DC’s Absolute Universe is a complete and total reinvention of their beloved comic book universe, respinning it all in a horror-coded, punk skin where the heroes are the underdogs of the stories. To ensure that the heroes are the ones on the backfoot, they’ve made plenty of changes to the superheroes we know and love. Everyone has had what most think of as a core element to their character stripped away, boiling them down to the bare essentials of who they are and what they stand for. In the same vein, the villains have had major reworks too. The second wave of Absolute titles is well into their first arcs, and the original wave is stomping through their second, so we’ve had time to meet at least a few of the villains who stand at the top of the world.
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There are still dozens, if not hundreds of supervillains left to see join the ranks of the Absolute Universe, but the few that we’ve seen so far are still just as creatively redone and implemented as their heroic counterparts. So with that said, let’s take a look at the five best villains the Absolute Universe has introduced us to so far.
5) The Rogues
Flash’s most iconic supervillain team, the new version of the Rogues is interesting without any doubt. They beat out the Absolute Mirror Master for their spot on this list because, as interesting as he is, I’m not sure if I can quantify him as a villain yet. The Rogues, however, I definitely can. The Absolute Universe has redesigned them as government agents working under Wally’s father, which adds a whole new level of personal drama that distinguishes them from their mainline counterparts. Furthermore, while I’m sure the Rogues will be earning their place on this list with their altered backstories, right now they’ve earned it on their cosmetics alone. Every single Rogue is decked out in extremely fashionable and creative gear. The Trickster looks awesome and terrifying. Do you know what the original Trickster looks like? This is a downright miracle! They earn fifth on style alone.
4) The Gods
The Greek gods have always been contentious characters. As far as the main universe goes, they’ve been against Wonder Woman as much as they have blessed her. They often stand as antagonists to be overcome or appeased, but while there are exceptions such as Ares, they’ve rarely crossed the line into outright being villains. The Absolute Universe has taken their already horrible actions and elevated them to main villain level status, with the first two arcs all but promising an eventual direct confrontation between Wonder Woman and Zeus. Although the only villainous god we’ve met so far has been Hades, their effect is felt clear throughout every issue so far. They are the looming presence behind every tragedy Diana has had to overcome to be the Amazon she is meant to be, and I just know that when Wonder Woman finally faces them directly, it will be a climactic and emotionally beautiful moment. However, despite how cool they are, the lack of actual presence in the story so far regulates them to near the back of the list.
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3) The Joker
The Joker is much the same as the gods, being a villain that exists behind the scenes that manipulates events to bring ruin to our hero. The main difference is that we’ve seen the Joker a few times already, and every time he has left a new, horrifying piece of information with us. His first appearance showed us that he was effectively the Bruce Wayne of this universe; a man of infinite wealth who has trained with the best of the best, and in his case, killed them all. His second appearance showed him siphoning the blood of babies to alleviate his white skin condition. Just these two acts alone have inspired a fear unmatched by any horror comic DC has put out in the last several years. And beyond all of the terror he inspires by existing, Joker is the mastermind behind all of Gotham’s villains and the mysterious Ark M, which is such an interesting way to tie him back to his Golden Age roots, which is incredible. Reinventing someone like the Joker is no small feat, but this version is without a doubt an instant classic.
2) Mr. Freeze
One of the most radical and unnerving redesigns of any of the characters, Absolute Mr. Freeze is a complete monster and I love it. Instead of a tragic man forced to live in a cryosuit and in endless pursuit of a cure for his doomed wife, the new Victor is practically an ice zombie. His parents were the world’s leading experts into cryogenics, so when young Victor came down with a then-uncurable disease, they froze him in ice until they could find a cure. Except he wasn’t asleep. Mr. Freeze was conscious for every second he was frozen, for decades, and every single one of them was excruciating agony. When he was finally unfrozen and cured, he found he had become an ice-powered zombie-like creature, able to transform to gain long, gangly limbs and a freezing touch. It’s a massive step away from the traditional Mr. Freeze design and backstory, and both are absolutely perfect in my eyes.
1) Brainiac
Absolute Brainiac is far and away the best villain redesign so far in the Absolute Universe, and despite how awesome the other entries on this list are, it’s no contest. In the main universe, Brainiac is an emotionless machine that commits atrocities in the name of learning all that can be learned. Even in his most evil and petty moments of revenge, Brainiac feels disconnected, distant. In the Absolute Universe that dissociation is gone. Here, Brainiac started as a mere worker drone for the greater Brainiac Collective, shoveling the (usually) dead bodies of his fellow Brainiacs into the liquidator for over a hundred and thirty years. He strung up corpses to be his friends, and had to occasionally put down Brainiacs that weren’t fully dead upon arrival. One day the bodies stopped coming, and he realized he was the only Brainiac on the ship still alive. Nowadays he’s a sadistic monster, miniaturizing cities and torturing them. They never stop screaming. He’s all of the original Brainiac’s terrifying intelligence with the emotional instability of a character like the Joker. This Brainiac is everything a villain in the Absolute Universe should stand for, and is so, so perfect for the story he is.
So there we have the current top five best villains in the Absolute Universe. As I said before, there are still so many more villains we are waiting to see get the Absolute treatment, and there are still others that could have easily sat upon this list already. The Absolute Universe is meant to make the heroes the underdogs, and these incredible villains do all that and more. Which villains do you want to see in the Absolute Universe? Let us know in the comments below!
