Absolutely summing multilinear operators: a panorama

This paper has a twofold purpose: to present an overview of the theory of absolutely summing operators and its different generalizations for the multilinear setting, and to sketch the beginning of a research project related to an objective search of \textquotedblleft perfect\textquotedblright \ multilinear extensions of the ideal of absolutely summing operators. The final section contains some open problems that may indicate lines for future investigation.