As we have previously established – in rigorous scientific detail – one of the Absolute Batman’s key traits is that he’s a lot bigger than previous versions of the Dark Knight. In fact, he’s massive. Well, the second issue of the series is out today and in it he gets a car to match. Yes, Absolute Batman #2 features the first iteration of the Absolute Universe’s Batmobile and however big you’re imagining it to be, you need to think bigger…
Spoilers for Absolute Batman #2
This is another exciting issue that continues to reveal more about the new take on Batman. We open with Alfred continuing to study Bruce as he wages his war against the murderous Party Animals. Although the “no kill” rule is still firmly in place it’s clear that this Dark Knight likes to play very rough – in one memorable scene he covers his enemies in salt water, which he then transforms into hydrochloric acid, forcing his enemies to flee with nasty burns. He also tricks the villains into blowing up the empty office block he was using as an HQ, rigging it to burn in the shape of his cowl. Yes, it’s cheesy, but it also continues to build the sense of this Batman as a primal force of anarchy. It is “Batman AF,” as Alfred puts it at one point and oddly reminiscent of the final scenes of Fight Club.
We also get more insight into Bruce’s backstory. In a smart revision to the death of Thomas Wayne, it’s revealed that in this universe he dies in Gotham Zoo’s bat sanctuary. Bruce finds his body and is swarmed by the critters, a moment that forms the primal fear he will one day reflect back at his enemies. It adds an extra layer of connection to the defining moment of the young Wayne’s life.
The issue also continues to explore the dynamics between Bruce and his shady group of friends (proto, not-quite-evil versions of Riddler, Killer Croc, Two-Face and the Penguin) and reveals that he has dealings with the Red Hood – in this universe “a suspected resistance group,” though it’s unclear what they are resisting. Most intriguingly, we learn that Bruce intermittently visits his father’s killer, Joe Chill, in Blackgate Penitentiary.
As the issue reaches its climax, Batman walks into a trap set by Black Mask. Alfred steps in to try and form an alliance and it seems like Bruce is considering it. They’re too under fire from the Party Animals to discuss it there and then, though. They need some kind of escape route. Enter the Batmobile, in what’s either the issue’s most badass moment or a scene that will have you hurl your copy of the comic across the room.
The new vehicle is comically huge – a massive construction vehicle rather than a car or tank that, if we’re taking the guy standing in front of it as any accurate indication of its size, is literally as big as a house. Quite how this thing will move around cities remains an open question, but it works brilliantly as a jaw-dropping ending for the issue. Batman AF indeed.
It’s not quite the very end, though. In a brief flashback to Bruce’s mourning period after the death of his father, we finally meet the Absolute Universe Selina Kyle, who wears a hoodie with distinctive cat ears. It seems that she’s been friends with Bruce since childhood and she may just be the person he needs to help work through his grief.
Absolute Batman #2 by writer Scott Snyder, artist Nick Dragotta, colorist Frank Martin, and letterer Clayton Cowles, is out now from DC.
Check out interviews with the creative teams of Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman.