“This week sucked.”
Even as I sit here trying to put my feelings about the past three days into words, that’s about as far as I can get. It sucked. It sucks to see so many people whom I genuinely care about hurting and terrified. It sucks to not know what the future holds. It sucks to know that what it holds probably won’t be good.
So I did the same thing I’ve done since I was a kid when things sucked. I read through some new comics. This week’s new comics, in particular, were exciting because DC Comics finally dropped the last of its Absolute opening shots, Absolute Superman #1. But holy shit, I was not prepared for how this would echo the world I woke up to.
Absolute Superman’s new world is eerily close to home
Absolute Superman is set in the same world as Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman, where Darkseid is a deity figure, and there is no hope. Like those books, Absolute Superman features a bleak twist on the classic Superman mythos. In this story, Krypton is an oppressive dystopian society ruled by a class system. Rather than the scientific wonder of the original, science is wielded to make sure those deemed as unworthy are held down. Even something as simple as rain is a paid commodity. On this Krypton, the rich get richer while the intelligent and unfortunate are held down – a shockingly prescient message after Tuesday’s results.
It hits almost too close to home to see Superman’s mother, traditionally depicted as a doting figure and revered scientist in her own right, toiling away after being branded unruly while his father, historically a respected though ignored scientist, nearly dies in Kryptonian mines as part of an outcast worker class.
But that, I think, is what will make this book so important. Because while the story on Krypton is bleak, it’s what we see Kal-El doing on Earth that sticks with me. In this timeline, Kal-El is moving among third-world countries, helping endangered workers of the sinister Lazarus company in secret. All the while, he’s chased by Lazarus’ lap dogs, the Peacemakers, and its elite military, the Phenomena Field Team, particularly Agent Lane.
But Kal-El does what he does best in the situation, even as his powers are waning and his heart is heavy — he fights, despite the suggestion to run from his costume’s AI advisor, Sol.
Absolute Superman, comics, and the ‘great escape’
It’s still incredibly early days, and this is obviously more coincidence than biting commentary, but it’s the book I really needed to read. Truthfully, the biggest gut punch for me was legendary writer Mark Waid sharing on his Bluesky account that he “did not see the point” in writing superheroes in the current America.
“Even if by some miracle this turns around, I don’t believe in the basic goodness of my fellow Americans anymore,” Waid wrote. “and without this, I cannot write superheroes.”
Comics, for me, have always been a great escape. A place where I could escape into fantastic worlds where being good means something, and standing up for those who were not as strong as you was the undeniably right thing to do. They have, for me and countless others, always been a perpetual reflection of the best and worst aspects of the world we live in and the world we want it to be.
So it is fitting that yet again, with a new title and a new iteration starting just as a new chapter begins in our country, we would also be gifted a Man of Steel who fights against all odds — this despite literally being born on a world without hope.
This won’t be a salve or a fix, and for many, this may even be a tone-deaf statement considering the very real ramifications that are coming. But I truly feel Absolute Superman may wind up being the most important comic DC puts out this year. Its winding tale, like other classics before it, is poised to be a perfect commentary and reflection on the world around us and a stark reminder that even when things are at their darkest, there can always be some semblance of hope if just one person is willing to stand up and fight.
Absolute Superman #1 by Jason Aaron, Rafa Sandoval, Ulises Arreola, and Becca Carey is available now from DC Comics. To find a comic shop near you, visit Comic Shop Locator.
