Absolute Superman #7 Review

• Written by: Jason Aaron

• Art by: Carmine Di Giandomenico

• Colors by: Ulises Arreola

• Letters by: Becca Carey

• Cover art by: Rafa Sandoval, Ulises Arreola (cover A)

• Cover price: $4.99

• Release date: May 7, 2025

Absolute Superman #7, by DC Comics on 5/7/25, takes a peek at the android behind the screen when we learn the disturbing path Brainiac took to become Earth's greatest thinker.

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Is Absolute Superman #7 Good?

Recap

When we last left the last Son of Krypton in Absolute Superman #6, 18 months of isolated travel in space drove the boy to thoughts of ending his life. Fortunately, Sol found Earth and brought Kal to a safe landing spot right at the time the super-advanced A.I. ran out of power. Fortunately again, Kal was taken in by a kindly couple of farmers, the Kents, to look after him for a few weeks while Sol recharged. During that time, the Kents endured sudden onsets of superpowered destruction as Kal's exposure to Earth's Sun brought out peculiar abilities. The issue ended when a nosy neighbor called Lazarus Corporation about an illegal alien on the Kent Farm, resulting in an arrest and big trouble for the Kent farm.

Plot Synopsis

In Absolute Superman #7, readers learn the mentally damaged origin of Earth's Brainiac. We begin with the group calling themselves the Omega Men infiltrating a compound in Nevada where they believe the Brainiac server farm that powers the Lazarus Corporation's A.I. is located. The Omegas believe they can shut down the Brainiac A.I. if they destroy the data center. Suddenly, the group is decimated by advanced weaponry that shrinks their skin, turns bones to mush, and balloons up limbs. Brainiac is a being, and he killed three of the four Omegas, taking one hostage for questioning.

In a flashback, we see that Brainiac started as Brainiac 419,732 as part of the Brainiac collective. His purpose? Shovel the piles of discarded Brainiac bodies into an incinerator. One-hundred thirty-seven years later, the discarded bodies stopped falling from the disposal chute. Brainiac 419,732 leaves the incinerator room for the first time, finds all fellow Brainiacs, including the captain, dead from self-inflicted wounds, and decides to take over the ship.

Now, the time-ravaged and wholly unstable Brainiac puzzles over the existence of a human with superpowers. It tortures the captured humans and Brainiac clones to find a measure of peace. It even resorts to smashing and stomping on shrunken alien cities stored in its lab. Finally, Brainiac 419,732 sends a signal to the ruling Brainiac Collective Council, asking for help identifying the superbeing based on a particle of red sand from his cape. One of the Council members identified the sand as Kryptonian, matching the red sand to a sample of meteorite one of the Brainiacs discovered during a survey mission to the exploded remnants.

The issue ends with Brainiac completing cybernetic enhancements to Peacemaker Smith in preparation for a trip to Kansas.

First Impressions

This is a bad week for DC. Jason Aaron has a concept here, and his reimagining of Brainiac as a sadistic, disturbed being has a lot of (good) creep factor. Sadly, this story isn't going anywhere because nearly half of this series tells you nothing about Superman.

How’s the Art?

Rafa Sandoval is on the hook for delivering creepy, disturbing body horror, and he pulls it off. Brainiac isn't the pristine, ultra-clean, and disciplined machine we're used to. He's a collection of flesh, prosthetics, and programming that isn't socialized very well to work with others. Sandoval leans on a zombie-like aesthetic to make Brainiac gross and creepy, so it works out well.

What’s great about Absolute Superman #7?

If you wanted a different kind of Brainiac that's still intimidating and dangerous, Jason Aaron's reimagined concept is a worthy approach to the villain, making him simultaneously familiar and new.  You could imagine this Brainiac engaging in the most horrific forms of abuse and torture to get his way, which makes him a significant threat to the Man of Steel.

What’s not great about Absolute Superman #7?

Well, Brainiac would be a significant threat to the Man of Steel if we knew anything about the Man of Steel. Jason Arron wasted too much time at the beginning of the run to build out Krypton. Now, he's spending too much time building out villains and side characters. Readers want to get to know the Man of Steel through his decisions and actions. How can they do that if Aaron focuses on everyone and everything else but the one character who matters - Superman?

Of all the Absolute titles, this one is taking the biggest hit in terms of sales, falling outside the Top 25 for April 2025. If Aaron doesn't correct his focus, Absolute Superman may be the first Absolute title to hit the chopping block.

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About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Final Thoughts

Absolute Superman #7 turns in the secret origin of the Absolute Brainiac as a sadistic, disturbed cyborg hell-bent on learning Superman's secret. Rafa Sandoval's body horror artwork is great, as usual, and Jason Aaron's twist on a classic Superman villain crafts him as a dangerous threat. That said, the series is still spending too much time on world-building and backstory, putting the main character on the back burner...again.

6/10

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