A bad decade. Between the New 52 and Bendis, 2010s have not been good for the Man of Steel. A good couple years from Jurgens and Tomasi but others than that... YIKES.

The Good

• Hot Take: Action Comics #900 was a better celebration issue for Superman than Action Comics #1000. One of the best Superman/Lex Luthor stories as the main focus, a lot more stories and 90+ pages at $5.99 compared to $7.99 for 70+ pages.
• Grant Morrison's Action Comics run and Sholly Fisch's backup stories were the best thing to happen to Superman during the New 52.
• Geoff Johns' short Superman run was decent and Superman #39 was an excellent self contained story that set up so much potential (which Truth proceeded to ruin)
• Jon Kent was a goldmine of storytelling and narrative potential allowing for new kinds of Superman stories to be told and having Superman pass on his life lessons and values to his son as he grew up was a status quo that should have stuck for a much longer time.
• Dan Jurgens' Action Comics and Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's Superman from Rebirth. One of the strongest periods of Superman comics in years, perhaps in an entire decade. Solid stories on a consistent bi monthly schedule, a strong emphasis on the father-son dynamic between Clark & Jon and embracing what makes Superman an iconic character.
• Super Sons and New Super-Man were both excellent series as well. The former for being a charming, fun series of adventures between Jon and Damian. The latter for properly developing a new character, giving him a unique environment, supporting cast, powerset and character arc.
• Jorge Jiminez is the GOAT Superman artist of the decade.

The Bad

• The majority of Superman's depiction in the New 52 when he wasn't written by Grant Morrison, Sholly Fisch or Geoff Johns (in the Superman series or from The Amazo Virus onwards in JL) There are too many instances to count where creators and editorial just ruined what fans loved about Superman. He was too angry, too hot headed, too angsty, too aloof to name a few of the things wrong with New 52 Superman.
• Putting him in a relationship with Wonder Woman was one of the most egregious decisions of this initiative as well. It may have pulled in the SM/WW shippers but this felt like a gimmick and was detrimental to both characters as a result.
• Clark becoming a blogger felt like a half baked idea from Lobdell that never went past the brainstorming stage. And that blog name was terrible, way too long.
• Editorial interference was way too high, especially on George Perez's mismanaged first arc on the New 52 Superman comic due to lack of communication from Morrison on what he was writing.
• Way too many crossovers bogged down the books and kept them from telling their own stories.
• Truth was just awful, a painful time in every sense of the word as a Superman fan.
• I don't have the time to cover everything Bendis did wrong but in short he makes me wish I was reading the New 52 Superman comics. He's done so many things I believe will damage Superman in the long term in just over a year of writing and he still has several more years to go at least.

The Ugly

• Grounded being an utter mess.
• The New 52 Superman costumes.
• Frank Miller getting two Superman mini series.
• JRJR's art in Superman: Year One.
• Bendis aging up Jon Kent to a teenager.
• Rogol Zaar
• Eddie Berganza's Dirty Secrets

Overall: A decade of highs and lows kinda like the 1920s in many respects. It was either booming or bust and currently Superman is in a major bust.

I don't even know how to vote. This was my only decade, since I started reading comics when the New 52 hit. I've since read many comics outside of the in universe stuff, like Injustice, Smallville, all the origins and several elseworlds. Even so, I don't have much to compare it too, in regards to other decades. So I'm just going to have to grade it on it's own merits.

Pre 52

Didn't read any of the early 2010 stuff that happened prior to the New 52. It sounded all bad, and I've seen a few scans of Grounded which look so try hard.

The New 52

As much as I loved the stuff that worked, it was a mixed bag. There was a lot of concepts that I liked, and wished they'd have fleshed out but didn't. I'll break down concepts and writers, to be more concise.

Grant Morrison- I think Morrison wrote what is hands down my favorite origin (and yes, I've read all of them), of Superman to date. It's missing some elements that I think would have made it perfect, but overall it's as close to it as I've seen. His World building and alterations to previous elements (like Red Kryptonite), are all welcomed updates.

