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Superhero Genre Expectations and the Absolute DC Universe

Writer's picture: Craig NorrisCraig Norris
Episode 97 - With host Craig Norris.
First Broadcast on Edge Radio, 24 January 2025.

We dive deeper into Eric R. Williams' "How to View and Appreciate Great Movies," focusing on the intricate layers of genre and the expectations they set for audiences. We then apply these insights to the fascinating Absolute Universe, a bold reimagining within the DC Multiverse. Join us as we explore how Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, and Absolute Wonder Woman both meet and subvert traditional genre conventions.


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TRANSCRIPT

This is an AI-generated audio transcript, and it may contain errors. We may update or correct this transcript in the future. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about the information in this transcript. The audio is the official record of this episode.


CRAIG

OK, welcome to media mother ship here on Edge Radio 99.3 FM. This is episode 97 as we explore how media can shape our understanding of the world around us, where broadcasting out of Edge Radio studios in Nepal, Luna, Hobart, TAS as, as well as streaming. On Edge radio org, au, YouTube and Twitch, you can find us by searching media mother ship on YouTube or Twitch. Message us into the studio directly at 0488811707 or feel free to leave a message on the chat, fire Twitch or YouTube. As always, I'm your host, Craig Norris, and today's topic where picking up where we dropped off last week around the idea of understanding storytelling by diving into some further ideas of genre, in particular applying them to the new.

Speaker

But.

CRAIG

Refreshing of storytelling coming out of DC Comics with their absolute line of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and the variation on these classic superhero figures that's occurring in the absolute the new absolute version of these characters, and we'll be applying some theory. These ohh of genre storytelling as outlined by Eric Williams in his theory book How to view and appreciate great movies. So we're going to apply some of his theories of understanding genre to hopefully explaining what DC Comics are attempting to do with these new versions of these classic characters. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman as well as you know how they're hopefully. Well, how they're attempting to keep some parts of the typical kind of genre expectations we'd have for these characters, but then subvert them as well. And we'll see how that effort is transpiring with some examples and discussion coming out of the comic book community concerning these absolute characters. So keep listening here to Media Mother ship as we'll dive into that topic of genre and the absolute universe in DC Comics. Alright, so before we dive 2 far forward into this, let's have a look at some key terms. Right, let's define some key terms. And kind of break up how we can understand the significance of looking at at J. Dinner in terms of these comics, so first let's kind of breakdown what we mean by the types of theories are going to apply. So dipping into the ideas of Williams and movie watching, he breaks down 3 categories of genre. So you have a super genre which he lists 11 examples of. The one we're gonna be looking at is the action genre, which is pretty much the the kind of Uber genre that a lot of superhero storytelling foods within. U you know the action genre usually has, you know, again, continuing Williamson's idea that to understand what a super genre is, you look at the atmosphere, the character and the story expectations of an audience approaching that. So a typical action. Genre piece of work will typically have some kind of intense and dynamic, fast paced atmosphere so you know you kind of die hard film where there's a type of a heist movie occurring where Bruce Willis's cop character is trying to save these hostages. So there's a sense of urgency in the atmosphere. There's the sense of excitement as his heroically trying to sort these high stakes right action film, self high Stakes. The setting often involves a type of a battle. You chases, you know, car chases and rescues. So, so again, die hard, certainly constant kind of cat and mouse battles between. The Bruce Willis Mcgahee. John McLean, character and the terrorists, as well as the high stakes trying to save the hostages. Often visually, striking pieces of work action genre films are so they'll have tonnes of explosions, tonnes of stunts and a lot of special effects in terms of characters we'd expect to see in an action genre piece. Typically you'd looking at a heroic protagonist. You know the main character is going to be quite brave. They're going to be very skilled and determined. So again, think of your John McLean and Die hard card. To and you know in physically strong, they're able to to do combats. So there's also clear antagonists that they're fighting against. You know, it really clear villain. In the case of die hard, it's the group. Now colgrove. Now I think the character is. Uh, who's the mastermind? Kind of hostage taker. Political terrorist. Kind of cover story, bank heist character. And then supporting characters so you know in die hard, you've got allies for Bruce Willis's character, the the beat cop. Outside the chauffeur that drove him there. And then you've got, you know, each one of those has unique skills and stories. Of course, in action films were thinking of conflict and confrontation with the protagonist is gonna have a number of obstacles they have to overcome. And. You know, in die hard trying to whittle down the henchmen of the key character, try and rescue the hostages and so forth, and each one of those comes with certain obstacles that need to be overtaken. Action packed sequences. You know, Donhead has that great sequence where he leaps from the building with the Firehouse fire hose wrapped around him as it as the that floor excludes behind him. You know, classic scenes. The helicopters approaching. Yeah. So again, you know, those are the typical beats would be expecting. So for this, when we're when we're looking at a superhero film, the big genre would be often looking at is in is, how does it work as an action film? What our expectations when we're going into a superhero film again would probably be thinking they'd be a heroic protagonist. They'll probably be a lot of high stakes narrative there, you know, kind of end of the world scenario. To clear antagonists, there will be a comic book villain who's the counterpoint, who's the big threats to you know, the superheroes. So it could be the Joker character fighting against Batman, Lex Luther for Superman, and so forth. Yeah. And and you, you're assuming gonna get tonnes of action packed sequences. So again, we'll we'll have a look at how Williams explains it now in terms of their approach to unpacking the Super genre. And then within that, further delving down into the ideas of a macro genre and micro genre. Say for instance, you know you might have. The macro genre being action, but the macro genre like if it's a Batman film, you'd be thinking there might be some detective storytelling going on there, which would be a macro genre. Um, what type of detective analysis or storytelling is going on there? If it's a. Kind of gritty film, you know, femme fatal. It could be a noir micro genre or the character could be hard boiled, right? A character who. Is kind of burnt out. Detective character was burnt out by the world around us, so again, you know, he see these are these are categories where we can further dive into it. But let's hear Williams's way of defining it through his key terms.

