SYNOPSIS: BATMAN LEGEND SCOTT SNYDER AND ICONIC ARTIST NICK DRAGOTTA TRANSFORM THE DARK KNIGHT’S TALE FOR THE MODERN AGE! Without the mansion…without the money…without the butler…what’s left is the Absolute Dark Knight!
Black is white, up is down, and day is night.
But at its very core, it’s still Batman.
The new Absolute Universe is DC’s (latest) attempt at establishing a separate mainstream DC world ala Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics. From reading the first issue of ABSOLUTE BATMAN, I’d say it’s a mix of ELSEWORLDS, ALL-STAR, and EARTH ONE stuff we’ve seen previously. I didn’t know what to think about it when it was announced. I’m one of those who likes a traditional Batman in a traditional Batman world with Bruce Wayne as Batman. In ABSOLUTE BATMAN, Bruce Wayne is Batman and Batmanning in Gotham City, but a whole lot of everything else is, well, different…yet it’s not.
Bruce Wayne is a 24-year-old civil engineer who grew up in Gotham’s “Crime Alley.” He is the son of Thomas and Martha Wayne who are just regular folk working as a teacher and a social worker, respectively. When one of his parents is killed in what appears to be a mass shooting basically in front of a very young Bruce, the path to Batman begins.
Bruce is very smart — brilliant, actually — and a world-class athlete. He gets a football scholarship to a major university and appears to be headed for the pros. But his football career goes off the tracks when he’s “hurt” and no longer can play. You see, he feigns injury because he’s saving himself for his future Batman days. He then focuses on learning all there is to know about mechanics, chemistry, military theory, and sociocultural history. He ultimately gets his college degree, returns home to Gotham, and goes to work for the city. As a civil engineer, he gets to know the city inside and out…which will come in very handy while Batmanning.
The other major player here is Alfred Pennyworth. This Alfred is not Bruce’s butler/father figure as we’re used to. He’s never butlered a day in his life nor has he worked for the Wayne family. He’s a covert agent, a mercenary, and an assassin for some super-secret international black ops organization. He’s in Gotham to investigate and ultimately take out a group of murderous criminals known as “The Party Animals” who are terrorizing Gotham. This puts him on a collision course with Batman.
We are also introduced to other characters from the world of Batman…familiar, yet different. Former GCPD cop Jim Gordon is Gotham’s mayor. His daughter Barbara is a cop. Harvey Bullock, Gordon’s right-hand man, is the city’s police commissioner. Waylon Jones is an owner of the gym Bruce frequents and is also his good friend. In fact, it appears he’s also friends with a group made up of the aforementioned Waylon and others named Ozzie, Eddie, Harvey, and Selina. What’s in store for these characters in the future? I suppose we shall see.
Most of this issue’s story is told through the POV of Alfred and it’s how we learn all the details and backstory of this Bruce Wayne and Batman. Though Alfred is ordered to take out Batman if he gets in the way of his mission, Pennyworth is impressed, VERY impressed, with Bruce…even though he might have to kill him.
We finally meet this Batman when The Party Animals” show up at Mayor Gordon’s town hall meeting (in which he’s addressing citizens about the city’s response to The Party Animals’ reign of chaos and murder). Let’s just say that Batman kicks their ass thoroughly and violently. He doesn’t kill, but he’s not against chopping off a hand with his Bat-Ax (my name for it, not his) or some non-lethal stabbing if needed.
This issue ends with a confrontation between Alfred and Batman. I won’t reveal what happens, but let’s just say that Pennyworth has more than met his match. What does the future hold for them as…partners? That’s TBD as well.
Oh yeah, we’re briefly introduced to the Absolute version of a major Batman villain. I’ll say from what we get to see, which is very little, I’m at least intrigued.
If you’ve read Scott Snyder’s Batman work before, you’ll certainly recognize his style as it’s thoroughly on display here. Lots of detail is given, but we’re not overloaded with dialogue or exposition. A lot of the time — especially with the Batman scenes — the artwork does the talking. Artist Nick Dragotta’s work here is excellent and fits the story very well. It’s gritty — reminds me a bit of Sean Murphy’s work on BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT. I know much to do about the size of this Batman was made, but that has proven to have been over nothing. He’s big for a reason and it makes sense.
I liked ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 quite a bit. The changes to the status quo didn’t bother me. That’s because even though black is white, up is down, and day is night, it’s absolutely Batman. See what I did there?
Looking forward to this ride. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
GRADE: A