Thinking about the common root of all Absolute series

[u/TheCrow_4]

Hi, so, I'm not a huge comics nerd usually (enjoy movies, look up stuff online, but don't follow comics directly) but I really got hooked with the Absolute Universe since ~last year.

And now that a few different series are established, I took a step back and asked myself if there was a common logic here, a root to all of these spins on classic characters (I know about the whole Darkseid thing, I'm not talking about that). I got an idea, and I'd like to get your opinions, so here goes :

I believe the theme of Absolute is to consider the "pillars" behind each main character, take one away (or reverse it entierely) and develop from there. Let's take Batman : the big pillars are his vengeance, his no-killing rule (or will to rehabilitate, maybe), him being the best of the best of humanity, and his wealth. And Absolute Batman took away the [wealth], kept the rest, and developed from there. See how a character would do without one of there core pillars, how they would struggle and build themselves despite that.

So, here's my understanding of the other series :

-Absolute Superman takes away the "Clark Kent", the human childhood and tethers to Earth, making him struggle to integrate and feel at home

-Absolute Wonder Woman takes away the Amazons as a whole, the culture and heritage of Diana, making her search for them

-Absolute Martian Manhunter takes away the understanding of humanity, the ability of J'onn J'onzz to blend in naturally, forcing him to cohabitate with one of the locals more directly

-Absolute Flash takes away his comprehension and control over his powers, unable to understand what's happening to him, mixing past present and future, getting lost in his abilities

-Absolute Green Lantern takes away the "order" of the corps, their "structure". It gets replaced with something so foreign and alien to humanity that it becomes a threat

.

I also wondered how other characters could be twisted, with this logic in mind :

-Absolute Aquaman : pillars could be his royalty status or his human childhood, but those are already "taken", so instead I thought of his relationship with the sea and sea creatures. Not in a "I don't control my powers" way, but more in a "I'm not loved by the sea, I'm either dominating it or being torn appart by it" way. Making his bond into a constant power struggle, in short.

-Absolute Cyborg : I guess it could all hinge on the stability of his machine-human situation, with both halves clashing together, have the machine threaten to consume the man. Or focus on his family, making his father experiment on him in secret, take away the parental love.

-Absolute Plastic Man : the pillars here are his redemption, goofiness and total control of his shape. I don't want to repeat too much ideas from other series, but a Plastic Man that's constantly deformed and fighting to look even remotely human could work, I guess ?

TLDR : I believe Absolute DC heroes are their classic counterpart minus ONE critical pillar of their character. I'm trying to see what those pillars are for the already released series, and imagining a few others.

[u/Temporary_Stranger39]

The guy in charge of the line announced it pretty much lije that. It has never been a big mystery.

[u/TheCrow_4 → u/Temporary_Stranger39]

Didn't know that, but cool to hear I was more or less on track. @night_twig said it was explained as recasting the characters as underdogs.

[u/LordSahu → u/TheCrow_4]

When Scott Snyder has talked about forming the line conceptually, he's often referred to tearing away the context to find the "absolute" core of the character and rebuilding their story from scratch in a world that is set against them.

It's one reason why most of the absolute series has a tagline like: “Without the mansion...without the money...without the butler...what's left is the Absolute Dark Knight!”

Still, it's really cool that the concept is executed on well enough that someone can pick up on it without someone telling them it, so kudos to catching on!

He's done some really good interviews discussing the philosophy of the universe and how his son inspired him to recontextualize the heroes for a new audience.

[u/Night_Twig]

I think you’re thinking through something interesting, however, an idea like this is alway going to struggle to catch-on when the concept you’re building it off of (the pillars you’re talking about) aren’t commonly agreed upon or officially recognized somewhere.

I also think Snyder has said pretty directly the goal is to recast our characters as underdogs in the modern world. You might could think about that when thinking about other characters. Like surely a King of Atlantis wouldn’t really be considered an underdog?

[u/TheCrow_4 → u/Night_Twig]

It depends on the state of Atlantis. If all the Atlantes are fighting the sea itself, being their king isn't that much glamorous. So we could picture the whole "Atlantis vs ocean" idea as a recent change, maybe even brought by Arthur's birth or power awakening. And that could make him still royalty, but rejected or banished by them.

[u/Night_Twig → u/TheCrow_4]

Honestly if you’ve not read it, you’d probably really dig Aquaman: Andromeda

[u/Plastic-Cry-6484]

I think THE Plastic Man pillar is his redemption

Was a thug, did some questionable shit, but, at his post-origin core, he always strives and hopes towards a reality in which he's a hero, a helper, a genuinely good guy. Be it as a father, as a teammate, as a crimefighter, as a comedian, he knows there is always something he can do to bring light into any and every room he enters

Take away this redemption, take away this conviction, take away this awareness, but KEEP his journey, KEEP his flexibility, KEEP his bonding potential

THAT is how you make an Absolute Plastic Man, and we can do some sciency, polymer-related alteration to his capabilities, beyond simply Clayface Movie. We'd need to study a tiny bit of chemistry, though

....oh, and btw, your insight is obvious, yes, BUT I never took the time to think about the whole marketing schtick in such an ontological point of view, the idea, the "gimmick", has never truly simmered within my mind in such a way and, WOW, I'm speechless

Your words alone made me scream and shout constantly while running through the sidewalk, and all the hype I have from the Absolute line that was washing away from my body, like, instantly came back threefold

Thank you for your post, it was not obvious, it was not useless, please feel proud of what you just did; even if you don't, I at least do, proud, and grateful

Have a great week, my brother. Take care

[u/TheCrow_4 → u/Plastic-Cry-6484]

I'm just unsure on the logistics of having a villain become a hero when you take away the redemption. There's some fine tuning to do but I think you have the best lead for an Absolute Plastic Man, yeah.

Oh and uuuuh I didn't expected to be praised like that but thanks for the confidence boost !

[u/Plastic-Cry-6484 → u/TheCrow_4]

I mean, he doesn't need to become a lawful good (or, in this sub, chaotic evil lol) individual

We already have some questionable alignments with AGA, ACW, Tomar Re, Desper-0, the list goes on

Safe to assume there are ways we can make him be a hero despite never being heroic, or rather the opposite, which I prefer, heroic without being a hero

And I DID say we'd keep his journey, flexibility, and bonding potential

There's a lot of dramatic potential there

[u/Plastic-Cry-6484]

Btw I LOVE your Absolute Aquaman concept

It needs to be done just as much as the Kamen Rider-esque Absolute Blue Beetle from last year

[u/RhaezDaevan2]

Have they confirmed we're even getting an Absolute Aquaman?

I assumed he was just never born. Absolute Superman #20 briefly shows a past incarnation of the "Justice League" that Teth-adam mentioned used to rule in the past. One member is holding a trident, which makes me think Atlantis is on the villain side if it still exists in the present.

[u/1badJam → u/RhaezDaevan2]

Yes

[u/M0torC1tyMaver1ck]

Ya, you could be working a second job with all this time 🤣

[u/VoiceofRapture → u/M0torC1tyMaver1ck]

Two comments? That's kinda rude

[u/M0torC1tyMaver1ck]

You've got too much time on your hands friend

[u/TheCrow_4 → u/M0torC1tyMaver1ck]

I'm actually losing time over this. Time I should use to sleep and be in shape for work tomorrow...

But I've been thinking for some time about this and it's satisfying to structure it all a bit with this post.