I have to admit I've been quite excited for this one! What started off as a rocky introduction quickly became one of my recent favourites. The art style, the story that hardly even focuses on Superman, and the world building which have slowly grown on me as the volumes release. In some ways I'm preferring this one to the Absolute Batman story which is universally loved at this point. The last volume was probably the best one so far, a volume that finally had a little bit of Superman in it, but hardly focused on the character as it displayed a series of events that had been previously unfolding and worsening. The attempts from Lois Lane to hunt down and find Superman again, discussing him with numerous people throughout the world that had recently experienced his presence, having only positive comments to give on him whereas the Lazarus Corporation is interested in hunting him down for their own malicious reasons. This corporation being responsible for the near death of planet Krypton from an exhaustion of its natural resources. Utilising the people as workers that endlessly put themselves into unhealthy environments for next to no pay as they bring in silly amounts of profit from the resources gained. This corporation being a bit of a mirror to our own reality, the ways in which poorer nations are exploited for their natural resources, how people are treated like nothing and such organisations simply cover up their dark acts.
I got a little more excited for this volume given the general synopsis advertises itself as a semi-conclusion to a theme that has been present throughout: the decline of Krypton. Here and there we've seen how the planet was failing, the ways in which the natural environment had shifted and the government and corporation had been covering it up with lies. But also the fighting back that came from Superman's family as a child when this was already starting to unfold. And how Superman even as a child would show his stubborn side that refuses to accept the lies. I mentioned that Superman has been a bit thin within this story so far, but I think it has been for the best, he's more seen as this mythical being that's mostly told to us from the experiences of others, and brief panels that do feature him show him in this light of a force to best avoid. Such anger and power behind him, and constantly leaving a path of destruction in his path; though the usual setup in which Superman never kills remains. No matter how much destruction is left behind and what is destroyed, people are never left dead from his acts. The comic of course doesn't really mention how this works if he destroys helicopters in mid-air and tanks with crews within them, but you get the general idea. I have enjoyed this structure, more about the context rather than the constant appearance of the main character, and it does work. To say I was disappointed that this, and many other comics, got delayed by over a week would be an understatement. But finally, it's here.
Finally we get a volume with some perspective from Superman himself, his younger days as he remembers the day in which Krypton's fate had finally been discovered by the general population. The corruption of the corporations that had kept it secret while preparing their own escape. The planet had fallen in multiple senses, now with its society scattered and the law attempting to hold any order it still had. It's rare that we hear of a Superman fueled by rage, one that holds intense anger. It's interesting that they chose to keep the usual setup in which Superman doesn't kill, though his general demeanor is one that screams he's on the brink of doing so. Claiming to be the 'fury of billions'. The Lazarus Corp still existing all these years later, still performing their usual corrupt tasks, and still having the delusion of assuming their weapons hold any actual impact against Kal. Now located on Earth, yet another planet on the brink of destruction from their greed. Reflections on the past on how few people were actually saved by his parents in the end, the little numbers that did manage to board the ship in time. Even in the face of more evil, during battle, Kal still thinking of the many lives lost and hoping it wasn't all suffering, that in such horrific moments there might've been some good displayed within humanity. This story has been quite back-and-forth throughout its five volumes, many flashbacks that showed the destruction slowly unfolding at Krypton, but not so much the action side in the present where Superman aims to get his revenge. This also includes a bit of repetition towards the corporation and its various acts.
A strength in this volume though was seeing the introduction of Sol. This is the space suit that Superman wears and gives him a number of special powers. Not quite like the previous iterations of the character where all power resides within the character alone. In this story part of his abilities come from an AI suit that can react in real time to ensure higher chances of survival depending on the scenario. It's not the first time we've seen Sol in use, though it wasn't previously established how and why he got the suit in the first place. It's something others also had, but one that served its purpose during the escape from dying Krypton, as the ship came into contact with debris, shattering into pieces in the sky, activating Sol's protection by forming its own shape and ship to contain Kal within. It was nice to see that others received a similar suit, and that it wasn't something specific and special to Kal, not some revolutionary tech, not some special individual power. A regular space suit, and one of many. The comic has been pretty strong on its pollution narrative, and the many connections to reality, and that's where the comic yet again feels a bit repetitive: people being the problem, nature having endured on its own for billions of years. Finally dealt a killing blow within a short span of time from humanity.
Fortunately it does appear that this is the conclusion of the first story within Absolute Superman. The establishing world building that led to Kal arriving on Earth as a teenager. The fear and want for revenge, while also not knowing what he's capable of. Arriving on Earth prepared to go to war. I'm quite interested in where things go from here, given this is where the Smallville story starts; I'm hoping it manages to maintain its own direction without too much reliance on the previous character structure, but also hoping the story doesn't keep this constant hopping from the past into the present throughout its volumes. This wasn't as good of a volume as the previous, it felt a bit like a summary of the general events so far, with a final end that we all already knew. But at least that side of things is over. Perhaps not so worth the wait and delay.