SDCC 2024: Jason Aaron on Revitalizing Superman for the Absolute Universe (2024)

DC Comics is making bold changes to its biggest icons, including Superman, with its upcoming initiative DC All In. It was just a few weeks ago that the publisher confirmed it was going to overhaul its greatest heroes in a new world known simply as the Absolute Universe.

A world built on Darkseid energy, the Absolute Universe is an Earth where heroes lack many of the comforts of their Prime Universe counterparts. Batman has no money and Wonder Woman has no island. But what of the Man of Steel? Superstar writer Jason Aaron sat down with Screen Rant at San Diego Comic Con International to reveal what fans can expect from Absolute Superman.

Screen Rant: Jason in the last year you've done Batman Off-World and "I, Bizarro", your Action Comics story. How did that help you prepare for what you have coming with the Absolute Universe?

Jason Aaron: That's a good question. I mean, I knew coming into DC for the first time after 20 years in comics. I liked the idea of doing a Batman project, I knew I wanted to do that. The Action Comics run got offered to me, and I couldn't pass up the chance to write Superman. I wasn't looking to jump onto an ongoing book. I've enjoyed working here and there in the last year. Scott Snyder called me and we started talking about the idea of the Absolute Universe. And I realized "There's a chance to take one of these characters and do something really, really exciting with them. It's an opportunity that doesn't come along all the time.".

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Jason Aaron: I said I want to do Superman. So I think I've been preparing for this job my entire life. I learned to read from comics. The first comics I read were World's Finest and DC Comics Presents, all books that had Superman in them and on the cover. He has been a part of me becoming a comic book fan, which pretty quickly led to me saying "Well, I want to do that.". Part of me always felt like you're not really a comic book writer until you've written Superman. So despite being in comics, 20 years, I wasn't really 'legit'. I got to do that in Action Comics, but this is a much bigger job.

At the Absolute Power panel the other day, Scott Snyder talked about removing the comforts of these heroes and trying to discover what's consistent with their characterizations. Was it hard finding what still makes Clark Superman with all these things removed?

Jason Aaron: In short, no, because I've been learning who Superman is,as long as I can read. I struggle with talking about this because I'm super excited to talk about it, and I don't want to give away all the secrets. But everything fits together. Like I talked about it at the panel when we showed the image of Superman and his costume. The costume is very different in a lot of ways, parts of it glow. His hair's long, his cape looks very, very different. All those things are not just cosmetic choices. There's a reason that cape looks like that. I'll give you the one tidbit I'll say is: Look at the cape. It's got a gradient texture. He's literally wearing the dust of Krypton. Even that has different meanings that reflect on who his parents are. What happened with Krypton, what that suit means. So every part of him has a meaning. His hair being long has a meaning beyond just looking cool.

Oh you didn't just want to make him hot? Because I have a lot of coworkers, and I won't name names, who are loving the thirst trap Superman. That wasn't the intention?

Jason Aaron: No. Happy accident, but we're not unaware of that. But you will see why his hair is like that. It has very specific, profound meanings for who he is and what his personality is. All that being important in the costume, it's the same for his life. Krypton is different. His place in Krypton, his parents' place and Krypton and his relationship with them. That's all different. How he came to earth is different. What happened when he got here? The story doesn't start in Metropolis, it just starts in Brazil in a diamond mine. His place in the world has changed. He doesn't have a family and he doesn't have a home. His connection to Earth is different. We're meeting a Superman who is a little bit more raw, a little bit angrier, his powers are more raw. He's still figuring out what he can do. All that said, you can assume as part of that, his life in Kansas wasn't what we think it should be.

First Superman writer to live in Kansas, right?

Jason Aaron: Yeah, first ongoing Superman writer to ever actually live in Kansas. There'll be so many surprises to come in this book as it goes. There'll be surprises in issue one. There's a big surprise in issues five and six. There's surprises in issue twelve. This is a big, big story. This guy is not fully formed. We're gonna watch and see how he grows and develops along with every other person. you assumed is going to be a part of his world. None of them are where they're supposed to be. It all makes sense in terms of re-imagining these characters and the corrupted, broken nature of this world, which Josh and Scott explore in the All In Special. Just assume nothing is going to be the same but also, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel in terms of what makes Superman, Superman.

You did talk about the costume and you pointed out that everything about it has a purpose. You also credited Rafa Sandoval, the artist you're working with. Do you want to talk about what he brought to the table when you guys were envisioning what this new Superman needs to be?

Jason Aaron: Yeah, Rafa nailed it right away. We had a lot of thoughts about the color scheme, the different elements of the suit. The suit will not always look exactly like you'll see it in that image. The first image Rafa did, which is similar to the cover of issue one, was an image that didn't really work for the cover. But is the first thing he did. Nailed it...In the first first image he did and then from there, we're redesigning Krypton, redesigning the look and meaning of Krypton, redesigning the villains. We showed the cover for issue two at the panel, which showed you not just a Peacemaker, but an army of Peacemakers, which is one of the first bad guys you see. You see a sign laying on the ground that says "Lazarus is Life", which we won't say any more about.

What is something you want readers to know as they come into this new era and this new Superman?

Jason Aaron: This is me swinging for the fences. This is far and away the biggest DC thing I've done. Maybe the biggest DC thing I ever do. In the same way my time at Marvel will be defined forever by my run on Thor, I want this to be the same thing. If I only ever write one DC book, I think I could die happy because of how much of my heart and how much new wild stuff we're putting into this. At the same time, this is my love letter to DC Comics, to this character in particular. I hope it shows Superman is deeply, deeply important. When we're talking about this being a new version of Superman, the version is a little bit more dangerous, a little bit more raw.

Jason Aaron: That doesn't mean we're trying to make a dark, edgy Superman who goes around killing babies. I want you to be surprised. I want you to be excited. Maybe a little bit fearful and worried about the direction. Trust me. This comes from a place of love. This is going to be a story that's going to make you happy, but surprising you constantly along the way. Which I think to me, is like the greatest thing I can do as a comic writer. That's the job. So I am super, super, super excited about this project.

Absolute Superman #1 is available on November 6th from DC Comics.