After defeating Black Mask, which had devastated Gotham, Bruce must now deal with the aftermath. Bruce has a broken arm, all his friends know now that he is The Batman, and a secret organization is building a huge private prison in Gotham.
Yes, Batman has a lot going on.
While this issue addresses the fallout from “The Zoo” — the first and previous story arc in ABSOLUTE BATMAN — it also introduces us to the ABSOLUTE version of Mr. Freeze.
But this ain’t your Father’s Mr. Freeze. That’s because Mr. Freeze is actually Victor Fries Jr. We do meet Victor Sr. and his wife, Nora, too…kinda. Let’s just say that they are currently “indisposed.” I’ll let you find out what I mean for yourself, but it’s a rather shocking and scary revelation.
After some investigation, Bruce learns that the new private prison, Ark M, has ties to a company called V-Core that Victor Fries runs. With some help from his buddy “Matches” Malone (yes, Matches Malone isn’t an undercover identity of Batman…at least not yet), Bruce secures fake credentials that will allow him to infiltrate V-Core. While investigating, Bruce — or “Mr. Pennyworth, City of Gotham Engineer” per his ID — interacts with Fries Jr. and plays along with him to get as much information as possible.
As this issue ends, it certainly appears as if Bruce kept the ruse going a little too long because Fries Jr. decided to turn into “Mr. Freeze” — a monster who seems to have been unintentionally created by his father and mother’s “work.”
Like I said, this ain’t your father’s Mr. Freeze. Looks like Scott Snyder is going to lean into the horror genre with this storyline and this ABSOLUTE version of the Batman villain. I’m not sure what I think about it just yet, but my curiosity is piqued and I’m interested in seeing where things go.
All in all, a solid issue that sets up this new storyline well. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
GRADE: B+
