Is Absolute Batman Setting Up A Comic Book Version Of 1 Big DC Movie Storyline?

DC’s Absolute Universe is sending Batman down an incredibly dark path, with the intended payoff potentially mirroring one of DC’s much-debated but still undeniably impactful big-screen tales. DC’s Absolute Universe got underway in late 2024, presenting itself as an alternate continuity birthed into existence by the energy of DC’s greatest villain, Darkseid. By being set in a brand new comic book continuity, the Absolute Universe, as overseen by Scott Snyder, presents completely re-imagined takes on DC heroes and villains alike, with Absolute Batman kicking the new universe off in appropriately intense style. With the eventual formation of Absolute DC’s Justice League, how the Absolute Universe will get there is still a major question, particularly with Batman’s recent harrowing battles with Bane, and his physical augmentations that include the use of the super-steroid Venom, making Batman increasingly like Bane.

The decision to have Batman gradually begin to reflect one of his most infamous villains might be a signal of how the Absolute Justice League will be formed, and it is a story that could potentially have a lot in common with Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As the Absolute version of Batman inches into more Bane-esque territory, that could be a huge signal of the circumstances under which he will meet Superman and Wonder Woman, form the Justice League, and accomplish it all in a manner that could be a comic book equivalent of the tale told in Batman v Superman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Batman Is Becoming Bane-ified (& That Could Put Him Into Conflict With Superman)

Right from the Absolute Universe’s beginning, one stand-out has been the sheer intensity, grit, and rougher persona of the new universe’s version of Batman. That has even led to some level of consternation about whether Absolute Batman is excessively violent, but that has established a baseline of Absolute Batman being quite ruthless in his methods. While the Dark Knight has more than met his ruthless match in his encounters with Absolute Bane, the aftermath of those battles and the fact that Batman has taken to using Bane’s strength-enhancing Venom seem likely to push him even further.

In turn, with Absolute Batman already having no compunction about wielding an axe and severing criminals’ limbs with it, his use of Venom and gradual evolution into becoming more Bane-like could see him start to cross the line into an unhinged hero. The idea of a Bane-esque loose canon patrolling the streets of Gotham City is something a straight-laced hero like Superman is surely unlikely to tolerate. Even with Absolute DC giving Superman an edgier makeover of his own, if Batman starts to cross the line as he morphs into a Bane-like vigilante, that could create a situation in which Superman comes to see him as another overpowered behemoth not unlike Ra’s al Ghul (Superman’s arch-enemy in the Absolute Universe), who must be stopped. That very scenario sounds surprisingly similar to the Man of Steel’s conflict with the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman, but there could also be another parallel between them.

Could Wonder Woman Be a Mediator Between Batman & Superman?

Since the launch of DC’s Absolute Universe, fans have been waiting with bated breath for signs of when the individual titles will begin crossing over and building towards an Absolute Justice League. The first major step towards that end is finally arriving in late 2025, with Batman and Wonder Woman’s meeting in the upcoming Absolute Wonder Woman #12 being Absolute DC’s first crossover story. While the circumstances of how Batman and Wonder Woman meet have not been revealed, Batman’s descent into Bane-like madness and the potential concern this raises in Superman could require a third party to balance things out between them. That could be how Wonder Woman enters the picture in her upcoming meeting with Batman.

In Batman v Superman, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) stumbles across Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) right as he and Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) are butting heads over their heroic methods. Bruce’s discovery of Lex Luthor’s metahuman files leads him to realize there are many other metahumans in the world, which, coupled with Superman’s heroic sacrifice, gradually leads to Batman’s perspective on Superman shifting from foe to ally and inspires him to form the Justice League with Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Diana’s role in gradually opening Bruce’s eyes that Clark and other metahumans are not a threat could potentially be reflected or even inverted in Absolute DC, with Wonder Woman guiding Batman away from his Bane-like transformation while helping Superman to see that this is not Batman’s true nature, and enabling the pair to form the Trinity, and eventually the Justice League.

Why Absolute DC Could Tell a Great Comic Book Equivalent to Batman v Superman & Zack Snyder’s Justice League

DC’s Absolute Universe has consistently been willing to take its heroes into territory that most comic book stories shy away from, questioning their decisions and placing them in situations where they must grapple with human impulses and the consequences of even the most noble of heroic deeds. Such has long been the lens through which Zack Snyder has tackled superheroes, with Zack Snyder’s Justice League showing the reward of the hero’s dark and bitter trials and tribulations being a unity of heroes forming in the dawn of a new day. With its dark origins and similarly deconstructionist approach to DC’s pantheon of superheroes, Scott Snyder and DC’s Absolute Universe might be endeavoring to deliver the same kind of pay-off. What could be a bigger surprise than anything is for it to also have its foundation in Batman and Superman, beginning as enemies and becoming sworn allies.

Not unlike Snyder’s DCEU films, the Absolute Universe has also portrayed its heroes as mostly loners who seem highly unlikely to even want to become team players, gradually drawn into the light not just by their heroic work, but also the bigger world they begin to see around them. In essence, Scott Snyder and DC’s Absolute team might be taking that core foundation, the conflict of Batman and Superman, and their reconciliation through the formation of the Justice League as the epicenter of the Absolute Universe, placed into a comic book world where that kind of origin story makes perfect sense with each hero getting their own unique backstory that fits into those parameters. The legacy of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is one of the wildest and most impactful in superhero movie history through the film’s most unusual journey to being realized, but the payoff of the Justice League formation after the strife they had individually experienced made the wait worth it. DC’s Absolute Universe could very well be the place where that kind of origin story is utilized in comic book form, taking the core ideas of superheroes in hiding in a dark world, Batman and Superman meeting as enemies, and eventually coming to be the most trusted of allies while forming a team of heroes to protect the world together.

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