Reign of the Supermen, Part II
Cover to “Absolute Superman #19” (published May 6th, 2026) written by Jason Aaron with art by Rafa Sandoval and colors by Ulises Arreola
Cover art by Rafa Sandoval and Ulises Arreola
In our previous issue, we watched as King Shazam was revived from his slumber as Superman, Lois, Steel, and the al Ghuls watched in awe. Absolute Superman #19 immediately brings us into a confrontation between two of the most powerful beings in the Absolute Universe. Join me as I break down this issue and give my thoughts following the synopsis.
Warning: the following article contains spoilers from “Absolute Superman #19”.
Red Steel in the Hour of Chaos
We begin our story by turning the clock back a few months. We’re instantly introduced to John Henry Irons, but instead of working on some great work of engineering or flexing his mind like we’re traditionally used to, we instead see him working in a slaughterhouse. John Henry himself narrates the issue, which is an excellent strategy narratively. Given that we just met him last issue, this helps flesh out his character and gives us some motivation as to why he really wants to introduce Ra’s al Ghul to his hammer. It doesn’t take us long to figure out that John Henry is working this job not because he wants to but because he has to, namely, to support his sick mother. We also find out that he built the Peacemaker helmets when he was only 14 years old. But instead of making a fortune from his invention, he now makes a whopping $7.75 an hour. Eat the rich, indeed.
We return to the present as Steel remarks how he had fantasized about smashing Ra's al Ghul’s skull in. But all his plans and schemes he made to get to this point have gone to hell as he, Superman, Lois, Talia, and Ra’s stand in awe before the newly freed Teth-Adam, aka King Shazam. King Shazam demands to know how long he had been imprisoned and quickly expresses his frustration over how loud the world has become. Superman is quick to sympathize with him, given how his own senses went haywire once his powers activated. But that compassion goes unthanked as King Shazam literally punches Superman over one thousand miles away with blinding speed. Ra’s, realizing how dire the situation is, demands the Father Box as he seeks to try to right at least this wrong.
Steel grips his hammer and stammers before Ra’s, emotions swirling inside of him as he faces the man he personally holds responsible for his loss and pain. Ra’s, to his credit, acknowledges he probably deserves his wrath despite not knowing who he is, but is quick to inform him that they don’t have time for this. King Shazam confronts Ra’s, demanding to know where the Brainiacs are, who were once the owners of the Father Box, as well as being the ones who granted him his powers, in addition to betraying him. Ra’s speaks to Teth in his native ancient Egyptian tongue and catches him up to speed, informing the former pharaoh that he had been imprisoned for over three thousand years in the wake of his rule, which lasted eight days in comparison.
King Shazam takes this news extraordinarily well (lol, no) as Ra’s earnestly takes responsibility for his role in the current state of the world. But he feels his regret also means that there is hope for the future and for those who are lost. He is about to name this hope when King Shazam cuts their conversation short, revealing that the Wisdom of King Solomon lets him know lies when he hears them. In a chaotic twister of darkness that seems to emanate from his cloak, Teth-Adam raises Ra’s into the air…only to literally eviscerate him. Talia can only watch helplessly as she sees her father’s body parts drop to the floor, and Steel and Lois are left stunned.
Superman arrives a moment later, furious over what has just transpired. In a truly epic fashion, Superman and King Shazam battle their way through the Lazarus tower as Superman condemns him for taking Ra’s life. King Shazam recites the old prophecy he heard when he was a child, believing that it referred to himself and that Superman was made in his image as a sort of mockery. As Steel processes what’s happening, the tower begins to collapse as Superman is punched back towards it. Talia mourns her father and swears vengeance as Lois raises her gun, seizing her opportunity to even the score between them. But Superman arrives to rescue them from the collapsing rubble, imprisoning Talia and disarming Lois with obvious disappointment in his tone. Talia clocks this and makes it a point to take a last dig at Lois as Kal flies off to try to again reason with King Shazam.
