Warning: Spoilers for Superman #15 and Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1 ahead!
Summary
DC’sAbsolute Powerevent begins with deadly symmetry, with theBrainiac Queenpoised to become the ultimate weapon againstSuperman. The parallels between the two are set out in explicit detail, with the circumstances in which Brainiac Queen arrives at Amanda Waller’s doorstep eerily imitating Superman’s own escape from Krypton, especially as depicted in the iconic 1978Supermanmovie.
The plot is all-too familiar: with Brainiac’s mothership set to explode inSuperman#15 by Joshua Williamson and Rafa Sandoval, a dying Brainiac does all he can to placehis “offspring,” Brainiac Queen, into an escape pod.As the Queen’s home explodes in the distance, the rocket carries her to a crash-landing on earth.
When Amanda Waller recovers Brainiac Queen in the “Stage Three” story by Williamson and Gleb Melnikov fromAbsolute Power: Ground Zero#1,Waller “raises” the blank version of Brainiac Queen in a simulation set in the American heartland, blatantly thumbing her nose at Superman’s own coming of age with the Kents.
Superman Stories Have a Major Kryptonite Problem & Even DC Is Ready to Call It Out
While Kryptonite has been known as Superman’s defining weakness, even DC is ready to admit that the Man of Steel’s stories are over-reliant on it.
Page fromAbsolute Power: Ground Zero#1
The destruction of Krypton is one of the most integral and dramaticelements of the Superman mythos. The image of the surviving ship and its sole inhabitant flying through the void is both chilling and iconic; while instantly recognizable from multiple comics and films, it was1978’sSupermanthat seared the image of an exploding Krypton into the minds of audiencesacross the globe and hammered home the sheer destructive tragedy of the hero’s origin. The panel of Brainiac Queen’s escape pod being prepped immediately conjures those images back to mind.
Brainiac Queen comes closest to driving a knife into the heart of the Superman narrative by echoing his origins so closely.
Equally integral to the Superman mythos is Clark’s adoption and rearing at the loving hands of the Kent family. This, too, is perverted: while Amanda Waller presents a nurturing facade as she “raises” Brainiac Queen,Waller is deliberately molding the impressionable mechanical intelligence into a weapon of war against the Justice Leagueand other super-powered figures who are presented as “outsiders” attempting to invade her home. By contrast, Clark’s loving adoption is a deliberate and explicit appealto the American immigrant story, reiterating the message that all are welcome and that the best of humanity can come from any origin.
Brainiac Queen Is the Closest DC Has Come to a True “Anti-Superman”
DC has tried to present foils to Superman before, with figures like Bizarro (Superman’s equal in strength, but opposite in every other way imaginable) and Lobo (another super-powered last son, but with none of Superman’s responsibility or compassion). However, Brainiac Queen comes closest to driving a knife into the heart of the Superman narrative by echoing his origins so closely. Loved and cherished by her parent, sent off to escape a dying home,Brainiac Queen’sorigin mirrorsSuperman’sin every way - but, in a dark twist, she is being “raised” by the worst America has to offer.
SUPERMAN #15 (2024)
Superman
The icon who launched the entire world of superheroes, the last son of Krypton escaped his dying world to crash land on Earth and be raised as Clark Kent. The world knows him better as Superman, the Man of Steel, the leader of the Justice League, and the most well-known hero in the DC Comics Universe. Blessed with the powers of a demigod, Kal-El of Krypton fights enemies both small and cosmic in his endless pursuit of truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.
