Absolute Universe

The Absolute Universe (AU) is an imprint of American comic books overseen by writer Scott Snyder and published by DC Comics. The comics take place in a shared universe designated Alpha-World as part of the DC Comics multiverse, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the DC Universe.

The imprint is part of the DC All In initiative, debuting in the aftermath of the 2024 "Absolute Power" storyline. 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 DC Universe (DCU) overseen by Scott Snyder as part of the DC All In initiative. The existence of the new universe was first rumored in 2023 in relation to Snyder, before leaks emerged that it would be called the Absolute Universe as part of a wider program called DC All In. Several additional leaks occurred in the run-up to San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024 when it was officially announced by DC Comics.

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 and Hayden Sherman, which both started publication in October. A third title, Absolute Superman by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval, debuted in November of the same year. Originally, Rafael Albuquerque was set to illustrate Absolute Superman, but had to pull out of the project due to severe floods in his home country of Brazil, with Sandoval being brought onto the project in June 2024.

Three further titles were released in 2025: Absolute Flash by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles, Absolute Martian Manhunter by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez (both in March), and Absolute Green Lantern by Al Ewing and Jahnoy Lindsay in April. Two additional titles, Absolute Green Arrow by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque, and Absolute Catwoman by Che Grayson, Scott Snyder, and Bengal are scheduled for release in 2026. Additionally, there will be a spin-off of Absolute Catwoman titled Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow's Hand, written by Che Grayson.

Additionally, the Absolute versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman appeared at the end of DC K.O. #3, a series that features Darkseid wishing to transform DC's Prime Earth following the creation of the Absolute Universe.[citation needed]

Setting

The AU features previous concepts from Doomsday Clock (2017–2019), Dark Nights: Death Metal (2020–2021), and Infinite Frontier (2021–2023). It is set in Earth-Alpha, also called the Elseworld, one of the two pillars of the Metaverse, along with Earth-Omega, where Darkseid 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 underdogs.

It is established in DC All In Special that Earth-Alpha has been reshaped by Darkseid's essence as he is 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. Vital parts of the characters are stripped (i.e., Batman's wealth, Diana's Amazons, and Superman's upbringing with the Kents), while keeping the central message and key personality traits intact.

Main changes between the Absolute Universe and the mainline DC universe come down to differences in power (the rich and wealthy largely dominate the world's politics and rule without repercussion, with the world's heroes at a severe disadvantage against them) and worldbuilding (there is no presence of the New Gods, certain aliens such as Martians lack physical bodies, and the emotional spectrum of the Lantern Corps is shortened). Important changes include:

• The Justice League is an alliance between the Joker, Ra's al Ghul, Hector Hammond, Veronica Cale, and Elenore Thawne.
• Bruce Wayne is a bluecollar Civil engineer, working with MI6 special agent Alfred Pennyworth. His mother, Martha, is still alive, and his close friends include Waylon Jones, Edward Nygma, Harvey Dent, Oswald Cobblepot, Mitchell "Matches" Malone and Selina Kyle.
• Kal-El grew up on Krypton prior to its destruction, and lives as an illegal immigrant on Earth with his AI companion Sol, which functions as his cape and Fortress of Solitude. His close friends include corporate soldier Lois Lane and terrorist Jimmy Olsen.
• Diana grew up in Hell, raised by her adoptive mother Circe and mentored by the Greek gods, having been separated from the Amazons at birth by Zeus.
• Wally West is an army brat who kills Barry Allen by accident and is a loose fugitive after gaining his superpowers, accompanied by a mutant monkey named Grodd.
• John Jones is a human FBI agent whose mind is invaded by a non-physical alien entity ("The Martian") following a severe head trauma, granting him psychic abilities.
• The emotional spectrum consists of black (Qard: chaotic action), red (Rao: restraint from action), green (Sur: correct action), and yellow (Aur: enlightenment). Users of the light are classified using the prefixes "Abin" (meaning one who uses the light with understanding), "Ain" (initiates chosen by an Abin), or "Tomar" (anomalies who were not properly selected). Sojourner Mullein is an ex-cop who becomes an anomalous user of green light (Tomar Sur). Other characters include Abin Sur, Hal Jordan (an Ain Qard), Guy Gardner (an Ain Rao), John Stewart (an Ain Aur), officers Cameron Chase and Simon Baz, Tomar-Re (a Tomar Rao). Kilowog and Mogo are members of the Blackstars (Abin Qards) who are led by the Controller of MU (an Abin Aur).

List of publications

Prelude

Ongoing series

Limited series

One-shots

Collected editions

Hardcovers & trade paperbacks

Oversized hardcovers

Reception

Sales

The first issue of Absolute Batman had a print run of around 250,000 copies and by the end of 2024, Absolute Batman became the best selling comic of 2024, with combined sales of first, second, third and black-and-white printings, selling just under 400,000 copies. Initial orders of Absolute Wonder Woman #1 received orders of around 150,000, and Absolute Superman having a print run of about 180,000 copies.

By February 2025, the line had sold over 2.5 million units.

With the second wave of the Absolute Line, Absolute Flash #1 was the best selling Flash comic since Flash #1 from 1987, getting over 180,000 pre-orders, along with Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 having sold over 120,000 copies.

As of December 2025, the Absolute Universe line has sold over 8.5 million units, with Absolute Batman being the top-selling title at nearly 3 million.

In February 2026, DC Comics announced that 50 Absolute Universe issues (Absolute Batman #1–14, Absolute Wonder Woman #1–11, Absolute Superman #1–10, Absolute Flash #1–5, Absolute Green Lantern #1–4, and Absolute Martian Manhunter #1–6) would be reprinted and releasing in March 2026, with all receiving at least their third reprinting. The March 2026 releases saw Absolute Batman #1 receive its 11th reprinting.

Accolades

In other media

Television

In June 2026, during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced an animated series adaptation of Absolute Batman was in development at Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios. Scott Snyder will serve as showrunner and executive producer on the series while Nick Dragotta serves as producer.

Film

The Absolute Universe version of Brainiac served as an inspiration for the DC Universe (DCU) version of the character in Man of Tomorrow, portrayed by Lars Eidinger.

Comic books

The one-shot comic Mad About DC, released on April 1, 2026, features two short parody stories of the Absolute Universe. The first story, titled "The Punt", was written by Scott Snyder (the writer of Absolute Batman) and illustrated by James Harren, while the second story, titled "Absolute Cash-In", was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Bruno Redondo. The two stories respectively introduce the Absolute Universe versions of the characters Maxie Zeus and Condiment King.

Video games

The Absolute Universe version of Batman and Catwoman appears as outfits for the characters in the game Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.

See also

• Earth One: The first modern reimagining of DC Comics titular characters.
• Ultimate Marvel: An imprint by Marvel Comics similar to Absolute Universe and Earth One.
• Ultimate Universe: Another Marvel Comics imprint with a modern reimagining of its characters released around the same time as the Absolute Universe.
• Energon Universe: An Image Comics shared universe of Hasbro action brands like Transformers and G.I. Joe.