Young Justice take on Psimon although maybe that's a coincidence. Anyway he's a pretty clear cut Lex Luthor expy given he's a bald genius with an interest in aliens, but his mutations and powers help differentiate the two. Originally he paid world governments for the right to experiment on any extraterrestrial objects that landed within their borders. Maybe write him as Kara's competitor on the moon, in response to an alien setting up shop on Luna, Tycho gets a ton of discreet funding from governments to set up a humans-only lunar settlement, and also has a hidden goal of sabotaging Kara's colony? Can't imagine there wouldn't be some Earth governments that are nervous about aliens colonizing the moon, what if it was used as the launchpad for an invasion of Earth? Tycho as the pro-human villain who brings some interstellar geopolitics sounds like a fun way to flesh him out into a stronger villain for Kara.

Dollmaker

Pre-Flashpoint Dollmaker was great (New 52 Dollmaker not so much). Guess he needs a new name now since a Batman villain has his old one and those guys take precedence. Modelmaker? Plaything? Putting the name issue aside, I'd write him as the darker side of the outcasts Kara has gathered. Not everyone who was kicked out of their society was undeserving of being a pariah. Some have deep-seeded issues and Dollmaker is one of them, with him eventually taking the role of voice for these more violent members. Pre-Flashpoint his father, the Toyman, basically rejected him and never showed him any affection or attention, and his mother abandoned him after taking him away from his father. Compare how Kara feels ignored and overlooked by Kal and by humanity who more readily accept her cousin and nephew as their heroes and I think you could create interesting stories. Dollmaker is the vengeful side of Kara given free reign, the urge to lash out at a world that neither wants nor welcomes you.

Bizarrogirl

Straightforward as can be, all the other Superfamily members have Bizarros (I'd argue Lex is Steel's), this is Kara's. Plus the Sterling Gates storyline was really great, highly recommend check it out. Maybe use Bizarrogirl as an outcast from Bizarroworld who is unable to fit in with Kara's lunar colony either, and turns against it in anger? Basically if she can't find a home there she doesn't want anyone else to find one either.

As for villains I'd just straight up swipe and give to Kara to be hers exclusively from both Superman's Rogues and others?

Amalak

Another cool Kurt Busiek revamp of a Pre-Crisis Superman Rogue, sadly forgotten after Busiek left, Amalak's home world was conquered by Krypton during an imperial phase. Burning with a hatred for all Kryptonians, Amalak became a bounty hunter and a space pirate. Still could easily fit into Kara's Rogues Gallery in the present day, just make it so the World Killers were the ones responsible for subduing his home planet, makes for a nice way to tie Kara's Rogues together. Amalak getting hired to launch raids on Kara's new home, taking slaves and supplies, seems like an organic way to lay the groundwork for them to meet and face off. I want an alien group adversary (maybe bring back The Circle?) to oppose Kara's colony for accepting alien refugees and runaway, similar to how some human governments would dislike her for taking in their outcasts. Amalak could be their "face" until Kara is able to uncover the identity of his backer.

The Eradicator

Eradicator is the one Rogue of Superman's I mentioned connecting to the Worldkillers, and giving to Kara as her Rogue. Pairing him with Kara makes more sense to me, both of them prefer Krypton over Earth, and feel alienated from Kal because of how he's "gone native". Have Eradicator push Kara to turn her colony into a New Krypton rather than allow it to be something new. Eradicator should be the temptation of toxic nostalgia for Kara, the desire to believe everything was better in the old days, and that Krypton is what she should attempt to recreate. Revisit his ability to "posses"/merge with Kryptonians like he attempted with Kal, he bonds with her after orchestrating events to push her into accepting him, then starts subtly influencing her in ways she's not aware of until she's almost changed completely. Like the Venom symbiote yes, that's what I'm going for.

Dominus

Much as she's tried to suppress it, Kara often harbors jealousy of her cousin, envying his greater degree of comfortability with living amongst humans, and she's jealous of Jon taking over for Kal as the main protector of Earth. Dominus is someone who went mad with jealousy after his own loved one surpassed him to ascend to greater heights of power and responsibility. Connection between the two is obvious, if Kara ever gives in to her darker emotions towards her cousin and nephew, she could end up turning into a villain just like Dominus did. Make him her equivalent to Mxy, the reality warper with petty goals and dreams.

