5 Characters Teased in the Absolute Universe so Far

The Absolute Universe has already introduced us to incredible new versions of some of DC’s most beloved characters. Its takes on Superman and Wonder Woman are completely redefining the meta of their characters, and its reinvention of Martian Manhunter is one of the most creative changes I’ve ever seen done with a character. Of course, while the cast of heroes and villains remains rather small at the moment, that doesn’t mean that the Absolute Universe has only focused on its main cast. Plenty of other important characters have been teased, and here are five that you may have missed showing up in the Absolute Universe books.

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1) Blue Devil

Blue Devil is a lesser known superhero that first appeared in Fury of Firestorm #24. Originally a stuntman that got bonded to an exoskeleton created for a movie, he later became an actual blue devil following a deal with Neron. He technically made his debut in the Absolute Universe in Absolute Green Lantern #3. Not as a person, but as a golden toy, used by Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Sojourner Mullein to test the limits of the green barrier trapping their town. The figurine was in reference to an old, apparently forgotten movie, so it’s unlikely that Blue Devil the hero currently exists. Still, it could also mean he’s real and just lying in wait for the time to strike.

2) Dick Grayson

Nightwing, the original Robin, is obviously one of DC’s most important and popular characters. We’ve already been introduced to Barbara Gordon as a member of the GCPD, and Absolute Batman #9 saw fit to bring us another classic and essential member of the Batman mythos. After Batman goes on a tear across the criminal underworld of Gotham, overworking emergency workers so much at one EMT had to drag patients to the Emergency Room in a rickshaw. The panel zoomed in, his nametag showing D. Grayson. This means either that Dick Grayson is an EMT in Gotham City, and will very quickly be coming into contact with Batman, or perhaps that this is Dick’s dad David, and Dick is still much younger than Bruce. Either way, this basically confirms that Dick Grayson is in the Absolute Universe, and I am so excited to see what they do with him.

3) Deathstroke

Absolute Batman #9 is a godsend for the fans of a lot of Batman’s mythos, because it also showed us our first look at Absolute Deathstroke. Slade Wilson is one of the world’s deadliest assassins, and is best recognized by his stark white hair and missing eye. He’s gone up against the mainline Batman dozens of times over the years, and this new version of him is already on a collision course with Absolute Bruce. While Batman was invading the mysterious Ark M in an attempt to save his friend Waylon, Alfred looked at one of the only pictures he has of the Joker, who was standing beside a man who perfectly matched Deathstroke’s description. The sketches of the comic were released, showing the man labeled as Slade Wilson, so we definitely know that he’s here, and he is one hundred percent going to be fighting Batman sometime in the future.

4) Madame Xanadu

Madame Xanadu first appeared in Doorway to Nightmare #1, and is the DC Universe’s premier precog and mistress of the occult arts. She’s lived for centuries and has access to just about every magical ability you can name, but she is best known for her ability to see the future better than just about anyone else in existence. She made a brief appearance in the first issue of Absolute Martian Manhunter, where Agent John Jones passed by a building advertising her psychic readings while arguing with the Martian. I’m not sure if she’s actually psychic in this universe, but her skills could be incredibly useful in averting the future Darkseid hopes to implement in this universe, and having her team up with this universe’s Martian Manhunter promises some incredible and trippy art that I am so down for.

5) Red Tornado

This character is one that requires the most speculation, but if this is correct, then he’s actually been hiding underneath our noses this entire time. Red Tornado is one of the DC Universe’s most underrated heroes, being an android that is capable of generating hurricane-level winds. In Absolute Superman #8 we saw Superman’s Kryptonian tech-suit Sol completely cover Superman in an armor covering called Tornado Mode, where the Kryptonian dust that makes up his cape flew around causing intense winds. This could mean that the new version of Red Tornado is going to be Superman’s suit given his own desires, which would be an incredible shakeup to his origin. Either way, I am very interested in seeing what they do with Sol and his character.

So there we have five characters teased in the Absolute Universe that you might have missed reading through. The Absolute Universe has already shown its reinventions of classic characters are top tier, and the constant Easter-egging of other awesome characters keeps fans coming back and excited about the future of this fledgling Elseworld. Even if some of these characters don’t take up major roles, it’s nice to see them acknowledged by the creators of the first two waves of Absolute titles. It shows that they know and love DC Comics, and you can always trust those types of people to tell incredible stories with the classic DC heroes.