Absolute Superman #5 Review
Rage
“Last Dust of Krypton” Finale
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Rafa Sandoval
Colors: Ulises Arreola
Letters: Becca Carey
Cover: Rafa Sandoval & Ulises Arreola
Variant Covers: Sean Murphy & Simon Couch; Jae Lee & June Chung; Darrick Robertson & Diego Rodriguez
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: 4.99
Release Date: March 12, 2025
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Less Development, More Anger
Rage given form is good way to describe Absolute Superman #5. A series that seemed to be angry almost from page one continues to get angrier. Unfortunately, this ongoing anger hasn’t translated into any meaningful character development. It’s a problem that continues to persist into this issue.
Krypton comes to a rather ignominious end in the flashbacks in Absolute Superman #5. Kal’s parents try to save as many as they can. In present day Pakistan, Kal is fighting his way through a Peacemaker outpost. His goal is to find Christopher Smith who was responsible for a massacre in the previous issue. The more Kal fights, the more violent he becomes. He starts losing himself.
Absolute Superman #5 is a dark and angry comic. The Kryptonians are painted in possibly their worst light yet, which is a major feat given the story to this point. And Kal is raging out of control for the bulk of the issue. In Absolute Superman #5’s final pages, Aaron does provide hope that Kal’s arc in this first storyline will eventually move him toward a character that is at least reminiscent of how Superman is usually depicted. At the moment, though, it risks being too little, too late.
Part of the problem is that there has been virtually no character development for present day Kal. Nor has Aaron established firm links between the qualities of Kal from the past with the qualities of Kal from the present. To this point, the far more compelling version of the character is Kal in the flashbacks. Aaron has developed him to the point that he could be the series’ main character. Certainly he is a more sympathetic protagonist than Kal in the present day. Indeed, by the end of Absolute Superman #5, the two versions are almost irreconcilable–save for one line of dialogue in the past that is seemingly meant to establish Kal’s motivation going forward.
Aaron’s continued lackluster development of Kal aside, Absolute Superman #5 does further flesh out some of the world’s concepts. For instance, the reader now knows what Sol is (at least in the most basic sense) and that Kal first acquired it on the day Krypton died. Is Sol more to Kal than just an A.I. that assists him in battle? The revelation that not only is Brianiac keeping miniaturized cities in bottles, but that they are full of people “who won’t stop screaming” is disturbing. Fleshing out these science fiction ideas as well as large scale world building continues to be the series’ greatest strength.
Red For Rage, Green For Boom
Arreola’s coloring is the big visual takeaway from Absolute Superman #5. This is not to slight Sandoval’s art. But at this point green and red have been fused into the very bones of the series. In their own way, they each speak to horror. Green, of course, is the literal color of Krypton’s destruction. Red is Kal’s color, both for the dust/cape and in this issue especially, for the fight sequences in the Peacemaker outpost. While green is likely to fade away as an especially meaningful color for storytelling purposes, the overriding use of red imbues Kal with a threatening quality. Even when Kal isn’t in combat in this issue, the red that Arreola has chosen for the dust around Kal contrasts heavily with every setting and against other characters. It is a constant reminder of how powerful and dangerous he can be.
Much in the same way that Aaron doesn’t effectively connect past and present Kal in terms of character development, Sandoval’s art for the two visions of Kal feels disconnected. But unlike the written narrative surrounding Kal, the change in appearance is more believable. Part of that owes to the visual transition of present day Kal seen in these first five issues. As his motivations and actions changed, his expressions varied with his mood.
The detail for the action sequences is somewhat obscured by the intense red that is used for most of them. The art is still very expressive, though. The Peacekeepers’ expressions range all over the place, from anger to fear. Though they are the antagonists, Sandoval doesn’t make the mistake of lumping all the Peacekeepers into one generic look.
Carey’s font and caption choices for Sol, effective in previous issues, create problems here. Whether a lack of prior communication behind the scenes early on or a simple bad happenstance, the intense red color of the action sequences makes Sol’s red caption boxes and white font very difficult to read. For the rest of the issue Carey’s work is very effective, but this problem is distracting even if it is brief.
Final Thoughts
Absolute Superman has a great deal of potential, but Kal needs much better development. Other characters will benefit from this as well. And the flashbacks, though useful from a world building standpoint, haven’t yet accomplished much character building. Fortunately the end of Absolute Superman #5 offers hope for improvement going forward.
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