The second issue of Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval’s Absolute Superman is in comic stores now and it continues the Absolute imprint’s so far unbroken 100% hit rate – as with the range’s Batman and Wonder Woman titles this is simply a great superhero comic.
In the new issue the young Man of Steel has been caught in Brazil by the security forces of the Lazarus Corporation – most notably Agent Lane. He escapes, taking Lois with him, but before all of that we open with a flashback to Kal-El’s life on Krypton and it gives Aaron and Sandoval the opportunity to make a fairly pointed jab about generative AI…
Spoilers for Absolute Superman #2
The first page of the issue takes us back to six years previously, with the teenage Kal-El still living on his not-yet-destroyed home planet. He has written a story about the dangers faced by the “loggers in the glass forest of Urrika” for class, but there’s a problem: his teacher is concerned that it doesn’t “contain any generative text at all.” Kal replies that he wrote it himself, much to the consternation of his teacher. That’s simply not how things are done on the classist hellhole that is Absolute Krypton.
It’s a fun scene, but it isn’t just Aaron poking at a hot button topic. It ties into one of the big themes of the issue, which is largely concerned with laying the foundations for the relationship between Kal-El and Lois Lane. He is an alien refugee on the run from an evil corporation. She is in the company’s employ, but starting to realize that Lazarus Corp probably doesn’t have anyone’s best interests at heart when the Peacemaker army opens fire on them both.
Superman saves Lois’s life and then flees the scene, leaving Agent Lane to write up her “After-Action Report” for Lazarus. They only spent a few minutes together but that time was enough for Lois to write a report rich with detail and vital context. Even in this twisted reality, Lois Lane still has the brain of a journalist.
All the Braniac Algorithm wants to know, however, is “How grave of a danger would you rank the subject, on a scale of one to ten?” The AI sweeps up her data but understands none of its meaning. Lois wants to study Superman. The algorithm immediately jumps to killing him.
Elsewhere, the issue explores the Absolute Superman’s powers, clarifying that while some of them come from his suit – itself an artificial intelligence – much comes from Kal-El himself. He can make giant leaps, but not quite fly and he already has command of his Super Breath. Most importantly, he already has an ethical framework, Lane describing him as “a man who cannot help but be earnest. Who could never lie… even if he needed to.” He may be in a different universe, but that sure sounds like our Superman.
Oh, and we also find out how he smells! “Like oak barrels full of burgundy, stored for a thousand years in a musty basement,” according to Lois. That’s nice. At least they still have fine wine in the Absolute Universe.
Absolute Superman #2 is out now from DC.
Jason Aaron explains his fresh take on the Man of Steel in Absolute Superman in our exclusive interview.