Absolute DC has given the publisher the greatest success they’ve had in years. When the news about the titles was first released, most fans didn’t expect them to be as popular as they’ve become. Right from the start, Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, and Absolute Wonder Woman had a lot of heat, but instead of fading away, as had been the case with Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe, the Absolute line has gotten more and more popular. Now there’s a total of six Absolute titles — Absolute Martian Manhunter, Absolute Flash, and Absolute Green Lantern joined the line, with Absolute Green Arrow and a crossover called “Absolute Evil” on the way — and the line’s heat hasn’t died down at all. A big reason for this success came from fans wanting to know more about this universe and the differences between it and the mainline DC Comics universe. However, looking at everything Absolute, the books haven’t gone far enough.
The Absolute books have been brilliant, and the best part about them have been the changes to the characters and their worlds. The Absolute books have taken familiar characters with familiar backstories, and tweaked them just the right amount. This has created some very cool stories, and the Absolute DC characters have impressed readers. However, there are times when things are little too familiar or the plots in the books could have been taken in wilder directions. The Absolute DC Universe has a lot of potential, and it can reach that potential by embracing the fact that things are so different.
Absolute DC Need to Take the Wildness of DC and Run With It
The Absolute DC Universe is one of the most interesting concepts that DC has ever created and it plays into the greater cosmology of the DC Multiverse. The DC Multiverse has two main energies — hope energy, which is often called “Superman energy” because he was the first hero and his popularity created DC, and doom energy, which is called Darkseid energy, because Darkseid was created by Jack Kirby to be the ultimate evil. Darkseid was able to steal the power of the Spectre and begin a ritual that would let him take control of the Alpha Earth, a blank Earth that he’s able to tailor to his own needs. The Absolute Earth has Darkseid for a god, and is controlled by the most evil people on the planet. That’s an amazing set-up and so far, the creators have used it in some intriguing ways. However, there’s so much more that can be done with the Absolute Universe, and the best way to do it is to pull out all the stops.
One of my favorite things about the DC Multiverse is how fantastic things can get. It’s all based on the power of Superman and hope, so the good guys always win. The Absolute Earth is supposed to be the opposite of that, and the creators need to remember that. We’re following the heroes and watching them win their battles, but I think it would fit the setting if we got to see the bad guys win more. On the one hand, it’s fun to see Superman battle against Lazarus, standing up for the little guy, and get the win. On the other hand, it would fit an Earth ruled by Darkseid if Superman ended up losing. The heroes need to fail, they need to stumble, they need to lose things. Can you imagine if Lois Lane was killed off? It would be a huge change and it would fit the kind of universe that Darkseid energy would fuel. What if the White Martian won in Absolute Martian Manhunter, and all John Jones and the Martian could do was get revenge for the people of Middleton? He’d still save the world from the White Martian, but it would doom so many people. The Absolute books have done different things with the characters, and that has definitely been a lot of fun. However, to really surprise readers and show them that they can’t get complacent, things need to get way more hopeless. It would be amazing if the heroes formed a Justice League, and it was put down by this universe’s version of the Legion of Doom the first time they fought. It would show that things aren’t going to go the way you figure, and that there are no guarantees in the Absolute comics.
The Absolute Universe Needs to Up the Stakes on the Heroes
I have loved the Absolute books so far. I’m a DC mark in general, and the Absolute books have given me something that I haven’t had in a long time — novelty. This novelty is why the Absolute books have been able to keep such big audiences. The books are so different in some cases (Absolute Batman is really the only one that isn’t all that different from the mainline books) that even people who have been reading DC for decades can get something new (reading Absolute Green Lantern, for example, is completely different from reading any Green Lantern book in decades) from the comics. It’s time to ramp that up.
If DC wants to keep readers hooked, they can’t make the same kind of decisions that they’ve been making for decades. This is a universe that is fueled by doom. If the heroes start getting too many wins, it just doesn’t really feel right. Absolute DC’s creators shouldn’t be afraid to embrace the evil nature of the universe and use that to keep the surprises coming for readers.
Do you think the Absolute books need to go further? Sound off in the comments below.