Indigo

Indigo is a character that feels like a natural fit for Kara to interact with in the same way as Lena Luthor is. "Daughter of Brainiac vs. Last Daughter of Krypton" is a natural match-up. I do want to reconfigure Indigo to be a more thematic foe for Kara in terms of revamping her background a bit to service that goal. Brainiac creating a Trojan horse is a great concept, I'd just tie that into his world collecting more. Turns out there are many "Indigos" seeded throughout the universe. When Brainiac finds a civilization that shows potential but isn't yet advanced enough to be worthy of collection, he sends an observation unit to merge with one of the dominant sentient life forms and act as an unknown agent. Via injecting a host with nanomachines, the observation unit can slumber within the host until ready, passing on to offspring the host has or infecting others should the host not reproduce/be killed. These agents are utterly unaware of their true nature until their unconscious programming judges the civilization advanced enough for collection upon which a transformation occurs. Nanomachines in the sentient reshape their body and mind into a combat unit who can summon Brainiac for collection and also sabotage a world's defenses.

I would make this a new Indigo, one from a world that became advanced enough for collection and triggered the nanomachine activation in the host. Indigo's world managed to destroy itself before Brainiac could arrive to collect it, and with the death of the planet Indigo's programming ended and she recovered control of her mind and body. Now she's arrived at Kara's colony in an attempt to make a new life for herself, but she's keeping her past a secret. Indigo fears that were Kara to discover the truth, Kara would exile her due to the risk Indigo still poses of summoning Brainiac, and Indigo isn't willing to leave until she can find a way to "cure" herself of Brainiac's brainwashing. What she wants is access to the Fortress of Solitude where she hopes that by studying Superman's data on Brainiac, as well as access to Kryptonian technology, she can create a virus which will sever Brainiac's controls over the machines inside her and allow her to keep the upgrades without risking a loss of control. Knowing that the directive to observe a civilization until it's advanced enough for collection is still in effect, and fearing what could happen if Kara's colony crosses that threshold, Indigo covertly sabotages the colony's advancement at various points to keep it at a safe level for her while also trying to win Kara's trust.

In terms of themes both Kara and Indigo are defined by their male counterparts. Kara exists in Kal's shadow and struggles to metaphorically be her own person, while Indigo literally belongs to Brainiac and is desperate to safeguard her independence. Focus on that and I think Indigo could be a great Rogue for Kara.

Rogal Zaar

I know everyone hates him but there were some hints of potential, and he's no worse than many other Superman Rogues. Make him the "Doomsday" equivalent to Supergirl, he already looks it in terms of appearance, and the two of them have an interesting tie given she wielded his axe for a while (with said axe feeding on her anger). Rogal was a "hero" of a sort, serving the Circle as their agent, and Kara served as a hero of Earth for a while. Both ultimately grew disillusioned with the ones they had served, both struggle with intense feelings of rage, and Rogal also has been hinted at being tied to House El by blood. Originally I suspect he was going to be Kal's half-brother, but that's not happening anymore. Instead why don't we make him a product of a distant ancestor of the Els, a bastard half-breed that was cast off during Krypton's imperial days, and left behind on a planet to fend for himself until he was discovered by the Circle.

Rogal is a more extreme version of what Kara sees herself as: the forgotten and overlooked El family member. Team Rogal up with Amalak, maybe Rogal is the one who recruits Amalak, and have the two of them work together to destroy everything Kara is attempting to build because of their hatred of Kryptonians, and because a powerful organization desires it and is funding them. Ultimately Amalak finds out about Rogal's heritage and betrays him, causing a blood feud between the two which takes the pressure off of Kara for a while as the two battle it out (while still attacking her individually).

I've got some thoughts on a few others, but just some scattered ideas at most. Kara's got some cool Rogues, and there are Rogues who could make good foils for her, but unless DC can embrace Kara being the one who isn't at home on Earth, I don't know if she'll ever really grow into her own. Likewise her Rogues aren't going to stand out if they're just copying the basic Superman plot only against Supergirl. Optimistically Kara will get something after King's mini is done, either another mini or a spot on a team, and I pray we get to see her interact with some of the Rogues I listed again soon.

#supergirl #kara zor el #worldkillers #reactron #simon tycho #dollmaker #bizarrogirl #amalak #the eradicator #dominus #indigo #rogal zaar