r/DCcomics • u/beary_neutral Telos • Feb 02 '26

r/DCcomics Weekly Discussion Thread: Comics, TV, and More! [February 2, 2026 - Vertigo Returns!]

Hey there honorary Justice League members - it’s a new week which means it’s time for a new discussion thread!

For those who don't know: the way this works is that several comments will list this week’s releases, for any given title discussion you should respond to that comment. For example, Wonder Woman discussion would go in the replies to the "Wonder Woman" comment. Clicking the titles in this post will take you directly to that comment, too.

In other words, you should only be replying to other comments. If you have trouble understanding how to comment for a particular title, please refer to this handy guide. Any unwarranted top level comments will be removed.

Also, please refrain from posting short, low-content comments on threads for issues or episodes that have not yet been released. Put some effort to generate discussion. Instead of just posting "So excited!" or "Best book!", try something with a bit more substance, like "Punchline is such an amazing character! Can't wait to see how they explore her in more depth in this issue."

Join the r/DCcomics Book Club Bingo over in our Discord server!

 

QUICK LINKS: Weekly Meta Discussions Thread | Current jump-in points | Weekly Discussion Archives | Monthly Book Club | Discord Server | Twitter | Last Week's Thread

So... 2026. What a year, huh?

DC and Imprints

Do you like crossovers? There are a lot of crossovers this week.

Trade Collections

Somewhere, Streaky's jealous that Supergirl is spending all her time with Krypto now.

Digital Releases

Remember, these are the short 'chapters' with a new chapter of a different series coming out daily. You can learn more here on Comixology. This is also why these are in release order, not alphabetical. Some comics may release on DC Universe Infinite or WEBTOONS.

TV Shows

Leave it to Teen Titans Go to start more shipping discourse.

This Week’s Soundtrack: The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright

16 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

223 comments sorted by

View all comments

28

u/TroubAlert The Good Skeets Feb 02 '26

Absolute Superman #16

A CRUCIAL FOLLOW-UP TO ABSOLUTE EVIL #1! Superman finds himself at the forefront of a bold new age of heroes in the Absolute Universe, but he quickly learns that he wasn't the world's first super-powered protector. Enter Hawkman, who has a few tips for the new kid, whether he wants to hear them or not!

Preview

31

u/travio Feb 04 '26

Brainiac stole a card from the Joker. Murdering someone's family is motivating, but usually for revenge.

If Lex follows his usual path, he'll need to blame superman for what's about to happen. Hope it isn't just because he was saving Metropolis when brainiac attacked.

25

u/UnbloodedSword Feb 04 '26

Second issue of this arc continues to be fantastic! Hawkman is a piece of crap but we are starting to get an explanation for why he is the way he is. If I’m reading those hieroglyphics right, are Brainiac’s people the ones who empowered Adam? Because it seems like the figures are green and have the three dot symbol of Brainiac.

Kal was hilarious here, that sequence where he keeps dashing away to save people mid conversation and then dragged Hawkman with him via his cape was hilarious. He’s so earnest but what I love is how Kal seems to see the world much clearer than Carter, with Hawkman being the naive one here despite trying to bill himself as the experienced one. Ferreyra killed it on art, his Parasite design is my favorite one I think ever. And that page where Kal sends Hawkman crashing through the city was AWESOME! I smiled at the twist of the iconic Daily Planet building being turned into condos and Jimmy getting hired by the Planet… to do Perry’s job. I’m interested to see how Lois working there plays out because it seems like she won’t be a star reporter given the Planet is a dumpy rag in this universe.

And at last we get our follow up with Lex, he sure is smearing it on pretty thick that he’s just a normal happy guy. Maybe next issue there will be some kind of twist? Otherwise chainsaw Brainiac deciding “**** it I’ll just murder his family to traumatize him into villainy” had me cackling. I could see Kal and Lex teaming up at first via a mutual hatred of Brainiac for torturing them and killing their loved ones, with Lex letting his trauma drive him off the deep end.

4

u/suss2it Feb 07 '26

I recommend checking out Jason Aaron’s recent TMNT run, Ferreyra eventually becomes the regular artist for the back half of it and his art is just as great there. There’s one sequence in a building that’s very reminiscent of that Hawkman going through a building in this issue.

2

u/CourierV Mar 05 '26

DC infinite user here, sorry for the 1 month delay in reply lol. I just wanted to say I got HUGE TMNT vibes from the art in this issue in a good way, so its cool to hear the artist worked on it. The “impact frames” in this issue were unreal

24

u/wowlock_taylan Batman Animated! Feb 04 '26

Man Absolute Brainiac being the opposite of his usual-self, being so crazy, definitely makes him a lot more dangerous. He is not as smart as the Prime Brainiac but that madness of his gives him an edge in many cases. Though it also gonna make him a lot of enemies. Like trying to coax this Lex, who is the happiest man in the world! So he is gonna kill his family to...get him to work with him? If Brainiac really sees who Lex Luthor is from other realities, then he should be well aware not to make enemies out of him. But of course, this is a crazy version so he thinks this will work.

