Absolute Batman

Mild spoilers for DC's Absolute Batman.

So I've finally got around to checking out DC's Absolute Batman and it's been a very entertaining read.

I'm not going to recap things or go too in depth. You know the jist if you've seen a few screencaps here and there. New Batman, giant fuggin' dude, working class dude trying to do the right thing.

Just going to give a few of my impressions while it's fresh. It's a very similar Batman vibe overall but there's a different spark to it (at least to me) having Bruce Wayne's background be more street level. It makes his crusade seem more hungry, more filled with righteous anger at the systems and people who have failed the world.

As well as the general anti-corporate, anti-hero, anti-capitalist kind of aura to the writing. It's not too extreme coming from a giant media conglomerate like WB but it seems like with the written word they've been given a bit more leeway. It's interesting to see.

It does seem like a lot of the villains being shifted to having more street level or working class backgrounds helps ground things more as well. Bane is an interesting one; his motivation shifting from being either the biggest mastermind in the world OR the common henchman to sort of a bit of each while being under the thumb of the true mastermind. Having made a deal with the devil or sorts; and now having to find his own replacement in Hell in order to leave.

So yeah. It's a very good page turning collection of issues so far. The first 6 set up most of the world very well and wrap things up nicely. Loved the cutting back and forth and the VO toward the end. Even got a little misty-eyed.

Really looking forward to the other re-invented heroes in the All In/Absolute world of DC.

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-November 17th, 2025