Absolute Superman has been one of the best series to come from the Absolute Universe. Fans have adored this fresh take on the Man of Steel. Alongside the titular character have been a host of new versions of Superman’s villains. There have been some exciting twists to them from Al Ewing, with some striking designs from artists Rafa Sandoval and Juan Ferreyra. Here is a list of the best Absolute Superman villains so far.
Expect major spoilers below!
Ranking is based on threat, design, storyline, and the scientific ‘vibes’ factor. Please leave any complaints in the comments. Any purchases from any links below earn Key Comics Vault a small commission.
10. Bloodsport, Chemo, and Atomic Skull
Chemo, Atomic Skull, and Bloodsport all appeared in Absolute Superman #24. Superman was on the hunt for Brainiac and encountered the trio during this quest. Each meeting had been engineered by Brainiac to distract and slow Kal-El down.
Superman was able to best each villain, with some help from Steel, relatively easily. More importantly, Kal-El was able to help put them on the path to rehabilitation. Unless they reappear, these three will remain bottom of the list.
9. Parasite
Parasite was unleashed on the terrified public in Metropolis in Absolute Superman #16. Captured by Brainiac from its home planet, Parasite was subjected to experimentation by the Lazarus Corporation making it monstrous.
In Metropolis, Parasite rampaged and absorbed people. Hawkman and Kal-El were not able to stop it with their powers, Parasite was too powerful. Those trapped inside Parasite were kept in nightmares, so Parasite could feed off their fears. Superman was able to save Lois by being himself as it made her afraid no longer. Kal-El realises he can do the same for everyone trapped and frees them.
Parasite was a truly terrifying opponent for Superman as his powers were ineffective against it. However, Parasite was not inherently evil but just a hungry creature. Kal-El takes it back to the Kent Farm, allowing it to ocassionally feed from him, taming it. Parasite essentially became Kal-El’s best boy and a cute addition to the series.
8. Peacemakers
The Peacemakers in Absolute Superman are a security and enforcement group across the globe. On Earth-Alpha, they are there to keep the peace, through force and brutality. The Peacemakers are responsible for keeping the status quo and the elite in power, by marginalising others.
On Krypton, Kal-El, along with his parents, was also marginalised by a class system. Given those experiences, it is no surprise that he took the fight to the Peacemakers. Kal-El sees himself in the oppressed and fights to free them. Thankfully, the Peacemakers cannot match Superman’s power and find themselves ranked fairly low.
7. Talia al Ghul
Talia had a big reveal in Absolute Superman as readers discovered her to be the Omega Prime. She has proven to be deadly, unflinching, and deeply involved in the political scheming going on in the world. Talia has been involved in almost every plot against Superman with her father, Ra’s al Ghul. After his defeat by Superman, Talia looked to carry on his work.
Talia ranks low on this list however as she does not seem to be a major focus for Superman. This is despite how she literally stabbed Kal-El in the back. Instead, she has had more meaningful confrontations with Jimmy Olsen and particularly Lois Lane. It was Talia who killed her dad, Samuel Lane. After Talia is captured, it is Lois who visits her in prison to read to her (more on that later).
6. Toyman
Toyman was one of the hardest to place in this list and could have been higher. Winslow Schott is a corrupt CEO, a fitting position for a foe of Kal-El. However, similar to Bloodsport, Chemo, and Atomic Skull, he has not had a huge presence in the series. Unlike those three, his story sticks out for his degenerate actions.
The billionaire owner of a toy company, Schott oversaw shoddy work practices that caused factories to burn down and employed child labour. There were deaths at his factories while he made himself rich. Kal-El visits him in Absolute Superman #15 threatening that Schott is not safe unless he changes his ways. He does not.
On the trail of Brainiac, Superman ends up in one of Toyman’s warehouses in China. Here he discovers something horrific. Schott had been packaging up children to sell to buyers all across the world. The Omega Men uncover a list of the buyers and Kal-El destroys their wealth. Kal-El eventually tracks Schott down, brutally incapacitating him. It was the closest Kal-El has ever got to killing. If he returns, he might move up this list and become one of the top Absolute Superman villains.
5. Hawkman
Carter Hall is one of the most complicated characters on this list. Is he even a villain? Likely over hundred years old, he has done a lot during his lifetime, a lot of it bad. Hall had become part of Lazarus Corp in 1940 and went to uncover the tomb of Teth-Adam in Khandaq. It was here he discovered the mace and got the powers to make him Hawkman.
Lazarus then used Hall to carry out their dirty work and this is how he first got involved with Superman. The pair first tussled after Hawkman was frustrated that Kal-El was more interested in saving people than talking to him. This is a recurring theme. Hawkman is not worried about collateral damage or the loss of life and although Kal-El and Hall have fought together, their story is not done.
