You Should Be Reading Absolute Batman
What happens to Batman when you take away his greatest advantage? Is that his intelligence? His sheer force of will? Or his money? Writer Scott Snyder takes the Dark Knight we know and entirely transforms him in Absolute Batman #1, the first entry in a new line of dark, alternate universe takes on DC’s heroes. Here, Bruce Wayne is a city planner raised in an orphanage, his childhood friends growing up to fill his iconic rogues gallery. Made in the image of Darkseid, DC’s prime evil, the heroes of the Absolute Universe must evolve in harsher conditions, making them harsher in turn. What kind of Batman do you think it will spit out?
Absolute Batman #1, written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta and colors by Frank Martin is, without a doubt, the most exciting comic to hit the stands this year after Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man. Financially, this book was such a success that I couldn’t even get my hands on a physical copy. At Rowan’s local comic book store, aptly named “The Comic Book Store,” I inquired about the retailer’s experience, and manager Tim said, “We sold out in 10 minutes.”
Before the release, all we had to gone on was the solicited cover of issue #1, which sparked…discourse. That bat logo, which I’ll admit I didn’t like at first, became the laughingstock of the internet for a couple days. One bravely stupid fan even annoyed James Gunn, head of DC Studios, about changing it. Beefman over here was definitely a stark visual to lead with, but it got people talking. You look at this guy and you have questions. Scott Snyder himself said he was glad that it caused so much chatter. Snyder is no stranger to Batman. In fact, I’d say he’s this century’s foremost Bat-authority considering his tenure on the character produced modern classics like The Court of Owls and Death of the Family. After the completion of the event comic Death Metal in 2021, Snyder took a break from DC to focus on other comic projects, making Absolute Batman his grand return to the character.
My biggest praise for this issue is that it just works. Snyder, after more than a decade writing this character, has developed, for lack of a better term, good fundamentals. He knows Batman, his mythos, and his supporting cast like the back of his hand, making him the perfect candidate to head the Absolute line’s flagship. This Batman, while big and brutal, is still Batman at his core. He’s lopping bad guys’ hands off and stabbing them with batarangs but he’s not using guns or killing. From top to bottom, this concept is airtight. Vigilante by day and city planner by night, Bruce is fixing the damage he makes to the city as Batman during his day job. His status as a regular, middle class guy makes him more relatable, and more distinct, compared to other Batmen of the multiverse.
By far the biggest change for Absolute Batman is the fact that his mother, Martha Wayne, is alive. Famously, Batman’s parents were gunned down in Crime Alley when he was a child. Here, his father, Thomas Wayne, is a teacher for Bruce’s class. When Bruce earns a class trip to the Gotham zoo after inventing a miracle engineering device, Thomas is killed in a tragic shooting after making sure his students were safe. Batman’s story has always been one about gun violence, but this brings it very close to home. This is how the character mutates to match the modern age.
Interestingly, Martha being alive introduces a little wrinkle in the Absolute chronology. What happened between Thomas’ death and Bruce’s stay at the Crime Alley orphanage? Where was Martha? A story for another issue….
Comics would be nothing without talented artists and colorists like Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin. Dragotta’s pencils can nail Batman’s monstrous size and brutality in one panel and perfectly depict his acrobatic feats in the next. Bruce’s background as an engineer is worked into Dragotta’s new, utilitarian Batman costume. The symbol on his chest is actually the head of an axe (I call it the Bat-tle axe) which he affixes to a handle. His cape features cables that allow him to whip goons around at terminal velocities and walk around like a bat on its wings. These visuals combined with Frank Martin’s daringly warm color palette make for the perfect Halloweentime comic. Balanced between horror and “hell yeah!”, this issue effortlessly bounces between superhero action and the chilling crime thrills that Snyder is known for in stories like The Black Mirror. The villain tee’d up in this issue, Black Mask, is downright chilling. With only three pages, he establishes himself as cunning, violent, and sadistic, the perfect match for Absolute Batman.
Absolute Gotham didn’t feel like an unapproachable neon necropolis nor is it Tim Burton’s gothic art-deco nightmare. It felt most like its depiction in The Batman (2022), like a real city containing all kinds of people, all kinds of horror and beauty, and that’s thanks to the warm, inviting colors. This must be how Bruce sees his city.
Just look at this page. You know when you take the first bite of something, and when that flavor washes over you, you’re not even saying words, just making noises of vague pleasure? I experienced something similar beholding this page for the first time. I had to put my Kindle down. The choice to make Batman’s smoke bomb purplish-blue instead of black allows it to bounce off the saturated, burning orange of the twilight sky and muzzle flashes of the gunfire. Frank Martin, you mad man!
The only flaw I see in this issue is its epilogue, which promises Absolute Joker. Truthfully, it’s a fine epilogue; I’m just Joker’d out. The idea of Batman having to battle his childhood friends in the form of his classic rogues gallery is far more interesting to me than seeing yet another version of Joker, the most overexposed comic book villain of the 21st century. I’d like to see a lot more of Bruce’s relationships with Martha, Alfred, and his friends before Joker can monopolize the page space.
Viewing the Absolute line in a broader context, I find it interesting that Marvel and DC are attempting similar initiatives in the same year. “Pocket universes that are like the main continuity but are different and more daring” describes both Marvel’s Ultimate Universe and DC’s Absolute Universe. They even have similar adjectives! The Ultimate line has a year and half head start, so it’s not fair to compare at this stage, but there are some striking similarities. Just as the Absolute Universe is made in Darkseid’s image, the Ultimate Universe is made by the Maker, an evil version of Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic. Both of these lines seek to push these familiar characters to their limits beneath the looming presence of these antagonists. I’d say that the Ultimate Universe has done a better job of outlining what exactly that means, specifically positioning each title in the line to reckon with this overarching decision, but the Absolute line has plenty of time to make good on its own premise.
Ultimate Spider-Man and Absolute Batman #1 are actually very similar issues, even pulling the same “dead backstory character is alive now!” trick with Martha and Uncle Ben respectively. Is this just convergent evolution? Is there something in the air? I don’t know, but I’m glad it’s happening. These fresh, innovative takes on classic characters appeal to those who are burnt out on the main continuity as well as new fans who are looking for a place to start. Absolute Wonder Woman and Superman are on the horizon with Absolute Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter coming next year. I can’t say I’m as sold on the Absolute initiative as I was in the Ultimate Universe, but I’m willing to give it a chance.
Absolute Batman is an absolute banger. It’s constantly engaging, beautifully drawn and colored, and a genuinely refreshing take on the Dark Knight. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s a crowd-pleasing slam dunk when it comes to sales. This staggering success all but guarantees a nice long run for this creative team. Let them cook, DC. I want to know everything there is to know about Absolute Batman, and if you pick this up, I guarantee you will, too.