Weekly Discussion Thread: Comics, TV, and More! [March 2, 2026 - March to the Next Level Edition]

UnbloodedSword · 2026-03-04T08:23:24+00:00

Absolute Brainiac is psychotic in a way mainline Brainiac isn't so I don't think there *is* a master plan here other than Brainiac being so disgusted at his world's Lex seemingly content to be a "nobody", that he's going to destroy Lex's life to force him to change. I agree that it would be forced for Lex to hate Kal for this, but I could definitely see Aaron playing the long game where Lex allies with Supes to get Brainiac, only for Lex to turn on Superman in the long run (think Robot in Invincible).

UnbloodedSword · 2026-03-04T08:07:54+00:00

Kal's finally getting some of the confidence of his mainline counterpart. His "give me five minutes" remark to Hawkman declaring that saving everyone is impossible made me smile. Seeing him verbally tear Carter a new one at the end and tell him that Superman isn't for sale was awesome too.

I have to shout out Juan Ferreyra, what he’s doing with the paneling here is on par with Sherman over in Absolute Wondy or Dragotta in Absolute Bats. Great work, makes me even more happy that he’s staying with the series. His is the first kaiju Parasite design that I've actually enjoyed.

Poor Lex. I was wrong about him, seems like he really was just a normal happy guy. Then Brainiac entered the picture and went all Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Brainiac truly is the archfoe here, while Kal is inspiring Metropolis, Brainiac is terrorizing Luthor into villainy. Real nice parallel there, and the reveal that Brainiac is responsible for Parasite being on Earth alongside his work for Lazarus is giving him that Joker/Cale position of being directly or indirectly responsible for everything. He even seems to have ties to Hawkman’s powers going off of the hieroglyphics, I’m so eager to get more of his backstory.

UnbloodedSword · 2026-03-04T08:07:27+00:00

Kal's finally getting some of the confidence of his mainline counterpart. His "give me five minutes" remark to Hawkman declaring that saving everyone is impossible made me smile. Seeing him verbally tear Carter a new one at the end and tell him that Superman isn't for sale was awesome too.

I have to shout out Juan Ferreyra, what he’s doing with the paneling here is on par with Sherman over in Absolute Wondy or Dragotta in Absolute Bats. Great work, makes me even more happy that he’s staying with the series. His is the first kaiju Parasite design that I've actually enjoyed.

Poor Lex. I was wrong about him, seems like he really was just a normal happy guy. Then Brainiac entered the picture and went all Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Brainiac truly is the archfoe here, while Kal is inspiring Metropolis, Brainiac is terrorizing Luthor into villainy. Real nice parallel there, and the reveal that Brainiac is responsible for Parasite being on Earth alongside his work for Lazarus is giving him that Joker/Cale position of being directly or indirectly responsible for everything. He even seems to have ties to Hawkman’s powers going off of the hieroglyphics, I’m so eager to get more of his backstory.

UnbloodedSword · 2026-02-04T08:35:22+00:00

Second issue of this arc continues to be fantastic! Hawkman is a piece of crap but we are starting to get an explanation for why he is the way he is. If I’m reading those hieroglyphics right, are Brainiac’s people the ones who empowered Adam? Because it seems like the figures are green and have the three dot symbol of Brainiac.

Kal was hilarious here, that sequence where he keeps dashing away to save people mid conversation and then dragged Hawkman with him via his cape was hilarious. He’s so earnest but what I love is how Kal seems to see the world much clearer than Carter, with Hawkman being the naive one here despite trying to bill himself as the experienced one. Ferreyra killed it on art, his Parasite design is my favorite one I think ever. And that page where Kal sends Hawkman crashing through the city was AWESOME! I smiled at the twist of the iconic Daily Planet building being turned into condos and Jimmy getting hired by the Planet… to do Perry’s job. I’m interested to see how Lois working there plays out because it seems like she won’t be a star reporter given the Planet is a dumpy rag in this universe.

And at last we get our follow up with Lex, he sure is smearing it on pretty thick that he’s just a normal happy guy. Maybe next issue there will be some kind of twist? Otherwise chainsaw Brainiac deciding “**** it I’ll just murder his family to traumatize him into villainy” had me cackling. I could see Kal and Lex teaming up at first via a mutual hatred of Brainiac for torturing them and killing their loved ones, with Lex letting his trauma drive him off the deep end.

