Warning: Spoilers for Absolute Superman #3

Superman's upbringing in Smallville has been a definitive aspect of his lore for decades, dictating the principles he abides by to this day. However, DC's Absolute Universe has overhauled his origin story by making Krypton his true home. Clark Kent's Kansas values now stand in firm opposition to Kal-El's Kryptonian heritage, and there's plenty to compare and contrast between how their differing childhoods shape these versions of Superman.

In an Superman's childhood being spent on Krypton as opposed to a small Kansas town in his bold re-invention of DC continuity. He discusses how he's taken aspects of Smallville and brought them to Krypton to further inform who this Superman becomes:

Part of it is that we've clearly taken away things you normally associate with Clark's upbringing in Smallville and Kansas and supplanted that to Krypton, so that when he comes to Earth, he has an identity. He has a very Kryptonian identity.

While DC's main Superman is a Kansas boy at heart, the Absolute Universe's version considers himself fully Kryptonian through and through. This change in location might throw some readers off, but it ultimately benefits Superman lore by granting Krypton the same depth as Smallville.

Absolute Superman Spends His Childhood on Krypton, Not in Kansas

This Superman's Time on Krypton Influences Him More Than Smallville

The Absolute Universe shakes up the backstory of Superman by pushing off Krypton's explosion until Kal-El is a child. This shift means that he gets to experience his early life on the planet and form memories of it rather than only forming an awareness after it's been destroyed. As a result, his biological parents - Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van - get to spend more time with him and cultivate a deeper bond than ever before. Additionally, Kal-El's identity is tied more closely to Krypton, as much of his development occurs there and not on Earth. Aaron expands upon this notion:

He knows his planet and his history, and he knows his parents. We saw him fall in love with writing there. We see him as this kind of awkward, clumsy, shy kid who still, as you saw in #3, when he realizes this kind of mystery of what's happening to his planet, he goes out and does something about it, to figure it out, and breaks the story to the rest of the world of what's really going on. So I love all that stuff being established before he ever comes to Earth. And then it's the question of, well, what, what happens to him here? How is he treated as an immigrant to this planet?

Much like Smallville, Krypton is integral in shaping the hero and the man that Superman ultimately embodies. He nurtures his ion for writing on Krypton, which ties into Clark Kent's journalism career in the prime universe as a key attribute of his character. Furthermore, when he does leave Krypton to take refuge on Earth in the wake of its tragic end, he's that much more of an outsider because he believes his home to be elsewhere. Superman's home undergoing this change uproots his status quo in critical ways, as he trades Kansas for Krypton.

Superman's Smallville Upbringing Dictates the Hero He Is In DC's Main Continuity

Growing Up In A Kansas Town Defines Superman's Characterization

The Absolute Universe marks a massive shift from most takes on Superman's past, which plant his roots firmly in Kansas soil. In the classic story of how Superman came to Earth, his ship lands in the backyard of Smallville residents immigrant narrative at play.

DC's original Superman grows up in Kansas as part of an all-American town, yet he's still an outsider to a degree. Hiding a part of himself in the form of his superhuman abilities prevents Clark from fully expressing himself around ordinary people. This distance, in turn, causes him to yearn for others who can relate to his experiences. With Krypton long gone, he has never known what it's like to partake in the culture he originates from among fellow Kryptonians, whereas Absolute Superman experiences his home planet prior to its devastating destruction. With that being said, both Superman struggle with belonging on Earth.

In the Absolute Universe, Krypton Becomes Superman's Kansas

Superman Staples Get Translated to Kryptonian Culture in His Updated Lore

Kal-El and Clark Kent's drastically different pasts don't separate them as much as one would assume. In fact, the places they call home have more in common than expected, as Aaron's take on Krypton mirrors his own experience from living in Kansas himself. Just as the original Superman is brought up on the symbol on Superman's chest indicates that he and his parents are among the planet's laborers, in a similar vein to the Kents being far from wealthy in DC lore.

Krypton, in some sense, for Kal-El, was a happy place. He loved the rural environment he grew up in. He loved his parents, but there were bigger parts of what was going on on the planet that he did not like, certainly that his parents did not like, and they weren't allowed to really be all they could be because of Krypton class structure and because they question things a bit too much. And, of course, the planet's destruction being brought about by the recklessness of the Science League. It's a complicated place, as most places are where people come from. You know, as somebody who grew up in the South, I have a complicated love/hate relationship with it, where, you know, it's okay for me to talk shit about it, but certainly somebody who didn't grow up there can't. So I wanted a Krypton that felt like that.

According to Aaron, the fate of Superman's home planet can also be viewed as a reflection of the South to an extent. The Science League's lies about Krypton's worsening state transform what's typically depicted as an idyllic society into a place as complex and flawed as any other, including Smallville. Aaron cites his own conflicting feelings about his Southern hometown, and Krypton carries on that idea through the juxtaposition between its harsh caste system and the good, hard-working people being harmed by it. Neither of Superman's homes are perfect, and painting Krypton in this nuanced light is a welcome change to DC history.

Without Smallville, Superman Experiences a Variety of Earth Cultures

Superman Is No Longer Tied to Kansas, Instead Seeing All Earth Has to Offer

Rather than spending a portion of his time on Earth in one locale, Absolute Superman has the benefit of journeying across the planet. He doesn't grow up in a house in Kansas with parents who raise him on a farm, which gives him the freedom to explore every nation the planet has to offer. In Absolute Superman #1, Superman debuts to readers in Brazil, standing up for workers against the Lazarus Corporation's Peacemakers. This country is one of many that Superman visits during his travels, learning different languages and acquainting himself with experiences other than his own.

With no Kansas and no Fortress of Solitude, Superman no longer has a home in Krypton's stead - but his original planet lives on through him.

In DC's primary continuity, Superman's American upbringing influences his traditional motto of "Truth, Justice, and the American Way", but Absolute Superman doesn't possess that same tie to one particular country on Earth. This element of the character becomes both a strength and a weakness for him. On one hand, Superman experiences customs beyond the United States in ways that his counterpart never could. On the other hand, though, he doesn't have a specific place to call home on Earth. With no Kansas and no Fortress of Solitude, Superman no longer has a home in Krypton's stead - but his original planet lives on through him.

Absolute Superman #1-4 are available now from DC Comics!

Source: CBR