Greg Pak- While I think Morrison nailed the world building and set up, I think Pak nailed the personality and heart much better than he did. Pak's strong suit was more grounded stories, rather than cosmic level threats. Which served him well... outside of events. Pak brought that same style of writing into events, which just didn't work and took you out of it. You'd have stories like Doomed, in which Superman is turning into DOomsday, but he'd focus on small character moments and a romance between Lana and Steel. While good stuff, it's jarring in an event. It's why I think the first six issues of his Truth run was good, but once it had to deal with the meat of the event, it started to fall apart.

All Writers On Superman Title, Prior to Lobdell- Ehhhh, nothing memorable.

Lobdell- He wrote one good arc, with an interesting villain, and then quickly tanked the Superman titles after that. I liked the idea of the Blog storyline, but he did nothing with it. Soule did more with it than he did, but Soule was only using it, he didn't intend to flesh it out.

Scott SNyder- I didn't care much for his Superman book. HIs Superman felt rigid and stiff, elements in that story are handled better elsewhere, Wraith was as boring as a sack of potatoes, and Lee's art was at it's worst since the whole New 52 started.

Soule- I think Soule did a good job with the romantic aspect of the book, but his Superman felt flavorless, in that nothing about it stood out to me. The characters were built around the story, rather than the other way around. I liked the fights, the art and the arc he had in it. Which was Clark having to deal with the celebrity relationship status of being the "power couple". Issue 12, was a strong end to this arc, in him manning up and not shying away and only focusing his love on her, and blocking out this new attention. His way of writing the book, is why his Doomed stuff, was better than Pak and was the strongest of the event.

Tomasi- To this day, I think he was put on this book to tank it. He went from writing a beloved run on Batman and Robin, to failing at writing SUperman/Wonder WOman, and then turning around and writing a fan favorite run on Action Comics. Coincidence? I think not! And no one give me that crap that you can't write them together, cus what he did was almost intentional fumbling. He inserted a terrible moment into the JL;War arc, that went nowhere and only made them out to look bad. In total, I think he had like maybe 2 good issues, at the start of Truth, but then failed. He never should have written this book, since it's obvious he didn't care to do so. They should have gotten the writes who wrote the annual to do it.

Geoff Johns- This guy... this son of a bitch. First he wrote Superjock in JL;War, which was offputting for so many people, based on a bad impresson he seems to have gotten from Grant's run. Then he put zero effort into the SM/WW relationship in how they got together since he intended to break them up in Trinity War, but his most egregious sin during the New 52 was his actual Superman run. This was the first legit time I was livid after reading a comic. After a series of average at best issues, his finale to his arc was a giant slap in the face and his dissension into laziness and over reliance on fan service. His arc put no effort into the reasoning for his return to the Daily Planet, the way he handles the SID reveal to Jimmy shows a complete lack of set up and friendship between the two, and the new power was complete and total nonsense. IT was all just bells and whistles.

Yang- Not much to say about him, other than he got screwed. He got thrown into an event, without being allowed to discover his voice for Superman. His stuff was mediocre at best, but I don't blame him.

Just to comment on two aspects that people seem to have deemed contraverstial. I liked the armor. I liked the look of it, but I'm a sucker for armor and I think it suits Krypton better, rather than the tights. Whiners be like "why does he need armor? It's stupid", to me, armor is more about evoking both an advance alien feel, and Knights. Evoking Knights, is much better than trying to still evoke the old Strongman feel. Knights are more timeless and more in line with superheroes.

I also liked the concept of SUperman and Wonder WOman dating, but sadly it wasn't done full justice. Both in how it started, and how the writers on the title went about it (mainly TOmasi).

Death- Look, I get why he had to die, I do. I think it went on for as long as it could, and they gave him chances (although some of the blame could also be placed on editorial, lack of cohesion at the start of the New 52 and company wide decisions) the possibly could. Only thing i could say is, I wish it was written better and not by the guy who I think was sent in to purposely tank it. I will say, their attempt to fuse both versions was a bullshit ploy to try and keep New 52 fans, and they can shove that olive branch where the sun don't shine. Not that it matter I guess, since they undid it twice. Once in that Sideways annual, and again in the Doomsday Clock finale (I prefer the former).

