The Absolute Universe (AU) is an imprint of American comic books overseen by

Scott Snyder Scott Snyder is an American author. He is known for his 2006 short story collection ''Voodoo Heart'', and his comic book writing, including '' American Vampire'', ''Detective Comics'', ''Batman'', '' Wytches'', ''Swamp Thing,'' and ''Justice Lea ...

and published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

. The comics take place in a

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, char ...

designated Earth-Alpha as part of the

DC Comics Multiverse In DC Comics, the Multiverse is a "cosmic construct" composed of the many fictional universes the stories of DC take place in. The worlds in this multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the h ...

, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lante ...

. The imprint is part of the DC All In initiative, debuting in the aftermath of the 2024 '' Absolute Power''

crossover event A crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, unofficial efforts by ...

. It was launched that year with the publication of the ongoing series '' Absolute Batman'', '' Absolute Wonder Woman'' and '' Absolute Superman''.

Publication history

The Absolute Universe (AU) is an all-new continuity separate from the

(DCU) overseen by

as part of the DC All In initiative. The AU began in October 2024 with the ''DC All-In Special''. The first titles released in the AU are '' Absolute Batman'' by Snyder with Nick Dragotta, and '' Absolute Wonder Woman'' by

Kelly Thompson Kelly Thompson is an American writer of novels and comic books. She is best known for the '' Jem and the Holograms'' comic with co-creator and artist Sophie Campbell, a modern re-imagining of the 1980s cartoon of the same name, the Eisner-nomi ...

and Hayden Sherman, which both started publication in October. A third title, '' Absolute Superman'' by

Jason Aaron Jason Aaron (born January 28, 1973) is an American comic book writer, known for his creator-owned series '' Scalped'' and ''Southern Bastards'', as well as his work on Marvel series '' Ghost Rider'', ''Wolverine'', '' PunisherMAX'', ''Thor'', a ...

and Rafa Sandoval, debut in November. Originally

Rafael Albuquerque Rafael Albuquerque (born April 12, 1981) is a Brazilian comic book creator primarily for his artwork on titles such as DC Comics' ''Blue Beetle'' and as illustrator and co-creator of ''American Vampire''. Though primarily a penciler and inker of ...

was set to illustrate ''Absolute Superman'', but had to pull out of the project due to severe floods in his home country of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, with Sandoval being brought onto the project in June 2024. Two new titles were announced at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

2024: ''

Absolute Flash ''Absolute Flash'' is an upcoming superhero comic book series published by DC Comics, based on the character of The Flash. The series will be written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Nick Robles, and is expected to begin publication on March 4, ...

'' by

Jeff Lemire Jeff Lemire (; born March 21, 1976) is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles including the '' Essex County Trilogy'', '' Sweet Tooth'', and ''The Nobody''. His written work i ...

and Nick Robles, and ''

Absolute Green Lantern ''Absolute Green Lantern'' is an upcoming superhero horror comic book series published by DC Comics. It is based on the character Green Lantern, presenting a reinterpretation of the character's mythos. The series is written by Al Ewing and illust ...

'' by

Al Ewing Al Ewing () is a British comics writer who has mainly worked in the small press and for '' 2000 AD'' and Marvel Comics. Career Al Ewing began his career writing stories in the four-page ''Future Shocks'' format for '' 2000 AD'' and moved on t ...

and Jahnoy Lindsay, both set to debut in March 2025. At

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a ...

2024, the title of ''

Absolute Martian Manhunter ''Absolute Martian Manhunter'' is an upcoming psychological horror superhero comic book series published by DC Comics, based on its character Martian Manhunter. The series is written by Deniz Camp and illustrated by Javier Rodríguez, and is sc ...

'' by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez was announced, also set to debut that month.

Setting

The AU features previous concepts from ''

Doomsday Clock The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...

'' (2017–2019), '' Dark Nights: Death Metal'' (2020–2021), and

Infinite Frontier Infinite Frontier is a 2021 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles in 2021. It is the follow-up to the 2016 DC Rebirth relaunch. The relaunch and event was shep ...

(2021–2023). It is set in Earth-Alpha, also called the

Elseworld ''Elseworlds'' was the publication imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that took place outside the DC Universe canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that deviate from the established con ...

, one of the two pillars of the Metaverse, along with Earth-Omega, where

Darkseid Darkseid () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby to serve as the primary antagonist of his "Fourth World (comics), Fourth World" metaseries, and was firs ...

used to be imprisoned. According to Snyder, while the DCU is "influenced by Superman energy", the AU is "influenced by Darkseid energy", making society treat superheroes as

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, th ...

s. It is established on ''DC All In Special'' that Earth-Alpha has been reshaped by Darkseid's essence as he's bent on creating a world driven by challenge and turmoil in which heroes are the "small chaos" rather than established parts of its system, while attempting to control its past and future during the gradual consolidation of the timeline on modern times.''DC All-In Special'' #1. DC Comics.

Publication history

Setting

List of titles

Prelude

Ongoing series

See also

References