The ancient pharaoh surveys the Metropolis skyline from above (using his handy magic lightning to give himself a shave) as Superman confronts him, speaking to him in his native tongue thanks to a quick superspeed crash course in ancient Egyptian (where and how, no idea). Kal expresses empathy for Teth-Adam, but the two get nowhere as they debate the law and whether or not they have the right to kill those responsible for the bleak state of the world. Steel watches from ground level, a mere man, albeit a brilliant one, watching two veritable gods clash. He quickly pursues the two, trying to help Superman as we’re gradually introduced to one of the coolest sequences yet in the history of the title. Steel narrates as Superman and King Shazam travel around the world, moving so fast that Steel gets concussed and bursts an eardrum trying to keep up. We also get a great cameo of a certain Dark Knight watching as they hit Mach 25.
Ultimately, their clash results in a massive explosion that resembles something akin to a nuclear blast as they arrive on a beach. Superman is in rough shape as King Shazam towers over him. He bellows that he fulfilled the prophecy and begins laying into Kal as Steel picks up his hammer, barely able to stand. Kal isn’t quite done yet as he uses heat vision at point-blank range. Just as he’s about to rejoin the fight, he’s joined by Hawkman, who states that this whole superhero thing has gotten out of hand, drawing our issue to a close.
Battle of Gods
I honestly really like how King Shazam is a dark mirror of sorts to Kal-El.
I honestly thought the battle between Ra’s al Ghul and Superman was going to be the bar to which the title’s action sequences were to be measured. And for good reason. It was a thrilling conclusion to the first major arc of the series, and the battle against the Demon’s Head was as much a physical one as it was an ideological one. But with issue #19 of Absolute Superman, we have a new contender thanks to Jason Aaron. Superman versus King Shazam was a treat for the ages, a visual masterpiece that finally pits our Man of Steel against someone just as powerful as he is, perhaps even more so! The rivalry between Superman and Captain Marvel/Shazam, with the occasional Black Adam appearance, goes back decades, and there’s no shortage of confrontations between them, with writers and artists having a blast giving Superman a fight with someone who is his physical peer. This issue keeps with that tradition by having Kal throw down with the recently revived Teth-Adam, who ironically is Shazam in this continuity (albeit empowered by Brainiacs rather than a traditional wizard).
Steel weighs heavily on what it is he came here to do and what he can actually do now.
The battle is the highlight of the issue by far, but it is by no means all that demands our attention and reflection. This issue also serves as an origin of sorts for John Henry Irons, best known as Steel in most depictions he appears in. And like most appearances, Irons is a certified genius and engineer extraordinaire. In the Absolute Universe, however, that genius is taken for granted thanks to Lazarus. And because of that, we can definitely understand why he was so hell-bent on killing Ra’s (to say nothing of the loss he suffered). Most of this comic is taken from his perspective, which is pretty interesting as he serves as a mere mortal standing witness to the clash between the two god-like figures that dominate most of the issue.
Speaking of god-like, Teth-Adam - King Shazam - is portrayed in a way that’s frightening and awe-inspiring. His color scheme retains the traditional black and gold we’re familiar with in mainstream continuity, but his cape takes on a mind of its own, it seems, not unlike Superman’s sunstone cape. In fact, aside from his thunderbolt insignia, his costume looks remarkably similar to Superman’s own, which adds another layer to their confrontation, especially given how, in the previous issue, the Phantom Stranger gave a prophetic foretelling of a hero who would come save the world that more closely described Superman than anything else. This leads the unstable King Shazam to believe that Superman is a mere pretender and usurper. Coupled with his rage over having been imprisoned for three thousand years, it comes as little shock that he would fatally lash out, though the recipient of his lethal reprisal is a shock.
Ra’s al Ghul meets a gruesome fate, perhaps one he deserved.
