DC Comics' Absolute Superman goes on sale this Wednesday and will reimagine another of the publisher's most iconic characters. So much of the Man of Steel's history is deemed untouchable, meaning that changing it...well, it's not going to sit well with many fans.
Regardless, in this first look at the issue (written by Jason Aaron with art by Rafa Sandoval), we head to a very different Krypton where we learn that the Klerics of the Science League are the ruling class and harnessing the planet's resources and red sun in a way that will inevitably lead to the planet's destruction.
Superman's mother Lara Lor-Van, meanwhile, works on fixing a harvester at a farm in the Redlands after being barred from joining the Klerics. Will Jor-El still be Superman's father? That remains to be seen, though it's clear these changes to the hero's home planet are the first of many big alterations.
Talking to Newsarama, Aaron was asked what threats will see the Man of Tomorrow face in this series.
"Well, you can see from the cover of #2 that he's fighting a whole army of Peacemakers. They're not the main villain of the story – these are the foot soldiers of the main villain. The main threat in these early issues is Lazarus Corp. Outside of Peacemaker, there are two other villains that will be a part of this first big opening story. One of them is a traditional Superman villain and one of them is very much not. You will see Lex Luthor at some point, but I think you can assume it's not going to be the kind of Luthor story you expect."
One of the things I noticed when I was looking at the different interpretations of Superman is that so many of them would have the familiar pieces in the places that we expected them to be, and I very much wanted to do the opposite of that. Anytime we meet a character in this book that we know from Superman's previous stories, they are not where they 'should be.' Some of that speaks to the nature of this world that is broken and so nothing has worked out like it should have, and some of that was about shaking up the villains."
"I didn't want to launch with another Superman versus Luthor story. I needed a villain that also spoke to the specific story I'm telling, in terms of what Superman's life has been like once he came to Earth and the hardships he's endured, the worst parts of the planet that he's seen, and Lazarus Corp is kind of the force that's at the very heart of that."
Check out those Absolute Superman #1 preview pages below.
SUPERSTARS JASON AARON AND RAFA SANDOVAL UNLEASH A SHOCKING NEW TAKE ON THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON! Without the fortress... without the family... without a home... what's left is the Absolute Man of Steel!
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1
Written by JASON AARON
Art & Cover by RAFA SANDOVAL
On Sale 11/6