Latest news with #AbsoluteSuperman
Geek Dad
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – Absolute Superman #9: Hero or Warrior
Absolute Superman #9 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: Of all the Absolute books, this one might be jacking up the tension the most with every issue. Its Superman is a haunted refugee who lacks a home or any roots on Earth, its Jimmy Olsen is an embittered rebel soldier, and its Lois Lane was a functionary of Lazarus Corp – and the powerful corporation wants her back. This series' take on Ra's Al Ghul, the leader of the shadowy cult-turned business, reminds me a lot more of Vandal Savage at points. He's incredibly corrupt, wildly ambitious, and believes the whole world should see him as a God. The pressure he puts on Lois is terrifying at times, and he gives her no chance to acquiesce. But Superman has bigger concerns – like the Kryptonite bullet currently in his chest. Superman has been shot like this before, but we've never seen him have to perform Father-Box-Assisted surgery on himself in the middle of a highway chase. Emergency surgery. Via DC Comics. Superman has always been the most ethical of DC's heroes, strictly rejecting killing unless the circumstances are so dire that refusing would condemn countless others to death. But we've never seen that code tested quite like it is here. This is a brutal, cruel world where the only hope is a resistance force that doesn't play by old-school ethics. Led by Primus, the mysterious leader of the Omega Men, they're hesitant to conform to Superman's rules and Primus gives him a brutal speech about how his tactics won't be enough to win this fight. But it's Jimmy Olsen who gives the best speech of the issue, describing himself as a young man who was full of hope – until he saw the true face of the world. It might be a too-relatable speech for a lot of people, and that's the biggest strength of this series. It portrays a battle that Superman might not be able to win – a world that's already been corrupted beyond his help. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – Absolute Batman #9: Terror in Ark M
Absolute Batman #9 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: It never fails to amaze me just how impressive the Absolute books are, packing a level of tension very rarely seen in mainstream comics. That continues this issue, with a brilliant segment where two Emirs, the leaders of Bialya and Khandaq, put aside their long-standing enmity and cut a peace deal that will change the world – only to open the door and discover an absolutely horrific Bane waiting for them, ensuring that the peace deal fails and one not only keeps the status quo, but escalates it because it'll benefit his masters. Bane's always been a massive threat to Batman, but it's been a very long time since he had this level of menace. And back in Gotham, Bruce is focused on a much more pressing issue – his friend Waylon Jones has gone missing, with the man seemingly disappearing off the face of the world. And all indications are that he's been taken deep below – to the mysterious facility known as Ark M. The fixer. Via DC Comics. Bruce now has a much bigger support network, including Alfred and Bruce's old friends like Ozzy, Eddie, and Harvey. Their first planning mission doesn't particularly go well, but Bruce gets what he needs to set out. Similar to Superman and the Kents in Absolute Superman, there are hints of the relationship Bruce and Alfred could have had in another world, but a distance between them. Scott Snyder's worldbuilding is incredibly strong, but it wouldn't be what it is without the stunning artwork of Nick Dragotta. His Bane design is horrific, and the depiction of what the real Ark M looks like is incredibly menacing. It all comes together into one of the best Bat-books I've read in a long time – maybe since Scott Snyder's last run on this title. There are so many other great beats, including Martha Wayne and the former Mayor Gordon, and a flashback to Bruce's relationship with Selina. I'm hoping Snyder has a very long time planned on this title. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Dad
Review – Absolute Superman #8: Showdown in Smallville
Absolute Superman #8 cover, via DC Comics Ray: For the last few issues, we've been teased about what happened in Smallville. One emotional issue showed us the few weeks Kal-El spent in the small town, being found by Jonathan and Martha Kent when he was a teenager. You could see that they would have shown him the same love they did if they found him as a baby – but then Lazarus Corp came, hunting him, and Kal was forced to flee. And all these years later, that's still the only place he ever felt safe. But this isn't the Smallville he left. The town has been fully taken over by the shadowy corporation, turning the farmers into modern serfs. Jonathan Kent is long gone, and Martha Kent languishes in a memory care center. Kal tries to visit, but she doesn't recognize him. And so he prowls the streets of Smallville – along with Lois Lane, and Omega Man Jimmy Olsen. Put to the test. Via DC Comics. The three main players have been in opposition from the start, with Lois not sure she can fully turn her back on her father's army yet and Jimmy not trusting anyone associated with them. And Superman, of course, stuck in the middle. But now, the Peacemakers are about to enter the fray, led by the mad and cybernetically-enhanced Agent Smith, turned into a raging monster. The action in this issue is intense, but as usual with the Absolute Universe, there's a great emotional underpinning to every issue. And then there's the main villain, Ra's Al Ghul. Whether he's the true big bad of this series or Brainiac is, it's hard to tell. But after last issue's spotlight for Brainiac, what we see of Ra's here is no less terrifying. Here more a mad warlord than the utopian we often see him as, he's further gone – and plays a key role in introducing Kryptonite to the world of Superman, raising the stakes even higher. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
