On December 9th, I released a review of Absolute Superman #1. I liked the first issue although I thought the theme of it was a bit tired. If you haven’t read it, check it out here before continuing with my recap and review of Absolute Superman #2.
SPOILERS for Absolute Superman #2 below.
This issue starts off where we left Superman before: in handcuffs and the custody of agent Lois Lane. Luckily, there’s a very brief explanation as to how Superman is unable to break out of the cuffs. They are some kind of regenerative metal that may be revealed later as Nth metal, the mystical mcguffin used in many DC comics.
We also learn that the suit he is wearing is indeed what has been talking to him. This seemed likely after the first issue, but it wasn’t one hundred percent confirmed until this issue: the suit he is wearing is imbued with an AI. In fact, it can move and act completely on its own. The suit moves in the form of dragon like tendrils at first that are drawn quite well.
Throughout my last review, I never mentioned that this Superman had no cape - until now. It seems that the suit uses some version of Kryptonian nanotechnology called red sunstone dust as the cape magically appears and expands out of Superman’s back where it would normally connect to his costume. Visually, it’s a very cool and different cape from what we’re used to as it does resemble a cape but is much more free flowing because it’s made of dust.
In this issue, there’s tons of dialogue between Lois Lane and Superman. After Superman and Lois fly away from the Lazarus Corp heli-tanks that launch chemical weapons at them, they land somewhere in Brazil eight miles away and yell at each other. Superman does an impromptu psychoanalysis of her while accusing her of being just another soulless corporate military drone. Lois isn’t quite as verbally aggressive but mostly is angrily curious about who and what Superman is.
We then are given a scene that is much closer to classic Superman. Using his sunstone dust cape as a shield, Superman saves ten or so townsfolk as well as Lois Lane from fire and falling debris. It’s a very heroic moment and we see that, while he is very different from what we’re used to, this is, indeed, Superman. Interestingly, we can also tell that the entire suit he wears has to be made of the sunstone dust. When the cape needs to expand itself to protect more people, it eventually leaves Superman’s chest and torso partially exposed. The suit clearly isn’t infinite and has limitations just like the Man of Steel. In the last few pages of the comic, it’s revealed that Lara, Kal’s mother, invented the suit as both a method of protection from the void of space and a ship in one.
At this point, everything in the book has worked quite well for me aside from Superman’s anti corporate rant. The rant wasn’t written poorly, it’s just a bit uninteresting and feels like a thousand other things I’ve heard or read. Other than that, the art is wonderful, the action is great, and Superman’s suit is very interesting.
However, we then get a monologue from Lois that would be fine, good even, if it didn’t end with poorly written infatuation of Superman. I get why the writers chose to have Lois become interested in Superman, but it just reeks of “I can fix him” vibes. In the Absolute Universe, I actually expected Lois to not become a love interest as this universe’s whole thing is changing key aspects of characters’ origins. It could have been written well, but it just wasn’t. She even goes on about how he smells like oak and burgundy, calling his smell “amazing”. It was just a bit much. The scene with Lois ends with her unexpectedly finding joy in writing, which was a nice touch to an otherwise not great scene.
This issue has some very high highs and some very low lows. Superman in action is impeccably drawn, the design and origin for the suit, particularly the cape, and seeing Superman perform heroic acts was wonderful, but Lois’ infatuation with the Man of Steel, especially his smell, was not written well and really brought the quality of the comic down. However, there were definitely more highs than lows in this issue, and everything that worked did so very well. Overall, I give it a great score of 8/10.
What did you think of this issue? Let me know in the comments!