How Did Absolute DC Become the New Big Thing in Comics? It All Comes Down to Legacy

Some will argue that Absolute DC is the best thing that DC Comics has to offer at this moment, given that the new Absolute Universe has taken the world by storm, sparking a newfound interest in the comic industry and boosting its sales, as Absolute Batman #1 instantly became 2024's best-selling comic book. Respectively, Absolute Superman and Absolute Wonder Woman have peaked intrigue in their own right.

CBR recently interviewed Jason Aaron, the writer behind DC Comics' Absolute Superman. CBR delivered praise, stating how the Absolute Universe managed to succeed without overshadowing the main canon of the DC Universe. Jason Aaron emphasized that the Absolute Universe was never meant to "fix" the main DC Universe but instead offers a fundamentally different kind of storytelling.

Unlike the main canon, which thrives on history, legacy, and interconnected characters, the Absolute Universe presents heroes who are young, untested, and without established support systems, facing a world where villains have long been in control. He contrasts this with Mark Waid's work, which leans into DC’s rich legacy, highlighting how both approaches can coexist, offering fans two distinct, but equally compelling takes on the DC Universe.

The Absolute Universe Might Not Rely on Legacy, But It Still Plays a Major Role

Readers Bring Their Own Legacy to the Absolute Universe

Aaron emphasizes that the Absolute Universe is built without the legacy and deep-rooted connections of the main DC Universe, but ironically, it's that very legacy that fuels Absolute’s success. The DC Universe’s nearly 100-year history brings a level of prestige that Absolute is still earning. While Absolute’s heroes are starting from scratch within their own world, the audience carries a deep knowledge of DC history into these stories, making their struggles, evolutions, and even the universe’s deviations from tradition all the more impactful.

For example, in the Absolute Universe, the meaning and legacy of the word "Amazon" is something that Absolute Wonder Woman is still discovering, but most readers understand its significance in her broader mythology. The fact that this version of Diana has been stripped of that history makes this deviation feel even more profound, creating a unique form of tension between the audience’s understanding and the character’s own limited perspective. Hence, Absolute Universe may not have legacy within its own storytelling framework, but it thrives because of the legacies that readers bring with them, making every shift, absence, or reinvention feel meaningful in ways that wouldn’t be possible without the main DC Universe’s long-standing history.

Jason Aaron: I think what we're doing in the Absolute Universe are stories that you can't do in the other universe. The two universes are fundamentally different. And doing stories about these characters when they're young and raw, in the midst of a universe where the odds are completely stacked against them, and there's no kind of family or supporting cast like they usually have in terms of allies, there's no legacy to this world. They are very much coming out of the blue and standing on their own against the universe where the bad guys have been winning for a long time. So that's a fundamentally different story than the DC Universe.

DC Fans Are Getting the Best of Both Worlds

“You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.” - Jason Aaron on the Absolute Universe

With the Absolute Universe existing as a deliberate subversion of DC Comics and its history, a basic familiarity with that history enhances the experience, though it is not necessary to know this history to understand the Absolute narratives. As Aaron puts it, “You can have your cake and eat it too,”—meaning audiences can enjoy the rich legacy of the main canon while also embracing Absolute’s fresh, standalone approach. DC fans get the best of both worlds: one built on nearly a century of history and another that reimagines heroes without those foundations.

Source: CBR

DC Universe

Created by

Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson

First Film

Man of Steel

First TV Show

Peacemaker

Cast

Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor, Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Xolo Mariduena

Movie(s)

Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold

Character(s)

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam

The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.

ExpandCollapse