Speaker 4

The expectations conveyed by certain kinds of films, you might call them genres, but I'd like to use a little bit more nuance in our conversation. So we'll start by differentiating between what I like to call macro genre. And micro genres and I'll show you how audience expectations can be met and subverted by combining macro genres with the 11 super genres by the end of this lecture, I hope to demonstrate how these three simple concepts, super genres, macro genres and micro genres, how they work together to create the expectations that we have for nearly any feature film you'll see in the theatres today. A tall order, I know, but once you understand the inner workings of these tools, you'll be able to really understand why and how stories are shaped specifically for their audiences. And once you can see these patterns and these techniques, you'll be better able to appreciate the work being done behind the scenes to create a great heist movie. Or was it an escape movie because there is a difference, you know, to start, let's take a step back. In a previous lecture I outlined in detail the idea that there are 11 super genres 11.

CRAIG

Also, just wasn't there. I mean, there's an interesting justification that Williams is given here as to why it's useful to know about this theory of genres. And then not only understand why genre what? What genre is but dive more deeply into it to look at this idea of breaking it apart. As you know, Okay does this movie were watching? What's the Super genre? It's fitting into. To. Then what are the sub genres that are going on? You know, it's an action film. OK. What type of action film it is? Well, it's Chinatown, so it's a detective action film, right? We're gonna have a main protagonist who's trying to solve some mystery. Alright, what type of? So the Mac super genre would be action micro genre macro genre would be detective. And the micro genre could be, you know, hard boiled. So the character that Jack Nicholson plays in Chinatown is is a really kind of hardball detective. That is, his previous experiences in Chinatown have burnt him out. His grizzled, his pessimistic. He has a cynical look on the world around him, and again, those are those three spaces, and Williams argues. That if we. Get it? And if we start understanding how? Before we went to see Chinatown or when we read some reviews about Chinatown, they were cluing us in Okay it's it's it's going to be a detective film that sets up a series of expectations we've got in terms of what would be expecting to see. So if films being hyped up and the poster looks like it's going to be a really cool action film again, we'd be expecting that, OK, there's going to be a character in there. He's he's a. Euro and there's going to be a villain. The atmosphere is going to be intense. I'm assuming there's gonna be some chasing ones or a rescue scene or something, and the story's all gonna be conflict based, right? The hero and the villain are going to be constantly fighting and battling each other with tonnes of action so that there's again my expectations. And when we see a film fail or a film succeed, it could be because they're they're not living up to these expectations that maybe we're conscious of or not. Equally, we might watch something where we're really surprised because we thought we were seeing an action film. But then, halfway through wow, there's two film took a complete turn, and actually it's it's a horror. Right. So dusk till dawn is a great example of that, where it starts off as a heist film with George Clooney and Tarantino playing two bank robbers. And then at the end of act one, suddenly you know the bar. They go to after they've stolen the money, turns out to be inhabited by vampires, and it just shifts into a different genre of vampire film. Are so suddenly it's, you know, the the previous expectations we had around. Uh, an action film can get recalibrated. It could pose some questions about, you know, a maybe the limitations of the action film genre. You know, so can it be clever? So again, that's why William's arguing it's it's really useful to look at. So then if we pick them up now with where he sees this whole. Significance going to.

Speaker 4

Action crime fantasy.

Speaker

See.

Speaker 4

Horror, life, romance, science fiction, sports, thriller, war and western.

