Kickstarting the Absolute Universe is already proving to be one of the best decisions that DC Comics has made in recent memory. DC has started its All-In movement, initiating a new era within its canon. However, while the era creates a new status quo for DC continuity, All-In also presents an alternative that creates an actual, new status quo for an entirely new universe.

DC Comics has used this opportunity to create the Absolute Universe, and it hasn't taken long for the company to enjoy a surge in populartiy as a result. It's hardly been two months since comics from the Absolute Universe first launched, and already, they've been hailed among the most critically and financially successful comics of the year. Absolute Batman #1 in particular has become the highest-selling comic of 2024, sporting over 400,000 sold copies. So what is it about the Absolute Universe that has DC Comics readers so obsessed, so quickly? That question is worth breaking down bit by bit.

How DC Prepated Its Multiverse For The New 'Absolute Universe'

The Creation of The Universe Was A Long Time Coming

To understand the meaning of the new Absolute Universe, readers should first understand exactly how this alternate reality was actually formed, from an idea all the way to a reality. The story all began with the "Absolute Power" event, the canonical arc in which the iconic government operative Amanda Waller launched an all-out assault on metahumans around the globe. While the famous DC Multiverse of parallel Earths has led to countless Elseworld adventures, Waller had a different plan for corss-reality domination. Thankfully, as is usually the case, The Flash saved the day.

Unfortunately, the victory that cut off Waller's power also ended up cutting the main DC Universe off from all other realities, making Prime Earth the only Earth, for all intents and purposes. Fast forward to the DC All In Special #1, and a new reality in which the mightiest heroes of the universe must begin to focus solely on their own world. The perfect opportunity for a villain like Darkseid to think much, much bigger. (And everyone thought Waller was bad.)

The Absolute Universe Finally Makes Darkseid A God-Level Supervillain

What Nightmare Reality Would The Lord of Apokolips Create?

On a completely different arc of his own, Darkseid responds to this Multiversal threat by evolving his own existence, and through desperate means, forcefully bonds to The Spectre. In the same breath, Darkseid dies... distributing all his dark energy onto a single, blank Earth, out of the Justice League's sight. And it is this universe that grows into DC's bold new creative experiment.

Handed his own version of the Prime Earth to shape and distort any way he sees fit, never raised by the Amazons. These key components that make up the essentials of their Prime variants are absent, and thus, makes for a darker, harsher world for everyone to live in.

DC Fans Have Wanted Their Own 'Ultimate' Marvel Universe for Years

Readers Finally Get Their Wish, on a More Extreme Level

If the idea of a comic book company completely reinventing its universe in a bold direction sounds familiar, it's because Marvel struck gold with that formula years ago with its Ultimate Universe. The Ultimate Marvel concept was designed to give readers a break from the main continuity, and take classic characters in a completely new, fresh direction (without sacrificing current stories or their usual status quo). The Ultimate initiative was such a success, that Marvel has brought back the Ultimate Universe all over again.

DC Comics fans saw that success and, understandably, took to imagining the DC version almost immediately. Now at long last, readers finally get to see that curiosity play out in real time, but arguably on an even bolder, extreme level than Marvel's own Ultimate beginnings. While the Ultimate Marvel Universe offered new interpretations of classic characters, they still carried the most iconic, universally known essentials of said characters. Ultimate Spider-Man was still bitten by a radioactive spider, Ultimate Fantastic Four still received their powers from a failed mission, and so on. But DC's Absolute line reshapes classic characters with completely different origin stories, offering a genuinely fresh take for each character.

DC's Absolute Universe Comics Are Perfect for New Fans

Not as Overwhelming as Jumping into Canon

One of the hardest things for any new reader of DC Comics or Marvel to do is find a jumping-on point to dive into a character's story (let alone its place in the larger univere). With more than 80 years of history being dragged along with any 'faithful' version of Batman or Superman, that's asking a lot of newcomers. It's no wonder that comic publishers are willing to try increasingly bold reinventions to try to bring new readers in at all costs. And with most "#1" issues falling short of a legitimate, no-previous-reading-needed launch, it's too common for an intrigued reader to learn that to 'truly follow the story' they need to first catch up on several months of storylines (if not years).

The Absolute Universe fixes that by providing a fresh start for characters, and the readers engaging with them. This would also explain why Absolute Batman #1 blew up with such a large audience so quickly. The idea of catching up on Batman's stories when he's already 80+ years into his journey requires a big commitment, but today's readers can jump into Absolute Batman as it is just beginning, requiring minimal catch-up. DC Comics' new Absolute Universe experiment isn't just engaging old-school comic fans in a new way, but creating a medium for new readers to sink their teeth into, which is especially welcoming in a niche genre.

Absolute Superman, Absolute Batman, and Absolute Wonder Woman are available now wherever DC Comics are sold.