What guitar should an absolute beginner get?

Just get the cheapest guitar/amp beginner package you can get. When you're starting out, a Fender is no different from a Squier. I started out with an Ibanez bass starter kit, and honestly I think it still sounds pretty good. (The amp sucked, but it was good enough to practice.) Good luck, and practice a little bit every day even if you don't feel like you're getting better!

There isn't one. A guitar needs to be properly sized to your body and hands. Often people buy a guitar that's too big for them and can't play it well. It's less the neck length, which you'll get used to given practice. than the body size.

As I've written elsewhere, I think a beginner's first guitar should be an acoustic, even if their ultimate goal is to play electric. Otherwise, they spend too much time messing around with electronics instead of practicing, and they rely too much on the amp to create tone, when it should be fingers that learn to create tone. The time will come when practicing with the rig you will use to play electric needs to be part of your practice routine. But not when you are a beginner. My advice is take an experienced guitarist friend with you and plan to spend at least $300 on a decent acoustic. Check out the Seagull brand. Less than $300 and you may get a "toy" that will be frustrating for you to try to play and keep in tune. A used one could be less, but then it's even more important to have a guitarist friend with you. I wish you well.

For a beginner, I recommend an instrument with low enough action and sufficient tone quality that the student's technique and listening ability develop properly.  It's also more fun to play a good instrument.  Having said that, it's fortunate that there are a number of really decent guitars out there today in the $200-500 price bracket: Takamine, Seagull, Yamaha, Ibanez, Washburn, Fender, and Squier, among others.  And for $500-1000 you can find some real quality instruments.  Assuming you buy from a store with a qualified technician on staff, a good setup job can make a huge difference in playability and sound quality as well.  As to whether to begin with electric or acoustic, steel string or nylon, that depends largely on the music and style of playing most interesting to the student.  Electric guitars usually use lighter gauge strings than acoustic, which are easier to press down.  In the same way, nylon strings are easier on tender finger tips than are steel strings.  Still, I would prefer the beginning student start with the instrument most appropriate to the music they aspire to play.