The Superior Universe- Absolute Evil and the Omega Act Special from DC Comics
Written by Al Ewing
Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli
Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Cian Tormey & Yasmine Putri
The first week of October 2025 may very well be remembered as a benchmark moment in the modern history of comics as we reached what is ostensibly the mid-season finale of the current dual story arc of DC Comics started in 2024 with the creation of the immensely popular “Absolute Universe”. Across two separate, but nonetheless thematically connected titles Absolute Evil and The Omega Act Special, DC Comics has provided a definitive glimpse into the future of their broad, ingenious, multiple universe spanning story arc that seamlessly connects nearly a dozen unique ongoing titles. Additionally, in the case of Absolute Evil, they have teased even further connectivity with the imminent release of a new “Absolute” series that at last draws together the multiple story threads, characters, and harrowing themes that have dominated all of the diverse Absolute Universe titles. With such a monumental thematic build delighting DC Comics fans, utilizing a host of their legacy characters in new and exciting ways to definitively alter the course of the greater DC universe, this release inherently asks a profound question:
“What the hell is Marvel even doing?”
As an avid comic book fan (a surprise, I know) I don’t typically put much value in pitting major publishers against each other. The continued release of comics with unique and engaging ideas is more than enough for me, as evidenced by faithful readership of several ongoing titles from both Marvel and DC for multiple years. However, this week's huge editorial triumph from DC has inadvertently forced me to reevaluate and compare the recent narrative efficacy of the “big two.” I am certain that I am not alone in coming to the conclusion that Marvel’s overarching canon of the last few years ultimately feels unfocused, trite, and discouraging by comparison.
That isn’t to say that there hasn’t been any interconnectivity amongst Marvel Comics titles recently. Marvel has faithfully released summer event and season spanning event titles every year for quite some time, but the frequency of these “game changing,” “world altering,” events is only part of the problem. This formulaic release schedule has created an ironic lack of stakes in comparison to characters' solo series and contributed to a consistent and over complicated need for narrative “clean up” after the event's conclusion. Or even worse- a total lack of closure for an event or a slow reversal of the climactic details that made the event worth reading in the first place.
In the case of even one of Marvel’ most popular event series, The King in Black, which totally reinvented the character of Venom and promised huge repercussions for the greater Marvel Universe in relation to symbiotes and malignant cosmic forces, yet it has taken nearly 50 issues of the main Venom series, swapping between various writers for those ideas to be fully explored, with almost no crossover of ideas with other titles.
This example is the unfortunate norm for Marvel’s approach to climactic event titles- leaving one creative team to generate ideas and advance the plot for a host of legacy characters in the middle of their respective ongoing series- ideas which are then quickly abandoned. In fact, this tried and true approach has led to more and more ongoing series completely ignoring events all together as has been the case with The Incredible Hulk and Thor, two of Marvel's most popular ongoing titles that are seemingly “too self contained” to participate actively in events.
What makes the current “Absolute” event story arc any different?
Intention.
The event crossover evident in Absolute Evil and The Omega Act Special is as subtle as it is audacious. The entire narrative direction from DC in the last few years has been subtle yet effective, allowing independent series to develop and burgeon in detail before revealing sparse connective tissue. The result of this approach for dedicated readers is a gradual, mysterious, and evocative fictional universe that comic book fans want to explore and see developed rather than being forced to experience randomly themed updates to on a repetitive schedule.
However, in order to truly understand the distinction between publishing approaches on shelves currently, we need to talk more specifically about what makes Absolute Evil and The Omega Act Special so engaging, which means,
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Absolute Evil opens in a wholly unexpected place, the 1950’s McCarthy Era in the U.S, where we discover the not so heroic backstory to the characters we associated with the Justice Society of America. In this universe, when the opportunity for heroism arose, one way or another, the classic characters we know and love chose to remain anonymous or abandon their efforts for a “normal life.”
In the present, we find Oliver Queen hard at work with target practice as he rants to a friend on the phone about “a moral cancer rotting us from the inside,” in reference to his fellow billionaires. Meanwhile, we find Hector Hammond arriving at a clandestine meeting as he downplay’s Oliver’s big change of heart by saying he could probably just be paid off.
Immediately, these opening pages clue us into the overall intent of this largely ambiguous issue- filling in just a few of the alluring missing puzzle pieces in the “Absolute” universe by tying together legacy characters fans have been curious about. Especially focused on the central villainous characters featured in each of the respective ongoing “Absolute” titles that have heretofore operated alone.
As Hector Hammond balks at the security guards confiscating his electronic device, he soon finds himself standing in a conference room with the most powerful, most morally corrupt people on the planet: Ra’s Al Guhl, The Joker, Doctor Elenore Thawne, and Veronica Cale. After a few terse words as egos collide, National Security Advisor Cale gets down to business, recounting the history of the failed early heroes that would have been the Justice Society. After this history lesson (which will no doubt delight tried and true DC fans), Cale recounts the recent events of each of the major “Absolute” titles, as a way of asking a deeper thematic question, “What has changed? Why are these heroes any different?”
Cale ends her circuitous presentation by saying that she believes it is best for all of those assembled to join forces against their respective rising threats before it is too late. Hammond disagrees, not wanting Lazarus Corps interference in his affairs or the government that Cale represents. At Ra’s and Cale’s signal, the door opens, revealing a sinister, bone-winged Hawkman carrying the body of Oliver Queen that he has bludgeoned to death with his mace. That will certainly put to bed the rumors of an “Absolute Green Arrow” series turning up anytime soon… Also, revealing that Absolute Hawkman is very much a “Black Noir” type hitman character (from Garth Ennis The Boys). Ra’s explains that Queen’s assasination is a demonstration of the swift justice they must enact together in order to root out heroism before it can start and thereby survive.