CRAIG

Yep, sorry. So that's the 11 super genres say, he says. You know basically ohh films are going to fit into one of those 11 super genres. And again, what we're talking about here, and he defends this by saying okay so this. This can appear to be really uncreative and kind of stifling. And like, wow, you know, what's the point? If there's only 11 genres, that seems really reductive, but it's saying, OK, just get this as part of the business or film making and also the expectations that people have before they go in. Don't see there's a straight jacket. See there's something while. Let's see how they subvert that. Well, let's see how they are able to perform those genre queues strongly, right? So we're saying actually it can be a way of. Of of shorthand so an audience can jump straight into a film without having as much set up as you'd need, and equally it could be a way where an audience you're playing and manipulating what they're thinking they're. About to have. But then beaten switch into something else.

Speaker 4

And each of these 11 super genres is defined by three specific elements, atmosphere, character, and story. For instance, crime films typically explore themes of truth, justice and freedom and contain the central conflict of criminal versus lawman. Of course, the criminal can exist in a variety of forms. Someone who is intentionally breaking the law, accidentally breaking the law or circumstantially breaking the law. But for seemingly heroic purposes, similar similarly, the lawman might also appear in various guises. It might be the story of a lawyer, members of a jury, a valiant police officer, or a vengeful victim of some crime. Regardless, crime films make the audience jump through a series of mental hoops. As we watch this battle between criminals and those intent on stopping. Now, of course, the hoops look different in each movie, but don't be fooled. You've seen them a million times. They're either trying to solve the crime along with the detective, or we're figuring out how the complex heist might fall apart. We're imagining how the convict is going to escape, or how the lawyer is going to win a conviction at the trial.

CRAIG

Alright, so I think we get the idea here that what we're looking at is trying to unpack what the story is for enjoying in terms of okay what, what genre is it part of? So we talked about how we're gonna have a look at superhero comics, and they would probably fall into a bigger genre that could be referred to as an action film. So if this. Severe economics is going to be an action based story. Again would be expecting, yeah. Intense dramatic dynamics sequences. High stakes heroic protagonists. Clear villains team of supporting characters. The storyline is gonna be conflict and confrontation with action packed sequences, so let's jump now into this new DC absolute universe. And what they're attempting to do here because again, I think we can see that we'd have expectations about what a comic book superhero stories going to have for us. And what's interesting is that this moment when you've got a company like DC who launch a new storyline where they reimagine these characters, it's a great opportunity to say, OK, what subversions are they doing to these characters and the genres they fit with it, right? So we'll have a look at some of the buzz that's going on with the new absolute series. We'll start by having a look at some of the discussions which have set up around it, so we'll start by listening to some of the and commentary about what's going on here. So let's hear. About what this absolute universe is all about. South this is a short. Flip that's breaking apart the absolute universe.

Speaker 5

In August 2024, DC announced a new initiative, DC, All in May, so that everyone could enter to read comics.

Speaker

Is.

Speaker 5

This new brand in the literal was announced with different issues, beginning with special #1.

Speaker

The.

Speaker 5

This follows the end of the absolute power event in this special number one, we had a 64 pages comic that was a flip book on one side until the middle. We focus on Superman and the formation of a new just. Leak from the other side until the middle. We focus on dark side as well as Superman is the main important being of the continuity and from his energy emerges all the universe. Dark Side is also the main being of a parallel universe, a universe he died to form the absolute universe.

CRAIG

All right, so we have this idea of DC's launch system universe. We're going to be the storytelling there. The fan is picking up in terms if we have this, typically a villain character dark side who's going into a parallel world and created it and all the heroes now have a aspect of their typical story remove. And reinvented. So we'll start with Batman and unpack how some of the fans are reacting and describing the new version of Absolute Batman. I mean, before we do that, let's think firstly what the classic Batman is in terms of, you know, I guess if we if. We're putting the. Super genre of a Batman as as action based and within that the macro genre would be crime. And you could argue then the micro genre is a detective Crime Story with maybe vigilante justice as another micro genre. So the atmosphere would be expecting to see in any Batman story would be dark, gritty, usually Gothic. Gotham cities this crime ridden, corrupt metropolis for any of the characters would assume all the characters going to be brooding complex, driven by some kind of personal vendetta against crime, right? So obviously Bruce Wayne's characters parrots died by crime, so he's got a personal vendetta about it and many other characters have been affected by crime. Batman would be expecting to see him as as a master detective. You know, super cool martial artist. Lone vigilante character and the stories are going to be ones of like justice, vengeance U. Maybe a little bit of exploration to the psychological toll of being a hero, some complex moral questions. So let's see how the absolute. Story takes those. I expectations would have of a of a classic Batman story and twist them, and obviously within that classic Batman story, as it would be focusing on a figure, we'd be assuming we'd have a Bruce Wayne who's a billionaire Playboy is using all his wealth and resources to fight crime in Gotham City, and he's got high tech gadgets. And like the Batmobile in the Bat cave, right? So we'd be thinking, OK, so a character's probably gonna be that guy. So let's see how some of the fans are in packing the genre twists that seem to be emerging in this new absolute universe with Batman.

