DC’s Absolute Universe is the biggest thing currently in comics. A dark alternative to the mainline DC Universe, Absolute gives readers something that we usually don’t see: the big heroes at serious disadvantages in a world that exists to be against them all while they each have fundamental changes to their personal stories that not only make things that much harder for them but also makes their continued heroics even more notable. And, generally speaking, those changes are fascinating. Each of the main books — Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Absolute Superman, Absolute Flash, and Absolute Green Lantern — have reinvented its characters in some truly wild and inventive ways, making it a lot of fun to read.
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However, not everything the Absolute Universe is doing is great, particularly when it comes to Absolute Batman. While wild reinvention is a major part of how things work for familiar characters, the longer Batman’s series goes on, the more I’m noticing a pattern. Instead of doing something truly fresh and unique by expanding Batman’s story with new figures, the story keeps relying on shock-value, beefed up versions of familiar friends and foes. The result is a book and, by extension, universe, that has become reliant on being as edgy as possible and it’s turning into a big, missed opportunity for original characters that could make really significant impact.
Every Absolute Batman Villain Introduced Seems to Be More Cartoonishly Weird Than The One Before Them
When we first started getting revamped familiar villains in Absolute Batman, the major transformations were interesting. Absolute Bane really should have been called Absolute Nightmare Fuel for how they took an already insane character and made him somehow even crazier. The transformation of Waylon into Croc was extreme, but it worked brilliantly because of how heartbreaking it was. Absolute Joker? He turned out to be an unspeakable abomination that feels less like a real change from the mainline universe and more like the true manifestation of his evil.
However, more recently we’ve started to see reveals or introductions of other characters and it’s starting to feel like these transformations and adaptations are extreme for extreme’s sake. Absolute Two-Face looks like he escaped from an anime. Absolute Penguin’s transformation comes off of the horrible damage Bane caused him so his grotesque physical change makes sense, but the look we’ve gotten of him somehow makes him look both beefy and mangled and for some reason his crutches are comprised of the barrels of automatic weapons. No, literally, his cane stilts are guns so now he’s a short but hulking guy with gun crutches. We’ve also seen insane transformations for other characters as well, such as Poison Ivy, with each one seeming getting more and more twisted and grotesque.
Now, let me be clear: the stories that are being told with these weirdly beefed up and twisted takes on familiar characters are solid. I actually enjoy the Absolute Batman book a great deal. That said, I’m starting to get tired of every “new” twisted character feeling like they’re edgy just for edgy’s sake. Penguin doesn’t need to be simultaneously huge and short with gun canes to drive home that what happened to him has fundamentally changed him and made him a villain. Major villains like Ivy and Joker don’t need to be eldritch horrors to be horrifying. At this point, I’m just waiting for some random rogue to show up with three heads and a flame thrower for hands just because it would be shocking and cool. What’s going to happen is we’re going to hit a wall the extreme-ifying becomes repetitive and the shock value won’t be worth it.
Original Characters That Are Dark and Terrifying Would Be Vastly More Interesting (And Give Fans a Chance to Fully Invest Instead of Merely Wanting More Extremes)
With Absolute Batman turning more and more like a parade of “how weird can I make this familiar character?’ what would really be interesting is to see new threats arrive that fans have to invest in and learn about. If characters that are visually striking and twisted is how things have to work, new characters would create mystery that readers could dig into. As it stands now, each issue or arc just feels like waiting to see how the very talented creators are going to warp something else. Eventually, they’re going to hit a wall with that and as a reader, I don’t want to see that happen. I want to see the Absolute Universe continue to expand, particularly Batman’s corner of it, and the only way that works is go feed the system with completely new additions.
It would also be nice to just to see some “normal” threats as well. Absolute Batman feels like the one book in the Absolute Universe where everything is loud and extra crazy. Reimagining things on a smaller scale for Absolute Gotham could be an interesting and unexpected take that would still continue the “Darkseid energy” influence.
Having all of the beefed up, extremely twisted takes on familiar characters is a striking stylistic choice that genuinely looks cool. It’s worked so well this far because the stories told around these insane reimaginings are solid, well-written, and full of substance. But with each crazy new introduction, it’s feeling more and more like style is taking over. Hopefully, we’ll see some fresh originals and more quiet redesigns before that style overshadows the substance.
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