Constantine, Swamp Thing, and Firefly Teased for DC’s Expanding Absolute Universe!
The Absolute Universe has completely exploded. Even after a year of people claiming the bubble was about to burst, DC’s dark universe shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Last week, the line expanded with Absolute Green Arrow, and next week it continues with the launch of Absolute Catwoman. Green Arrow first appeared in the one-shot Absolute Evil, while Catwoman made her debut in the Absolute Batman line, which, as we all know by now, is breaking records left and right and may very well be one of the most important comic book series in the last 40 years.
DC originally launched the line with relatively low expectations, low print runs, and plans for the books to function as six-issue miniseries. It all kicked off with Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, and Absolute Wonder Woman, the trinity of the Absolute Universe, if you will. That expanded with Absolute Flash and Absolute Martian Manhunter.
After Absolute Batman exploded in popularity through its first six issues, the series evolved into an ongoing title, pulling inspiration from classic manga like Berserk, Fist of the North Star, and other darker, more operatic storytelling influences. What makes Absolute Batman so special is how aggressively it reinvents Gotham and its mythology. Nearly every issue delivers a major cameo, first appearance, or shocking reveal.
The storytelling is breathtaking, heartbreaking, violent, and visceral. It’s one of the best comic books of the modern era.
But as we’ve seen recently with the explosion of variant covers, some books now topping 100 variants per issue, there’s also a growing sense of exhaustion creeping into the market, even while the storytelling itself remains elite. You start to wonder where the peak is. Will the bubble actually burst at some point? Will DC eventually milk this thing so hard that it dilutes what made it special in the first place?
Interestingly, Scott Snyder, the architect behind the Absolute Universe and Absolute Batman, addressed some of those concerns during Darklord Collections’ Whatnot stream yesterday. Snyder acknowledged the sensitivity around overexposure and specifically talked about not wanting to dilute the line or ruin what they’ve built. According to Snyder, they’ve been extremely careful and selective about what projects move forward.
With that said, Snyder did tease that there are currently two pitches for potential new Absolute Universe books that he personally really likes and believes could eventually happen, though nothing has been finalized yet.
Those characters?
Constantine and Swamp Thing.
For anyone unfamiliar, John Constantine first appeared in Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 in 1985, created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, and John Totleben as a chain-smoking occult hustler loosely inspired by Sting. Swamp Thing debuted much earlier in House of Secrets #92 in 1971, created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, before later being reinvented by Moore into one of the darkest and smartest horror comics ever published.
The two characters are deeply tied together in DC history. Constantine was actually introduced through Swamp Thing, where he pulled the character into Moore’s legendary “American Gothic” storyline. Since then, the two have crossed paths constantly through DC’s supernatural side, mixing horror, magic, monsters, environmental collapse, and existential dread.
Based on what the Absolute Universe has done so far, it’s easy to imagine DC taking both characters to some pretty extreme places. A more self-destructive Constantine and a truly monstrous, body-horror-driven Swamp Thing feel completely in line with what Snyder and the team have been building.
Snyder also briefly teased the possibility of Absolute Firefly appearing somewhere down the line. Firefly, one of Batman’s longtime pyromaniac villains, first appeared in Detective Comics #184 in 1952, originally debuting as a special-effects expert and obsessive arsonist before evolving into the flamethrower-wielding maniac most fans know today. Given how brutal and grounded Gotham has become in Absolute Batman, an Absolute version of Firefly could end up being genuinely terrifying.
All of them would be welcome additions to an Absolute Universe already overflowing with incredible reinventions of classic DC characters. Across Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, and Absolute Wonder Woman, we’ve already seen radically reimagined versions of Joker, Black Mask, Catwoman, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Bane, Ra’s al Ghul, Clayface, Brainiac, Lois Lane, Darkseid, Veronica Cale, and Circe, all redesigned with darker, more grounded, and often deeply unsettling new interpretations. That’s what makes the idea of Constantine and Swamp Thing so exciting. These are already two of DC’s most complex and horror-driven characters, and seeing them rebuilt from the ground up inside the Absolute Universe feels less like a possibility and more like something inevitable waiting to happen.
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