Absolute Superman #5 puts a devastating new spin on the Man of Steel's origin story

DC's Absolute Universe skews darker than the mainstream DCU. We're seeing that across all of the comics that have been published in the range so far, with Bruce Wayne growing up without his fortune and his father, Wonder Woman being raised in Hell, and Superman on the run and while fighting the dystopian forces of the Lazarus Corporation. It's the latter we're here to talk about today, with March 12's Absolute Superman #5, by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval, revisiting an iconic part of the Man of Steel myth and giving it an extra heartbreaking twist for good measure. Buckle up, as we're looking back at the explosive final days of planet Krypton...

Spoilers for Absolute Superman #5

One of the biggest changes to the Superman's origin story is that in the Absolute Universe version of things, Kal-El was a child when Krypton fell, rather than a newborn baby. That gives him direct lived-experience of the end of his world, which we see play out in flashback sequences this issue. He witnesses the riots that break out when the general population are told the apocalyptic news that the Science League has been hiding all this time, and the brutal response from the ruling elite. Meanwhile his parents are spending every free moment trying to adapt their escape craft to fit more people on.

It's here that the issue raises your hopes for a happier ending... For a good chunk of the issue it seems like Absolute Superman #5 is setting up a new status quo where many more Kryptonians escaped the devastation. We see many similar escape craft being prepped, while whole families board Lara and Jor-El's escape ship. As the planet explodes, young Kal-El even feels an unexpected sense of hope. His planet has gone, but the survivors are going to have the chance to rebuild and start again somewhere else. Somewhere better.

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And then we learn the horrible truth: None of the ships from the cities made it off the planet, only Kal-El's. And then, just as we're getting used to that, a gigantic chunk of debris from the exploding planet destroys their ship too.

Luckily Sol, the ship's living computer, has bonded with everyone on board. It acts first as a protective space suit to save the Kryptonians from the vacuum of space, before transforming into a spaceship of its own, powerful enough to carry the young Kal to safety. All the other Kryptonians, however – including his family – are caught up in the explosion that destroys the planet.

There are some interesting ambiguities here, it should be noted. We're told that none of the ships from the cities escaped, but it's presumably likely that other ships from outside the urban centers may have done. And although we only see Kal-El escape, it's entirely possible others did too.

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It's the hope that kills you. That's kind of how I felt after reading this issue, which takes an already sad backstory and dials up the agony. This version of Superman had to witness every awful moment of the death of his planet and then see his parents and people wiped out in front of his very eyes. There's no wonder the adult Absolute Superman feels so much more volatile and dangerous than the regular Man of Steel.

The issue ends with Superman in the present day, burning with rage after witnessing a massacre at the hands of the Peacemakers. He's reaching his breaking point, terrified of betraying his own fierce morality. Then, in the final pages, he makes a decision that could prove pivotal in saving his super-soul. He decides to go home and sets off on a long walk to Smallville.

Absolute Superman #5 is out now from DC.

Jason Aaron talks to us about Absolute Superman.