With the release of Absolute Batman #1, DC has officially kicked off the Absolute Universe. Similar to Marvel's Ultimate Universe line, the Absolute Universe is devoted to exploring streamlined, modernized versions of iconic heroes, free from the constraints of decades of existing continuity. And if we've learned anything from the first issue, it's that Absolute Batman is a very, very different hero from the Dark Knight we know and love.
Just what has changed for the Absolute Universe? How does the new series reinvent Batman for 2024? Here's a look at everything that's changed in this twisted new version of the DC Universe.
Warning: beware of full spoilers for Absolute Batman #1 ahead!
Batman's New Origin Story
One of the hallmarks of the Absolute Universe is that characters like Batman and Superman lack many of the innate advantages they have in the traditional DCU. In the case of Bruce Wayne, he's no longer a billionaire playboy with a mansion, a butler, and a cave full of expensive gadgets. He's a blue-collar civil engineer from a humble background.
Over the course of issue #1, we get the rundown on Batman's revamped origin story as seen through the eyes of Alfred Pennyworth (more on him in a minute). Bruce's father Thomas was a schoolteacher rather than a doctor. Bruce himself tested at near-genius levels as a child, eventually winning a science competition where he invented a portable, retractable bridge to be used in rescue scenarios. As a prize, Bruce and his class were given a field trip to the Gotham City Zoo.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck when a gunman opened fire at the zoo. Thomas ushered his students to safety before being caught in the crossfire. That's the trauma that birthed the Batman, and we have to assume Bruce carries some guilt for his father's death with him even now.
Issue #1 offers some insight into the training Bruce underwent to prepare himself to become a vigilante. After earning a college football scholarship (and promptly faking a career-ending injury), Bruce studied chemistry, engineering, criminal psychology, and other subjects relevant to punching crime in the face. While he didn't travel the world studying under the greatest warriors and detectives, he has developed a unique streetfighting style based in mixed martial arts and boxing. And by working as a civil engineer in various locales across Gotham, Bruce has developed an intimate knowledge of the city he hopes to save.
Bruce Wayne's Friend Group
One of the most intriguing changes introduced in Absolute Batman #1 involves Bruce Wayne's friend group. We learn that Bruce's childhood gang included Harvey Dent, Selina Kyle, Waylan Jones, Eddie Nashton, and Oswald Cobblepot. Even now, they remain friends, though Bruce is rapidly drifting away from the group as his nightly activities start to consume his life.
What does it mean that so many of the characters destined to become supervillains start out as Bruce's close friends? Have their destinies changed in the Absolute Universe, or will we see Waylan become Killer Croc, Eddie become the Riddler, etc?
For now, the only one of these characters we meet in issue #1 is Waylan, who currently runs the boxing gym Bruce trains at and shows no sign of the reptilian skin condition the character is so well-known for. Waylan looks to be the best friend Bruce has. Will that change as the series moves along?
Alfred Pennyworth: Secret Agent
Bruce may not have a butler, but that hardly means Alfred has no role to play in the series. Issue #1 is narrated from Alfred's perspective. In the Absolute Universe, Alfred is a secret agent for a mysterious organization (it's unclear if he's working for the British government or an agency like ARGUS). He's pulled off a mission monitoring a mysterious killer overseas in order to gather intel on the growing crisis in Gotham. A gang called The Party Animals has been massacring innocent civilians, and Alfred's handlers want to know what exactly they're dealing with.
Alfred is warned that another party has begun to make itself known in the city, the first sign that Batman is beginning to appear on the public's radar. Alfred later encounters Batman in person when observing an attack by The Party Animals. Alfred's orders are to observe and not to engage the gangmembers, one he strongly disagrees with. Already, the seeds of the eventual Batman/Alfred alliance are beginning to be laid.
For now, though, Batman is more of an antagonistic figure to Alfred, even stealing the secret agent's motorcycle and all of its valuable intel. Alfred, for his part, immediately deduces Batman's secret identity. While he considers assassinating Bruce in broad daylight, he decides "You're just a **** kid."
The Gordon Family
No new Batman universe would be complete without Jim Gordon playing a part. Issue #1 gives no indication to assume Batman and Gordon are working together yet, but it does cast Gordon as the rare good cop trying to maintain order in a city rapidly descending into chaos. But in this case, Gordon isn't Commissioner of the GCPD, but rather the recently elected mayor of Gotham. His daughter Barbara, meanwhile, is a police officer.
Gordon holds a press conference to ease public concerns over the growing threat of The Party Animals. However, that plan hits a snag when the gang attacks in the middle of the conference and Gordon himself is shot.
The Rise of Black Mask
It quickly becomes clear that the first costumed supervillain the Absolute Batman will face off against isn't Joker, Penguin, or Riddler, but Black Mask. Roman Sionis is introduced as the leader of The Party Animals and a man obsessed with collecting death masks of famous celebrities and political figures.
Sionis holds a meeting with Gotham City crime bosses Sal Maroni and Carmine Falcone, both of whom are wary of this upstart upending the traditional order in the city's underworld. Sionis wastes little time before revealing that he's already made death masks of Maroni and Falcone's relatives and adding both men to his collection.
Traditionally, Batman's early months on the job are spent waging war on the Gotham mob, before power slowly shifts in favor of villains like Joker and Penguin. In the Absolute Universe, however, it seems that shift is already happening. A new generation of evil is emerging in the city and consuming the old.
The New Batsuit in Action
The reader and Alfred alike are treated to the first glimpse of the new Batman in action when the Dark Knight arrives to battle the Party Animal members attacking Gordon's press conference. If there's one takeaway from this fight, it's that Absolute Batman has a lot of nifty toys despite not having a billionaire's resources.
Nearly every component of Batman's costume is a weapon in its own right. His cowl's ears and his gloves' spikes are retractable daggers. His bulletproof cape is a modified version of the same portable bridge he designed as a child, allowing him to control the various wings at will.
Even the Bat emblem is a potent weapon. Not only is it a reinforced piece of steel plating protecting Bruce's chest, it can be removed and attached to a handle to form a razor-sharp ax. The Party Animal leader learns that the hard way when he loses his hand in a duel.
The Fate of Martha Wayne
The flashback to Bruce's tragic childhood reveal that Thomas Wayne died protecting his students at the zoo. But what about Martha Wayne? It turns out she's still alive and well. Bruce pays his mother a visit after laying a flower at the site of his father's murder, even as Alfred watches from afar.
This may well be the biggest and most significant change introduced in Absolute Batman. Bruce Wayne has always been portrayed as an orphan dedicated to preventing what happened to him from happening to anyone else. How much does it change the equation for Bruce to have a mother who raised him to adulthood? At the very least, this means Absolute Batman has something to lose should his secret identity ever be revealed.
Teasing Absolute Joker
Absolute Batman #1 ends with an epilogue page teasing the debut of Batman's most iconic foe. Alfred's handlers report that the man he had been tracking overseas vanished in the Phillipines. Known by many names like Jack and Arthur, this man trained under elite killers like Henri Ducard and the League of Assassins before murdering them and moving on. He's one of the richest men in the world. He never laughs, hence why he's come to be known ironically as the Joker.
If Joker is meant to be the twisted antithesis of Batman, then it's clear the Clown Prince of Crime has been reworked to suit this darker, grittier take on the Caped Crusader. Joker is everything this Batman isn't. He's a man of wealth and privelege. He's traveled the globe and honed himself into the perfect warrior. And it's only a matter of time before he comes to Gotham and tests himself against the Batman. Will the Dark Knight be the one to finally make the Joker crack a smile? We'll find out as the series continues to unfold.
Whiuch Absolute DC series are you most excited for? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below:
For more on what's new in the world of comics, check out the Biggest New Comic Releases of October 2024 and see an exclusive preview of Frank Miller's Ronin Rising.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
