DC’s Absolute Universe Gives Batman a Powerful New Beginning

Ever since 1939, Batman has been a mainstay of pop culture. The caped crusader has gone on countless adventures, both alone in Gotham City and with friends across the stars. Unfortunately this nearly century-long history makes it very difficult to know where to begin reading, not helped in the slightest by the multiple resets of his universe.

Luckily an easy jumping-on point has been provided from the biggest villain of the DC universe. After a somewhat convoluted story arc, Darkseid managed to create a new universe separated from the mainline continuity.

On this new world things are much more bleak. Having been influenced by Darkseid’s negative energy, the “Absolute” universe runs on despair, and the heroes must fight much harder with much less to make a difference. 

Each hero has their history changed, and this causes the trajectory of their lives to change dramatically.

In terms of the Dark Knight, he has quite a few major changes. Perhaps the most obvious is his physique. In this book Bruce Wayne is 6’9 and 421 pounds. 

This both makes him much more imposing and also provides a contrast for his much more vulnerable and sensitive character.

The second most impactful change on Batman’s life is his lack of money. His father, Thomas, is a teacher, and his mother, Martha, is a social worker, two famously underpaid professions. 

This leaves Bruce with a much more lower-middle-class upbringing. Not only that, but this book makes the influence of Martha and Thomas even more apparent.

In previous Batman books the Waynes have been mostly absent figures. Their deaths spurred the Batman to life, but their parenting of Bruce is usually not discussed heavily. Rather, their butler Alfred is the person with the most effect on Bruce’s life. 

Instead, not only is Thomas constantly referenced in how he taught a young Bruce, but Martha is still alive.

Another change to the history of Bruce Wayne was the manner of his father’s death. In the original Batman canon, the Waynes are gunned down in Crime Alley after a movie. 

However, the Absolute universe has a more modern method. A mass shooting happens when Bruce is on a school field trip with his father. This means Martha was not present and therefore survived into Bruce’s adulthood.

Martha herself is a character with a lot of impact on both Bruce and the plot at large. Here she is characterized as a fighter at heart. Not in a physical sense but a moral sense; the way she met Commissioner Gordon was when he arrested her at a protest. 

She even ran with Gordon in his campaign for mayor. This spirit is passed to Bruce through many scenes from Bruce’s childhood where readers can feel the love going both ways.

This change massively impacts Bruce. Instead of fighting for the memory of his parents mostly alone, he is instead surrounded by family. This change is amazing because it makes Bruce less isolated and therefore much more relatable. 

It also sets up personal tragedy for Bruce because his family are the kids Martha took care of throughout his childhood, effectively making them his siblings.

These siblings are also major players in the story. They are the ones who call out Bruce and try to help him. These people care about Bruce in a much more intimate and direct way than someone like Alfred or even the Robins; they’ve known Bruce their entire lives. This gives Bruce a group to bounce off of and makes him question his role and purpose as Batman.

However, his siblings are made up of Batman’s usual rogues. Including Selena Kyle (Catwoman), Oswald Cobblepot (the Penguin), Edward Nygma (the Riddler), Harvey Dent (Two-Face), and Waylon Jones (Killer Croc). 

This means that the chances are high that Bruce will slowly have his family taken and turned into the villains he must eventually face. There is credence to this thought in the fact that it has already happened to Waylon, though it remains to be seen if he will be friend or foe.

All these changes make a significant impact on the character of Batman. The sheer lack of resources means he was not able to travel the world learning techniques from Tibetan monks. Instead, from Waylon teaching him to fight to Selena teaching him to sneak around, he learned all the skills he needed from his family.

Not only that, but he worked in every public service in Gotham and learned the ins and outs of the city. This all connects Bruce to his city in a way Batman wasn’t before.

What helps this groundedness is the fact that Bruce is an engineer and he makes all his gadgets. Each of his gadgets feels a bit closer to the realm of possibilities even if they are still a bit out there. 

A perfect example is his cape, it has rebar claws attached to the ends that Bruce controls like a bat’s hands. These details emphasize that this version of Batman is at a severe disadvantage.

“The chances are high
that Bruce will slowly
have his family taken
and turned into the villains
he must eventually face.”

This Bruce is also a much more vulnerable and less stoic man. Bruce in this book curses and loses his temper quite a lot. 

This serves to remind the audience that he is just a mortal man trying to fix the problems of an entire city alone and must learn to rely on those who would help him. This fixes perhaps the biggest problem with Batman in that he sometimes feels too powerful and distant from the city he’s protecting.

Those he protects Gotham from are also just as good as Bruce and his supporting cast.

The first villain is Black Mask, and he is an amazing start. He is a classic crime boss but with a nihilistic edge. He tells people that the world is ending, so they might as well enjoy what’s left. This ethos feels very touched by sentiments one might see on the internet and makes his downfall very satisfying. 

The villains continue to be great, especially the latest foe, Bane. He has made a huge impact in so little time with both brawn and brains in equal measure and a calm charisma that makes reading his lines a pleasure.

This book makes for a perfect jumping-on point for new fans and also serves as a fun read for older readers. However, it is not a book for all fans. This is a much darker story and therefore might not be suitable for younger fans or those with a weaker stomach for things like violence and gore. 

Batman does things such as stabbing a man in the eyes and using his own teeth and stomach acid to fight with, so readers who are not so keen on such things might be happier just moving onto another story.

Andrew Barnes, staff writer

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