Speaker 5

In August 2024 this year announced a new initiative, DC all.

CRAIG

Alright, hold on. We'll queue this up properly.

Speaker 5

He now goes 2024. DC announced a new initiative this.

CRAIG

Year, but how?

Speaker

How do you live on $50 a day?

CRAIG

Can we cure it up? Maybe just grab it. Yeah. So what? We're gonna listen to. Here are some ways in which fans have unpacked the. Concept of Batman in constituents.

Speaker 6

The new absolute Batman is ruthless, so the new absolute universe is giving us a completely different take on Batman, where he's a working class engineer and his mother. Is still alive. But that's not the biggest change they made, because this version of Batman is a six foot six £250 monster. He's also just as intelligent as the normal Batman, having studied in mechanics, chemistry, criminal psychology, military theory and much.

Speaker

The.

Speaker 6

More, not to mention that he's trained in Muay Thai, Brazilian jujitsu, and boxing. His deadly combination of size and intelligence met on his very first night out as Batman. He was easily able to 1 V 25 his opponents, and since this Bruce Wayne is an engineer, he still designed every single part of his Batsuit to be potentially lethal, including the bat symbol on his chest that unfolds to become a battle. Axe of sleep. Bowman is also much more cruel temper than the usual one, having no issues with literally cutting off his opponent's limbs or shooting them in the face with shrapnel. Which is why I'm extremely excited for these upcoming issues so that we can see just how far this new absolute Batman is willing to go.

CRAIG

Alright, so this fan. My your foric euphoric has. Is positioning this new absolute Batman as being a hyper version of the existing expectations would have a Batman right that he is, um, you know, this is an even grittier, darker version of Batman. He's more hypermasculine, his stronger, he's got a battle axe that comes out of his chest and. Yeah, and Gotham is even more hopeless than the one we have in the normal comic. So it certainly in terms of atmosphere he saying it's it's meeting all the beats we'd expect in a Batman story as an action genre and dialling it to 11 uh, but we'll see. I mean, I think some other YouTube reactions have kind of unpacked it with some other variations, which are also interesting. So let's listen here, to Sammy de monster. Unpacking what she thinks is going on with this new genre. Well, maybe some of the subversiveness of the new Batman absolute.

Speaker 7

What exactly are Batman's powers? Is that the? Resources that come along with him being rich. You know, like all the gadgets and stuff. Is it the fact that he is a genius? You know the world's greatest detective. Or is it the fact that he is a technically skilled fighter? Basically a ninja.

CRAIG

So what she's setting up there is the idea of okay. So what do Michael was saying? What are the genre expectations? We have of a Batman story. And within that, of course, how do we define characters within the Batman story? And you know what's Batman's power? So she's just mapping out there. What we typically expect to see for Batman right is it as wealth is it, as skills is it as detective powers, then we'll hear how she moves into the absolute Batman story.

Speaker 7

But what would it look like if Batman wasn't rich? How would he support himself? How would he have access to all this gear? How would he be Batman? Will this concept is actually explored an absolute Batman and issue one just dropped this month? This is kicking off the new absolute universe from DC Comics and Wonder Woman just dropped as well in this was phenomenal, but today we're talking about absolute Batman issue 1. I know there's some mixed opinions on the slow go, but keep in mind this is actually an axe that he wears honest chest in which he could wield. He literally like has. Has the handle and he just attaches it to his chest and there we go. We got a Batman axe. Another cool thing is that the ears of his costume is actually removable and they are throwing knives. So yes, in this universe, Batman is not rich. His mother is a social worker and his father is a teacher and his father is killed in front of him as a child. But his mother, still alive and raised him so he's not completely an orphan. And in this continuity, he's pretty young. I think he's like 22 or 23 here. Is it genius like he always is? I mean, he is the world's greatest detective. He gives college. He does pretty long college. He's actually a football player in college and gives it all up to I soon be Batman. The vigilante of Gotham, Bruce, is not rich, which means he does not have a Butler. So where is Elford? While he's actually not a Butler at all in his continuity, he is a secret agent who does not know Bruce at all. Yet they are starting to cross. In this issue, playing a little game of cat and mouse on the question is will it be allies or will they be enemies since Batman does not have money, it makes Bruce Wayne more creative on how he gets the resources that he needs to be the vigilante of Gotham to be Batman. So pretty cool stuff. I can't wait to see that further. Explore the next few issues to see how he's accessing everything that he needs, like how is it getting this suit? How is it getting all these weapons? Always expect a brand new take on this classic characters and I'm excited to see where it goes with spy Alfred Gordon's actually the mayor and just Batman with no money. Let's see how it plays out. Yeah, really cool first issue. Wonder Woman absolute Wonder Woman also just came out this week, and that was literally phenomenal. Absolute Batman is written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Nick. Agoda. Funnel comic sharpener?

