Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: superman, the authority

Gossip: Superman To Lead The Authority in 2021?

This may be just tittle-tattle. If I was doing the old Lying In The Gutters traffic light, this would be an amber light with a hint of red. But Bleeding Cool has been hearing that, straight out of lockdown, Superman will be going through yet another big change, to follow his decision to reveal his true human identity to the world.

And as the comic book series has seen Superman described as King Of The Earth in relation to the United League Of Planets, and deputized by the United Nation as a temporary measure as a result. And then given a warning not to make any similar mistakes by the big espionage agents of the day. The word that reaches Bleeding Cool that this is all being set up so that Superman will become the new leader of The Authority.

The Authority was a superhero comic book series created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, spinning out of their run on Stormwatch, published by DC Comics/Wildstorm, in 1999. The main characters Jenny Sparks, Midnighter, Apollo, The Doctor, Engineer, Jack Hawksmoor and Swift, The Authority was a team of independent superheroes who got the job done by any means necessary, from a position of extreme power. Ostensibly the good guys, the title of the series implied that this was only by circumstance, and their position was easily corruptible and their existence was a very bad thing for humanity indeed. The widescreen approach to superhero storytelling and the military take on superheroes would not only inform Marvel's The Ultimates directly but also the entire tone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The popularity of The Authority was criticised by the Superman comics at the time, with Joe Kelly writing What's So Funny About Truth, Justice And The American Way with Superman fighting an Authority-like team The Elite, led by Jenny Sparks/Spider Jerusalem/Jack Hawksmoor composite Manchester Black – a character that has now spun off itself into other media.

For Superman to lead The Authority means that a lot must have gone regarding Superman's relationship to the rest of the Earth. Also that this is how DC is to bring The Authority back into continuity. After the New 52, characters were seen in the new Stormwatch series, and Midnighter and Apollo got their own books for a short time. Then DC chose to revive the Wildstorm titles in a series of books written or showrun by Warren Ellis, only for the WildCATS series to never get off the ground. While the Flash forward epilogue by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth indicated a return of the WildStorm characters as part of the Generations, 5G and New DC Timeline books.

Look to the skies…

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