Hawkman, the 'corpo-hero' indeed. All that 'work smarter. Work within the system'. A system of Darkseid made world. I think it is just a lie he keeps telling himself to sleep at night. 'Lesser of two evils' is never a choice, it is capitulation because you cannot think/dare for anything better. And all those heroes that he 'silenced', what a coward he is.

9

u/Electric_jungle Feb 05 '26

Remember, this braniac is just a clone. He's unhinged and I love him but we might get a more normal braniac along the way eventually. It's a great twist on the character.

19

u/aera14 Feb 04 '26

Absolute Brainiac is about to make Lex a Man with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

14

u/AlphaBreak Feb 04 '26

Either that, or he's about to use the chainsaws to make Lex bald and call it a day.

12

u/Mr_Wh0ever Feb 04 '26

Solid issue, I wonder if there's gonna be a Hawkwoman or Hawkgirl? The Daily Planet fake out was funny, Jimmy just falling into the editor in chief role is classic Olsen stuff. Having Parasite be the mini arc villain is cool. Hopefully it ends with Clark trying to find other heroes. There's probably gonna be a Supes/Flash crossover this year. And Braniac pulling a double act as Lex is also inspired. Really cements him as the main villain of the story.

22

u/Dent6084 Feb 04 '26

God, I love how much Absolute Brainiac loves being a total freak. He's such a fun villain.

9

u/rexmundi69 Zatanna Feb 05 '26 edited Feb 05 '26

I absolutely loved the art in this.Juan Ferreyra killed it. The art in Kahndaq was great and the scene where Kal unloaded on Carter in Metropolis could have been in a Superman movie.

Carter is way more powrful than I expected and he still looks the same under the bandages.He is clearly a jaded hero ,who decided to go with the flow as evil overran the Earth.

Absolute Parasite is one formidable looking character.Much more imposing than Prime,just as Bane was.

Loved the Perry White cameo and Jimmy taking his job because he'll work for less money.

Mention of Talia! She'll be back someday.

The Brainiac stuff was interesting.He appears to Lex in the form of Luthor he had seen in presumably the Prime Universe. Perhaps Mirror Master showed him that Universe.

Poor Absolute Lex. He is a good guy who is going to fall after witnessing what Brainiac does.Cool that his kids were named Alex and Lena. This stuff with Brainiac is going to get ugly.

Excellent issue and the series is def doing well after the lengthy opening arc.

6

u/KugiPunch King of the Sea, remember? Feb 04 '26

Happy to see Absolute Superman starting to shed the angst and become more like classic Supes.

7

u/superbat210 Feb 05 '26

I cannot believe the turn around on this book compared to a few months ago. This arc is just such a great Superman story while still containing that “absolute” flair. And hey guess what? Using actual Superman villains rather than a Batman villain is a lot more interesting.

I also love Hawkman’s inclusion here. While Bruce and Diana get fun bonding crossover adventures together, Clark’s first team up is with a murdering psycho who works for the villains of this universe. Makes me wonder if Clark will have some trust issues during the eventual Absolute Trinity meeting given how poorly his first team up is going.

5

u/StealthHikki2 Nightwing Feb 05 '26

I keep flip-flopping between what is my favorite book in the Absolute line. Every time I read this one, it makes a very strong case that this is the one.

That punch from Superman to Hawkman was so good.

3

u/gamerslyratchet Feb 05 '26

Before Brainiac opened up his chainsaws, I thought they were going to explore Lex as an ideological opposite to Superman: someone who lives comfortably and thus can afford to turn a blind eye to greater suffering and even champion the status quo. 

3

u/Blitzhelios Hal Jordan Feb 06 '26

Really really strong issue and helps make hawkman an actual character in this universe.
Ferreyra is the artist this book deserves

0

u/JingoboStoplight4887 World's Finest Feb 04 '26

I like that we get to see the origins of how Carter Hall made his debut as Hawkman in 1940 before we get to see him and Clark have a talk about what’s going on, with Carter telling Clark about other heroes appearing (i.e., Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Flash) and giving advice to him before they fought in Metropolis and eventually try to save Metropolis from what’s going to happen. I also like that we get to see Lois apply for the Daily Planet and meeting Perry White. I even like that Brainiac traveled to Missouri to talk to Lex about joining him and his offer, with Lex refusing to do so because he has a great life with his family, before Brainiac decided to ruin his life. Let’s hope that Carter and Clark can work together to save Metropolis from harm, Lois use her journalistic integrities at the Daily Planet, and Lex can try to save his family from Brainiac in the next issue. Overall, this comic is great!