In DC’s Absolute Universe, the Last Son of Krypton has become the world’s most wanted man. Superman finds himself at the forefront of a bold new age of heroes in the can’t-miss third volume of the best-selling Absolute Superman!
In the shocking aftermath of the Battle of Kansas, Superman wrestles with profound changes to his life, his allies, and even his costume, but as the terrifying Parasite threatens the city of Metropolis, even he may need some help: enter Hawkman! And there’s no time to rest—the Lazarus Corporation may be in retreat, but its hidden caches of weapons and world-ending secrets remain. The most dangerous of all? The sarcophagus of the legendary King Shazam!
Writer Jason Aaron (Thor, Scalped) and artists Rafa Sandoval (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps) and Juan Ferreyra (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) deliver a new epic that will change the hierarchy of power in the Absolute Universe.
Jason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Every Absolute Universe creative team is on a generation run. Jason Aaron continues to blow me away with the heart that he writes into this version of Superman.
A quick recap on Absolute Superman's main points (in comparison to Classic Superman): ⚡Kal-el grew up on Krypton to a low status family, so his exodus to Earth leaves him more alien and separate to his adoptive culture, as well as championing the down-trodden. ⚡While he still has some super powers, he power is mostly augmented via a suit (named Sol) that acts like an hyper-intelligent armour. ⚡This Superman is much more global, and does not have much of a life in Clark Kent ⚡Lazarus Corp takes the place of LexCorp, with R'as Al Ghul being the evil billionaire tycoon. ⚡The Daily Planet is not a staple here; Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson have other interesting entrances into this story. ⚡Smallville, Kansas is not merely a place where Kent hails from, it is also currently Kal-El's power base (as it houses the Fortress of Solitude, made from the crystalline structure of Sol)
If Darkseid created the Absolute Universe to ensure a world where the 'good guys' were always on their backfoot, then one lesson that needs to be retained is to never assume the baddies are ever down. Even though Ra's Al Ghul (the series' primo-antagonist) is defeated after two riveting volumes, we are still in a world crushed under the heel of Lazarus.
The two main arcs in volume 3 involve a terrifying Parasite (introducing Absolute Hawkman as a possible ally) and King Shazam (which has more of the feels of a Black Adam). Both villains are characterized amazingly!
what can i say. i fucking love it. its honestly hilariously heavy handed and i love it. the absolute universe and absolute superman in particular solves the issue of superheroes protecting the existing capitalist and political status quo. and the fact that we get to see kal el keeping his heart of gold in this universe, in the face of like some of the worst suffering and injustice hes ever seen? truly inspiring. like i usually dont like seeing the nitty gritty realism and especially when it makes things too edgy, but its necessary here and it really does not get edgy. its necessary to see how a super man can act in the face of all of that because its just harder to conceive of vs the boy scout personality in a more perfect world, and our world itself has moved towards this reality. his light burns even brighter in the darkness
love all the krypton backstory. i was gonna shit on hawkman, but i do think its a good setup for kal el inspiring the most jaded and revisionist superhero
4.43/5 Jason Aaron keeps delivering one of the strongest runs in the Absolute Universe. After the chaos of Kansas, Kal-El is settling into a new status quo—blue suit, Kent farm, and a clearer sense of who he wants to be—only for the Parasite to tear through Metropolis and force him to team up with Hawkman.
The horror elements hit hard without losing the core Superman hope, and the art (especially the creature designs and action sequences) is consistently excellent.
The volume expands the world nicely with Lazarus leftovers and the tease of King Shazam while still feeling like a focused, character-driven chapter. A few moments lean a bit too grim even for Absolute, but overall this is gripping, emotional, and leaves you hungry for the next arc. Highly recommended if you’ve been following the series.
Two arcs in volume 3. First Superman meets Hawkman who is kind of a piece of crap. Cool take on Parasite. Juan Ferreyra is an inspired choice for artist on this body horror story. Then Steel and King Shazam show up as Rafa Sandoval returns on art. He apparently can't stay caught up though as artists have to help out on the last two issues. I love what happens with Ra's al Ghul in this arc. Dig the twists and turns.
Might be my favorite of the absolute Superman volumes so far and it really seems like that because he has fully become Superman. New villains and faces throughout from Superman and dc history which was very enjoyable. The grander story seems really set in this series for the absolute universe and I think questions will get answered in the next arc.