After the fight with King Shazam and Hawkman had banished Teth-Adam to another planet, Hall left Earth. His time with Superman showed him a different outlook on the world. It was starting to make him question things and even say no to Talia and Lazarus. Will this be enough to turn Hall? Will he be able to forgive himself for all the terrible things he has done? Or will he double-down and look to take on Kal-El again?
Despite their lack of outright conflict between Kal-El and Hall, Hawkman maintains a high place on the list of Absolute Superman villains. This is partly because of his terrible past, but also the fact he represents a right-wing Superman. This could be how Kal-El would operate if he had a different view on the world.
4. Christopher Smith
Another complicated character on this list is Christopher Smith. He was a member of the Peacemakers when he first encountered Superman in Brazil. There Kal-El clashed with Peacemakers at a mining camp, leaving Smith feeling humiliated. Those feelings turned to rage as Smith opened fire on civilians; miraculously none were hurt.
That luck did not last forever though. That humiliation and rage became a part of Smith, and he later slaughtered civilians after another encounter with Kal-El. As a Peacemaker, Brainiac ignored Smith’s own concerns about his mental health and later turned him into a cyborg.
Although Smith repeatedly attacks Kal-El, Superman knows he is a pawn and has deep trauma. Smith was just a foot soldier for R’as al Ghul and Brainiac. Even after shooting him with kryptonite bullets and attacking him as Mentallo, Superman shows him love. Smith has done some terrible things, but after their latest encounter where Kal-El saved his life (again), Smith might be on the road to redemption.
3. King Shazam
Teth-Adam had been a slave in Ancient Egypt. He was given powers by the Brainiac Collective and thought himself to be the saviour prophesised by the Phantom Stranger. With these powers, Teth-Adam freed every slave and ended war across the globe in mere days. This was too much for the then Absolute Justice League who imprisoned him in a sarcophagus, only for him to return to return millenia later.
The world King Shazam wakes up to is much different to the one he left. He sees the new super-powered beings, particularly Kal-El, as rivals to his power. Teth-Adam, Kal-El, Steel, and Hawkman have an epic fight that spans the globe. Teth-Adam is not concerned with the collateral casualties caused by them, leaving Kal-El to rescue them. King Shazam is easily able to match the combined might of the other three before he is teleported away.
What makes Teth-Adam such a formidable opponent for Kal-El is his extreme power set. He is a match for Kal-El in terms of pure strength and abilities. Their fight literally broke the moon. It is not over either. We see the world he is banished to and it is full of Doomsday creatures. Will King Shazam rise higher on the list of best Absolute Superman villains?
2. Ra’s al Ghul
Typically, Ra’s al Ghul plays an antagonist to Batman, so it was interesting to see him as a Superman villain in the Absolute Universe. Ra’s has been an incredible villain for Kal-El, pulling the strings behind attacks on Superman. He was undoubtedly one of the main figures behind the world’s problems. He also killed a baby. Ra’s has been one of the two main villains throughout the series and deservedly holds the second spot in this list.
Ra’s was one of the most powerful people in the world, having accumulated wealth and influence beyond imagining. He is father to Talia, leader of the Lazarus group, and a member of the Absolute Justice League. His ambitions have known no bounds and he had a particular attachment to Superman. He viewed Kal-El as his son, someone to continue his legacy.
All the violence and attacks were trials for Kal-El from Ra’s al Ghul, to test him. Not one failed to break Superman however. Kal-El represents the first time Ra’s has not managed to break someone. Kal-el was eventually able to defeat Ra’s and visited him in prison. There he read to him poems from children orphaned by Lazarus, forcing Ra’s al Ghul to confront his own actions. Ra’s was killed by King Shazam before he could make full amends.
1. Brainiac
There could only be one character to top this list and it is Brainiac. Brainiac is another visitor to this planet, having previously been a rogue drone from the Brainiac Collective. This Brainiac was not content with his pre-ordained role and had his own ambitions.
Interestingly, Brainiac started as one of Ra’s al Ghul’s tools. Brainiac would obey orders from him and carry out tasks like the psych evaluations on Peacemakers. He clearly had his own motives though and would do things independently. Brainiac certainly did not miss Ra’s after his defeat and continued his vendetta against Kal-El.
Brainiac is responsible for the most horrendous single acts of crime in Absolute Superman. He tortured Kal-El through simulations, trying to desensitise him to murder. Brainiac murdered Omega Men in horrific ways like shrinking their skin before destroying a whole bottled city.
The single most distubring moment with Brainiac however is reserved for his interaction with Lex Luthor. Brainiac knew of how Lex Luthor is in other dimensions and was hoping that he might help him destroy Superman. This Lex however disappointed Brainiac by being a simple fafmily man. So Brainiac brutally murdered and tortured all of Lex’s family and forced him to watch. All in the hopes of turning him into something interesting.
Brainiac is a monster, arguably more unhinged and scary than Absolute Joker. He deserves to be number one on this list even knowing that there is much more of Brainiac’s story to come.
Check out every first appearance in Absolute Superman!
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