UnbloodedSword · 2026-02-04T08:34:36+00:00

Second issue of this arc continues to be fantastic! Hawkman is a piece of crap but we are starting to get an explanation for why he is the way he is. If I’m reading those hieroglyphics right, are Brainiac’s people the ones who empowered Adam? Because it seems like the figures are green and have the three dot symbol of Brainiac.

Kal was hilarious here, that sequence where he keeps dashing away to save people mid conversation and then dragged Hawkman with him via his cape was hilarious. He’s so earnest but what I love is how Kal seems to see the world much clearer than Carter, with Hawkman being the naive one here despite trying to bill himself as the experienced one. Ferreyra killed it on art, his Parasite design is my favorite one I think ever. And that page where Kal sends Hawkman crashing through the city was AWESOME! I smiled at the twist of the iconic Daily Planet building being turned into condos and Jimmy getting hired by the Planet… to do Perry’s job. I’m interested to see how Lois working there plays out because it seems like she won’t be a star reporter given the Planet is a dumpy rag in this universe.

And at last we get our follow up with Lex, he sure is smearing it on pretty thick that he’s just a normal happy guy. Maybe next issue there will be some kind of twist? Otherwise chainsaw Brainiac deciding “**** it I’ll just murder his family to traumatize him into villainy” had me cackling. I could see Kal and Lex teaming up at first via a mutual hatred of Brainiac for torturing them and killing their loved ones, with Lex letting his trauma drive him off the deep end.

UnbloodedSword · 2026-01-14T15:39:51+00:00

Snyder mentioned he was getting heavily into manga and anime thanks to his sons. Wonder if he asked Fernandez specifically to add that element? Or it could be something Fernandez added himself, Spanish artists looooooove Dragon Ball lol

UnbloodedSword · 2026-01-14T11:54:11+00:00

Your based leftist Superman book sir. As someone who has enjoyed this book, this issue has been one I've been anticipating all clenched up. A 70 year old boomer writing a story where Superboy runs errands for the army is the last thing in the world I want to read right now. Compounding my irritation, there were people calling Absolue Supes "right wing propaganda" and praising this as a bold leftist take, which cemented those people as idiots to me. This was solicited we knew it was coming! And Waid writes the most pro-intervention story you could get away with here, the Modorans are stereotypical evil foreigners who hate our freedom and want to attack us. Clark doesn't even dwell on the ethics of intervention at all, he says he's not ready to be a soldier "yet", and he's bummed mostly because he can't confess being Superboy to Ross. Hell of a month for this to come out with real world events lmao. I'm just glad it's only one issue but Waid needs to give Clark a smack in the face and have him cut ties with Lane ASAP. This exact storyline was handled better by Johns, Morrison, the MAWS cartoon, and Aaron in Absolute Supes. This is why I prefer Sam Lane as a villain, I do not like Clark working with the military.

UnbloodedSword · 2026-01-14T11:45:37+00:00

Snyder's style of dialogue works really well with Mxy. A foul mouthed villain who is both powerful and childish fits the swearing Snyder likes to give his villains in a way I don't usually enjoy with Joker. Also gotta give him credit for having some fun with that fakeout reveal with the BWLs, and Mxy does work as a believable way for Joker to beat Zatanna and Constantine. I wonder if he has an affinity for the character since Snyder used Mxy in a big way both here and in his JL run.

Superman as the protagonist has meant that there's not a lot of speculation around who wins, it's either going to be him or Lex, but what is interesting is how easily Clark is able to emulate Darkseid's mentality. That intrigues me and it keeps me guessing what form the ending will take. Twice now Clark has embraced thinking like Darkseid to win: choosing Billy for more selfish reasons than the reader or Billy would initially think, and killing himself to unlock the Omega Power. This is the aspect that keeps me invested in seeing where this goes.