Rebirth

Haven't read any of it, and I refuse to, outside of scans that I can use to rub salt in the wounds of people like L and friends who gave me shit about the New 52, but loved Rebirth SUperman. Just so that I don't sound totally dismissive to this era, I think that what they did in regards to giving him a bastard, was the right move for this version of the character. I objectively have zero issues with the character, outside of how he was conceived, and that's only because Lois and CLark's inability to breed was a major part of prior stories, and they just gloss over that, rather than lean into the sci fi aspect of the character and work around this hurtle in a way that is more interesting. He's a completely fine character... but that won't stop me from shitting on him and taking glee in Bendis screwing him over.

This thing has gone on too long, and i'm just going to rate this era by giving it an average score of 4/10. This is taking into account all Superman stories that happened, and all that I refused to read.

Rating- 4/10

Morrison Superman? Good

Lobdell Superman? Bad

Geoff Johns’ Superman? Meh

Dan Jurgens’ Superman? Suprisingly good

Tomasi’s Superman? Terrible New 52 Superman, good Rebirth Superman

Doyle’s Superman? Boring

Snyder’s Superman? Trash

Pak’s Superman? Sucks

Bendis’ Superman? Dumpster Fire

Max Landis’ Superman? Not as good as he thinks it is.

Injustice Superman? Trash, yet the most mainstream currently.

Frank Miller’s Superman? Meh, better than Injustice Superman, at least

All in all, a divisive decade that did more harm than good.

This decade has been absolutely miserable as a Superman fan. Brief glimmers of hope surrounded by garbage. The character has been what could charitably be described as "mismanaged" in every form of medium and it has been nothing short of exhausting. I thought I had some hope with Rebirth where it seemed like everyone had their heads screwed on straight and then DC signed Bendis and I dropped every Super book and refuse to read it. I knew what was coming and I have *sob* ... better... comics to read.

Good

My choice for number one might actually please you @saintwildcard

1. Grant Morrison's New 52 Superman origin: Not a fan of what came after, but this was as solid a start to the divisive era as you could possibly get. Told by a master craftsman who's ideas for Superman remain far above a lot of DC talent's station.

2. Tomasi and Gleason on Superman and Super Sons: Jon's character in his ever so-short lived infancy was a regular fairground attraction for me, and his relationship with Damian was very sweet, helping to humanise the son of Batman and keep him briefly at bay from edgelier developments. The use of the Teen Titans in Jon's journey was also a splendid touch, giving him something to prove and leaving you apprehensive of just what kind of future his relationship with Damian could have.

3. Tom King Writes For Superman: While King unfortunatly has attracted a bit of a hostile readership due to his Batman run, his Superman stories this decade, from the Walmart exclusives, to the Lois and Clark/Bruce and Selina double date, helped really capture the hope, strengths, and wholesomeness that one needs to convey with the man of steel

4. Dan Jurgens on Action Comics: Some great stories here as Jurgens fleshed out Clark and Luthor's dynamic as heroes, gave us a lot of Cyborg Superman, and made Zod and his family a worthy match for the Super-Fam. Also brownie points for having Diana sink her own 'ship by admitting Lois and Clark felt truer than her and Kal.

5. Smallville Comics: The "eleventh season" from Bryan Q Miller brought us the Superman season the budgets on the CW could not hope to allow, and gave us more exposure to the best version of Lois and Clark put to screen in print form.

Controversial Mention:

Bendis on Superman (but not Action Comics): For some reason, I can't hate this book, I feel it is more in touch with the spirit of the Rebirth era than Action is, Bendis has a better grasp of the character in the Unity Saga and each issue is packed with something monumentis. Lois and Clark looked bad at the start, but their teachings helped Jon pull through a tough ordeal, he never lost his sense of right or his morality, something far lesser characters and readers would think and want for him, and how they've dealt with their big mistake, how they've owned it all and emerged from it still a thriving and loving family who have seen and experienced far too many impossible things to buckle, shows they have always been the definitive Super-Couple.

