Absolute Superman

On the surface this kind of looks like another gritty take on Superman, but it's actually really, really good. I haven't caught up with the events that led to this universe being created, but as far as I understand, this universe was created by Darkseid somehow. So it's kind of dark and twisted. It seems like the main premise for the storytelling in the "Absolute Universe" was to take the core of the characters, but remove some main big parts of what made them who they are in the original universe. Superman in this universe actually grew up on Krypton, and the planet exploding didn't happen until he was a teenager. The Els left with him, but the ship got hit, and Kal broke away from the others in a kind of rescue pod, and spends months alone, freaking out in space before he finally crashes on earth.

Things I love

• That this is still the same guy at the core. He's angrier, yes, but he's living in a hella crappy world, in a hella crappy situation. I can deal with angry red eyes when I know it's still the character I love. The writers make sure to have him react to things in very Superman-like ways. 
• The red dust/smoke "cape". It's such an odd idea, and I think I would have thought it sounded goofy if I had heard of this comic before it came out. But it's such an incredibly cool way of maintaining the iconic look of Superman without having him literally wear a cape.
• The fact that Kal is fairly young in this universe. I think around 18? While he's in space, it says "6 years ago". So say he was 12 then, that adds up with his appearance on Krypton. I really like having a young Superman.
• The fact that there's no glasses or secret identity. 
• This is a long-haired Superman look I can get behind.

Stuff that I don't like so much

• The different artists in this don't always manage to keep him looking consistently like an 18 year old. The first artist did it well. So it's a bit weird almost when various characters calls him "kid", and he looks nothing like one.

Other thoughts

• Saw someone on tumblr talk about how Batman in this universe has a mother and a community. Meanwhile Absolute Superman is having a terrible time, all alone. I haven't read absolute Batman yet, but it's interesting to see their situations flipped. Kinda.
• His short time with the Kents was the loveliest thing <3 so sad they didn't get more time.
• Dunno what it is, but Kal-El is such a great name. Sounds alien, sounds good, flows well. I think about that sometimes. 
• I'm kinda low-key obsessed with the idea that Superman is probably going to look fairly tiny standing next to the Batman and Wonder Woman of this universe, when they finally meet up XD Both Bruce and Diana are supposedly like 7 feet tall?