absolute superman #5 analysis + art details post (yes. another one)
okay can I just. Can I just talk about this cover for a second?
I never paid attention to it but like. THE WAY THE EXPLODING PLANET LOOKS LIKE HIS CAPE. ENVELOPING HIM. Sol/the dust as the last vestige of his world AND the explosion literally looks like it's weighing down on him. His face in shadow. Ughhh it's so evocative ugh
It's funny, I never realized there were days plural after the story broke- I always envisioned it all happening at once and ugh the fact that they had to wait for all of this is so much worse. There's such a tangible dread when you know something terrible is going to happen but you don't know when yet. Waiting for their house to get raided. Waiting for Krypton to explode. I would love to see them explore this in later flashbacks
And- his entire family was sentenced to death? Does that include him? I'd think not bc he's sentenced to the phantom zone in the Brainiac simulation in Issue #11, but also I wouldn't put it past the Law Guild to kill a kid. To kill the kid who WROTE this story :(
"I don't know which was worse... how we Kryptonians had abused our homeworld... so brutally, so heedlessly for so very long. Or what we did to one another... in those, our final, shameful hours" <- This just... hits. God, it's so sad, I can't even articulate it
love Jor's POV in this panel too, it's so menacing with the ships and the missile coming towards them and his hands gripping the console. GOD I love comics
soooo so broken about this. Her expression. The realization that she can't save everyone. There just isn't time. The parallels between her and Kal in the future, realizing HE can't save everyone. ("feels obscene to listen. feels more obscene not to" -issue #15)
so sad how many parents and kids are on board :( the little guy in the hat holding the bag(?) close to his chest... ugh
Beautiful panel. Gives me vibes of this from Superman: Birthright:
ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL PANEL. And then we transition to this
To Kal trying just that. And you really feel his grief here, his desperation to do what he promised himself.... the swirling red dust everywhere... you don't even see Kal's face but you FEEL his emotions. His grief and rage- for his planet when he's a kid, and now for the Orangi 23.
Also, sidenote: I think it's actually pretty how much Lazarus harkens to the US military and like. They're the baddies. They're the institution Kal is taking out his rage on like a little badass. I feel like it can be hard for more mainstream stories to paint the military as corrupt/dangerous/evil, and I know Absolute Superman isn't like "blockbuster Hollywood mainstream", but I'm always impressed when a story from a "big name" company like DC manages to pull it off. I'm a big institutional whump fan and Lazarus Corp is probably my favorite Absolute Superman "villain"- with Brainiac as a runner up. Yum yum yum yum yum
FUCKKKKKKK!!!! BRO FUCKING MICROWAVED THEM. anyways. I love his rage here. He's out of control, desperately searching for Christopher Smith. Tbh I have no doubt that if Smith had been there Kal would have killed him
I really enjoy the Kal & Sol dynamic of Sol advising against it but still helping Kal out because that's what he does.
"Rage floods my guts, like the lava that swallowed the Redlands. I am the fury of billions" <- LIKE THE LAVA THAT SWALLOWED THE REDLANDS. RAGE AND GRIEF AS TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN. The fury of billions. Of the countless people he's met who've been treated like livestock. Of the injustice of it all. JUSTICE. THE SUPERMAN THING. GOD. "My entire world died screaming, while I was helpless to stop it. But I'm not helpless anymore" I fucking LOVE the issues where we hear Kal's inner monologue.
And I've said it before; I'll say it again: the really compelling thing about Kal is he is one of them. He was, and is, the people who have been treated like livestock. The only difference is, he has powers now. I'm not helpless anymore.
I really love his face in that first panel. The realization of what he just did. What he could become. I've seen some discussion online about Kal-El and killing and the ethics of it all. My own interpretation is that Kal doesn't kill not necessarily out of some feeling of moral superiority but rather 1) it's not who he is, it's what everyone wants him to do, and it's the last sliver of autonomy he holds onto 2) he keeps that rule for himself because he is so powerful. Because inherently, he does not trust himself to cross that line and not be corrupted by it. He doesn't trust himself at ALL. Him feeling morally superior could be part of it, sure, but I don't think it's the driving part of it here
"Someone called Brainiac is attempting to infiltrate my systems" God :( Sol was doomed from the start. Probably fighting Brainiac off for the entire comic... Ohhhh it hurts
waouoguaoguoguoaguoghghhhh little dot eyes Superman I love it when he has the simple eyes style it's just so cute
SOL BEING LIKE. HORRIFIED BY THIS. Kal, there are people inside them. People who won't stop screaming. I'm so obsessed with Sol and how he so clearly experiences some form of emotions, and not just "limited" sentience but full sentience, but he won't accept it
SPACESUIT YAYYYYYY i love how gooey and warm it looks
"every part of the vessel is a whole in and of itself" Just like Kal-El #plural #hesplural #canon ANYWAYS
Just saying goodbye. The dust in his hands. Don't worry Kal-El you'll carry that dust with you everywhere you go </3
HOW FUCKING TERRIFYING FOR THEM OH MY GOD anyways AU where he falls in and Lara and Jor-El are the only survivors and they have to deal with the crushing grief of losing not just their planet, but their deeply beloved child :(
"I like to think there were tender moments happening elsewhere on Krypton that day. Loved ones who chose to spend their final hours in each other's arms [...] I like to think in those final hours, there were Kryptonians somewhere out there who were fighting to help each other" god I love this part and I'm with Kal here. Despite what the art in the next panel shows, it can't possibly have all been violence and hatred.
hah hah hah hah hah ANYWAYS [laughs brokenly in public health]
"not a single ship managed to take off that day. not a one" <- Honestly I REAAAALLLY hope this is true, the bottled city of Kandor would be a tough sell for me in this universe tbh!
WAIT ARE THOSE ROCKS OR ARE THEY FUCKING BODIES. AHHHGIOH
HERE WE SEE THE DUALITY AGAIN! EVEN AS A KID! THE CALM AND CONFIDENT PART OF HIM. A CONFIDENCE I HAD NEVER KNOWN. I FELT HOPE. I love how this part of him unlocks after he realizes Krypton is dying, and then continues to be a thing for him for the rest of his life ;-;
The fact that Kal told her not to be scared. That she'd be safe... the best ship that's ever flown. fuck
god this is so fucked upppp god the fucking mom and her kiddo GOD
AND THEN. FUKING. FUCK. DO NOT BE AFRAID, KAL-EL. right after Kal had told that girl not to be afraid. the parallels I'm losing my goddamn MIND.
Do you guys think Sol, like Kal, feels guilty that he told all of those people not to be afraid. He would protect them. It would be okay. And they all died. All but one.
"We're here, Kal. We're with you, son. Always." God the. The fact that they know they probably won't make it, and they just want to give him those final words. The fact that every time he's dying when he's older, he can hear/sense them. The heavy implication that they are still watching him from beyond. Watching him go through all of this pain and torture and all they can hope is that he will remember their love. FUCK I HATE THIS COMIC GOD
"...the planet had become riddled with parasites. Tiny creatures infested Krypton's star-hardened skin, eviscerating the world one handful of guts at a time. Until its insides became unstable. Until its blackened lungs wheezed and gushed radioactive bile" <- THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE BITS OF PROSE IN THIS COMIC IT'S SOOOOO GOOD IT'S SO GOOD
HIS TEARS. ARE HIS TEARS FLOATING. OH MY GOD. I'm gonna fucking cry. It's no wonder Kal never lets anyone get close. It's easier not to feel the pain of loss
the red eyes here... god. god. poor Kal. literally 0.1 seconds from snapping at any given moment
Need to be reminded of home. Obviously he's alluding to Smallville here. His first home on Earth. But I think he's also alluding to Krypton. To his parents. I wonder if he remembers those last words to him. We're here, Kal. We're with you son. Always.
ALSO. THIS ISSUE IS CALLED AD ASTRA PER ASPERA. WHICH BTW MEANS "THROUGH SUFFERING TO THE STARS" IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT.