Bad

1. Grounded. I am a major J Micheal Strazynski fan, but he really ran out of juice here. How do you ground Superman? Well the first thing you don't do is be as literal as possible with it...then the story switched writers and shifted the goalposts just a little and got better, but by this point it felt pretty needless. They should have hit the reboot button after Black Ring, at least that ended the Supes and Lex rivalry as decisively as a pre-reboot story allows.

2. Bendis on Action Comics. While I appreciate what Bendis has done on the Superman title, I have no love for what he does on Action Comics. I have no interest in the Red Cloud, or the build of the droll and tiresome Leviathan organisation, or the waste of a perfectly good plot with Sam Lane finding out about his son-in-law only to have it dropped with his murder, or and how Bendis went about rationalising Lois and Clark's post-rebirth status quo, and early issues where he seemed to struggle finding Lois' voice, almost as if he were reluctant to write her as anything other than a cynical call-girl obsessed with career over caring for her family. He seemed to find his groove more in the Superman book with her. At least Greg Rucka's mad lemon out of lemonade with this in his Lois Lane series, where you definitely see Lois does still genuinely care for her family and values her time spent with Clark.

3. Superman/Wonder Woman. The premise was bad enough, this was someone who had spent all of pre-flashpoint pining for a man she could never have, even when he was married, so this was never going to win a fan in me....but I feel sorry for it's fanbase who gravitated towards Charles Soule's writing thinking it was a new romantic golden dawn, and then Tomasi arrived and began to press the destruct button. The only thing remotely good about this failed experiment is that it's ending sealed the relationship shut for the remainder of the decade, offering it no credible way back in that makes any character look good

4. Frank Miller: Suddenly this guy thinks he can write Superman, and what we get is yet another reason there should have only been one Dark Knight series. And another universe that shows how utterly toxic and one-dimensional Clark and Diana are together, producing offspring that are either almost disinterested in, or turn their noses at, humanity. Unlikeable.

5. Zack Snyder: Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice, and Justice Leuage, three of the worst superhero movies of the decade that did nothing of note other than show Henry Caville can bring the light out of the darkness. Men are still good, but these films never were.

Verdict: A C- for me. A lot of bland, a lot of bad, and somewhere sandwiched in the middle a brief brush with greatness. Too small to be as big as it could have been.

Started off promising, hit the expected snags a new start typically has, a bunch of entitled fans got pissy, and now we're back where we started for the most part. Par for the course.

Only things worth mentioning are the new52 (in concept, since it was neutered for not being instantly perfect), Morrisons run, Jon Kent, Action Comics 900, and the Lex Luthor run. Everything besides that ranges from meh to....more meh. Oh, but hey, the trunks are back and he's married to Lois again! Keeping that status quo is much more important than pushing for better writers and management. I look forward to more mediocre Superman comics and editorial decisions!

Seeth and cope harder.

Lol cope? I've been here and have been reading Superman comics longer than you have. It's much less cope than it is indifference. So it goes. Y'all aren't going to have the popularity or consistency you want from Superman until you get out that entitled, purist mindset you exemplified in your post. It's a shame Superman had to be cursed with so many of the worse type of fans -- constantly trying to maintain static "tradition" in a naturally dynamic medium. But hey, once you catch up maybe you'll also catch on? Who knows? :/

More or less agree with a variety of the things already said. N52 was such a missed opportunity with Superman, and I still can't get used to seeing the trunks again (idk why I can't get over this, but oh well), but Truth was probably the worst storyline I'd ever read, and I used to go to the library to read some of those older acid-trippy Superman comics from the late 80s-90s.

Hate what's happen(ed/ing) to Jon Kent since Super-Sons was my jam for a while, and it's just plain stupid. For all the work they've done to clean up Superman's specific continuity, they still somehow manage to confuse and contradict it more and more, and that's just from the tidbits I see on the forums. Idk if the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing, or if they just don't give a damn, but it is what it is.