DC’s Absolute Comics, Explained

While Marvel announced future films and controversial castings for the MCU during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, DC Comics seemed to have minimal adaptational offerings. However, while the film and television news might’ve been scarce, several panels detailed the publisher’s fall comics lineup, a shakeup promising a new entry point for readers new and old. DC All-In was a way of revitalizing DC’s brand, but it wasn’t just a simple relaunch that was promised.

One of the most anticipated announcements for the company, with rumors coming from Rob Liefeld himself on his podcast in January 2024, was that of DC doing an equivalent to Marvel’s Ultimate line. Seeing how successful Marvel’s recent revitalization of the line was, with Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, Ultimate X-Men, and The Ultimates all critical and commercial successes, it’s little wonder why DC would want to tap into a completely new universe for their most prominent characters— especially after the failure of previous attempts such as Earth One. While the specifics of how this universe came to be are still murky, all DC has promised readers is this: it will spin out of the events of Absolute Power, Darkseid will have a hand in establishing this new world, and it will provide readers with all new takes on some of DC’s premiere heroes.

Batman Is A Working Class Rebel

Absolute Bruce Wayne is without his usual tech and resources

While the Trinity was rumored to be the first group of characters for Absolute Comics, Batman was the first to leak due to an ashcan issue of Absolute Batman #1 being available at SDCC. What readers were presented with was a Batman who certainly looked different, with a rather unique design for the Dark Knight. Batman was bulky and broad, stylized to resemble something akin to a boxer or bruiser through the dynamic style of Nick Dragotta. His cape was even more unique, like wings drooping from his shoulders and back.

The new design led to speculation about what this new Batman would be like until Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta revealed the specifics of this new Batman characterization at SDCC. It was only a few days before the convention that readers would learn the concept of Absolute Comicsdue to Snyder and Joshua Williamson revealing it via DC’s YouTube. The core vision unites all the different interpretations of characters within it— Absolute would strip a hero of elements that previously defined their situations while keeping their moral cores intact.

Thus, Absolute Batman introduces readers to a new version of Bruce Wayne that did not have his fortune, mansion, or wide array of resources. Instead, Wayne is a city engineer who seems to rely heavily on unique gadgets to get the job done, such as his ears doubling as knives or the structure of his cape being able to grab and hit foes. Bruce will also be without his butler and closest confidant, Alfred, with the man now reinterpreted as a grizzled MI-6 spy and POV character. While the specifics of Absolute Batman’s story are a mystery to readers, a villain from Absolute Batman‘s story was shown off at SDCC with Dragotta’s futuristic interpretation of Black Mask.

Wonder Woman Is Far From Paradise

Absolute Diana was raised in a completely different environment

One of the most anticipated releases of the Absolute Comics line, the announcement of Absolute Wonder Woman left fans abuzz with speculation amid the reveal of plenty of details about the specifics of the character. Her design was shown first, a unique one among various Wonder Woman looks. The heroine looked more like a fantasy warrior akin to the iconic Xena: Warrior Princess, clad in a costume that looks wildly different from anything she’s had before— she even has tattoos that frame what has been speculated to be the symbol of Hecate.

However, the most important difference about this version of Wonder Woman is what she lacks, similar to other Absolute characters. Here Diana is without Paradise Island, her mission of peace, and the sisterhood of her people, with October’s official solicits declaring her as the last “Absolute” Amazon. To substitute this, it seems Wonder Woman has been raised in a completely different setting: Hell itself.

It’s a good explanation for her more intense armor design and the fact that the hero wields a gigantic sword and rides a skeletal Pegasus that somewhat resembles the Diomedean Mare of Greek mythology. She is even described as a witch and the first hero of this new universe. But, despite all these more intense elements surrounding the character, creators of the series, Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman, assure readers she’s still imbued with a sense of kindness, which will most assuredly interestingly clash with her dismal surroundings.

Superman Brings Hope to a World Without

Superman is the face of the DC Universe, but the specifics of his nature in Absolute Comics seem a bit of a mystery. While the comics will likely be nothing short of fantastic, with industry legend Jason Aaron and Superman alumni Rafa Sandoval behind its creation, the details of it are not clear to readers yet. Like every other Absolute character interpretation, this version of Superman will be stripped of his bare essentials— no Fortress of Solitude, a family in the Kents, or even a home. This version of Superman is a blank canvas of exciting new routes to take. The only thing known for sure about Absolute Superman is that his home world of Krypton blew up.

What is known about this take on Superman, however, is that Aaron wishes to modernize the original version of him created in 1939 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. A modernized Superman is a simple pitch often used in many new character iterations. Still, Aaron wishes to explore Superman as if he were a brand-new character created in 2024. The concept holds promise, especially with what little has been confirmed to be a factor in this new version of the character.

The cover for the series, either the official one for the second issue or a variant for the first, has him facing down an army of Peacemakers with the phrase “Lazarus is Life” as part of the piece. Aaron has also teased that the story will take place in Brazil, a unique and interesting change of pace from his usual hometown in Kansas or Metropolis. Superman’s design is also fairly different regarding little details, even if the overall silhouette of it is the same. A bright blue has been swapped out for a cold gray, trunks have been replaced with lines on his hips to accentuate his physique, and all the red portions of Superman’s costume glow with a hot energy.

What of DC’s Other Heroes?

The Flash and Green Lantern will soon join the fun

While the Trinity are the only heroes with official solicitations for upcoming entries in the Absolute Comics line, SDCC announcements promised more to come for readers. Not only in terms of the wide impact that Absolute would have on the DC Universe, but also new characters that would find their way into the Absolute scene. Rumors had floated around for weeks until the announcement, but SDCC confirmed two new series would join the Absolute Comics roster— Absolute Flash and Absolute Green Lantern.

Absolute Flash heralded the return of Jeff Lemire to DC Comics, with a new JSA ongoing and a follow-up miniseries to his 2021 series Robin & Batman as two other titles of his announced alongside it. While many details of Absolute Flash are not yet known, the series teases readers with two things— inspiration from the Silver Age and Wally West as the Flash of focus for the series. Looking at Absolute’s pattern of stripping heroes of their core elements, having a Wally without inspiration from his personal hero and predecessor, Barry Allen, would be quite interesting, as the superhero title of Flash is iconic for being a legacy.

Regarding Absolute Green Lantern, DC has picked up one of Marvel’s biggest writers, Al Ewing, to rebuild the Green Lantern mythos from the ground up. While the specifics of Absolute Green Lantern are as vague as Absolute Flash, the design shown for the universe’s take on Sojourner “Jo” Mullein provides leagues of promise for what the rest of the Lanterns may look like, as Hal Jordan and John Stewart were also listed to appear as major characters. Ewing stated the comic would be a sort of “first contact” story with no limits to the changes applied, which could truly push the boundaries for the cosmic realm in this alternate DC universe.

Readers will know more about DC’s Absolute Comics universe after the Absolute Power event reshapes DC’s comic universe once again.