Absolute Superman vol. 2: Son of the Demon

Kal-El of Krypton is trying to do what’s best for the planet that he now calls home, but its inhabitants haven’t made it easy for him.  Chief among them is the president of the Lazarus Corporation:  Ra’s Al Ghul.  Publicly, he’s your average self-involved billionaire businessman.  Privately, he’s several centuries old, having revived himself multiple times and is determined to save the Earth from the maggots that infest it.  He can’t do it alone, however, which is why he’s determined to make this new “Superman” the heir to his empire.  That may sound like a tall order, but Ra’s has many resources at his disposal:   His army of Peacemakers.  The newly augmented lead Peacemaker, Christopher Smith.  Brainiac, the psychopathic alien who did the augmenting and is determined to find out Superman’s secrets and break him to his master’s will.

Two volumes in and “Absolute Superman” feels like a title that’s defined by the extra-ness that its writer, Jason Aaron, brings to it.  That’s on full display in the opening chapter that details Brainiac’s origin in a way that manages to be edgelord-y, over-the-top, and tragic all at once. Subsequent chapters deliver the drama and carnage at intense levels as Superman’s moral code is tested in ways that would be more harrowing if we hadn’t seen them before.  We do get solid supporting turns from Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, with the former’s change of heart providing the most interesting character arc in this series, even though Ra’s villain status is really only distinguished here by the volume’s one good twist regarding the nature of corporate rebellion.

I will say that unless you’ve been completely turned off to Aaron’s style over the years, this doesn’t make “Son of the Demon” a bad read.   Just a familiar one that only really starts to pick up some momentum towards its end when the narrative focuses on the Battle of Kansas.  Then, when you consider that the writer has managed all this without even hinting at the Absolute version of Superman’s greatest foe, it becomes a bit more impressive.  I do wish that Rafa Sandoval’s art was more dynamic than grimly superheroic; though, Carmine Di Giandomenico makes a good impression with his weird and spindly work in the issues he illustrates.  It’s all enough to keep me reading to see where Aaron is going with  this, even though I can’t say that I’m genuinely excited by everything he’s doing yet.