Absolute Superman #2 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval – Double-Sized Issue Reviews!

This article contains spoilers for Absolute Superman #2 (2024) by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval 

Woven within stories are the imprint of their writers—and writers oftentimes have things they need to scream in their audiences’ face. Jason Aaron did not hold back—or maybe he did, and is actually far more out of pocket than I realize—in this issue of Absolute Superman (2024). I can only imagine his anger at the world and the current political landscape and intolerance festering in American readers. And so, he and more importantly, Superman, took a swing at us saying “[You are] angry at anyone you think isn’t as smart as you, which is usually everyone who opens their mouth in your vicinity. You’re everything that’s wrong with your planet.” Which is a stark reminder to the reader we are the problem. We as a collective species have the innate urge to feel superior and leverage intelligence (or what we believe to be intelligence) above others, we create us vs them complexes, we are arrogant and until we expel that notion from the system of humanity, we will stumble and we will fall. And that’s why Superman is calling us out. He wants us to join him in the sun. 

Which brings me to another point, Superman calls out the importance of our planet and rarity of life. Existence is a gift, he reminds us while recalling the destruction of his planet. Effectively calling it a sun of nothing, a star with nothing living in its orbit. I, along with Jason Aaron, think we need to focus on the big picture. That while we are miniscule compared to the cosmos, we are large to the people in our daily lives. We weigh against each other, compare ourselves to each other, which rarely benefits us. Our intolerance is our weakness and it will push people away, leaving us desolate and lonely. Allow me to put it this way for the reader; we are suns, bright and enticing. And if we don’t disperse our arrogance we will be suns of nothing, with no friends or loved ones in our orbit. Let’s keep away from becoming suns of nothing.

I am in love with this version of Superman and I thank Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval for keeping comics true to their roots—instilling understanding and truth through the stories they tell. I am proud to be a Superman fan.

And so, I tell the reader, do not be a sun of nothing. Be a man of steel.