This still doesn’t win over Doctor Thawne however, who views the display as a show of force by Lazarus, and a potential partnership only leading to a bidding war between factions as to who receives aid. The Joker then takes the floor, revealing in grand fashion that his team of scientists has actually discovered a fundamental part of their universe- the Omega Particle. In their research, the team discovered that particle appeared to have a moral component, trending in a grounded, hyper-realistic direction. Therefore, The Joker concludes, the existence of heroes who rail against the very foundation of their reality, is a supreme act of injustice, and the only response they have is to form a league that protects an ordered world- a Justice League.
What I love most about this issue is its slow, methodic revelatory narrative that offers such unprecedented insight into the motivations and schemes of multiple series villains. I can’t name another instance where readers received a peek behind the curtain into the goings on of the “other side” of Superhero comics in such a well written and prominent issue. Not only does Absolute Evil succeed in tying in narrative threads and characters, but it also expands the “Absolute universe” in unexpected ways, such as the introduction of more recognizable DC characters and their circumstances within this alternate universe, and the tie in to the universes’ origins with “The Omega Particle” which also functions as our most direct tie in to the main line DC Universe and The Omega Act Special.
Which, speaking of, also begins in a wholly unexpected place- The Planet Krypton before its destruction, following Lara-El and her friend Ursa as they explore the ruins of Ancient Krypton. Within the ruins, from a time when Krypton explored space and fought in intergalactic battles, Lara and Ursa discover an ancient armory and a doorway that reads, “King Omega,” along with a strange, suspended beating heart that whispers, “Darkseid Is.” In the present, we follow the latest iteration of the character “Time Trapper,” who previously had a long history as one of DC Comics most mysterious and powerful characters, only intervening in periods of extreme, timeline altering crisis, now revealed to be Doomsday. Is anyone else drawing comparisons here both in character intent and design to Nick Fury’s turn as The Watcher after the death of Uatu over at Marvel Comics? Time Trapper attends an emergency meeting of the Justice League along with Booster Gold as he recounts the events that began this current arc in the DC All In Special.
This is another huge highlight of both of these dense and important issues, the fact that they are so intentionally new reader friendly. That isn’t to say that there isn’t any specificity or advancement for readers that have kept current, but both are the kind of comic book anyone could pick up, read, and then be encouraged to research more about. I know for a fact that most of us longtime comic book fans did not begin reading comics with “ISSUE #1,” but instead grabbed some random issue of a longstanding ongoing series and pieced together the context.
As Time Trapper finishes recounting the death of Darkseid and the repercussions of his absence, he concludes that he was wrong to trust in Superman to act in order to save the future. Booster urges Trapper to reconsider, insisting that the greatest heroes in the universe HAVE to be able to do something to save the future. Trapper then takes Booster Gold with him to the future, the 853rd Century, inadvertently joined by The Flash who is too damn fast to be immobilized by something trivial like time.
Trapper then reveals to Booster and The Flash the horrifying truth- the Absolute Justice League are already intent on destroying every possible future, every timeline, in service of their absolute lord- Darkseid. As Time Trapper eloquently puts it, “All Futures Lead to Darkseid.” However, the trio can’t wallow in existential dread for too long, as they are soon attacked and captured by their Absolute counterparts. Time Trapper boldly asks to be brought before Darkseid to fight him himself, but is interrupted by Booster Gold releasing an immense wave of Omega energy- staggering the entire evil league and allowing them time to escape. Time Trapper ponders Booster Gold’s display of power, realizing that perhaps Booster is the key to holding Darkseid at bay, as The Flash races them back to the present moment at the Justice League Watchtower.
In our final pages, we see Time Trapper relaying the truth about time’s imminent destruction as he stares down at his longtime nemesis, Superman, and asks him if he is finally ready to work together. Meanwhile, or I guess, back in the past but conveniently bookended, Lara reveals that Ursa’s translation of the armory they discovered was incorrect, it was not the ancient home of “absolute weapon,” but that of an “absolute champion.”
Though neither issue directly references the other, the two stories clearly dance in tandem with one another on opposite sides of a two way mirror. This inherent subtlety only adds to the gravitas of both issues thematically and feels so rewarding and elevating for fans of both ongoing epic series. However, unlike the recent era of Marvel Comics, this event benchmark doesn’t force new readers to wade through a lengthy backlog of separate issues in order to comprehend the stakes of. Moreover, the characters, context, and larger universal forces at play within this story arc are clearly explained or at least referenced, and the remaining story elements to be revealed feel like purposeful choices rather than glaring omissions, which is a fault that Marvel is also glaringly guilty of these days with an editorial team that allows characters and events to overlap each other and muddy faithful readers conception of canonical events.
If you have been burned by modern comic book event publications in the past, I urge you to give this latest offering from DC a chance. Additionally, if you have been keeping up with a few of the titles in the mix at DC these days, then I would encourage you to check out Absolute Evil and The Omega Act Special to get a broader picture of what all of these stories are building towards.
Please support your local comic book store and grab Absolute Evil and The Omega Act Special on shelves now!