R.I.P, Ra’s al Ghul. You were a monstrous man directly responsible for countless deaths and ensuring the planet would forever remain shackled to the chains of those like you, but before the end, you experienced regret and the hope that you - and others - could change thanks to Superman. Now, death and al Ghuls rarely stick, but given the fact he was dismembered, I think the Lazarus pit may be a bit too little, too late. Still, Ra’s seeking redemption was a great narrative choice, and the implications of his death at the hands of King Shazam is ripe with potential directions. Talia may just double down even more and lead Lazarus to even darker paths. And given Lois originally planned on killing Talia for murdering her father, we can only imagine how this further complicates things and her desire for revenge….especially given how Kal stopped her from shooting Talia from behind.
Moving back to the confrontation between Kal and Teth-Adam, as I pointed out earlier, the reason why Ra’s and Superman worked so well beyond them simply trading blows was because of their ideological differences. The same applies here. But the difference with this fight - outside of Teth being clearly Superman’s equal, if not his superior - is that, ultimately, they have far more in common than they have differences. Both of these men are gods among men with abilities (and costumes) that are eerily similar. They are both victims of the respective powers-that-be from their respective homes. And they both wish to free the world they find themselves in from the chains of their oppressors. Teth-Adam just believes the best way to do this is via killing those who hold the chains, whereas Kal believes there has to be a better way. It’s that sort of tension with major stakes that really sells the confrontation, and to me, is much more interesting than two people simply being ideologically opposed to one another; the fact that Teth-Adam isn’t exactly wrong and that the current state of the world is absolutely (heh) terrible with even more terrible people running it makes it matter all that much more.
A certain Dark Knight watches on as this clash of godlike titans rages across the globe.
The art here is again brought to us by Rafa Sandoval, who is joined by Ulises Arreola on colors. These two are the definitive team on Absolute Superman and help give the book its visual identity, and the work done here in this issue cannot be overstated. King Shazam has a look that definitely evokes the classic ominous aura of Black Adam, but it's the cowl that really sells it. Similar to Superman, King Shazam’s cape is like a character unto itself, looking like a lethal bird of prey when he takes flight or enveloping his unfortunate targets within a crackling maelstrom. The visual similarities between himself and Superman can’t be ignored, and this further agitates Teth-Adam, who believes Superman was created in his image. Between the electricity and heat vision, you can quite easily imagine the energy crackling off the page as being hotter than the surface of the sun, as John Henry narrates. The battle between the two takes place all over the world and happens to give us our first tease at an eventual meeting between Superman and Batman. The sequence of them flying at such insane speeds - while pretty tame for the power scalers out there who compare this to mainstream Superman - is nevertheless beautifully drawn and colored. This is less superheroes fighting one another and more gods coming to blows.
Final Thoughts and Review
In many ways, Absolute Superman is probably the “safest” book in terms of taking the existing mythology and lore of Superman and repackaging it in a new continuity. But I feel this is one of the book’s strengths. Ultimately, Absolute Superman *is* Superman, especially now since he has both embraced the name and adopted brighter colors thanks to the gift the now departed Martha Kent left behind for him. And this issue drives that home. Despite how easy it would be, he refuses to kill Ra’s or to let Lois kill Talia, and he expresses legitimate frustration over how casually King Shazam murders the former. And despite that, he still feels compassion and sorrow for King Shazam, trying to reason with him even as the former pharaoh of ancient Egypt is out for blood. It’s this core essence of who Superman is as a character that makes him who he is across the multiverse in most depictions of the character that carries the title. But kick-ass fight scenes certainly don’t hurt, either.
The level of power being produced by these two (super)men is incredible.
Final Review: 9.5/10
Absolute Superman continues its consistent high-quality storytelling in issue #19 and gives us another memorable titanic clash in an action-packed comic that redefines the hierarchy of the Absolute Universe. King Shazam is a force to be reckoned with, much like his mainstream continuity counterpart, but it is John Henry Irons who drives much of the story, serving as our eyes and ears. The end result is another superb entry in Jason Aaron’s ongoing Man of Steel reimagining.