Absolute Universe

The Absolute Universe (AU) is an imprint of American comic books overseen by writer Scott Snyder and published by DC Comics. The comics take place in a shared universe designated Alpha-World as part of the DC Comics multiverse, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the DC Universe.

The imprint is part of the DC All In initiative, debuting in the aftermath of the 2024 Absolute Power crossover event. It was launched that year with the publication of the ongoing series Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman.

Publication history

The Absolute Universe (AU) is an all-new continuity separate from the DC Universe (DCU) overseen by Scott Snyder as part of the DC All In initiative.[1] The AU began in October 2024 with the DC All-In Special. The first titles released in the AU are Absolute Batman by Snyder with Nick Dragotta, and Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman, which both started publication in October. A third title, Absolute Superman by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval, debuted in November of the same year.[2][3] Originally Rafael Albuquerque was set to illustrate Absolute Superman, but had to pull out of the project due to severe floods in his home country of Brazil, with Sandoval being brought onto the project in June 2024.[4]

Three further titles were released in 2025: Absolute Flash by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles, Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez (both in March),[5][6] and Absolute Green Lantern by Al Ewing and Jahnoy Lindsay in April. Two additional titles, Absolute Green Arrow by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque,[7] and Absolute Catwoman by Che Grayson, Scott Snyder and Bengal are scheduled for release in 2026.

Additionally, the Absolute versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman appeared at the end of DC K.O. #3, a series that features Darkseid wishing to transform DC's Prime Earth following the creation of the Absolute Universe.

Setting

The AU features previous concepts from Doomsday Clock (2017–2019), Dark Nights: Death Metal (2020–2021), and Infinite Frontier (2021–2023). It is set in Earth-Alpha, also called the Elseworld, one of the two pillars of the Metaverse, along with Earth-Omega, where Darkseid used to be imprisoned. According to Snyder, while the DCU is "influenced by Superman energy", the AU is "influenced by Darkseid energy", making society treat superheroes as underdogs.[8][9]

It is established in DC All In Special that Earth-Alpha has been reshaped by Darkseid's essence as he is bent on creating a world driven by challenge and turmoil in which heroes are the "small chaos" rather than established parts of its system, while attempting to control its past and future during the gradual consolidation of the timeline on modern times.[10] Vital parts of the characters are stripped (i.e., Batman's wealth, Diana's childhood, and Superman's upbringing with the Kents), while keeping the central message and key personality traits intact.

Main changes between the Absolute Universe and the mainline DC universe come down to differences in power (the rich and wealthy largely dominate the world's politics and rule without repercussion, with the world's heroes at a severe disadvantage against them) and worldbuilding (there is no presence of the New Gods, certain aliens such as Martians lack physical bodies, and the emotional spectrum of the Lantern Corps is shortened). Important changes include:

• The Justice League is an alliance between the Joker, Ra's Al Ghul, Hector Hammond, Veronica Cale, and Elenore Thawne.
• Bruce Wayne is a bluecollar construction worker, working with CIA operative Alfred Pennyworth. His mother, Martha, is still alive, and his close friends include Waylon Jones, Edward Nygma, Harvey Dent, Oswald Cobblepot, Matches Malone and Selena Kyle.
• Kal El grew up on Krypton prior to its destruction, and lives as an illegal immigrant on Earth with his AI companion Sol, which functions as his cape and Fortress of Solitude. His close friends include corporate soldier Lois Lane and terrorist Jimmy Olsen.
• Diana grew up in Hell, raised by her adoptive mother Circe and mentored by the Greek gods, having been separated from the Amazons at birth by Zeus.
• Wally West kills Barry Allen by accident and is a loose fugitive after gaining his superpowers, accompanied by a mutant monkey named Grodd.
• John Jones is a human police detective whose mind is invaded by a non-physical alien following a severe head trauma.
• The emotional spectrum consists of black (qard: chaotic action), red (rao: restraint from action), green (sur: correct action), and yellow (aur: enlightenment). Sojourner Mullein is an ex-cop who becomes an anomalous ("tomar") user of the green light. Other characters include the Abin Sur ("abin" meaning one who uses the light with understanding). "Ain" is used for inexperienced users who introduces the levels of light to Earth, and those include Hal Jordan (the Black Hand, an Ain Quard), Guy Gardener (an Ain Rao), John Stewart (an Ain Aur), officers Cameron Chase and Simon Baz, Tomar Re (a Tomar Rao) and Killowog and the Blackstars (Abin Quards) and are led by Mogo the living planet.

List of publications

Collected editions

Reception

Other media

See also

• Earth One: The first modern reimagining of DC Comics titular characters.
• Ultimate Marvel: An imprint by Marvel Comics similar to Absolute Universe and Earth One.
• Ultimate Universe: Another Marvel Comics imprint with a modern reimagining of its characters released around the same time as the Absolute Universe.
• Energon Universe: An Image Comics shared universe of Transformers and G.I. Joe.