CRAIG

Alright, so there she's diving much more explicitly into, I guess the difference that people are pointing out with this Batman that he's not rich, that this Batman is poor, his mum still alive and his mum's a social worker. His dad was killed in cry in a in a crime scene that Bruce Wayne was was present for as a student in his class during an active shooter event at a zoo. So it's interesting what we're seeing here, again, those two fan reviews of Batman, absolute or absolute. Batman have very much hitting the points that in terms of genre expectations for that man, the atmosphere is is an extension of that genre expectation that we'd have for Web Batman sits. That is it's, you know, the the gritty atmosphere. So in terms of atmosphere, it's continuing the setting of Gotham as a gritty, decayed environment. This uh, this storytelling is still the same in terms of we've got struggles against crime occurring, concerns around safety and wealth, but in this case it's a working class. Batman. He's still and as far as characters are concerned, the character Batman is is the same. He's the same self made hero that we'd recognise in any other Batman story. He's intellectually superior and he's physically superior to most humans, so. The main difference, it seems, is the type of um. I guess story around Batman's character that that. Well, if you remove. The wealth from Batman? What story do we? End up with. How does that play out? Uh, but in terms of, yeah, so there could be some subversiveness there. I mean, and you could make an interesting argument that it's trying to update that for contemporary issues around class and wealth and poverty in today's world by removing Batman's money. And having impact that down, the other thing that I guess is interesting is fans asking if this is a really hyperviolent Batman. One fan posted on does absolutely Batman have the No cure rule in terms of genre expectations and character expectations within a crime film, violence is such a key part of that within the action genre. And then Detective and a, you know, kind of dystopic universe of Batman. So we'll hear quickly about this idea of of Batman's no violence rule in the absolute universe. This is a piece by the fan dance.

Speaker 8

Absolute Batman has the no kill rule to begin with. I thought he was gonna do away with it, considering his bat symbol clips off and becomes a battle axe, but during his first appearance when he fought against the party animals in the shadows lurked Alfred Pennyworth, who at the time was just there to observe that if anything besides the party animal showed up, he was to engage. So in Bruce shows up and dismantles. Everybody, the first thing that Alfred observes is the fact that despite chopping off people's hands, Bruce was missing every vital artery in his victims. So while Bruce is out here kicking people in the chest and reducing their rib cages to paste in the process of doing that, he's also making sure that he doesn't kill these people. And actually, it's a hammer home. The point that he doesn't have the no kill rule when Alfred, this is sneak up behind him in head shop. Bruce with some sort of special shotgun, Bruce Steels said. Gun and then later on in the issue when Alfred gets his favourite gun back, he gets shot in the face with it. Feeling that Bruce repurposed it to be non lethal and shoot little batterings and the best part about this interaction is instead of getting frustrated at his defeat, Alfred actually becomes incensed by Bruce's crusade.

CRAIG

So hold on.

Speaker 7

What exactly are Batman's?

CRAIG

What's interesting here is most of the fans again engaging in a genre level with satisfaction that the absolute Batman, if anything, is um. Meeting all of the genre expectations of Batman and then increasing their greediness and darkness of them, the subversive element is that reimagining of Bruce Wayne without his wealth and resources as that one of the fans was saying. You know, after she won, it would be fascinating to see how this character is able to explain the equipment they've got. You know, if it's so clearly established the mums, just a social worker, single mum now after the death of the father. How? How are they in a position of being? Able to afford this? So again, there's gonna gonna be some interesting ways in which that story could possibly deal with that subversion of Batman no longer as a billionaire Playboy and focusing more on this kind of maybe raw struggle with crime, you know, survival and resilience aspect of again, genre conventions that we'd have. U within a, you know, gritty action superhero crime detective. Vigilante justice story. Let's move on and dig out where Superman is within this universe. So obviously in terms of expectations, we'd have of classic Superman, is that his raised in Smallville, Kansas, by the Kents? So human family, mother and father dropped him in. I classically, he embodies hope, justice, and stereotypically, the American. Way his pals come from Earth's yellow sun. And he's got this inner struggle between his dual identity of Clark Kent and Superman. So let's see how Superman takes those ideas and shift them. I mean, obviously also in terms of if we're thinking of a Superman's story, the genres would be thinking of if we're staying within that super genre of action, then we might be thinking, of course, you know, it's going to be a superhero story. It could be sci fi, right? More science fiction based with an alien invasion micro genre story I, technology battles, and so forth. So maybe a little more SF. Let's hear. Hear how the fandom have reviewed absolute Superman and have unpacked what history is. Do we still have all those beats? Do we still have that character? What are the subversions going on? So he will hear from something origins.

