Review: Superman Is Stretched To Breaking Point In ‘Absolute Superman’ #23

Superman is on the hunt for Brainiac, and while he’s nowhere to be seen in Absolute Superman #23, his presence looms large. This is an issue narrated by Kal-El’s inner monologue as he hunts down Toyman, only to be faced with a despicable predicament that would drive anyone to anger. And there’s a lot of social injustice in the Absolute Universe to even test Superman’s moral core. It’s also a storyline not too far removed from our own world and one of the most heinous crimes committed by a wealthy individual in recent memory. And it makes Superman behave in a way quite shocking and out of character. And in behaving so differently, writer Jason Aaron uses this scene to introduce a deadly new twist to Superman’s super breath. A brutally efficient version of this power, fitting for this darker universe and one that, once released, makes the young Superman pause for thought and question himself.

Of course, the reader is encouraged to live vicariously through Superman and his brand of vigilante justice meted out to the world’s richest and most sordid individuals, hitting them where it hurts the most, in their wallets. Especially as such real-life counterparts have, up till now, got away with their crimes agianst under age victims.

But, even when dealing out tough justice, Absolute Superman continues to embody the socialist values of the original Superman as created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. By redistributing the wealth from the top down. Not so much trickle-down economics as Robin Hood economics. He can still bring hope to the darkest corners of the world, and in this issue, to himself.

Breaking up this revenge-fuelled storyline, we have a flashback to Krypton, which artist Juan Ferreyra depicts with lighter colours and a lighter touch. While his artwork for the majority of the issue feels like it’s created using thick, heavy gouache or acrylic paints, the flashback sequences seem as though they are rendered in watercolours, creating a completely different tone to the main story. A story that is as fast-paced as you imagine, with Absolute Superman searching the globe for Toyman’s wealthy child trafficking clients and laying down his one brand of justice that has him questioning his methodologies and temperament. This is a Superman not only from a darker universe but one much younger than the DC Universe’s Boy Scout. As such, he’s still learning, but learning fast.

Absolute Superman #23 is out now from DC Comics.