The third of DC's Absolute Universe comics arrives today. Following #1s for both Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Batman, it's now the Man of Steel's turn for a grand reinvention. Written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Rafa Sandoval, with colors from Ulises Arreola, and lettering by Becca Carey, the new comic introduces us to a young, more hot-headed Kal-El – not yet going by the name Clark Kent – as he fights for justice in a tough, bleak world.
This is a really strong first issue and it's one that, thanks to its place in a separate universe to mainline DC continuity, takes the opportunity to fully reinvent Superman for our present moment. We're going to break down how and why here, but be warned, we'll be getting into spoilers right from the off… Ready? OK, here are all the ways that Absolute Superman reinvents the Man of Steel.
Krypton is a classist hellhole
There have been many different takes on Superman’s home planet, but traditionally it's been depicted as a place of hugely advanced science and a world lost before its time. That's still the case here, but Absolute Superman #1 really plays up the societal issues that will presumably leave a mark on our hero.
Notably, it is established that there is a strong hierarchical order in place run by the Klerics of the Science League, the ruling elite that Kal-El's parents are very much not members of. Instead, they are both firmly of the working class: Lara-El is a mechanic fixing up harvesters, while Jor-El is an environmentalist and an engineer, in the issue seen assessing the safety of a valuable Sunstone mine.
Notably, they both wear Superman's familiar S symbol – in different parts of the mainline continuity a coat of arms and the Kryptonian symbol for hope, here recontextualised as the emblem of Krypton's scorned Labor Guild. "We were the children of the sun, they said," Superman reflects on his parents. "Those who made their way with their own two hands. We were the people of steel."
Amusingly there is another class above the Labor Guild and below the Science League. In the issue we meet a classic asshole boss figure who is revealed to be a part of the League of Middle Management...
Kal-El is following in his father's footsteps
Our first glimpse of the adult Superman – though it's worth noting that much like Bruce in Absolute Batman, this is a far more youthful hero – comes in present day Brazil, at a diamond mine. The laborers there work under punishing, perilous conditions, toiling away in asbestos-filled caverns under constant threat from the Peacemakers – not one person, but a private army of goons working for Lazarus Corp.
It turns out that Kal-El is living among the people and already putting his powers to good use, sneaking into the mines and using his powers to mine the diamonds before leaving them for the workers to find and collect. It's something he's been doing in different locations around the world, turning him into something of an urban legend, and echoing his father's work on Krypton. It's an altruistic act, but it has not gone unnoticed…
Lazarus Corp has a familiar leader
The main villain for this first arc is Lazarus Corp – a newly-introduced big sinister company who clearly wield a lot of power on the Absolute Earth. But who are they? Although concrete details are currently slim, their actions speak volumes. They enforce terrible working conditions with Peacemakers, run sweatshops around the planet and clearly care little for the environment. And as the issue reaches its climax we get a glimpse at the figure running the show...
In his recent interview with us about the series, Jason Aaron promised a mix of old and new villains for this book and it looks like the head of Lazarus is the former… Although he's never named, and only seen from the back, it seems pretty certain that it's the Absolute Universe version of Braniac studying footage of Kal-El – he even has various bottled cities on his desk, filled with screaming civilians begging for death!
Superman has a new suit – and a new friend
As you can see from the comic's cover, Kal-El has a new outfit for this book. As well as looking different – it's much darker, far more black than blue – it seems to have some new abilities, including shifting and changing shape around Kal-El while he's fighting and glowing a fiery orange when he is forced to call on his heat vision. It even has an onboard A.I., named Sol, who advises Kal-El in battle, urging him to retreat – a directive he pointedly ignores.
Meet Agent Lane...
In our interview with Aaron he revealed that, "Anytime we meet a character in this book that we know from Superman's previous stories, they are not where they 'should be.'" That's certainly the case with Lois Lane, who only shows up towards the very end of the issue, appearing on the final page to detain Kal-El, declaring "Move and I fry your face, 'Superman.'" Yep, unless she is working undercover, it very much looks like Lois is working as an enforcer from Lazarus Corp!
Kal-El knew his parents
This is probably the most impactful change in the first issue. In most versions of the Superman story it's established that Kal-El arrived on Earth as a baby – the biblical story of Moses factoring large in the character's DNA, after all. As we learn in the final pages of the issue, however, in a heart-wrenching flashback to the last days of Krypton, this version of Kal was old enough to know both Jor-El and Lara well. It's not established how old he is here – maybe 10? – but that means that he will have strong memories of growing up on his former home world and of spending time with his (presumably dead) family. That's bound to have huge ramifications for the Absolute universe Superman that will be explored over the course of this bold new series.
Absolute Superman #1 is out now from DC.
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