Absolute Batman #2 – The Zoo, Part Two – 3.5/5

After coming across some brief glimpses into the twisted Absolute Universe on my TikTok For You Page, I recently went head first into Absolute Batman.

From the get-go, I was immediately impressed with Nick Dragotta’s art. This lower class, engineer Batman with an axe is such an awesome portrayal of the Dark Knight. While I never finished Scott Snyder’s New 52 run (I plan to eventually), I knew pretty quickly that his writing style introduced some innovative ideas.

My only concern with this run so far, is that much of what makes Bruce Wayne, Batman, is still pretty much the same as previous versions of the character. With the Absolute Universe being marketed in the way that it has, I guess I had assumed that his origin story would be vastly different. Instead, this alternate universe is about 2-3 threads away on the multiversal web.

This isn’t a bad thing, I just wanna keep my expectations in check before we get too far into the run. If you want my other thoughts on issue 1, you can check them out here!

(Spoilers for issue 2)

This first arc of Absolute Batman continues with Alfred scoping out Batman, while Batman takes out hordes of the Party Animals. While it was unsure what Alfred’s overall goals were in issue 1, it’s been made clear that he’s primarily after Roman Sionis, The Black Mask.

By ‘hunting’ The Bat, he hopes to gain as much intel as possible. We learn alongside Pennyworth that Batman has a network of caves that humorously make up the shape of a bat. This bat imagery continues with a brief flashback of Bruce Wayne, who unsurprisingly made his way into the bat exhibit at the zoo where his father was killed. As a clever nod to Bruce’s character, we get a brief shot showing that bats are both “solitary and social”.

The solitary side of Batman is shown in full force, with most of this issue focused on his fighting. While I am more of a character focused reader, I can’t be remiss to point at just how great this art is. Dragotta manages to keep things dark and mysterious, without neglecting details.

The social side of Bruce is also shown, with a brief nod to his childhood friends, who he would regularly neglect. More surprising is his get together at a Poker game with known criminals Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin), Harvey Dent (Two-Face), Edward Nygma (The Riddler, and Waylon Jones (Killer Croc), as well as a mention of a missing Selina Kyle (Catwoman). In this iteration of the Dark Knight, these guys seem to have at least a bit of a connection with crime, but to what extent, we’re not entirely sure of.

At the very least, Harvey is mentioned to be involved with politics in some way. There’s even a off-handed insult thrown at him, calling him “two face”. Edward seems to have a genius intellect and Oswald declares that his work is “atypical”.

As strange as this group is, it seems that these might be Bruce’s childhood friends. Harvey even refers to him as a “crime alley boy”. The Absolute Universe is said to be much darker than previous universes, so it isn’t too crazy to assume that even its heroes are involved in some shadier practices, but it does beg the question – What criminal activities is Bruce Wayne involved in?

The rest of the issue shows some moments with Mayor Jim Gordon in the hospital, talking to Martha Wayne and Barbara Gordon. There’s a bit of political talk involving his impossible reelection. Nothing too crazy here.

What IS crazy is this moment where Alfred is discussing Batman’s tactics. Coming from Special Forces, he uses terms like “Retreat and Regroup” (R&R) and “Advance Forward” (AF) to talk about crazy Batman is for constantly advancing forward and never retreating. This whole spiel culminates in the rawest, funniest, comic book panel I’ve ever seen:

If there’s anything that can be said about Absolute Batman from the first two issues alone, it’s that this Bruce Wayne is…

Batman As F#$%.

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Pick up the first Volume of Absolute Batman here: Absolute Batman Vol. 1