Review: Absolute Superman #8

Absolute Superman #8 came out last week and the trade dress touts it with 'a new story starts here!'

This book has been an interesting one so far, using the first 7 issues to slowly world build, giving us a taste of the Absolute world while filling in the Krypton history and showing us this new Superman. In comparison to the 'Batman AF' pace of the Absolute Batman book, Absolute Superman has been a much slower burn. It has felt like half the issues haven't even had Superman in them. 

Writer Jason Aaron does kick things into a little higher gear here. We finally see the main villain, Ra's Al Ghul .. and I have a theory. We get our first super-villain fight with Peacemaker/Metallo (or what I will be calling Metallo, he isn't given a code name here). We get to see some weakness in this Superman character which we haven't seen yet. And we get to see some Lois/Jimmy/Superman interactions which seems to be building up to a true relationship. There is a lot of action here but also some little dollops of new information that continues to make this place feel three-dimensional.

Rafa Sandoval is back on the book on art and his stuff continues to floor me. From the crazy battle scenes to his use of sound effects within the art to the quiet emotional moments, his stuff is on fire. 

If you have felt the book has been a bit meandering or even a bit plodding, which I must admit at times I have, I hope you have stuck around. This issue turns that on its head, giving us a brutal, physical action comic while still pushing on the plot.

On to the book.

We start out with Ra's Al Ghul on a conference call with the investors of Lazarus Corporation all while tearing through some Omega Men assassins. 

There is a lot to unpack here. We saw Brainiac charting weather temperatures as he brutally killed Omega Men assassins. Here Ra's is on the phone with investors doing the same. It shows a sort of disregard for life making these villains scary.

Physically, Ra's is a huge man, looking more like Vandal Savage. He talks of living for hundreds of years, perhaps like Vandal Savage. He breaks a man's neck with his bare hand but he is stabbed through the arm and talks of wanting a son which makes me think he isn't Jor-El. 

But there is a lot of classic Ra's here, talking about an overpopulated planet, the world being ravaged, and the use of Lazarus pits (which here de-ages people to baby age).  He even talks about a League of Shareholders ... not League of Shadows. 

But in the end, my guess? I wonder if he is Lex!

Perhaps the most powerful image in the book for me was this one showing the Lazarus Corp HQ just dwarfing the Daily Planet in the city skyline. Truth isn't the most powerful thing in this world. The Planet is the guiding symbol in this Metropolis.

The truth is hidden in the shadow of Lazarus.

Wonderful use of art.

Meanwhile, in Smallville, Jimmy 'Agent Alpha' Olsen and Lois Lane are looking around for Superman. (He just visited a clearly demented Martha in a nursing home.)

One of the things about that slow build is Aaron has had the chance to show us that Lois has slowly seen how her Lazarus Corp work is wrong and how Superman might be the hero the world needs. That last statement where she comes close to saying that she might be the person he can trust is so great.

This Lois has some of usual Lois' investigative powers. She has puzzled out that the Kent's mean something to this Superman. But I had to giggle when she mentions some events eerily close to things that happened in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel has having happened in Smallville. I agree Lois! The Snyder-verse is close to a Darkseid-infused hell for sure!

Before a confrontation between Lois and Jimmy and Superman can unfold, Peacemaker shows up and shoots Superman in the chest with a Kryptonite bullet. Sol works hard to try and remove it but it isn't easy.

Again, we see how brave and suddenly clear-headed Lois is. She makes Jimmy help her drag Superman to safety. And her words ... about Superman being a miracle and something that needs to be saved ... are powerful.  Letting Superman die would be 'the greatest failure' for both of them.

We have seen enough of Jimmy to know he also is on the fringes of the group he is part of. So I wonder when he'll turn like Lois has.

Out comes the Brainiac upgraded Christopher Smith, who looks a lot like the New 52 Metallo with the wires in the head, etc. Interesting that the power is purple here, not green. Only the bullets are Green K.

But Smith is addled, wanting to kill Superman and willing to batter his own men if they get in his way. 

He is certainly creepy in how unhinged he is, especially given the power he now has.

I get the sense that the Absolute world is one where the general populace is sort of crushed under the foot of the powers in the world, whether it is unscrupulous businesses, or organized crime, or treacherous governments. 

So seeing the Smallville folks grab their guns and come to try and drive out the Omega Men showed maybe hope is still alive.

Sol is able to remove the first bullet and identifies it as Kryptonian in nature.

While weakened, Kal decides to use the Sol-suit to it's max, having it form a suit of armor similar to the one Lara donned before.

It looks pretty cool. I still think there is a Micronauts Baron Karza feel to it. 

But it was also fun to see the tech unleashed with things like 'tornado mode' and these electric punches.

Alas, Kryptonite seems to weaken all things Kryptonian.

Smith pumps more K-bullets into Kal and it not only injures him, it also shuts down Sol.

Suddenly he is helpless.

I do like that Smith is pretty petty and wades in to kill Superman until he is stopped by Brainiac. The mission is to capture Superman.

The only thing that can save Superman's life in this dire situation are the Omega Men. Lois allows Jimmy to boom tube Superman away.

I love this ending. Lois for sure is going to be branded a traitor and brought in. I can't wait to see her response to whatever they are going to do to her.

But more importantly, Jimmy's group is the Omega Men. They have Boom Tube tech. Maybe they aren't a version of the heroic Omega Men. Maybe they are tied to the Fourth World in some way.

So a lot to mull over for sure. Who is Ra's? Is he just Ra's? Who are the Omega Men? Who funds them?

But despite all the wild action in this book (trust me that Smallville scene is a complete and bloody brawl), the image that stuck with me was the Planet building. A perfect encapsulation of the Absolute World.

Overall grade: B+