In the Prime DC Universe, Superman is the greatest hero of all time. He is the archetype from which all other superheroes are born and judged, and his capacity for hope literally influences everything, with each world of the multiverse guided by his bottomless belief in a better tomorrow. In contrast, the Absolute Universe is a world run by despair, where hope has to struggle for the right to survive. The entirety of Absolute Superman so far has seen the Last Son of Krypton in far worse straits than ever before, wanting so desperately to save a world that consistently refuses to let him try. He’s watched one world die, and now his second home is trying to convince him that the only way to help it is to become a monster and rain death like a dark god. Except he’s not a god, he’s Superman, and he just showed everyone why he’s still the world’s greatest hero.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Pushed to Every Edge
Instead of being raised on Earth, Absolute Kal-El was raised in the Redlands of Krypton by two farmers who should have been brilliant scientists, but were cast aside by the corrupt, ruling Science Council for speaking out against the status quo. Krypton was divided into two castes, the haves and the have-nots, with the poor citizens being treated like lesser beings and forced to wear the S-crest as a signifier of their status. They discovered that their planet was going to explode and attempted to warn the ruling body, only to discover that the Science Council already knew and purposefully suppressed the information while they worked on ships to escape while leaving the common folk behind. Kal exposed this to Krypton, and worked with his parents to build the ships to help as many people as possible escape. Unfortunately, only he survived Krypton’s explosion.
He drifted through space for almost a year and a half, alone, thinking he was the last sentient life in the universe. When he finally landed on Earth, he did so in agony, the yellow sun charging him in the most painful way possible. When he finally recovered and was actually talked to the people who saved him, the Kents, he felt at home for the first time since losing his family. Then Lazarus arrived and forced him to flee. He spent the next six years on the run, seeing the most impoverished and ruined parts of our world. He fought for the oppressed everywhere he went, but he was only met with even more unimaginable evils in its wake. Worse, the only people who seemed to be fighting, the Omega Men, were chaotic terrorists more interested in killing Lazarus goons than saving lives. Superman worked with them, and he felt their hate influencing him, pushing him to go farther, to tear the world apart. It all came to a head when Jimmy Olsen was kidnapped, and Superman spearheaded the raid on the facility where he was kept.
The Man of Steel or the Man of Tomorrow?
Everywhere he went, people begged Superman to harden his heart and burn the corrupt elites from the world. He fought to stick to his morals and save instead of destroy, but more and more everyone told him this was the way the world was, and it couldn’t be anything else. He couldn’t be a Kansas farmboy, he had to be a man without feeling, a Man of Steel. Superman ripped the Lazarus army apart, smashing their weapons to smitherins, but not killing anyone. Then the modified Peacemaker Christopher Smith attacked him. He almost killed Superman before, but now Superman was ready and beat him to a pulp, all the while thinking that nothing could stop Smith. He’s been trained and broken to be a killing machine, rewarded for murder and punished for having guilt.
Primus screamed for Superman to stop hesitating, and he remembered a story his father told him. Jor-El dug into a collapsed mine to rescue some people trapped, only to find them being torn apart by some typically non-hostile animals, driven out of their own near the core because of the planet-rending seismic activity. Even though he didn’t want to, Jor-El killed the animals because he had to survive. That was the story of the Redlands of Krypton, building a home on blood and knowing when you had to be cruel. Superman loved his dad and his advice, but here and now, with Peacemaker Smith in front of him, he knew the truth. Even if it meant survival, him doing this wasn’t right. He wasn’t like everyone else, he was the beast in the mines, and he would not be a monster.
In spite of all the chaos, all the hatred, Superman refused to give in. He held fast to his morals simply because they’re right. When Ra’s al Ghul executed Smith, even though he hated him more than words, Superman tried to save him. And of course, it was revealed that Primus was really Talia al Ghul and she had been manipulating him, planning to corrupt Superman in the name of Darkseid. Superman was given every reason to go too far, to be the monster everyone wanted him to be, but he didn’t and he won’t. He’s still holding onto hope, even in the wake of everything, and that’s the most Superman thing he could do. Superman still stands for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow. He’s the Man of Tomorrow, and he’s still fighting in the face of impossible odds. He is everything a hero should be, and I am so excited to watch what he does next.
Absolute Superman #9 is on sale now!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Paramount -
Image courtesy of Marvel Studios. -
Amazon Prime Video
