Image credit: DC Comics
Alternative interpretations of comic book characters are nothing new. DC itself has been pulling this trick off for decades, and even Marvel has a history of doing the same with their “What If?” stories etc. Of course, it’s rare to see a serialized series that features story variants of popular characters, but this has been a huge success in the past. For a really good example of this, see the various versions of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe.
Similar to “Ultimate Marvel,” which ran for a very long time in the 2000s and has since been revived, DC created the “Absolute Universe.” This has resulted in several very radical twists on various characters, and has been a huge success both critically and commercially. For example, with Absolute Martian Manhunter, even if it’s incredibly left-field and experimental.
Absolute Batman started the Absolute Universe and did it in quite a spectacular way. The film focuses on Bruce Wayne, who doesn’t have a ton of wealth, or really any wealth at all. Instead, his father, a schoolteacher, became the victim of an accidental and shocking act of violence, and Bruce grew up to become a construction worker. He uses his brains, skills, and obvious muscle (this Batman is frighteningly large) to take on a seemingly unstoppable infestation across the city of masked gang members who don’t seem to care who they’re hurting, torturing, or killing, or why. This Batman is determined to find out what’s going on and who is behind it. And then he absolutely intends to destroy them.
There’s a lot of fair commentary about how Absolute Batman takes many of the worst excesses of ‘radical’ comics from the ’90s and reappropriates them. This is a giant Batman with a spiked suit, ears that serve as deadly stabbing tools, and even a multi-functional and deadly cloak with a bat symbol that doubles as an axe if needed.
But the difference is that ’90s comics were often superficial, adopting the rules of cool, regardless of whether the art or characters made sense narratively. That’s not the case at all with Absolute Batman. Writer Scott Snyder has crafted a story that is very compelling, really exciting, and yes, quite extreme (in a more positive sense) fresh, engaging, and unpredictable.
There’s a rug-pulling twist right at the start, when the gritty noir-esque narrator is revealed to be someone else than you assume. And that particular character (no spoilers) was dramatically reinvented.
So do many others. Bruce’s group of close friends consists of the usual rogues’ gallery. Riddler, Penguin et al. Of course, we don’t have their villainous alter egos yet, but hints (albeit a little clumsy) about their eventual heel turn continue to be dropped.
One of my favorite moments. I almost spat out my coffee laughing when I saw this. Image credit: DC Comics
And the high-tech nature of this opening arc’s antagonist brings the known villains and their allies up to speed, making them feel like a truly terrifying threat. Everything is very dark, but in terms of content, the art has a great sense of scale and style, with Nick Dragotta’s stylized and detailed art complemented beautifully by Frank Martin’s colors.
The thick, heavy design of Batman and his gadgets, as well as the designs of his antagonists and other cast members, set Batman apart from his main universe counterparts.
I can’t believe it took me this long to jump in. Even after really enjoying Martian Manhunter’s surreal Absolute, I have to admit that I was pretty negative about Absolute Batman. After reading the first volume, I was hooked.
Absolute Batman Vol 1 can be purchased from Amazon.
