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As top DC creators took to the stage at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 to talk about the soon-to-launch Absolute Universe, there was one line in particular from Jason Aaron — writer of the October-launching Absolute Superman — that stuck out when talking about the difference between the new version of the iconic heroes, and the regular, DCU version.

“Things didn’t work out the way they were supposed to work out,” Aaron said when describing why Absolute Superman didn’t have the optimistic outlook on life of his DCU counterpart. On the one hand, that might simply be a reference to the regular Superman being the default version, with an origin story that everyone is familiar with. On the other… what if it’s foreshadowing for the larger storyline unfolding inside the larger DCU All In initiative?

I know, it sounds like feverish speculation based on too much Comic-Con (and maybe it is), but… well, we already know that cosmic villain Darkseid is involved in All In in a major way, and that he might be responsible for the creation of the darker, less optimistic Absolute DC universe, if what Scott Snyder has said about October’s DC All In Special #1 is to be believed.

What if Darkseid has been playing around with the history of an Earth inside the larger DC Multiverse, manipulating events for reasons of his own, to ensure that the Absolute versions of the characters don’t have the community and support from each other that they traditionally have relied upon to defeat him? What if things “didn’t work out the way they were supposed to” because Darkseid made sure of that?

Again: this might simply be speculation — but it could also be foreshadowing left out in plain sight of what’s to come for DC’s comic book mythology over the next few years, as well. After all, as anyone familiar with the award-winning Mister Miracle series of a few years back already knows… Darkseid is.

Get a fuller San Diego Comic-Con experience with a full rundown of our SDCC 2024 stories, as well as all the big SDCC 2024 news, how to make the most out of San Diego Comic-Con, and the real burning question: how much does it actually cost to go to SDCC?