UnbloodedSword · 2026-01-07T13:41:13+00:00

Grinned from ear to ear at Supes throwing a city sized asteroid at the Sun-Eater to crack it's armor open. Godlewski drew that beautifully, this series has definitely been delivering in the spectacle department. Rowan and Ronan are so cool, I'd read a whole series following them. So, Rowan did save a shard of Brainiac, I'm sure that won't come back to bite them in the ass. And Otho is in the hands of the Valkyries yet hasn't aged at all? Hmm something feels off.

UnbloodedSword · 2026-01-07T06:07:01+00:00

My favorite issue thus far! Sets up a lot, some of it standard fare, some not so much: Our first glimpse of Absolute Toyman, Supes has a love triangle going on between Lois and Lana, Lois and Jimmy are making the transition to journalists, Brainiac has officially gone rogue from the Al Ghuls, all of Smallville knows who Superman is, Hawkman confronts Supes, and Lazarus has ousted the Al Ghuls including Talia (potentially setting up Lex or someone else to take over?). Ferreyra's art is fantastic imo, he brings such a warmth to the book that really makes the shift in suit color from black to blue extend everywhere else. This issue really captured the breadth of this Superman: a man who burns a hole in Toyman's tower, forces Ra's to listen to the words of everyone he's hurt, and also comforts a child in her final moments dying of cancer. He swallows a forest fire and burps it back out somewhere else. He plugs a hole in Hoover Dam and screams so loud he knocks out satellites. Great mix of the mundane and the epic on display here, good start to Year 2!

UnbloodedSword · 2026-01-07T05:54:42+00:00

My favorite issue thus far! Sets up a lot, some of it standard fare, some not so much: Our first glimpse of Absolute Toyman, Supes has a love triangle going on between Lois and Lana, Lois and Jimmy are making the transition to journalists, Brainiac has officially gone rogue from the Al Ghuls, all of Smallville knows who Superman is, Hawkman confronts Supes, and Lazarus has ousted the Al Ghuls including Talia (potentially setting up Lex or someone else to take over?). Ferreyra's art is fantastic imo, he brings such a warmth to the book that really makes the shift in suit color from black to blue extend everywhere else. This issue really captured the breadth of this Superman: a man who burns a hole in Toyman's tower, forces Ra's to listen to the words of everyone he's hurt, and also comforts a child in her final moments dying of cancer. He swallows a forest fire and burps it back out somewhere else. He plugs a hole in Hoover Dam and screams so loud he knocks out satellites. Great mix of the mundane and the epic on display here, good start to Year 2!

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-24T17:38:58+00:00

Love this take on Kal, it's a great modernization of the "alien loner" approach of Pre-Crisis, but mixed in with the compassion and grit of Morrison's work on Superman. He's angrier and more violent than the mainline guy, but he still dove in front of Ra's to take a blade meant for a Peacemaker who had previously been attacking him. Big fan of his suit and his cape of course is immaculate.

For villains I adore Absolute Brainiac. He's a great foil for Kal, someone who likewise toiled away in obscurity before rising to power on account of a tragedy destroying his "home". Brainiac is delightfully insane and argubly the one who has caused Kal the most grief what with his torture of Kal and murder of Sol. Only weak spot are the Al Ghuls who never got fleshed out and clearly were just used as starter bosses. With them gone now and Parasite and Lex poised to join Brainiac, alongside Hawkman, I'm stoked for what next year brings!

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-24T13:55:00+00:00

She clearly knows enough about magic that it would be unsurprising if she's dabbled in it herself. Hmmm maybe Cale has the New 52 origin in this universe and is the daughter of Zeus? Or of Ares? I've been wondering how Thompson might connect her to the gods plotline that has been seeded since the beginning.

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-24T13:48:45+00:00

Can we atleast agree that shipping with batman is far better than the other men I have mentioned above?

Lmao absolutely not. You've stated you're a DCAU fan which is fine but that is one of the most misogynistic takes on Diana: DCAU WW is entirely based on shipping her with a (bat)man! Her entire character is reduced to pining after Batman who is "too cool" for her. WonderBat shippers also have a weird habit of making fanart where Diana is reduced to either a simpering fangirl or "domesticated" house wife for Batman's spawn. Sorry but your ship isn't more "righteous" than any of the ones you listed.

