DC Finally Brings Superman & Darkseid's Rivalry to a Brutal End
The end, of course, is just the beginning for Darkseid.
This week's DC All-In Special #1 is the latest in a series of grand, final confrontations between Superman and Darkseid. The biggest difference between this one and most, is that there were really no holds barred. Darkseid arrived at the Justice League Watchtower, possessing the power of The Spectre. After a brief confrontation with the League, it was Superman who delivered an apparent killing blow, using some of Zatanna's magic to separate Darkseid from The Spectre and seemingly atomizing the New God. The result is a tear in space and time -- one that only Booster Gold can travel due to the multiverse being mostly closed-off to DC's heroes.
It was a brutal but deserved ending for Darkseid -- or would have been, if he had actually met his end. Instead, Darkseid seemingly created a new universe, in which he is the ultimate power.
The battle, which saw Superman stand before Darkseid and seemingly destroy him with a word, feels like an intentional callback to Final Crisis, a story in which Superman used music as a weapon against the despot. It also perfectly sets up the dichotomy between the main DC Universe and its "Absolute" counterpart.
"What we came up with, along with a bunch of great creators -- Mark Waid and everybody else working on the lead up to it -- is that, during the events of Absolute Power, unbeknownst to the superheroes, Darkseid starts to realize that something has always been missing," Scott Snyder said back when All-In was announced. "He senses something in a special moment during Absolute Power that we don't want to spoil. He senses something has changed, and once he realizes this, it sets him off on a quest that's going to bring him into direct conflict with this new Justice League that Superman is setting up -- this more robust Justice League. The collision between those two forces will reshape the DC cosmology."
That's what creates "a dangerous, wild new planet" -- the Absolute DC Universe -- where Snyder said they have brought in some of the biggest names in comics as well as some rising stars to kick off an epic story that will drive DC for years to come. If the main universe is "founded on Superman energy," then the Absolute universe is "founded on Darkseid energy." In it, the heroes are underdogs, and the world is darker, so "They have to be tougher, they've got to be more resourceful, they have to shine brighter."
