DC’s Absolute books have been fantastic since they launched last year. Absolute Superman has been quite a surprise, redefining who Superman can be as a character. It’s taken the basics of the Superman mythos and brought them to entirely new places, with new villains from across the DC Universe taking their place in the battle against Absolute Superman. Absolute Superman #7 focuses on Brainiac, who has joined the Lazarus Corporation on Earth and helped them deal with Superman. It gives readers the origin of this new, very unhinged version of Brainiac, but that’s not all.
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The issue also introduces Kryptonite to the Absolute Universe, and where there is Kryptonite and Superman, there’s one villain who isn’t far behind — Metallo. In fact, Absolute Superman #7 seems to be teasing the creation of the all-new Metallo for the Absolute Universe.
Metallo has been a very important part of the Superman mythos for decades. The Kryptonite powered villain has long been one of Superman’s most dangerous foes, and he’s had a variety of forms over the years. Metallo has also played a very important role in the various reboots of Superman over the forty years, making him joining the Absolute Universe very fitting. This new would-be Metallo has some differences from other versions, but also some similarities.
Metallo Has Long Been a Weapon Against Superman
There have been two main Metallos over the decades. The first, and most well-known, is John Corben. In pre-Crisis DC, John Corben was an unscrupulous reporter in a terrible car accident and had much of his body replaced with robot parts. Originally, he had a heart of Uranium, but eventually discovered that Kryptonite would work better. Corben dated Lois Lane, and fought Superman several times.
He died when he replaced his Kryptonite heart with a colored stone. His brother Roger took his place as Metallo after similar accidents. Crisis on Infinite Earths erased Roger and had John survive as Metallo. Instead of being a reporter, post-Crisis John was a conman who was injured in a car accident and was made into a Kryptonite powered cyborg by a scientist who thought the Superman was the tip of the spear for an alien invasion. In the New 52, John Corben was a soldier who donned the Steel Soldier armor to fight Superman. Brainiac took control of the armor and burst his heart, but he survived and was given a Kryptonite heart. The current version of Corben is basically the post-Crisis version.
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How Absolute Superman Writes A New Origin For Metallo
Absolute Superman #7 ends with Brainiac experimenting on an-all-too-obviously-conscious Peacemaker Smith, who Superman beat a couple of issues ago. Brainiac took him and it looks like he’s transforming him into the new Metallo through brutal experimentation. This is the first non-John Corben Metallo to appear since Crisis on Infinite Earths, but his creation definitely fits how Metallo has been used since Crisis. Metallo first appeared post-Crisis in Superman #1, the second story with the new Superman mythos.
In the New 52, Metallo first appeared in the first story arc of Action Comics, which took place at the beginning of Superman’s career. Even in recent years, when Clark Kent returned to Earth with his powers restored and a new status quo, almost like a new beginning, Metallo was among the first threats he faced. Basically, Metallo has been a part of nearly every Superman reboot since Crisis (not the Rebirth one, although, he did appear in the Rebirth run of Action Comics), so bringing him in the early part of Absolute Superman’s career makes perfect sense.
Metallo and Brainiac Are Going to Make a Brutal Pair
So, there’s obviously a chance that Brainiac isn’t going to make Peacemaker Smith into Metallo. He still seemingly has his heart, but since Brainac just learned about Kryptonite, that’s probably coming soon. DC is all about giving Superman a Metallo pretty quickly, and Absolute Superman #7 definitely feels like it’s going in that direction. If they are, things are going to get pretty painful for Superman.
Absolute Superman #7 shows a Brainiac who is much more violent than any Brainiac readers have ever seen. He’s shown using a shovel to kill multiple other Brainac drones, taking a lot of pleasure from every kill he makes. In fact, the issue begins with him killing some humans in extremely brutal fashion. Brainac transforming Peacemaker Smith into Metallo could lead to him having a violent little disciple, one that Brainiac can use to destroy anything in front of him, including a certain Kryptonian who he’s hunting for. Superman might have a lot of problems coming at him.
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