DC’s Absolute line has been firing on all cylinders, presenting new versions of their classic heroes, and Absolute Superman by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval has done an amazing job with the Man of Steel. Absolute Superman is setting up a new status quo for Superman, and the third issue continues telling the story of the end of Krypton. There is a lot in the issue that is interesting, especially the changes made to the El family and Krypton as a whole, but the biggest moment of the issue comes at the very end. Not only is an integral Superman character is introduced, but her fate is quite different from what readers are used to seeing in DC Comics. Spoilers for Absolute Superman follow!
Videos by ComicBook.com
Superman’s Parents Play New Roles in the Absolute Universe
Absolute Superman #3 revolves around the relationship between Kal-El and his parents. Kal isn’t the best student, mostly because instead of depending on Krypton’s computers to do the work for him, he prefers to write his own work. Kal-El wanting to use his own words plays into the journalistic soul of him, and Jor-El and Lara encourage this rebellion against Kryptonian orthodoxy in him. It’s rare for readers to see Kal-El having an actual relationship with his birth parents, and Absolute Superman #3 shows how important they are to his development in this universe.
Jor-El and Lara are rebels against the Kryptonian Science League, the planet’s government, which is something that readers expect. Jor-El is imprisoned when he tries to tell the klerics of the Science League about the forthcoming destruction of Krypton, which Kal witnesses while on a field trip. He races home at his father’s insistence and gets his mother. The two of them attack the Halls of Wisdom, with Lara fighting the guards to free her husband. As that is happening, Kal is able to get the passcodes of one of the guards and discovers the truth about the Science League – that they know about the destruction of the planet and have built their own ships.
Related: DC’s New Superman Starts With a Major Political Message (And That’s Not New)
Kal broadcasts this information to the entire planet, playing the journalist even as a child, which steals the thunder from his parents when they tell him about the fate of Krypton. However, they tell him something he doesn’t know – that they’ve built a ship big enough to take many people off planet, which is a major change to Superman lore. All of this illustrates the example the Els set for their son, taking the place of the Kents. The end of the issue shifts to the present day and drops a bombshell on readers, as it shows a bedridden Martha Kent in a nursing home. Bereft of family according to the nurses, he’s fading away with a picture next to her of Jon, herself, and a familiar young man. Throughout the scene, she continually asks for her “angel” to come back to her. Eagle eye’d readers will notice a nurse on the prior page that sure looks familiar too.
The Status of Martha Kent Sets Up More Of Absolute Superman’s Origin
Absolute Superman’s origin is vastly different, and seeing Martha Kent like this brings that home. In the Absolute universe, it’s the Els that have inspired their son. The Absolute Els encouraged Kal to be different and taught him to fight for the little people while also always revealing the truth. This is usually the work of the Kents, and presents a very interesting twist on Superman.
However, Absolute Superman #3’s reveal of Martha Kent shows that the Kents played some kind of role in Kal’s life. Readers still don’t know the circumstances of Superman’s arrival on Earth, but they do know that Kal-El was much older when he landed. This could play into why the nurses say that Martha has no family – it would be harder to get him in the system, so the Kents had to hide his existence and couldn’t publicly raise him as their child. Absolute Superman has been downright cinematic and this latest reveal presents another facet to readers.
