DC made a very interesting decision in late 2024. Following the death of long-term villain Darkseid, the DC universe split in two. In one half was the traditional DC continuity that we've all been following for many years, in the other was a new "Absolute" universe, that saw remixed versions of classic characters.
In part this felt like an attempt by DC to ape the success of Marvel's Ultimate universe – an early 2000s comics line that presented revamped versions of the publisher's characters, and which provided much of the inspiration for the early MCU movies. As the comics have progressed, however, they've developed a strong identity of their own – and proved wildly popular. A staggering 15 of the top 20 best selling comic issues of 2025 were DC Absolute titles.
With DC hosting an Absolute panel at this year's New York Comic Con, we thought we'd give you a quick overview of where the line is at currently and the three must-read comics from a line that, so far, has yet to put a foot wrong.
The best-selling US comic in the world right now. Helmed by writer Scott Snyder (who previously penned a classic 2011 run of the mainline Batman title) and artist Nick Dragotta, the series presents a version of Batman that is simultaneously radical and familiar.
In this version of events Bruce Wayne is not a wealthy playboy, but a working class kid who grew up in Gotham's Crime Alley. His father Thomas is dead, killed in a tragedy that continues to haunt Bruce, but his mother Martha is very much alive. Another intriguing twist is that many of Batman's traditional rogue's gallery of villains have been reinvented here as the flawed, but essentially decent, people that Bruce grew up with.
Even with these changes, this version of Bruce is every bit as dedicated to fighting crime as his mainstream version – he just has to work that bit harder. He's bigger (almost comically huge, something we had fun with when the comic launched), tougher and wields a massive axe.
At this point in the series (#25 is about to drop), Bats has taken on revamped versions of Black Mask, Bane, Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow. But it's a reinvented Joker – here depicted as a murderous billionaire and a sort of dark mirror of the original Bruce Wayne – that has proven to be his most intriguing foe. This is superhero comics with the action and intrigue cranked up to 11 and a hero who feels more in tune with our times than his mainstream counterpart.
هەفتانە هەرسکردنەکان، چیرۆکەکانی ئەو کۆمەڵگایانەی کە خۆشت دەوێن و زۆر شتی تر
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/dc-comics/3-must-read-dc-absolute-universe-comics