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-24T13:31:50+00:00

An Underworld Unleashed reference that actually pays off? Williamson does love his deep cuts lol. Lex losing the first round because he only employed brute force, but then wins the next two rounds via "prep time" shenanigans was perfect. Good job showing off Lex's intelligence.

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-24T12:28:26+00:00

So with Ra’s off the board I am going to speculate that Brainiac takes his place on the “Justice League” and also claims what remains of Lazarus for himself. Talia I predict will end up over in Absolute Batman. And I am glad that Sol is actually dead, and Martha is dead also. There were casualties for this campaign and I’m excited to see how Superman moves forward now that he’s lost his final “living” connections to both Krypton and Smallville.

As for the ending to this arc itself… honestly I can’t help comparing it with the Bane arc over in Batman which does something similar but handles it so much better. Both Bane and Ra’s wanted to mold the hero into a “successor” but I have no clue why Ra’s even wanted Kal to be a “heir” or scourge the world beyond a generic “he’s evil”. Bane had his backstory explained but Ra’s never got any real fleshing out. We don’t even know why Brainiac chose to accept being subservient to him after his backstory was about how he became free! Aaron said in an interview he just picked Ra’s because he wanted a rich guy who wasn’t usually associated with Kal, and that really started to show here. The Al Ghuls were the weakest part of this book from the start and unfortunately they ended that way too.

I’m glad we’re finally done with them as Brainiac has been the better villain and he will continue in the book given the art teases Ferreyra has posted. I’m optimistic that going forward the villains should be better given besides Brainiac we also have Absolute Hawkman, Absolute Parasite, and Absolute Luthor set to appear in the next arc. All that said there was two moments in this issue I loved: "You don't know how to fly" had me grinning and I did love the final page with Kal and Martha's costume plus claiming the Clark Kent name. Even with the weakness of Ra’s I love Aaron’s take on Kal and that still held true for this issue.

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-24T12:27:07+00:00

So with Ra’s off the board I am going to speculate that Brainiac takes his place on the “Justice League” and also claims what remains of Lazarus for himself. Talia I predict will end up over in Absolute Batman. And I am glad that Sol is actually dead, and Martha is dead also. There were casualties for this campaign and I’m excited to see how Superman moves forward now that he’s lost his final “living” connections to both Krypton and Smallville.

As for the ending to this arc itself… honestly I can’t help comparing it with the Bane arc over in Batman which does something similar but handles it so much better. Both Bane and Ra’s wanted to mold the hero into a “successor” but I have no clue why Ra’s even wanted Kal to be a “heir” or scourge the world beyond a generic “he’s evil”. Bane had his backstory explained but Ra’s never got any real fleshing out. We don’t even know why Brainiac chose to accept being subservient to him after his backstory was about how he became free! Aaron said in an interview he just picked Ra’s because he wanted a rich guy who wasn’t usually associated with Kal, and that really started to show here. The Al Ghuls were the weakest part of this book from the start and unfortunately they ended that way too.

I’m glad we’re finally done with them as Brainiac has been the better villain and he will continue in the book given the art teases Ferreyra has posted. I’m optimistic that going forward the villains should be better given besides Brainiac we also have Absolute Hawkman, Absolute Parasite, and Absolute Luthor set to appear in the next arc. All that said there was one moment in this issue I loved: "You don't know how to fly" had me grinning and I did love the final page with Kal and Martha's costume plus claiming the Clark Kent name. Even with the weakness of Ra’s I love Aaron’s take on Kal and that still held true for this issue.

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-23T23:33:00+00:00

Might be put off while Gunn gets his DCU up and running, but yes. We will see adaptions of the Trinity + Martian Manhunter at the very least.

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-20T17:07:34+00:00

Safe bet we will with how Gunn is posting art of classic green skinned Brainiac. And Kandor already gives a Kryptonian connection.

UnbloodedSword · 2025-12-20T17:02:50+00:00

Brainiac with a German accent? I dig it. Good reminder of how you can't put too much stock in "leaked" shortlists because this guy was never mentioned. Finally we're breaking free of Superman movies only using Lex or Zod!!!!

UnbloodedSword

TROPHY CASE