Absolute Superman #6 (2025)

Sol and Kal-El fly alone through space searching for a habitable planet to land on, but find nothing. The trauma of seeing his world and family die, prolonged isolation and seeming hopelessness of the search sends Kal-El into deep depression, then rage, and finally resigned acceptance. After seventeen months and fourteen days, nine million light years from Krypton, Kal-El gives up hope and tells Sol to jettison him into the yellow sun of the system they have just entered. Sol refuses to let Kal-El end his life, as Sol's prime directive is to keep him alive. Sol detects that the third planet of the system is capable of supporting life and tells Kal-El that they have finally succeeded. Kal-El barely notices however, as he feels intense heat and then pain from the light of the yellow sun. He yells at Sol to get them away from the star, but Sol pilots them down to the surface as Kal-El screams in agony. On Earth, Jonathan and Martha Kent survey their drought-ridden fields. Somehow no rain has fallen on the Kent farm for months despite it raining regularly on their neighbors. Martha says that she has seen drones in the sky over the farm and believes that Lazarus Corp is manipulating the weather and preventing them growing crops to drive them into bankruptcy as they refused to sell to Lazarus, which has been buying up all the agricultural land around Smallville for a corporate megafarm. However Jonathan tells Martha that the stories about Lazarus being able to control the weather or reverse aging or their owner being over a hundred years old are put out by Lazarus themselves so people think there's no point trying to resist them. He says he's not going to give up the land that's been in his family for four generations, but both he and Martha know that they're close to collapse and don't see how they can win against Lazarus' infinite money and power. Martha says that they would need a miracle. Suddenly, Kal-El's rocket crash-lands nearby. He emerges from the wreck wreathed in flames and still screaming. Sol tells Kal-El that its cells are depleted and needs to power down to recharge. The ship dissolves into sunstone dust and flows into the armour, which also shrinks away into a few bands across Kal-El's body rather than a full suit. The Kents rush over and he calls out to them for help in Kryptonese before finally passing out. Jonathan thinks that Kal-El might be dangerous and wants to call 911, but because he's unhurt by the fire Martha believes that Kal-El is an angel, the miracle they were hoping for. The Kents take him into their home, where Kal-El spends weeks drifting in and out of unconsciousness, wracked with high fevers and spasms as his body adjusts to Earth's environment; his powers flaring up uncontrollably and destroying the room around him. Jonathan eventually tells Martha that it's only a matter of time before Kal-El accidentally kills them and they need to get rid of him. However, Martha insists that Kal-El doesn't know what he's doing and must have suffered terrible things to get to them. She tells Jonathan that they have no hope of keeping the farm, but maybe they can still save Kal-El. Suddenly Kal-El snaps awake with all his symptoms gone. He runs from the Kents, smashing through the wall and racing into the fields so fast that the world appears to be a blur. He realises what he is doing and stops in the middle of a wheat field. He looks out at the sun setting over the field and recognises that the place he has landed is the same as his home back in the Redlands. Kal-El returns to the Kent farm and spends the next two weeks with Jonathan and Martha. Although they cannot understand each other the childless Kents come to regard him as the son they never had. The Kents each thank Kal-El for "saving" their spouse by giving them something to live for. While Kal-El is trying to repair the Kent's broken down tractor, Sol finally reactivates. Sol tells Kal-El that he believes the yellow sun may supercharge his cells in unexpected ways, to which Kal-El wryly replies "You don't say". Sol then restores the armour to help Kal-El process and control the solar energy. Kal-El tells Sol to download the local language into his mind, allowing him to speak English. He goes to the Kents and they finally introduce themselves to each other. Sol detects the Lazarus weather control drones above the farm and remotely deactivates them, causing it to finally rain on the Kent farm for three days straight. For a moment it looks like Kal-El has found a new home and family, but a passerby reports Kal-El to Lazarus as an undocumented immigrant and the Peacemakers assault the farm to capture him. Kal-El at first doesn't understand why they are attacking him and tries to talk to them, believing that if he can explain about Krypton and who he is they will understand. Jonathan and Martha tell him to run and Kal-El realises that Earth's rulers are as corrupt and cruel as Krypton's were. He flies away, crying for the two worlds he had been unable to save. In the present day, Lois Lane tracks Martha Kent to Smallville Senior Living and asks to speak with her. Brainiac, who is watching her from Lazarus Corp's base in Nevada, reports her persistence to Lazarus's Director, telling him that all the pieces are in place. The Director tells Brainiac that if his plan works he has ensured his place in the new world order. The Director, Ra's al Ghul, emerge from his Lazarus Pit and announces that salvation will be at hand when Superman kneels at his feet.