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DC’s Absolute titles are in a class all their own, but one of them gets more attention than it deserves — Absolute Batman. DC overhyping Batman is nothing new, but it feels especially egregious with Absolute Batman. The heroes are Absolute DC are unique takes on the greatest superheroes in comics, taking core elements of the characters but changing a lot of the particulars. However, Absolute Batman honestly doesn’t feel all that different, despite being one of the best Batman titles in a bit. It’s a great title, but it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.
Absolute Batman Can’t Compare to the Other Absolute Titles
Now, there’s definitely some good reasons for Absolute Batman to have a lot of hype behind it. First off, it’s written by Scott Snyder, the architect of Batman (Vol. 2), which is generally considered to be the best of the New 52 titles. Snyder is a Batman master, and he’s honestly doing some of his best Batman work of all time. Artist Nick Dragotta is another feather in the book’s cap. Known for his work on Jonathan Hickman’s East of West, Dragotta’s art is gorgeous, capturing the book’s hard-hitting action and bringing the extreme new versions of Batman’s supporting cast to life. The book’s versions of characters like Black Mask, Killer Croc, Mister Freeze, Bane, and the Joker are similar yet chillingly different (especially in Mister Freeze’s case). The Batman of the Absolute Earth is also one of the most brutal versions of the character, willing to bring astounding levels of violence into play to save Gotham. His life is quite different from the mainline Batman —Martha Wayne is still alive, the Waynes aren’t wealthy, and Batman grew up with Two-Face, Penguin, Catwoman, and Killer Croc. Alfred is around, but instead of being the Waynes’ butler, he’s a black ops operative working with Batman, which is basically what mainline Alfred would have been doing if the Waynes hadn’t needed him to replace his father.
