DC Comics has just established another pillar of the new Absolute Universe with the release of Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval’s Absolute Superman #1. As with the recently launched Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman, this new series is set in a world where the Man of Steel lacks many of the fundamental advantages of his classic counterpart. Is he still Superman if he never grew up on the Kent family farm? That’s one of many questions the series sets out to explore in its opening chapter.
Just how different is this version of Superman? How does he compare to a blue-collar Batman or a Wonder Woman raised in Hades? We’ve got the full breakdown of what’s changed for the Absolute Universe, but beware of full spoilers for Absolute Superman #1 ahead!
Krypton’s Caste System
The changes in Absolute Superman aren’t limited to just Superman himself, but extend to Krypton as a whole. Issue #1 opens with a flashback to life on Krypton before its destruction. As is normally the case for the franchise, Krypton is depicted as a highly advanced but hubristic civilization that has stopped exploring the stars in favor of retreating inward. Also as per usual, Jor-El is depicted as the lone voice warning Krypton’s leaders about the planet’s imminent destruction. The difference this time is that Jor-El isn’t in much of a position to make his voice heard.
That’s because neither he nor his wife Lara are respected scientists in the Absolute Universe. In this version of the Superman mythology, Krypton is dominated by a rigid caste system. At the top of the pyramid are the members of the Science League, enjoying all the wealth and luxuries Krypton has to offer. At the bottom is the Labor Guild, whose members toil away for the benefit of the more privileged classes.
Both Jor-El and Lara are members of the Labor Guild. Jor-El sacrificed his own bright future in the Science League when he made an impassioned graduation speech criticizing Krypton’s environmental policies. As for Lara, her bright future was cut short even earlier, when as a young student she wrote an article denouncing Krypton’s turn away from space travel. In this universe, Jor-El is a safety inspector in the planet’s Sunstone mines, while Lara moonlights as a mechanic helping out struggling farmers.
Jor-El is called upon to inspect a troublesome mine shaft, where he quickly discovers evidence that Krypton itself is beginning to break down. Sadly, no one in the planet’s ruling class has much interest in listening to the dire warnings of a humble laborer.
Even Superman’s S-shield takes on a very different significance in this universe. The shield isn’t the symbol of the House of El, but rather the mark worn by members of the Labor Guild. Superman carries the legacy not just of his parents, but countless millions of downtrodden and oppressed Kryptonians. More than ever, he’s a hero for the common man.
Superman vs. Lazarus and the Peacemakers
After Jor-El’s fateful discovery, the issue jumps ahead to the present day, when Superman is a refugee on Earth. He’s shown hiding out among a group of Brazilian miners toiling away in diamond mines run by the ruthless Lazarus Corporation. Superman seems confused by his surroundings and Earth culture in general, struggling to communicate with the miners or reconcile the fact that this new world can have such extreme divides in wealth and living standards. Clearly, he hasn’t been on Earth very long (more on that later).
Superman attempts to help the miners by singlehandedly filling their carts with diamond ore and removing the deadly asbestos permeating the mine. Unfortunately, that only raises the suspicions of the Peacemakers, the armored, gun-toting enforcers of the Lazarus Corporation. Superman has no choice but to intervene directly, battling the Peacemakers in defense of the miners.
Here we learn that Superman’s powers seem to work very differently in the Absolute Universe. Rather than being empowered by Earth’s yellow sun, Kal-El has to charge his body with the red Sun Stone of Krypton. He also relies on a helpful AI companion named Sol, one whose directive is to protect the last living son of the House of El.
Superman defeats the army of Peacemakers, but not before he nearly loses control of his powers and unleashes his devastating heat vision. That act seems to drain him, suggesting that Absolute Superman isn’t quite the unstoppable powerhouse he’s normally depicted as. In fact, it’s not even clear whether he has the ability to fly in this universe.
Lois Lane: Agent of Lazarus
Drained after his battle with the Peacemakers, Superman is taken into custody by a Lazarus team. The team has been tracking Superman for some time now, recognizing his handiwork at other mining sites in Botswana and Dharavi. The real surprise, though, is the identity of the agent who takes him into custody. That would be none other than Lois Lane.
In another huge shakeup for the Absolute Universe, Lois has been transformed from crusading journalist to soldier in service of Lazarus. The question is whether her commitment to the truth still remains. Will she end up aligning herself with Superman and fighting to expose her masters, or has Lois been irrevocably corrupted by this twisted universe?
Then there’s the mystery of who is actually running Lazarus. Lex Luthor would be an obvious candidate. Or, given the name, perhaps Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul. But the answer appears to be neither of those. Instead, an epilogue page shows that Lazarus is apparently being run by Brainiac.
As in the traditional DC Universe, Brainiac is surrounded by the jars of cities he’s bottled as part of his collection. Did Brainiac have a hand in what befell Krypton? And what exactly happened to Krypton, anyway? That’s where this issue wraps up, ending on what is easily the biggest change to Superman’s mythology yet.
The Fates of Superman’s Parents
Would Kal-El truly be Superman if not for his adoptive Earth parents? So much of his worldview and innate goodness stems from the teachings of Ma and Pa Kent. Sadly, their influence has been stripped away in the Absolute Universe. Similar to how Wonder Woman was forced to grow up in Hades away from the loving influence of her fellow Amazons, Superman appears to have never met the Kents in this universe. We only see one glimpse of the Kent family farm, a place that’s been abandoned for years and is now owned by the Lazarus Corporation.
But that’s not to say Superman didn’t have any positive parental influence in his life. Issue #1 ends by flashing back to Jor-El and Lara-El on Krypton. Jor-El laments the fact that his planet is dying and no one cares. Then he suddenly panics, wondering where his son is. That’s when Kal-El appears. Not a helpless infant, but a growing boy. He even has Krypto as his faithful companion.
Much as Absolute Batman upends the Dark Knight’s mythology by revealing that Martha Wayne is still alive, Absolute Superman changes the game by allowing Kal-El to enjoy a childhood with his birth parents. He may not have the Kents helping shape him from boy to Superman, but Kal-El does still have strong parental figures to teach him right from wrong and to fight for the underprivileged masses on Krypton and Earth alike.
Naturally, this raises a lot of questions. When exactly does Kal-El make the journey to Earth in this universe? How do his parents even manage that feat if they aren’t members of the Science League? When does Krypton meet its end? For that matter, does it still explode in this version of the story? With everything else that’s changed in the Absolute Universe, we wouldn’t put it past Aaron and Sandoval to reveal that Krypton has survived to the present day.
What do you think about these changes to Superman’s origin story? Is he still Superman if he isn’t Clark Kent? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
For more on what's happening in the world of comcis, find out which Star Wars characters are getting married and why Marvel has suddenly made Spider-Man immortal.
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