Jason Aaron Talks Absolute Superman, Building A New Version of A Beloved DC Comics Hero

The Absolute Universe begins to take shape with the release of Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta this week, while Absolute Superman and Absolute Wonder Woman come out later this year. We spoke with writer Jason Aaron about tackling the much-anticipated Superman comic and what readers can expect from the series. Check out our conversation below!

What’s the biggest challenge of reinventing such an iconic character?

Pretty quickly, I figured out the core part of the story I wanted to tell and how this 2024 version of Superman is different from when he was created in 1938 by Siegel and Schuster. Once I put those core pieces together, everything fell into place. Once you have that kind of driving force of, like, this is what this story is about, then it all made sense to me. Then you realize you don't have to be precious with who the characters are, where we expect them to be, what they should be doing, their relationship to Superman, Superman's history, and pieces of it.

I mean, to me, the exciting thing about the Absolute Universe is that we want to surprise people and give them versions of the characters that they love, but stories that they have not read before with these characters.

The first issue starts in a diamond min in Brazil. Is that a direct reference to Action Comics 3, where Superman saved miners?

No, I don't think that was an intentional, um, no, it wasn't, but sure, let's say it was, yes [laughs].

You mentioned Absolute Superman’s story originates in Brazil. What brings him there, and how does that impact his famous origin of being from Kansas? You mentioned in other interviews that it’s still crucial to this story.

Well, the story starts in Brazil. This first arc, the first five or so issues, really will travel the globe quite a bit. Kansas and Smallville absolutely played a part in Superman's story and how that went and worked out. We'll give you those pieces as we go.

It's safe to say you can figure out pretty quickly that it didn't go like the story we know. Right? He didn't come here, land in Kansas, and be raised by this kindly old couple. He did have this happy, idyllic upbringing before he decided to venture out into the world. That is not this guy's journey. Um, so for however long he has been here, he has been on the run for the most part.

Brazil is where we first catch up to him, but there've been other kind of incidents in his story that we teased before that. The chase starts there and will lead us to other places. But especially for me, like living in Kansas, I've lived in Kansas now for a little over 20 years. So that part of it is very important to me. The story of Smallville is very important to me. We will get to that. It just won't be in ways that you're used to, or that you expect.

What was the intention behind not introducing the Fortress of Solitude?

Well, to me, it's just about showing that this character does not have a home. Superman does not have a home on this planet. When we meet him, he is on the run from Lazarus Corp. So there, for him, there is no solitude, no safety, and nowhere he can go and hide.

I mean, it's really just showing he is alone; he is more alone than we're used to seeing him and in more danger than any version of Superman we've seen before. And yeah, part of that is there's no Fortress. There's no impenetrable point of safety he can go hide in — it's just him out there on his own with a world that doesn't seem to want him for the most part.

Supeman’s cape is made of the ashes of his dead world, how was it to make it intentionally symbiolic of a hero carrying the weight of his world on his shoulders? How would you describe his connection to his home planet?

Yes, absolutely. That is a fundamental piece of his story. Krypton is part of the story and is really one of the things I'm most excited about. In terms of what Krypton means, how it's different than the version of Krypton we're used to, how his parents are different, their story, who they are, what they represent, their place in Kryptonian culture. And how all of that feeds into Superman's character and personality. And that there's a lot about that suit that we'll explore and reveal.

And you get some of those pieces in issue one and more as they go. But every part of that costume has deep meaning. And yeah, that cape is part of it. It's got this dusty gradient texture. And yeah, it's literally made out of the dust of his home planet. So he's wearing the last remains of Krypton on his back.

He carries his entire culture. Nobody knows what Krypton was or that it existed except for him. And what does that mean for him? What does that mean for him as a guy who's stuck here now, you know, searching for a place, a home, a family, and a sense of belonging?

I mean, issue one opens on Krypton. And a big part of issue one is about Krypton, Jor-El, and Lara. And some answers will come by the end of that issue, making things a little clearer. Still, I think to me a big part of this story is going back and looking at what Superman meant to Siegel and Schuster in 1938, and that's as, as young immigrants who came to this country, Superman was this kind of idealized version of the immigrant story. So, I think some of it is reinterpreting that story for 2024, not 1938. And what does that look like? So Krypton is a big part of that. What does the culture of Krypton, which birthed Kal-El and shaped him, look like, and what is he carrying with him from that? That’s a huge, huge part of this story.

What can you say about Rafa Sandoval’s work on this book? Was it daunting for both of you to build this side of the Absolute Universe from the ground up?

Yeah. If it's been daunting for Rafa, he hasn't shown it. He's someone who has drawn so much great Superman stuff in the past that he certainly knows that version of Superman, but he seemed to leap at the chance and dive in wholeheartedly at the idea of designing a version of Superman we haven't seen before. And so, yeah, I love the look of the suit.

Each part kind of has deep meaning beyond just cool cosmetic changes. Some of that stuff will continue to develop as the story goes on. Like you, you haven't seen the full, really complete version of that costume. There are things that change about it, which we'll explore a little bit in issue one, and you get more of it in issue two. And again, so much of this story is about showing a character who's not fully formed. He is not a fully formed Superman when we meet him in issue one; he's not fully formed in issue six, you know, or issue 10. It’s about enjoying that journey and watching him develop as he faces all these different challenges coming his way

How would you describe Absolute Superman’s powers? Do you try to keep things the same?

I mean, I want us to try not to be precious about anything. In terms of characters, looks, and powers, should they look and act exactly as we know them? Some of them may do, and some of them definitely don't.

I can't speak explicitly about it without giving away too much stuff, but we're seeing his powers develop as the book progresses. And so, he is not a polished superhero. His powers are not always fully within his control when we meet him.

Will we see familiar faces in the book from the Superman mythos?

Yeah, there are absolutely familiar faces. There will also be unfamiliar faces, at least in terms of usual Superman stories. I think you can assume any of those characters we meet are different from the versions we know. I didn't want to do a new version of Superman that opened with him fighting Lex Luthor or that still opened in the Daily Planet or in the places or situations we know.

So any of the characters we meet from those places that we associate with those places, they're not there. They're not where they quote unquote should be, which some of it speaks to the nature of this screwed up, darker version of the DC Universe — that the Absolute Universe is fundamentally flawed and that there's like a darkness at the core of it. Nothing is right. And it puts all these characters more alone, desperate, and in danger than we're used to seeing them.

So yes, assume in the same way of what I'm trying to do with Superman, where it's like, this is the same character, you know, right? The heart is the same, what he stands for, what he fights for is the same. Everything he's going through to get to that point has been different than what you're used to; where he goes from there will be different. You can assume that extends to supporting characters we're going to meet, whether they're people we assume will be his allies or people we assume will be his enemies. Nothing has worked out for those people in the way you expect it to, which to me is exciting because it means anything can happen in this world, and the stories we're going to tell are ones we haven't seen with Superman before.

Lastly, how exciting has it been to work alongside such talented creators in forming the Absolute Universe?

I mean, from the first conversations I had with Scott Snyder, where we were talking about his Batman ideas, and I started to come up with Superman ideas, and then Kelly got involved with her Wonder Woman pitch… it's a super cool group of people.

And I think we've all felt that sense of excitement if you're looking at what's going on in the other book, and you're like, “damn, oh, that's really cool.” I've had those moments before in my career where it feels like there's this really exciting group of people in this proverbial room building this stuff together. And it definitely spurs you to kind of want to swing even more for the fences.

Absolute Superman arrives in comic book stores on November 6, 2024.

This interview has been edited for clarity.