Speaker

That's what.

Speaker 2

Makes Superman changes everything you thought you knew about Superman. Unlike the Prime Superman who arrived on. Earth as a baby. This Superman grew up on Krypton, a planet. Ruled by the Ruthless Science League and. A brutal past system. Here, the iconic S symbol doesn't stand for hope. It's a badge of shame. Or stop on the lower classes. Superman's parents are brilliant but broken by this.

Speaker 5

Have.

Speaker 2

His mother, Laura Laura van, was banned from applying to the Science League because of a controversial essay she wrote when she was just nine and his father Jorelle, a brilliant scientist, was robbed of his opportunity when he condemned the Science League for Environmental recklessness, which would later destroy the planet. Unlike the others, the Superman family ready assembled with pride and carry a legacy of defiance. In this version of Superman was created when Dark Side created. His own universe.

Speaker 9

Ohh.

CRAIG

All right. So that's interesting. Um, the absolute Superman stroke. Maybe picking up similar to absolute Batman with an inversion of, you know, subverting the wealthy figure for him to be a working class. With this being raised by a single mum story, here we have Superman. Not being raised in Kansas Smallville by the Kent, but instead he doesn't leave Kent Crypt on until he's a early teen and he'd been raised already by his Kryptonian parents. But clearly this Krypton is dystopic. All right, this is a dystopic Krypton with a very strict class system. As that fan was. Pointing out and Superman's family actually belongs to the lowest class, the working class, the Labour Guild, and this version again is emphasising this idea of of instead of Superman being kind of overpowered, super being he's he's this, he's got these working class roots and as well here with some other fans. I'm packing the story he's trying to struggle against this systemic oppression, which he experienced as a young teen in. Tripped on as well. The atmosphere, of course, of of classic Superman. You'd expect to have an atmosphere full of hope and optimism. The Metropolis location that it's often set in is hyper modern characters that we're going to be expected to see in a Superman. Certainly are heroic characters are going to be noble. Who altruistic Superman himself has these kind of God like powers and is this epitome of idol here at the moment. Again, no mention of that dual identity of Clark Kent so that inner struggle that plays an important part of the character would be assuming to see in a Superman film is not there. Themes of justice hope are certainly baked in, probably even more aggressively now into this more dystopic, oppressive world which the absolute Superman story is located within. And given, I guess that Superman's depicted as a as part of this lower class in Krypton that he's a labour son of Krypton. Emphasising this working class struggle probably is going to emphasise again this shift of tone for class struggle fighting against oppression. Societal barriers rather than big Sci Fi global alien invasion threats, but let's unpack it with some other reactions of fans reviewing the absolute Superman story.

Speaker

And.

Speaker 9

Full Superman is a weird comic. This is a story with some pretty cool art by Rafa Sandoval and you have Jason Aaron, which I really like is Punisher, but that doesn't stop this Superman from being weird. This story has a lot of political undertones in it, but the main theme seems to be classism. To people at the top, take advantage and be little to people at the bottom, and this universe Krypton had multiple different classes or branches. Of a social hierarchy, the scientists were at the top. They had the most power. They made all the big decisions while the labourers were at the bottom. They had no power. They just worked. Lara and Jorelle were labourers into S emblem actually represents that faction, which is pretty cool, and we find out that car. Sorry, the main continuity in this universe. Carlos actually old enough to remember his parents. He wasn't just a baby that got sent off. He was like a teenager and they were a family. They even had a dog and then the present that we see Superman helping out a bunch of diamond miners who are being abused and manipulated by a gang of peacemakers. I don't like this comic. I like to start for the story. It just doesn't feel like Superman. I don't know. I just really like it.

CRAIG

So that's interesting. Again this fan.

Speaker 2

Who is absolute Superman and what makes you?

