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Absolute Superman (2024)
Absolute Superman, Vol. 3: The Neverending Begins
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.
Collects Absolute Superman #15–21.
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.
Collects Absolute Superman #15–21.
184 pages, Paperback
Published November 3, 2026
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,407 books1,724 followersJason 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 11, 2026
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.
Review of advance copy
The remnants of Lazarus Corp continue to cause issues as Superman tries to adjust to his new status quo in the three part 'The Neverending Begins' arc that opens this volume. We get the debuts of Absolute Parasite and Absolute Hawkman (although I think he's been in Absolute Green Arrow too, I've not gotten to that yet), and more evidence that, even though this Superman is very different from our usual, he's still a good guy at heart. Jason Aaron's attempts to humanize him work really well here, with some great character work that shows he understands Superman, even through the Absolute lens. The art is by regular Absolute Superman fill-in artist Juan Ferreyra, who does some great work, especially in the spine-chilling Brainiac epilogue pages in each issue.
The remaining four issues of the book are the 'Reign of the Superman' arc, which pits Supes, Steel, and Hawkman against a resurrected Black Adam/King Shazam. This is mostly four issues of massive fight scenes interspersed with a little drama for Lois, Jimmy, and Talia Al Ghul - Rafa Sandoval returns with a vengeance to really knock the visuals out of the park here. There's so much weight and heft behind every blow, you can feel how devastating this fight is for everyone involved. The ultimate conclusion feels more like a To Be Continued than an actual end, but it's a hell of a lot of fun getting there.
Going into this, I was thinking that Absolute Superman's easily been the weakest of the Absolute books, but these seven issues have rapidly changed my mind.
The remaining four issues of the book are the 'Reign of the Superman' arc, which pits Supes, Steel, and Hawkman against a resurrected Black Adam/King Shazam. This is mostly four issues of massive fight scenes interspersed with a little drama for Lois, Jimmy, and Talia Al Ghul - Rafa Sandoval returns with a vengeance to really knock the visuals out of the park here. There's so much weight and heft behind every blow, you can feel how devastating this fight is for everyone involved. The ultimate conclusion feels more like a To Be Continued than an actual end, but it's a hell of a lot of fun getting there.
Going into this, I was thinking that Absolute Superman's easily been the weakest of the Absolute books, but these seven issues have rapidly changed my mind.
Currently Reading
April 8, 202615-17, ☆☆☆☆
18-21,
18-21,
Review of advance copy
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!
⚡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!
September 7, 2026
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
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
Review of advance copy
Absolute Superman settles into a pretty good groove with this volume. My main complaint: Lots of punching. The kind of punching that just takes up pages and puts the plot on hold, because the characters will wait until after the fight scene to actually resolve anything. Other than that, though, this really runs with the idea of Superman being an inspiring force for good and makes it interesting in a new setting.
This volume has two stories, and they introduce Absolute versions of lots of traditional DCU characters. I was cynical at first: I don't need to pay these prices just to get a checklist of reimagined characters. But it's all in service to a larger story: Characters are twisted by cynicism in this evil world, and Superman can show them the path to a better future. Jason Aaron makes Superman-as-a-role-model work in a way that few authors can manage.
This volume has two stories, and they introduce Absolute versions of lots of traditional DCU characters. I was cynical at first: I don't need to pay these prices just to get a checklist of reimagined characters. But it's all in service to a larger story: Characters are twisted by cynicism in this evil world, and Superman can show them the path to a better future. Jason Aaron makes Superman-as-a-role-model work in a way that few authors can manage.
Review of advance copy
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.
November 8, 2026
While not necessarily perfect, Aaron expands so much on the worldbuilding while drawing on some of the tropes he developed with Marvel to widen the cast with clear points of continuity. Much like Absolute Wonder Woman, Aaron works to expand his arcs across each volume without the story starting to feel homogenized by over-relying on body horror or making the cast feel less relevant as the stories continue.
Review of advance copy
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.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
o meu superman socialista, lex luthor humilde aqui finalmente e logo torturado lmao, hawkman kinda tuff mas still um shill capitalista, e um belo arc com o shazam e o steel, ainda assim acho que atingiu um maior peak no arc anterior, esperemos que assim continue que a qualidade é imensa, also a arte está insana, bom fim do ras
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
July 23, 20265/5 ⭐
Review of advance copy
It's alright. I think the King Shazam arc is kinda silly, but it has its moments.
Review of advance copy
Actual rating: 4.25 stars
Review of advance copy received from Otros
Dios como amo este comic
Review of advance copy
Amazing
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Took two arcs to get here, but we're at Thor levels of Jason Aaron goodness. Now I don't want absolute supes to end.
Review of advance copy
One of the best damn comics I've read in a long time.
October 8, 2026
Best volume yet, imo. Jason and Raf continue to cook. This is the best superman comic I’ve read ever. And, im excited to continuing reading, simple as that. Lets go!!
Review of advance copy
So this one is probably my favorite overall. I really liked how the story is progressing, and i want to see what the plan is for Lex Luthor in this universe.
Review of advance copy
Why does Juan Ferreyra draw Superman like he's been looksmaxing
Read
November 3, 2026At last this book gets to just be fun fight scenes for seven issues. I'm okay with that.
November 7, 2026
Best volume yet. The title is really hitting its stride. Absolute is killing it.
August 20, 2026
Unfortunately a drag
Review of advance copy received from Autre
Jason Aaron keeps the Absolute Universe’s Superman firing on all cylinders. Post-Battle of Kansas, Clark is dealing with real personal fallout while the Lazarus Corporation’s secrets and King Shazam’s sarcophagus push the stakes higher. The new costume beats hit hard, and the art team (Ferreyra, Sandoval & co.) delivers bold, atmospheric work throughout.
A couple of issues feel like setup for bigger things ahead, but the overall momentum and character focus make this a strong, exciting trade. Solid recommend.
A couple of issues feel like setup for bigger things ahead, but the overall momentum and character focus make this a strong, exciting trade. Solid recommend.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews