The Dark Knight Rises

As previously discussed in my review of Absolute Superman Vol. 1, DC has ushered in a new line for their comics. Part of their DC All In initiative, the Absolute Universe is a darker balance to the main, Prime universe. It’s powered by Darkseid energy (aka Omega Energy), and it posits a version of the universe where familiar heroes are stripped of the classic origins that made them, and then asks, “can they still be the heroes we know?” In the case of SupermanThe first big superhero from DC Comics, Superman has survived any number of pretenders to the throne, besting not only other comic titans but even Wolrd War II to remain one of only three comics to continue publishing since the 1940s., the answer is “yes”, although it took Kal-El some time to get there.

For Bruce Wayne, aka BatmanOne of the longest running, consistently in-print superheroes ever (matched only by Superman and Wonder Woman), Batman has been a force in entertainment for nearly as long as there's been an entertainment industry. It only makes sense, then that he is also the most regularly adapted, and consistently successful, superhero to grace the Silver Screen., the changes to his character are substantial. In fact, they’re so substantial that you almost wonder how he could be considered the same character. When it comes to the Absolute version of Kal-El, his changes can be explained by Krypton’s destruction being put off by a few years, meaning Kal-El doesn’t leave his home planet as a baby but as a teenager, and thus having a whole life before he launches into space. He has a different set of parents (his birth parents) who raise and guide him, and then he has the feels of loss and abandonment that comes from it. You understand what the changes do to his character, but you also see the core of the character that still forms.

In the case of Absolute Batman, though, it’s harder to see how the character could form to be the Batman we know. It’s not just one change to the character’s backstory that leads to familiar events; Bruce here experiences a complete alteration to his family’s timeline, leading to a whole domino effect of changes up and down the line, changing not just him but his parents, his associates, his villains… It's a lot. So much, in fact, that some fans tend to view the Absolute Universe version of Bruce as a fan-fiction version of the character.

It’s a weird view, mind you, when DC is authorizing this take. Plus, any stories from the character that came out after creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger left the run would be fan-fiction anyway. But I digress…

Absolute Batman finds Bruce as a city employee, working construction for improvement projects around Gotham City. That’s his day job, though. By night he stalks the city as the Batman, a fearsome, hulking figure who beats justice into Gotham’s criminal element. And Gotham, corrupt as always, has a large criminal element to beat down, thanks to the Party Animals, a veritable gang of fiends who have been terrorizing the streets of Gotham. But there’s more to it than just a street level gang as the Party Animals are clearly being coordinated by someone.

Bruce wants justice, and to protect his city. He’s wanted it ever since he was a kid, growing up in the projects with his mother and father. But an incident at a zoo, on a day that was supposed to be special – Bruce won a science competition and got admission to the zoo for himself and his friends – ends in bloodshed when a shooter starts blasting. Bruce’s dad, Thomas Wayne (who was also Bruce’s school teacher) dies in the crossfire, and Bruce blames himself for the death. Now, years later, he’s trained, ready, and willing to do anything to clean up Gotham City, once and for all.

Bruce’s origins aren’t just changed a little here; they’re changed a lot. The first key change is that Bruce doesn’t lose both his parents. Traditionally both Thomas and Martha are murdered, and this leaves Bruce feeling untethered even when he has his butler, Alfred, around to take care of him. Here he has to butler, but his mother is still alive, so it’s curious that Bruce ends up on the same path even though one of his two loving parents is still alive, still there for him. One could argue that the darkness, and the need for justice, was always in Bruce, but this feels like such a major change that should have had a bigger impact on his character.

Of course, Martha takes on a kind of Alfred role, talking to Bruce and trying to give him guidance in what is, functionally, a Year One story. Alfred, meanwhile, is in the story, but as a third party with his own agenda. He’s a SAS agent running a field op in Gotham, and he arrives on the scene around the time that Batman begins taking on villains. His superiors think Batman should be put down, but Alfred has other ideas. This version of the character is in line with the history we know of Alfred (how he was a covert ops agent working for the Crown before he came on with the Waynes as their butler) so it’s not a huge change for him… outside of him not becoming a butler later in life.

But then he wouldn’t be their butler because, in this version of history, the Waynes aren’t rich. This actually feels like a pretty substantial change, and it’s done as a way to strip Bruce of his money and make him work for everything he does (instead of having the trust fund to pay for everything). On the one hand I do understand the reasoning, but I don’t think the book actually does a good job of selling this change. You would think this would mean that Bruce wouldn’t have all his gadgets, that he’d be a more street-level vigilante in this version of events… except that’s not really the case. He has different gadgets. He still has a computer network he relies on, but it’s more cloud-based now. He even has some version of the Bat-cycle (which he steals from Alfred) and the Bat-mobile, so it’s clear that despite his “lesser” means, he’s still able to work as Batman just fine, without issue.

But changing his financial situation greatly changes the place the Waynes serve in the story. They were one of the founding families of Gotham, but that history is now completely thrown out. Changing that changes everything about the family, and it should have a substantial impact on Gotham… except again, we don’t really see that. Gotham feels like Gotham despite losing the influence of the Wayne family, and despite all the charitable works that the Waynes would have done not existing, so what is really the point of these changes if it doesn’t seem to impact Bruce or the city at all?

And then there’s all of Batman’s familiar villains who actually aren’t villains here. Bruce has a small group of friends that he’s kept in touch with since he was a kid including Ozzie (who, in a different universe, would be PenguinFirst appearing in Detective Comics #58, the Penguin is one of the many famous Batman rogues, a master criminal and leader of Gotham's underworld who also has a very particular look that he sports.), Eddie (The Riddler), Waylon Jones (Killer Crock), and Selina (CatwomanOnce a thief (but a pretty damn good one) and rogue of the Bat-man, Catwoman went from villain to anti-hero as she found love with the man that once pursued her.). They aren’t villains, they’re just citizens of Gotham going about their lives, and he regularly plays poker with them (when Bruce is in the mood). We see him rely on them, and (so far in this first volume, at least) they don’t betray him. It’s a change I find interesting, but not one that I feel like the series does enough with. Not yet, anyway.

Finally we have to address JokerOne of Batman's first villains, and certainly his more famous (and most popular), the Joker is the mirror of the Bat, all the insanity and darkness unleashed that the hero keeps bottled up and controlled.. The other major change we see, and this comes early in the series (so I don’t think it too big a spoiler) is that the Joker has, functionally, taken over all the wealth that Bruce should have. He’s rich and powerful, flitting about the world on his private jet, while he spends his money to do god knows what. Probably evil. He’s still the Joker, and Bruce and he are two sides of the same coin. If Bruce is still going to be Batman, Joker (whatever name he’s going by) is still going to be the Joker. I don’t hate this idea, and it’s the one piece of the series that truly feels grounded in what we know of Batman and would normally expect. We just have to see where the book takes it in the future.

And I think that really goes for everything in this book. I like parts of it a lot. I think the extreme changes to Batman’s origins help to suck readers into the book, keeping them hooked for the whole of the first volume. Whether I agree with the changes or not, they are substantial enough that just exploring this new version of the character can be its own reward. But then we’ll have to see in future volumes where writer Scott Snyder takes the story to see if the changes really matter or not. I’m on the fence there at this point.

But there’s no denying this is a handsome comic. The artwork is great, with illustrations that feel retro-inspired. In a different era I’d say they came directly from Darwyn Cooke, except that legendary artist died years ago. But the artwork evokes Darwyn’s style, and it lends a kind of classic feel to this origin. And from these interesting illustrations we then get a darker, sketchier Batman emerging from the shadows, a stark contrast on the page that draws the eye. The artwork is great, and I loved looking at every page.

I don’t think this first volume of Absolute Batman is perfect, but I am intrigued enough to keep reading. It didn’t have the same must read vibe as Absolute Superman, but it was just cool enough that I wanted to see more. So now I hope that the next volumes build on what Snyder has set up, so we can get a really epic new take on the hero going forward.