The Absolute Universe is DC’s newest and biggest alternate universe. This Elseworlds is all about making the superheroes the underdogs, creating a world that’s directed by Darkseid’s malice instead of Superman’s hope. Instead of bastions of order, they’ve all become small rebellions that push back against a world gone too cruel. To that end, all of the heroes have been dramatically redesigned. Superman grew up on Krypton. Batman never had his fortune. Wonder Woman is the only Amazon not in captivity. Every major hero has been completely reworked, but none of their new takes hold a candle to the psychedelic experience that is the Absolute Martian Manhunter.
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Absolute Martian Manhunter lit up the comic book world with its bold, expressive, abstract art and intimate, psychological story. Originally sold as a six-issue limited series, its incredible success extended it to twelve. Finally, the final issue has hit store shelves, and it’s tied the entire story together. It started out asking why people did what they did, pitting John Jones and his alien partner against the very concepts of destruction and despair, and it’s finally given us its answer. It’s one of the best-looking and most thought-provoking comics on shelves right now, but, ultimately, I think its conclusion came a bit too late and resolved a bit too fast.
Rating: 4 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
| Incredible themes that tie perfectly with the story | Somewhat rushed pacing for the ending |
| Brilliant character work | |
| Next level, incredibly expressive art |
People Do the Things They Do to Survive
The final, dramatic confrontation between the Green Martian and the White Martian and Despair-the-Zero, John and Tyler and Bridget. John was pushed to the edge of every mental faculty he had, Bridget was nearly shattered by her fears, and Tyler danced while the world burned around them all. All of reality was coming apart at the seams, tied perfectly to John’s deteriorating hope. Even other Absolute heroes made cameos, watching the world bleed out as everything collapsed around them and things stopped making sense. Of course, in the end, the battle for the entire universe came down to a conversation between father and son.
This series has always been about communication. It encourages its characters and audience to understand each other better, to learn to see through another person’s eyes. John has always struggled with that, always locking himself away and running from his true fears and shame. That was especially true with his family, as even when he took that step to bring Bridget into his psychedelic superhero life by telling her the truth, he recoiled and gave up at the first sign of conflict. This issue was fantastic payoff to his character arc, as he finally faced those fears and pushed past them to connect with Bridget and Tyler.
John bridged the gap between his despair-soaked reality and his family, finally becoming the person they needed. However, while it’s definitely satisfying, the resolution was too fast. Frankly, the latter half of this series felt a bit less focused than the original six, and it might have benefited from tighter pacing. While the arc itself somewhat dragged, that meant that the ending had so little time to actually show the growth everyone went through. Ultimately, it left everything feeling somewhat hand-wavey. The ending definitely needed more time to explore itself. It’s very good, and I’m really excited for the future of these characters, but the conflict around Tyler and John needed something else in its buildup and resolution to elevate it as it deserved.
Bombastic, Beautiful Art That Does Everything
Javier Rodríguez has made a stunning, compelling case for being one of DC’s best artists right now, and this issue is no exception to that. Color and shapes have defined this series since the very beginning, and while this issue doesn’t play with the medium like other issues sometimes do, it makes masterful use of everything it has used in the entire series. Martian Vision has never looked better than when John finally unlocks his true potential, painting the entire world in a wonderful mix of colors and line art. The abstract metaphor fight between the Martians is as wonderful as always, and the way Rodríguez emulates so many different styles is downright incredible.
The highlight for me is how this series masterfully used abstraction to reflect John’s mental state. As his sanity declined, the world became harder to understand, but in the aftermath, it’s all returned to normal. The mix between the otherworldly and the stylized but normal design never feels out of place or jarring, instead taking us on a wonderful journey through the pages. Every piece of art in this book is a treat, and they all deserve to be celebrated at their own pace. Seriously, this has always been a series where taking in the pages is half the fun, and this issue shows that perfectly. I definitely recommend the physical edition if you can grab it.
While I have my gripes with how the series framed the conflict between John and Tyler and how quickly they resolved it in this issue, I definitely enjoyed it an awful lot. This series has captured all of our imaginations for months now, and as the first Absolute book to officially be truly done, it’s the end of a wonderful era that I am so hyped to dive further into. This book is definitely worth a read. Heck, it’s the kind that you’ll probably end up liking more on a reread, and I can’t wait to start that.
Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 is on sale now!
What did you think of this absolute finale? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
