After seeing some TikToks showcasing DC’s new Absolute Universe, I decided to try my hand at reading comics… again. I’ve always wanted to read an ongoing comic run, but oftentimes I get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crossover titles.
When New 52 was hot, I picked up Scott Snyder’s Batman run and read the first couple of volumes. It was fun, but I didn’t crossover into anything else. When Rebirth launched, I picked up all of the Rebirth One Offs and didn’t get very far. Truthfully, I’d love to go back and read an entire character’s full chronology of comics, but doing so would be incredibly tedious and time consuming. Who knows? I might still do that one day.
So after seeing Absolute Batman’s captivating backstory across my For You Page, I purchased the All In Saga Trade Paperback on Amazon for $18. This trade was advertised as the transition into DC’s Absolute Universe, so it seemed like a good starting point before I jump into Absolute Batman.
Unfortunately, I feel a bit lied to. This trade isn’t bad by any means, but there’s only really one issue that’s related to the Absolute Universe. The rest are related to the ongoing runs of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman, in what DC is calling their “All In” run.
Sure, the trade is called “All In Saga”, so maybe I should’ve done my homework a bit more, but man – if this doesn’t exemplify my main problem with comics, I don’t know what will.
Either way, I did read the whole thing, so I’ll include mini-reviews of each issue, along with my favorite panels. (Spoilers below)
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ABSOLUTE POWER #4 is a captivating conclusion of DC’s previous biggest threat. Amanda Waller stole everybody’s powers, but somehow they got them back. Then she opened a big gate into the multiverse and created an infinite army of bad guys.
The heroes save the day, but not without shutting down access to the multiverse.
There’s a couple of character moments to highlight. Green Arrow plays double agent, working with Waller at first, only to turn his back on her and handle the final blow. Dreamer hides all of Waller’s memories in a box in her head, so now she’ll never remember any of the knowledge she had of the Justice League. Air Wave is a living Wi-Fi signal, I GUESS???
There’s cool ideas here, but since it’s a conclusion to a big event that I have not read… I can’t say too much about it. (3/5)
DC ALL IN SPECIAL #1 is the main selling point of this trade and the jump in point for the Absolute Universe.
Darkseid has bonded with the Spectre and is on a quest to take over the Alpha World. Now I can’t tell you exactly what Alpha World is (apparently I needed to have read Dark Nights: Death Metal), but I gotta admit – this is all pretty raw.
Booster Gold is a pivotal character here. As a time traveler from the future, he’s struggling with finding his purpose. Turns out, only time travelers can travel to the Alpha World due to tachyon particles, so the universe has granted him his purpose.
The art is spectacular here and the whole Alpha World is intriguing as hell. Creating a world of heroes who’s advantages have been stripped is both haunting and alluring. Darkseid is also a mammoth of an antagonist. Even though we only get a single panel of Absolute Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman, this was a great introduction into this new Universe. (4/5)
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #1 is neat. The Justice League, presumably for the first time in comic book history, now includes literally every DC hero in existence.
It felt very Saturday Morning Cartoon, though with a bit more grounded approach with the conflicts their fighting. I’m assuming that future issues will be based primarily on cameos. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s also not something I need to personally check up on.
The twist with Air Wave was intriguing though. (I still can’t believe they got a superhero that turns into Wi-Fi signals.) (3/5)
BATMAN #153 shows a Gotham that is incredibly foreign to someone as out of the loop as myself. The Riddler now owns a cryptocurrency company, Vandal Savage is in charge of the police force, and Mr. Freeze is cooling The Riddler’s server room. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is cleaning up the city with nonprofit organizations.
There’s also allusions to the Court of Owls, some new vigilante, and even a hint at Bruce Wayne having a brother.
It’s a surprisingly dense issue in terms of concepts, but not much that I feel the need to catch up for at the moment. Court of Owls stuff has interested me since the beginning of New 52, but I need to go read the rest of that run before jumping into the more modern stuff. (3/5)
SUPERMAN #19 shows a Clark and Lois working together as Superman and Superwoman. Lots of great art in this issue. The Time Trapper, an evolved form of Doomsday is also a really cool design. (3.5/5)
WONDER WOMAN #14 tells the story of Steve Trevor’s death and Wonder Woman’s handling of grief. The whole issue is non-linear, bouncing between different days in a 50 day timescale. I like the idea a lot, but much of the issue kinda drones on from the perspective of one of Wonder Woman’s villains. (2.5/5)
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Overall, if you want to get into the Absolute Universe stuff, you’re probably better off just picking up the first trade in any of their respective runs:
- Absolute Batman Vol. 1
- Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1
- Absolute Superman Vol. 1
- Absolute Flash Vol. 1
- Absolute Martian Manhunter Vol. 1
- Absolute Green Lantern Vol. 1
All-In Special is a really cool start to this universe, but you’d do way better off picking up the individual issue.
The rest of the trade is irrelevant.
In the case that you’re interested in seeing what the main Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman runs are like, you could use this as a preview, but even then, I think you’d be better off picking up the trades of each of their runs:
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