The debate over whether Superman can ever kill is a deeply impassioned one among comic book fans, and Absolute Superman #10 has just tackled that very moral dilemma from the most human angle possible. When it comes to the major character re-inventions of DC’s Absolute Universe, it is perhaps no surprise that Superman has gotten an especially wild make-over in the new reality of the DC multiverse. The Absolute Universe’s version of the Man of Steel comes equipped with an A.I.-powered solar suit and a deep sense of justice as his guiding principle. Absolute Superman has seen Kal-El (having never been raised by the Kents and thus never being given the human name of Clark Kent) fighting for the oppressed labor force of the ruthless Lazarus Corporation, which culminates in a major conflict in Absolute Superman #10.
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Upon arriving at a Lazarus Corp. stronghold and battling the Peacemaker army of the ruthless tycoon Ra’s Al Ghul, Superman deals with an internal struggle when he has the Peacemaker Christopher Smith pinned down and at his mercy. Combining an internal monologue of Superman’s with a flashback to his life on Krypton, the scene in question helps solidify the Absolute Universe’s Man of Steel as a new yet fully realized version of Superman, but it doesn’t just do that. It also tackles the debate over Superman using lethal force in a fully humanized, properly nuanced, and surprisingly powerful way that is one of Superman’s most truly human comic book moments.
Superman Ponders How He Could (Horrifically) Kill Peacemaker
Following an aerial smackdown between Superman and Peacemaker (in which the Man of Steel clobbers Christopher Smith in, by his own estimate, “about four seconds”), Superman hovers over the battered Peacemaker in mid-air. At this point, Superman begins to ponder in his mind all the ways in which he could horribly kill Peacemaker if he wanted to, Superman thinking he could “microwave his brain” with his heat vision, “shatter his vertebrae” with a blast of his arctic breath, or even tear his heart from his chest and toss it into space with such velocity that Peacemaker would “still be alive to see it sailing away”.
These thoughts all enter Superman’s mind due to his own acknowledgment that Peacemaker likely will not stop attacking innocents at the behest of Ra’s Al Ghul, even after his first pummeling by Superman, unless Superman forces him to do so. While all of these thoughts are going on in his head, Superman also holds himself back from using lethal force, but clearly struggles to rein himself in, thinking “I try to think of reasons not to do these things. I try”. In the end, Superman’s self-control wins out with the Man of Steel not going through with finishing off Peacemaker. Even though Ra’s Al Ghul puts a Kryptonite bullet into Peacemaker (that Superman himself tries to stop, only for the bullet to go right through his hand), Superman holding himself back from slaying Peacemaker highlights the specific way that Absolute Superman is approaching the idea of Superman taking the life of a villain.
Absolute Superman Approaches the Man of Steel’s Views on Killing With Nuance
Absolute Superman has shown a version of Kal-El with a chip on his shoulder and a heroic mission based in righteous anger over seeing the downtrodden workers of Krypton and Earth alike exploited. In this way, Absolute Superman is tackling the age old question of whether Superman can or should ever kill in a fresh way, with his internal struggle to hold back against killing the defeated and battered Peacemaker highlighting it. Moreover, the flashback to Kal-El’s life on Krypton and a conversation with Jor-El also illuminates the power of this moment tremendously.
In the flashback, Jor-El and Kal-El discuss an incident in which the former was forced to use Kryptonian lava guns to kill a pack of gigantic crazed moles in order to save himself and a group of miners trapped inside a mine. Even knowing that it was a necessary act, Jor-El still rejects the idea that it was “the right thing”, instead classifying it as a “tough decision” and admonishing his son that “We must never lose sight of what constitutes cruelty and inhumanity. Especially when we’re the ones being cruel” while conceding that “Sometimes we have to be the cruel ones” in difficult or even impossible situations of serving the greater good. This single flashback and mental struggle in Superman’s own mind is arguably one of the most frank dissertations on whether or not Superman should ever kill in the Man of Steel’s long history.
Superman Thinking of Killing Peacemaker Shows How Much Restraint It Takes To Be the Man of Steel
Despite pondering how much of a charred husk he could render Peacemaker, Superman is not fighting back against inherently violent impulses within himself. Instead, he’s reminding himself of his father’s wisdom while grappling with an “It would be so easy” yearning to stop Christopher Smith and others like him for good. The fact that Superman was already able to non-fatally beat Peacemaker as thoroughly as he did shows how much self-control he’s already practicing, Superman able to gauge how much power he puts into a punch against a human (even an armored one like Peacemaker) without killing or seriously injuring him.
At the same time, Superman’s decision to spare Peacemaker’s life also shows that his view of killing is more complex than many understand. Had Peacemaker been actively attacking an innocent bystander with lethal intentions, Superman could well have decided and been justified in using lethal force if there was no other choice, but just by the purity of Superman’s heart, he still wouldn’t have felt good about having to be “the cruel one” in order to save a life. In the end, Peacemaker was defeated, battered, and posed no immediate threat to anyone in the moment, with Superman overcoming his own internal urge to eliminate Peacemaker’s threat for good. In this moment and Jor-El’s conversation with his son on Krypton, Absolute Superman treats the topic of Superman killing with both great nuance and the human perspective it warrants, delivering one of the most truly human moments Superman has ever had in comics.
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