Why Is DC’s Absolute Universe So Successful (And What Can Other Comics Learn From It?)

DC Comics has been the number two superhero comic line for decades. While books like Batman and assorted revamps by big name creators have reached the highest sections of the sales charts, Marvel has remained firmly in control of superhero comic sales. All of that changed in 2024, though, as Absolute DC took the world by storm. Absolute DC isn’t exactly a new idea — both Marvel and DC have started entirely new universes based on their characters several times. However, there’s an an energy to Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, and Absolute Wonder Woman that have driven the books to the top and allowed them to stay there and it’s a reign that isn’t likely to end soon. The second batch of Absolute books is coming, with more guaranteed sellouts on the horizon.

DC is the hottest ticket in superheroes right now, and this has everyone asking the same questions — why have the Absolute books hit so hard and what can Marvel and other publishers learn from it? Is there some kind of hidden formula to the whole thing, or is the answer staring us right in the face?

DC’s Absolute Universe Gives Readers a Ground Floor to Get In On and So Much More

On a recent Substack post, Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder had a pretty sharp observation about the success of the Absolute books. He pointed out what might be the simplest aspect of things, but one that is huge for readers: entry point.

“But I think the real secret of the success and the bigger thing that’s driving the sales of these two lines is that they are jumping on points across the board,” Snyder wrote. “They are moments in comics where you can come in and you can read a bunch of books and that stand for something that have the same ethos, even if they’re very different books. You can get in on the ground floor of something that you can actually wrap your head around and read all of. You feel like you’re getting in as something is beginning.”

This is a great point, and it cuts to the heart of where superhero comics are right now. DC and Marvel have been making superhero comics since the 1930s, and that can be very daunting for new fans. Add in the fact that neither universe is created for an end goal, and you get something that can turn off a lot of fans. This is partly why manga does so well — each manga has a beginning and end, and everything the reader needs to know about the story is right there. Superhero comics are different; there is no end, there are decades of history, and tangled webs of appearances and events that force readers to read comics they might not want to. Manga readers often talk about not being able to read superhero comics from the beginning, like manga, as some kind of detriment. Snyder is correct when he says that giving the readers a ground floor has played a role in the Absolute Universe’s success, but there’s also much more than that.

RELATED: 5 DC Characters Who Should Join the Absolute Universe

Snyder’s own Absolute Batman is a great example of this. Absolute Batman doesn’t begin the Batman mythos all over again, like previous reboots like All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder or Batman: Earth One. Tt completely changes it. Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne is nowhere to be found; instead, there’s a poor Bruce Wayne who grew up with his worst enemies from the mainline universe. Absolute Superman and Absolute Wonder Woman also take everything readers know about Superman and Wonder Woman and change it. These changes don’t affect the core of the characters, but they affect everything else, and that leads to new stories.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons why the Absolute Universe is so successful, more so than that it gives readers a ground floor to get in on. Superhero comics don’t often tell new stories; elements are reused over and over again, to the extent that longtime readers can get kind of tired of it. The Absolute books, by changing many of the elements that everyone expects from DC, is giving readers new stories. It’s giving them new views on old characters, and that novelty imbues the book with an energy that can often be missing in the mainline books. There’s an excitement to the Absolute books, and that has paid off with readers.

The Absolute Universe Is a Recipe for Success

For Marvel, the key takeaway needs to be shaking up the status quo After all, reinvention isn’t new to Marvel. The publisher has tried some version of reinvention seemingly constantly over the years. However, Marvel keeps rebooting books to a familiar status quo after each creators’ run ends — it leads to stories that still use the familiar in familiar ways. The key here, the real secret to the recipe or success, is to not only reinvent but do so with something strikingly different and build out from there without a ton of editorial control. That part seems to be especially key.

One of the best parts about the Absolute Universe is how excited everyone involved in them seems in interviews. These are creators who have been allowed to work without the brakes on, and their passion for the books they are creating is palpable. This is where the lessons of the Absolute Universe can be put into practice. The Absolute Universe gives creators freedom to create. If Marvel and DC want to replicate this kind of success throughout their line, they need to allow creators that freedom across the line. If creators are excited, then readers will be excited. If Marvel and DC want to spread this kind of success throughout their lines, they need to let creators take wild swings. They need to forget the “rules” — especially Marvel, whose editorial staff seemingly hates anything that moves the books beyond what they grew up reading. This is the true lesson of the Absolute Universe and it’s not as hard to replicate as it seems.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section!