Brian Micheal Bendis has been one of the 21st century's most prolific comic writers, leaving his stamp on some of the medium's most beloved characters. Moving to DC in 2018, he would take over Superman, working on the character for two years in a run that had its ups and downs. Bendis did a lot with the character, changing things for Clark Kent.
Superman is no stranger to change, and Bendis kept this up, adding and subtracting things from Clark Kent's life that worked towards the stories Bendis was trying to tell with the Man of Steel. Some of these changes have had quite an impact on Superman.
10 Finding Common Ground With Zod
One of Superman's all-time great villains is General Zod. He's basically the opposite of Clark Kent in every way-. In contrast, Clark was raised to be a person who cared about all people's suffering, Zod was the product of a military mindset and only cared about the people of Krypton. The two men would often clash over the years, but Bendis changed that.
The two men worked together against the villain Rogol Zaar and found out that they had a lot more in common than they ever thought- both men loved their families intensely and would do anything to make a better world for them. This common ground saw the two-part on good terms, something no one ever saw coming.
9 Changed How He Looked At His Father
While the Kents raised him, Clark always wondered about his father, Jor-El. After learning about him, Clark would look at the man with rose-colored glasses, seeing him only as the stalwart scientist trying to save his planet. With so few Kryptonian survivors in the galaxy, Superman never really found out the truth about his father until he met him.
While Bendis didn't bring back Jor-El, he did a lot with the character, showing him to be a worse person than Superman had ever imagined, one who committed many crimes against the people of the galaxy. This warts and all look at his father changed how Clark felt about Jor-El forever.
8 Bringing Conner Kent Back Into His Life
The Conner Kent version of Superboy has long been a fan favorite, missing from the DC Universe since the New 52 started. While there were versions of the character running around, they weren't the Conner that fans loved, and these versions of the character would all fail. When Bendis relaunched Young Justice, he brought back the classic version of the character and then had him and Superman team up in Action Comics.
Bringing Conner back into the Superman mythos added to Clark's family, giving him someone new to team up with and act as a mentor. Conner's return is a welcome change to the Superman family dynamic.
7 Changed How He Thought About Krypton
Much like his father, Clark Kent had a rather unrealistic view of Krypton. He can be excused for this as he rarely encountered Kryptonian survivors who weren't related to him or were from the Phantom Zone. Bendis would change his views on the planet, revealing a more sinister side to his homeworld.
The Kryptonians were basically fighting a technological cold war against the rest of the galaxy, trying to expand their influence at the cost of anyone in their way. This would force the galaxy's powers to take action, hiring disgraced Kryptonian Rogol Zaar to attack his own people and led to the destruction of Krypton. Clark has always thought it was a natural disaster brought on by hubris, but hubris of a different kind ended his people.
6 Showing Another Side Of Superman
In recent years, Superman has gone through some changes, focusing more on family with the introduction of his son Jon, his heroics with the Justice League, and on his own. One thing that was underserved was Clark Kent as a reporter. Bendis brought this back in a big way, showing just how important Clark Kent's other role can be.
Action Comics focused a lot on the Daily Planetside of things and showed Clark as the investigative reporter that he had always been, seeing him try to unravel the mysteries of both Leviathan and the Invisible Mafia. It put a lot of focus on who Clark is, how good he is at his other job, and how the two combine.
5 Emphasizing The Man
Bendis' writing style is very dialogue-heavy, and this can be a detriment at times, as he often eschewed action for lots of talking heads. During his time with the Man of Steel, he found a way to balance this out, using many caption boxes during action scenes so fans could get Superman's internal monologue on events. This went a long towards emphasizing Clark Kent and how he looked at the universe.
Many Superman stories focus on Superman, the hero who loses sight of how human Clark Kent is. Bendis was able to capture this beautifully, and it gave readers a look into who Superman is and why he does what he does- because of what he learned as Clark Kent and the values of the man.
4 Gave Him His Supporting Cast Back
Modern Superman stories have focused on many of the heroics of Superman or the immediate Kent and El families. While this has changed the way readers looked at the character positively, it's also left behind many characters that have helped define Clark Kent over the years- his coworkers at the Daily Planet.
With a renewed focus on the paper in Action Comics, Bendis brought back the newsroom interplay between Clark, Lois, Jimmy, and Perry and added new characters like Robinson Goode and Trish Q. It was a welcome change to things and showed Clark in an environment that he hadn't been in for a while.
3 Separating Lois And Clark
While it didn't last very long, Bendis started his run by sending Lois and Jon with Jor-El. This was a huge change to Clark Kent's life. Ever since their marriage, Clark and Lois had been together pretty much non-stop, and sundering them raised questions that his co-workers wanted answers for while also showing just how much Lois meant to his life.
Clark without Lois was a man without a rudder, someone who had lost something that he needed more than oxygen or sunlight. He was still able to function, but without her there, his life was less than it had been before. Bendis illustrated just how important Lois is to Clark with this move.
2 Aging Up Jon
Jon Kent is a rather recent addition to the Superman mythos, one that most fans grew to love rather quickly. Seeing Superman as a father was wonderful, which why when Bendis separated the family, there was a pretty large uproar. Things would only be compounded when Jon returned as a teenager. While Clark and his son still had a great relationship, things had changed for both of them.
This change took the dynamic that fans loved and turned it on its ear, giving new challenges to both Clark and Jon, made all the more challenging with Jon's leaving to join the Legion of Superheroes in the 31st century.
1 Revealing His Identity To The World
Clark Kent is a man who has long been a seeker of truth. One of the main reasons he became a reporter was to reveal the truth to people. He was taught to be honest by the Kents, so the fact that he hid his identity, even to protect his family, always seemed a little weird. Superman can be anywhere in the world in seconds and has been shown to use his super senses to keep tabs on his family constantly.
This is why it made perfect sense to reveal his identity finally. Clark Kent is a man defined by seeking the truth, and for him to be living a lie has long been antithetical to who he is.
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