Review: Absolute Superman #14

Absolute Superman #14 came out this week, the culmination of a long first arc building the world and showing us who this Superman is. It was clear that the end of this was going to be a bare-chested sword fight with Ra's Al Ghul, perhaps a nod to the early O'Neil/Adams Batman stories with Ra's himself.

Now all along I have been praising writer Jason Aaron for the pacing of this book. Unlike the frenzy of Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman was a very deliberate title, showing us Krypton, this new world, and giving us a lot of backstory for not only Superman but also Jor-El, Lara, Lois, Jimmy, and even the Al Ghul's. This is a fully formed world. I feel we have learned who this Clark is. 

The action has been ramping up over the last few issues as Ra's kept pushing Clark to take a step towards evil. And we finally get it in this issue, a bloody, brutal brawl that has me questioning how either combatant survives. Unfortunately, while the opening is a bang, the end of the fight is a whimper. This tremendously layered, long, complex arc just sort of ends. 

Rafa Sandoval is back on art and gives us in incredible issue of melee and gore. I have loved Sandoval's work for a long time but I feel that his work on this title has been his best. I'll be sad to see him go. 

Should this sudden ending to this arc sully the tremendous work which got me here? I'm not sure yet.

On to the book.

We start with Clark so close to death that he is having death visions of his parents and Krypto. 

And he should be close to death ... check out this splash page.

He is skewered by a Kryptonite sword.

How is he alive?

But understand, he gets the snot kicked out of him for the majority of this issue on top of this wound.

It pulled me out of the book a bit trying to figure out how much damage he can take. Being close to that much K probably should put him on the ground.

Brainiac had taken over Sol recently. But before Brainiac can use Sol's tech to kill Lois and Jimmy, Sol comes back.

If Brainiac is in him, he is in Brainiac. He does some sort of self-destruct program which takes out both AI's.

I do love that Sol calls Brainiac by his number, reminding the Coluan who he is and where he came from and just how crazy he is.

Despite Ra's sparring with Kal and mostly battering our hero, the Peacemakers talk about wading in and helping out their lord.

But Talia makes a mistake that almost no villain should make. She tells them to not step in because this is Ra's fight.

Now I suppose part of what Ra's has been doing is trying to break down Superman, turning him to the dark side. And that might be best done through a force of will by one person. But if Superman is somehow still around, maybe Ra's needs help.

I mean Superman actually protects one of the Peacemakers that does wade in to help Ra's. Ra's is so upset, he is going to kill the Peacemaker only to be stopped by Superman.

Ra's piles on even more, battering Superman, stabbing him in the hand with the K-sword, and laying the smack down.

How is Superman still breathing?

But there is some inspiration there. When the Peacemakers are ordered to mow down the Smallville population, they throw down their guns. 

Hmmm .... maybe too fast?

We have seen this army fanatically do whatever Ra's has asked of them in the past, mowing down other innocents. Maybe if I had seen some questioning in the past to make this moment seem like a culmination of questioning, it would sit better with me. 

Even though Sol is out of commission, the dust still seems to be malleable to Clark's thoughts. It is forged into a sword and the fight goes on.

Finally Superman gets the upper hand. 

As for Ra's, he seems to be goal-oriented. He has wanted Superman to turn the corner and become the evil despot the world needs. He has tried to lure Superman into killing to accomplish that. So maybe he needs Superman to kill him? Maybe that will bring about the intended result?

He sure does try to goad Superman into doing it. Read that dialogue.

Still don't know how Superman has survived this fight, let alone win it.

Our next scene is Superman dragging Ra's to Pakistan to be imprisoned.

And this is where I think I sort of felt a bit cheated.

After everything I have read, am I supposed to believe Ra's is simply going to abandon his deeply rooted world corporation and his plans for running things and allow himself to sit in a cold prison cell? Maybe this is a ruse?

But what about Lazarus Corporation? Isn't someone else just going to pick up the pieces? We hear that Talia ran. I don't know if Brainiac is functioning. But surely Lazarus is still going to exist? 

It all seems a little too fast. Superman wins the fight and Ra's just sort of gives up. He does seem to have a death wish. Maybe not being killed has deflated him?

In the end, Smallville is saved. Lois and Jimmy's broadcasts made it out. Perhaps those reports will lead them to a journalism job?

And Superman just wants to remain hidden. 

We end on a great image. Ma Kent has died. But before that, she began making Kal a new uniform, a brighter one, a new one to carry on. Lovely closing page.

I don't know. I suppose if the fuse has been burning for 14 months, there was always the chance the actual explosion wouldn't live up to the preceding events. It just seemed to end ...

I would love to hear what others thought. Were my hopes too high? Did Aaron reach too far?

Overall grade: B-