Review: Absolute Superman #23

When the Absolute Universe was announced, I was unsure if it was going to be for me. The idea of a universe built on darkness and how our heroes would be impacted by that seemed to be a tough sell for me. Turns out that I am reading two of three main books in the imprint. Absolute Wonder Woman I read via trades and have enjoyed greatly. Absolute Superman I read monthly and, for the most part, I have found a very good read showing that even in a dark world Superman can rise above and inspire.

Absolute Superman #23 came out this week and was another good read showing how hard it must be to be Superman in this world. Superman is tracking down Brainiac and instead runs into Toyman and has to battle that villain instead. He is tempted to cross an ethical line, perhaps a bit out of character given the prior 22 issues. We also get shown that rich men have the capability to be evil as well. 

When read back to back with Superman The Stranger #1, I worry we might be heading into 'wealth is evil' and not 'some wealthy people can be evil'. Yes, Superman in this world feels like a populist hero making sure villages and individual people are cared for. Yes, Aaron doesn't say 'wealth equals evil'. So I'll have to see how this pans out. 

The Toyman here is truly scary showing how diabolical he can be. This isn't Schott in a striped suit with giant tops. This is a madman.

Juan Ferreyra's art remains top notch. Love his battle sequences. He amps up the terror in the scary stuff nicely. And we even get a Krypton flashback. Love his take on the landscape and Lara.

On to the book.

We start with a 'Stand By Me' moment on Krypton where young Kal follows a bunch of other kids to see a 'dead body'.

They come across an unseen lynching victim. 

The boys show some sort of underlying prejudice saying this person from Kandor shouldn't have come down to this area and got what they deserved. 

Obviously we know that no one deserves to be killed like this. Hard to know what 'not belonging there' means. Was this a criminal? A minority? A rich person who stumbled into the wrong side of town?

At the very least, Kal knows it is wrong and doesn't take part in the things the others are doing. But what is Aaron trying to say?

Back in the present, Superman tries to find Brainiac and his investigation leads him to Schott industries where he comes across this frightening scene.

Within the place are children who have been altered by Schott (that upper shot of the dead-eyed person with the old-school sound pull string is horrifying). And there is a whole factory full of these people who are alive but not free. 

What are these things supposed to be? Slaves of some sort? Creepy.

Luckily Lois is able to track down everyone who ordered one of these things. Of course, they are all uber-rich people and Superman takes his wrath out on them.

We see him blowing up cars, planes, rockets ... all the ways rich people could escape. We see him carrying mansions into the sea. Yachts are strewn in a desert. We see him getting the money these people have and showering it on the needy. He even considers killing the people.

This isn't exactly rule of law. This isn't him bringing them to the courts or legal justice. I also don't know if billionaires keep all their assets in cash that can be tossed. 

And I don't know what to think about this. Yes, all these people (listed as billionaires, businessmen, heads of state) are horrible, buying humans as things, and deserve punishment. And this is a dark world that might need an independent judge/jury being like Superman to shake it up. But the sin he keeps bringing up isn't 'they bought a modified human' and more 'they have so much (wealth) they can hide behind'. 

I guess I don't know on this Earth if Superman has a relationship with the authorities to leverage them to help. 

But it seems wealth is the sin.

Whenever I have to pause and think things through, I suppose a story is doing its job.

In fact we hear Superman say he feels like a coward because he doesn't kill these people.

I don't want a killer Superman. 

Is Aaron saying he should think of himself as a coward? That he should be a killer?

Or is this supposed to be how Superman is different from everyone on this world.

We flashback and hear that the hanged man was The Minister of Farming Affairs, a government official who was cruel. Lara says that it might be justified for someone to have killed this man to protect the community. That's the way it is.

Later, she puts down a rabid animal, perhaps a metaphor that some people need to be put down.

Again, is Aaron saying political violence is justified. That if you disagree with someone in power, it is okay to kill them?

Or is he showing us this as a way to say Kal is different in his approach?

I don't want a Superman who thinks political assassination is right if the person is deemed 'bad'. Because who makes that determination. 

Superman catches up to Toyman and is furious. He doesn't want to hear pleas for mercy. Toyman doesn't deserve it.

Nice use of the text box over the word balloon to show us that as well as tell us. The art of comics is when images/words mesh so beautifully.

But here we see Superman saying 'justice' would be to execute Schott. I don't know if that's a Superman I want to read, even an Absolute Superman.

I do love the Silver Banshee toy though. Fun!

'Incensed', Superman does a super-spit/super-breath attack that takes out Toyman. He is basically a bag of broken bones.

Superman hesitates bringing him to medical attention.

But then feels horrible he delayed. 

Whew. Maybe this is just some crucible.

Remember, this is the Superman that despite being tortured, despite knowing all the evil Ra's Al Ghul did, never stooped there. Instead, he read poetry to Ra's and changed his mind. He did that for a while. So why the sudden temptation for murder?

At least it subsided.

Perhaps the whole point is this universe is very dark, powered by Darkseid, and even the best of beings there could be easily sullied.

Superman doesn't want to become what he detested. But he doesn't want to leave Earth either.

Whew. Heady issue. I hope this doesn't seep too much in thinly veiled real life politics. I don't read comics for that. At times I felt like Aaron was trying to preach to me, never a good thing. But it certainly made me pause and think. 

What did you all think?

Overall grade: B-