CRAIG

Sorry this fan Shine Comics saying, you know, really enjoying it in terms of the atmosphere, character and story. But he can't quite put his finger on. One is not Superman about it, right? Uh, so it could be the the, you know, story that it's again not a story about global threats. It's maybe the character that's Superman here is. Is this working class character established in Clifton first, not part of science upper class community. The atmosphere is quite dystopic and oppressive, so again we've got none of that Metropolis. Getting which is, you know, a shining beacon of a super modern city that's under threat. Where looking at, you know, as you say, the first issue is all about a diamond mind and Superman trying to help the oppressed workers there. So it's interesting that you know, while you know we've got absolute Superman and buying some of those core ideas of hope and justice, there's certainly fits superhero macro genre the. Powers and origin story. The origin story slightly shifted that he's he's a working class hero and an oppressed working class hero that's aware of the oppression that he suffered. So maybe that's it. That's subversion. Again, that's a version is about, you know, feeling a little unsure as to whether you're going to enjoy this because you're being subverted, that you've gotta a typical portrayal previously had been a near perfect hero, right? But instead we've got this sushi economic challenge. He's a working class, is facing working class struggles and and through those working class roots, he he. Has and is specifically about fighting that oppression. Let's dig a deep bit deeper in. So here's another fan review talking about who absolute Superman is. Their headline is Superman. Who is Superman? Absolute Superman. The answer will shock you. This is from one minute. Story.

Speaker 6

Who?

Speaker 2

Is absolute Superman and what makes him so powerful. Let's break it down. Absolute Superman was born out of the absolute power crossover event, but this isn't the Superman you know raised by Kryptonian farmers. This version of Cahill is far more dangerous and far more. Powerful. Instead of drawing energy from Earth's yellow sun, absolute Superman charges his body with the red sunstone of Krypton.

Speaker

The.

Speaker 2

This amplifies his strength, speed, and durability to insane levels. But here's where it gets crazy. His solar powers have evolved. His heat vision is now apocalyptic. He can unleash concentrated beams of solar energy from his eyes, enough to incinerate nearly anything in his path. But there's a catch. He has to recharge at night, leaving a small window of vulnerability. So is absolute Superman the strongest version yet? Let me know what you think in the comments.

CRAIG

Since interesting picking up that idea of is absolute, Superman, the strongest version of the Superman counterpointing that are a number of fans that are reviewing this saying you know the Superman can't control his pals, it seems, right.

Speaker 8

Absolute ****.

CRAIG

He has this really interesting relationship with his suit, which is not just fabric for what kind of super fabric it it it's it's. It seems to be a. Aye, self aware. So let's see. There's one guy, Dan. I'm packed. The absolute Superman can't control his powers discussion.

Speaker 8

If a man can't control his super powers, in fact his suit, which is said to be made from the ashes of Krypton, not only helps him regulate his solar radiation intake, but in addition to that, it also assists in helping him shut down whenever a power like his heat vision goes on the Fritz. Shelling all of us that this version of Superman doesn't have a handle on his ability. Because honestly, they look a lot more raw, which we can definitely expect to come from the fact that he didn't have the guiding hands of the Kents growing up. Considering this version of Superman actually knew Jorel and Laura Lord, so instead of him hitting puberty on the Kent farm and burning a hole through a barn, he showed up on Earth as a teenager and possibly did worse. Considering when we saw the Kent farm in issue number one, it was destroyed and has been overtaken by Lazarus, which makes me believe that either the Kents actually tried the experiment and it failed horribly or dark side removed the love from Superman's life completely, which is not an outlandish assume.

Speaker

You I don't.

Speaker 8

The darts had already turned his house symbol into that of garbage. So I would not be surprised if he doubled down by going after the Kent's tune.

Speaker 10

This is.

CRAIG

Yeah. So again, some interesting subversions of the Superman narrative. And again, that fan picking up some really interesting beats instead of a kind of optimistic hope atmosphere that we'd have, he's pointing out that actually in terms of. A. Superman story within a superhero genre. The atmosphere is really disturbed. Like and in this version, the S symbol is actually a a class symbol that is referring to the lowest cast. That Superman's family was part of that it appears he, as this fan is saying, you know, Piers is Superman has been raised without love in terms of you know, the the death of his parents on Krypton. The experience he had immediately in Earth, it doesn't seem to be. This routine within the Kents that was humanising Superman. So again, interesting shift there around genre expectations with action when we're dealing with a heroic ideal character God like powers like Superman taking that and again giving this this this class struggle narrative which is fascinating U. We've got a few minutes left. So let's dip quickly into Wonder Woman. Now, typically with Wonder Woman's story. Um, we're looking at a central character, Wonder Woman, or Diana. Who's this Amazonian Princess from famous? There, and they embody this year strength, compassion. They have mission of peace and she's bridging these two worlds, the human world and the divine world. So let's have a look how that's inverted or subverted or further extended in the absolute universe, and clearly with genre expectations. With Wonder Woman again seeing it as an action film primarily or an action text primarily within that superhero. But as opposed to the other. Two Superman and Batman. We might be expecting some more fantasy elements, particularly from the mythological and type of ancient warrior vibe. That Wonder Woman has as an Amazonian. And a character linked with Greek mythology and so forth. So let's have a look at some fan reviews of absolute Wonder Woman.

