r/AbsoluteUniverse

what is the Joker planning with Bruce’s close ones?

i keep thinking he’s gonna make Harv, Gotham’s official judge

This whole table right now consists of one guy doing all the work, while the rest are either dead, in hiding, dismembered, or having second thoughts about being evil.

Hello everyone! Please join me into this in-depth review of The Absolute Universe, piecing together information across several books concerning the nature of its existence and where we may be headed. Granted this is all speculation, and could very well be my own insane ramblings, but I'd like to share it. The short version: we'll be exploring Darkseid, the balance between forces/concepts, and what this all ultimately means in a metaphysics sense.

The Beginning of Absolute

This entire reality was created by Darkseid after he went through great lengths to destroy himself and force a "hard reset" in which all of his Multiverse variants would converge into one true being. However before he could begin his conquest of creation, Darkseid needed time and a safe place to heal himself, which is where The Absolute Universe begins. In this reality, Darkseid bided his time to regain his power, and the foundations of this world echo his very being. While Darkseid did not direct events within this place, every down to a subatomic level has his "touch", or rather the "DNA" of this Earth can be traced back to him. What does this mean? Well, a lot of things, but for starters it has created a precedent where oppression and tyranny reign supreme everywhere. We see it with "The Justice League", made up of Jack Grimm, Hammond, Thawne, Cale, and Ras, we see it with The Manhunters, just a bleak status quo everywhere where heroes are the minority. This of course mirrors Darkseid's own desires/nature as the god of tyranny, and his mission to put all there is under his boot. This also makes sense considering that this reality is built upon Omega Energy, the very power of "The End" that fuels Darkseid and his ability to infect the surrounding Multiverse.

Bad Idea #0

First introduced in Absolute Martian Manhunter, The Martian peers behind the veil of reality and The White Martian's plan to reveal the beginning and end of all things: Darkseid himself. The book is all about the nature of existence, how one perceives reality, and various levels of cosmic awareness. The White Martian appears directly linked to Darkseid, or more importantly, the concept of Anti-Life. The Anti-Life Equation to those familiar to DC lore is the proven mathematical formula that dictates "life has no meaning", essentially Darkseid's backdoor hack of existence to impose his will upon all sentient life. "Martians", or the closest thing we can perceive these beings of pure thought, may be personifications of both the Life and Anti-Life equation. Darkseid thought this reality into existence, I think therefore I am, and he is ground zero "Bad Idea #0", of Absolute. The Martian tries to explain this to John Jones, but fails given his own limited ability to perceive reality. Why is this important? Because the existence of The Martian and The White Martian imply there are grander things in motion BEYOND Darkseid's will. They may exist because Darkseid essentially "broke" existence when creating this world, to the point where both Life and Anti-Life are now conceptual beings with wills of their own, and trying to correct the imbalance.

The Light Spectrum

In mainline Green Lantern lore, The Emotional Spectrum is the energy that drives all life based on various motivations. Willpower, Fear, Hatred, Greed, etc. They all drive life to endure. In the Absolute Universe it appears light has taken to new meaning, in this case action itself. Correct Action, Enlightened, Withholding Action, etc. Why? Well a universe would need light, but since this reality is driven by Omega Energy and Anti-Life, one could argue nihilism reigns supreme. So Darkseid's subconscious view on existence isn't based on personal feelings, but choosing when its appropriate to act. There is no light without dark, however in this universe light is "tainted", meaning that light itself has Darkseid's touch to it because of how everything was willed into being. They say in Absolute Green Lantern there are different levels to this light, the spectrum, and that there is a "disagreement" between forces as to who is ultimately right. I believe this is in reference to The Martians. Notice how The Martian inhabiting John is several colors, not just green. The Light is perhaps Life and Anti-Life debating the outcome of all. What do they mean by levels? How far the light is close to the center of their reality, Darkseid, which is why Quard is on the very end.

The Still Point

In Absolute Flash, there is a level of reality where several intellects have travelled (and become imprisoned by), The Still Point. The Speed Force, which in mainline DC is the power source that moves time forward and empowers Speedsters like The Flash, does not exist here. Why? Because Darkseid ultimately drives this universe, not by his own design, but because it is an extension of his very being. Omega Energy is the fuel that drives the events of Absolute forward. So what is The Still Point in relation to this? It appears to be a manifestation of the various levels of the Absolute reality, and the precipice of the descent into the absolute truth of their existence: Darkseid. Like The Divine Comedy/Dantes Inferno, it is the metaphysical staircase to Hell and source of all things. In relation to The Light, we can see in the Still Point sketch there are various levels, which in turn be in relation to the various levels of understanding. The further someone strays from The Light, the closer they get to Darkseid. There's also reason to believe that Wally's powers are directly tied to Omega Energy as well since The Speed Force does not exist in this universe.

What This All Means Together

Darkseid Is. Or rather, Darkseid Is Ground Zero. Bad Idea #0. The Beginning, and End, of All Things. The Light Spectrum is the ring around The Still Point, actions surrounding nothing. The Light is Life and Anti-Life, which are also now self-aware and acting on their own. It is represented by a bottomless pit, nothing. Nothing is tied to nihilism, the answer to Anti-Life, and the will of Darkseid. To understand Anti-Life is to submit to Darkseid. Why is it represented this way? Because a bottomless pit/hole, the concept of nothing, requires context, something. The ring is the boundary that gives the pit meaning. Furthermore, whether Darkseid likes it or not, the concept of good is a necessity to give the concept of evil meaning. This is why Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the others naturally came to be despite the Earth being grown out of Omega, because they are a direct result of the cosmic counterweight to everything Darkseid Is. We've heard of necessary evil, heroes are necessary good.

Where This Could Be Headed

As we speak Darkseid is infecting every reality around Earth Prime/Earth 0 with Omega, and will eventually confront our mainline heroes once again to complete his victory. Darkseid needed the Absolute Earth to nurture and draw upon endless Omega Energy, and as we see from DC KO there is Alpha Energy (the beginning) to counter it. I believe Absolute Earth is now and forever directly linked with Earth Prime/Earth 0, similar to how Grant Morrisons Earth 2 (now Earth 3) had direct ties to the mainline universe where actions on one impacted the other. Earth Prime is now the source of Alpha Energy everywhere, whereas Earth Absolute is now the source of all Omega Energy, both now permanently intertwined and balancing the other. The Still Point, the pit, its a path not only to Darkseid's ground zero, but a portal back to Earth 0. Earth 0=Bad Idea 0. When Darkseid is ready, he'll use Absolute as a backdoor path back to Prime to finish what he started. However he'll soon realize that everything that he has done is pointless, as he is now slave to the cosmic balance between life/anti-life, alpha/omega, beginnings/endings. Absolute will also become a permanent part of the DC cosmic map, enduring because it has to ever since Darkseid fractured reality by making himself a singular being. With this said I don't know if Absolute heroes will ever defeat their oppressors, but exist merely to endure as good needs to.

Anyway apologies for the LONG rant/text dump, I just had to lay this all out. Let me know what you think in the comments below, even if I'm way off.

https://x.com/AlexComiz\_Inc/status/2105750055726543048

So far Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and Clayface have shown up in the story.

Between Mad Hatter, Hugo Strange, and Man-bat, who are you honestly most interested in seeing appear next?

For me, I'm gonna go with Mad Hatter. I always found him pretty neat.

Art by Stephen DeStephano and Bruce Patterson

Weapons that push the bounds of the metaphysical seems interesting I know we will probably see more in the ark m special in November but I can’t wait so I’m interested in what others think