DC Comics’ Absolute Universe has been a complete success for the company, thanks to its incredible stories and reinterpretations of familiar characters. In this world created by Darkseid, evil rules with unrivaled power and influence. Familiar villains like the Joker, Ra’s al Ghul, and Veronica Cale hold the greatest positions of power on Earth and oppress the populace. Yet despite Darkseid’s best efforts, heroes have still emerged to liberate their world, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman. However, not every DC superhero was as lucky and instead were warped the Absolute Universe. Several noteworthy heroes have been corrupted by Darkseid’s influence and turned into vicious villains.
Corrupt alternate versions of superheroes are nothing new in DC Comics. Still, the Absolute Universe has created some of the most creative and disturbing incarnations of familiar characters.
In the main DC Universe, the living planet Mogo is one of the most powerful and noble members of the Green Lantern Corps the universe has ever seen. However, in the Absolute Universe, Mogo is a cosmic monster who serves as the Blackstars’ primary headquarters and ultimate weapon. Operating on Mogo’s surface, the Blackstars are a tyrannical empire ruled by Sinestro who seek to wipe out all those that oppose them. Mogo swiftly annihilates any planet that rebels with a gigantic energy beam, like a living version of the Death Star from Star Wars. As a creature of near-unparalleled destructive power, Mogo may prove to be one of the greatest threats Absolute Green Lantern and her allies will have to face.
Where the powerful sorceress Zatanna was a red herring as a villain, her father, Zachary Zatara, is the true threat to Absolute Wonder Woman. Like his main universe counterpart, Zatara is a spirit and a powerful sorcerer. However, in this bleak world, he’s a rage-filled ethereal skeleton encased in fire. Zatara is under the impression that Zatanna is dead, and Wonder Woman is a demonic witch who killed his daughter. Zatara now won’t rest until he kills the Amazon and her friends. He also had no qualms about killing his fellow Suicide Squad member Cheetah to perform dark blood magic. The Absolute Universe warped Zatara’s soul so that his greatest attribute, his love for his daughter, turned him into a monster.
Instead of being Batman’s greatest allies, the five Robins of the Absolute Universe, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Duke Thomas, and Stephanie Brown, were brought together to hunt down the Dark Knight. When the Joker had Scarecrow frame Batman for murdering Jim Gordon, the maniacal billionaire used it as justification to unveil the Robin Program to destroy the Caped Crusader. This program, led by Deathstroke, recruits talented children and trains them to be members of an elite task force. Once trained, the five kids are given powerful mecha suits and armors armed to the teeth. The Robins have now become Batman’s greatest obstacle in protecting Gotham from the Joker.
Although in the Absolute Universe Hawkman views himself as a hero, in truth, he’s just a vicious government assassin who upholds a corrupt system under the orders of the national security advisor, Veronica Cale. During the 1950s, Hawkman sold out his fellow heroes by revealing their identities to the government while claiming that they were Russian spies. Presently, Hawkman kills anyone who challenges the status quo. When Green Arrow planned to take down a sex-trafficking ring, Hawkman unceremoniously bashed in his skull. Hawkman also tried to force Superman to work with the evil Lazarus Corps rather than fight them. Hawkman doesn’t fight for the innocent, but instead for the monsters who oppress them.
The culmination of Darksied’s plan for the Absolute Universe and his most powerful foot soldiers, the Legion of Superheroes, is one of the multiverse’s greatest threats. Instead of representing how Superman’s ideals can inspire the best possible future for the DC Universe, the “heroes” of the 31st century portray Darkseid as ultimately victorious and dominating all of existence. Countless Legionnaires, like Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Chameleon Boy, have been twisted into cruel and sadistic supervillains who live only to serve Darkseid in a crusade against the multiverse. With their vast numbers and incredible powers, the Legion of Superheroes are perhaps the most dangerous supervillains of the Absolute Universe.
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