Speaker 11

Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman and Jody Blair has finally dropped. And after one issue, I feel confident in saying that this is the best thing to happen to the character in well over a decade now, much like everyone else in the absolute DC Universe, Wonder Woman has been reimagined from the ground up in this case, quite literally. Here, instead of being the Princess to when island of mythical warrior women, Diana is raised by the goddess Cersei in hell. Meanwhile, the Amazons are facing some sort of eternal damnation because Zeus said so. But for whatever reason, Diana was not punished alongside them. Instead, she was dumped on surfaces doorstepped by Apollo, who's like, well, you're a mom now. Peace and the whole issue is about motherhood. It's about patriarchal torment, so in that it's thematically very in keeping with classic Wonder Woman comics. But the presentation is Wonder Woman meets Berserk, and I think that combination works like peanut butter and chocolate, and I can't wait to see what the book goes from here.

Speaker 10

The marketing for absolute Wonder Woman has learned a lot into how ******** this version is raised in hell. A witch. Giant sword riding a skeleton death. Pegasus, but inside the pages of absolute Wonder Woman at times, Diana can be outright cute. Absolute Wonder Woman is part of DC Comics Absolute Universe, which launched in late 2024, and it's alternate takes on various DC. Characters born out of a Dark side universe, an issue 2 of Absolute Wonder Woman saw Diana meet Steve Trevor and she's super into him. So much so that when she has to look up at him, she actually blushes. Is this the cutest Wonder Woman moment? It's definitely softer than some may have expected, especially going into this series because.

Speaker 8

Absolute wonder.

CRAIG

That's interesting around the ideas of genre expectations, given that now we're having genre expectations of the absolute universe being hyper violence and dark and gritty. Interesting. A romance twist. Maybe so we'll see. Maybe micro genre of romance that this fan's pointing out in issue 2 of absolute Wonder Woman, where one woman's blushing. So this idea of. Subverting maybe the expectations of the absolute universe that we have a romance dimension of love as we're pointing out, with the Superman absolute Superman seems absent of love. Um. While the main subversion within the Wonder Woman character seems to be the different interpretation of a fantasy upbringing, instead of from the Amazonian background she's now raised in. Now and obviously darker and grittier. Um U but within that again you. Know the this, this, this, this. Subgenre of over potential romance narrative is intriguing. Um, in terms of atmosphere again that that I think much like the other stories we've looked at with Batman and Superman, it's continuing the mythological epic. Atmosphere of Wonder Woman. We've got strong compassionate warrior character and the mission of peace thing isn't being engaged with at this point, but we'll see. And the story as well. Empowerment. Justice clashes between ancient traditions and modern values. Yeah. I mean, that'll be interesting. If it does get dealt with, but I couldn't detect anything in the discussions there, um, it seems that yeah, the one woman is continuing to embody the strength of the compassionate warrior, and it has that strong mythological background. Um, I yeah. So I will. We'll hear the one or two more other other reviews of it, so let's let's listen to one or two more others to get a further handle on absolute wonder one.

Speaker 8

Absolute Wonder Woman is still Diana Themiscyra, but this time around she's the Princess of Hell cause the way that Diana first ends up in hell revolves around Zeus. Diana, the Princess of Themyscira, was taken away by Zeus as a punishment to the Amazons for their crimes against the gods, leaving Diana and none other than the car. Cersei, who at first has 0 intention of mothering Diana. In fact, she's fully prepared to let the kid fend for herself until baby Diana grabs a snake. That was meant to kill her and Yeats it across the room. Impressed by that? Cersei starts to realise that this kid is special, so she begins to train Diana, blending Amazonian strength with dark mystical powers. And honestly, what was really enjoyable was seeing Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman captures Service's reluctant journey into motherhood with this nice mix of humour. And intensity, but by far the best moment of this issue was when Diana discovers that her surrogate mother cannot say the word Amy.

Speaker

Ohh.

Speaker 8

Her mother could never tell her what she truly was. She had to find out herself, and when she says Amazon, Cersei makes her say it over and over, making her understand who she truly is.

Speaker 1

Alright.

CRAIG

Well, was it there? We're pretty much at time now, so we might be back later on in future episodes to continue unpacking what the absolute superhero Marvel did well. Sorry you absolute DC universe is about and how the absolute Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman characters are going, but again one of the things that's interesting is doing these experiments and trying to figure out. OK, so one of my expectations of the superhero. Next, one of my expectations then if it's an action one, much with Wonder Woman, mythological basis and so forth. Alright, so this has been medium membership for another week. Keep listening to Edge radio. Some cool tunes if you'd like to know more about medium. Others should be can check us out on YouTube and Twitch and Facebook and Instagram, and next we will be diving more into how media shapes the world around us. So keep listening now to some really cool tunes.

 

 

 


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