The Absolute Universe: A Dark and Surprising Realm
When DC Comics’ Absolute line was leaked, then announced in 2024, one arresting image sucked all the air out of the room: the widest, square-est version of Batman anyone had ever seen. The idea that when veteran Batman writer Scott Snyder had the opportunity to remake Batman from the ground up in a darker setting, his first directive to artist Nick Dragotta was to make him frick-kin’ yuge was intriguing, to say the least.
The Visual Impact of Absolute Batman
The visuals of Absolute Batman’s sibling books, Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman, weren’t quite so surprising. Wonder Woman has carried a sword and worn pants before; Superman has had shaggy hair. Batman was so wide, he made his fellow heroes’ reimagined designs look normal by comparison. It’s no wonder Absolute Batman became the book to fixate on.
The Rise of Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman
But three months into the run of each book, Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman are sprinting toward all-time-great comic book status, in part because the writers and artists were able to keep their biggest, most of-the-moment twists on two very old superhero stories a complete secret until just the right moment. Maybe they were hidden behind the younger Batman’s remarkable girth?
Embracing the Dark Universe
A new year is a time for reflection. I’ve been doing some reflecting, and I’m willing to say it: DC Comics’ Absolute Universe rules much harder than I ever expected it to, in a way I thought was impossible. It’s giving me a dark timeline that actually feels good to visit.
Exploring Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman
I get now why writer Kelly Thompson and artist Hayden Sherman wanted to keep the details of Absolute Wonder Woman on the down-low during the initial project announcement. Even though their first issue literally takes place in hell, it’s wonderfully quiet, slow, and soft in a way that monthly superhero books rarely ever get to be, and in a way that would suffer in summary. They deliver a Diana who has been separated from her Amazonian heritage by divine edict, but who is determined to be a bulwark between humanity and terrible monsters, even if that requires spitting in the face of gods. Also, I won’t spoil it here, but #3 reveals something about Diana’s… physicality… in such a casual way that it hits like a Mack truck.
Reimagining Superman in a New Light
Meanwhile, in the first three issues of Absolute Superman, writer Jason Aaron and artist Rafa Sandoval have drummed out a steady series of subversions to the Superman story we think we know.
The Future Awaits in Absolute Superman
The third issue, released on the first day of 2025, gives the familiar Superman origin tale another trenchantly modern twist. In this version of the story, the leaders of Krypton don’t refuse to believe the warnings that their planet is dying, thus perishing along with it.
A Dark and Incisive Narrative
For comics readers, the Dark Timeline is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Maybe there’s a dark future the heroes need to avert, or a thing could have gone terribly wrong if only What If…?
Shaping Heroes for the Future
Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman are going there: Not just making up harsh alternate futures for the sake of grim-and-gritty storytelling, but presenting them as our harsh futures, with the promise that they’re shaping heroes to fight back.