1/8 Comic Review: Absolute Origins
Absolute Batman #4 written by Scott Snyder with art by Gabriel Walta
The previous three issues have been split between two periods in time. We’ve seen Bruce Wayne as a boy in the immediate aftermath of his father’s murder. We’ve also seen him in the present day as the vigilante Batman. This issue bridges the gap between these two points in time as we see Bruce Wayne’s first year as Batman. This isn’t the first time Scott Snyder has told the story of the Caped Crusader’s beginning. Zero Year is where Snyder’s distinct voice for Batman really began to shine. Much of the tone and stylistic choices for Absolute Batman can be traced back to Zero Year, so it’s interesting to see the different directions this origin story branches out into. In Zero Year, Bruce Wayne had unlimited resources, and his journey during that year was to refine what he had and determine what he wanted his symbol to mean. The bat symbol was meant to be him turning the thing that made him afraid into something which instilled fear in others. Here, much of what we learn about the symbol's meaning comes from a conversation he'd had with his father about his entry in a competition to design a bridge. He'd been enamored with bats and decided to use them as the motif for his project. He designed it to be huge and imposing, believing it would make people feel safer. His dad doesn't criticize him, but clearly isn't sold on the premise. The issue continues to cut away to Bruce showing various iterations of the bride to his dad and trying to figure out what the best way to help people actually is. He experiments with a friendlier-looking, more adaptable model that his dad is fond of, but Bruce is unsatisfied with. After taking some time and thinking about just what he loves about bats, Bruce stumbles on a realization. Bats find new environments and adapt to survive. They grow, change, and get stronger with each iteration. They look cool, but they’re also extremely capable creatures, being able to adapt and thrive no matter how hostile the environment might be. Not only is this a cool, new way of integrating the bat-motif into his crusade, it also continues the ongoing theme of Batman as the archetypal “Builder”. One who continues to embrace failure in the pursuit of innovation, building until he’s able to overcome whatever opposes him.
As we cut back to Bruce’s first year as Batman, we see him similarly going through iterations. His first iteration turns out to be a more vampiric Batman, complete with fangs and a paralytic agent. However, he quickly finds that version of his alter ego far less effective than he’d like. He also finds that taking down small time crooks is doing little to solve the problems plaguing his city. Rather than wasting time on petty crime, he traces their roots back to the criminals bringing guns into his city and even further back to the millionaires and politicians who enable these crimes for the purpose of increasing their own wealth. Once again, I’m absolutely captivated by the Absolute Universe’s focus on having the heroes engaging with systemic injustices rather than trading punches with supervillains. These heroes are hardly underserved by the lack of costumed baddies. It only shows just how relevant these icons still are nearly a century later. Not being able to just punch his problems away means this Batman needs to be stronger and smarter than ever. We’ve seen how strong he is, but this issue also lets his ingenuity shine. This Batman isn’t a billionaire and can’t simply will his arsenal of high tech gadgets into existence. Instead, he has to improvise with the tools he has on hand. There’s an amazing bit with a remote control car that shows just how effective Budget Batman can be. It’s never been the wealth that defined him, and now we get to see that celebrated in exciting and fantastic ways.
Gabriel Walta joins the book as the artist this time around. There's a certain grittiness to his art that lends itself well to this up-and-coming Batman. Even in this darker universe, the version of Batman we've seen in the present day has a bombastic theatricality that makes him feel like an unstoppable force. At this point in time though, he hasn't quite grown into that form. He’s still theatrical, but it’s leaning more into the mystique meant to frighten the “superstitious, cowardly lot” and lacks the substance to put a dent Gotham’s crime. This Batman isn’t out to scare petty thieves straight, he’s trying to demolish a broken system and build something better upon the rubble. Besides the first year of Batman and the conversation between young Bruce and his father, there is a third narrative we briefly cut to a few times throughout the issue. Young Bruce Wayne is attending court on the day of sentencing for Joe Chill, the man who murdered his father. I mention it here because almost all of the panels are focusing on Bruce’s face, and the rage Walta conveys through Bruce’s expressions is downright chilling. It’s that anger that propels his evolution into Batman. It began with the bang of a gun and has already kindled into an intense blaze. The older Bruce has gotten better at masking it, but it’s clear through everything he says and does that it’s still just beneath the surface. Bruce is on his own for most of the book without anyone to convey that anger to, but it still comes across loud and clear because of some excellent art that tells us everything we need to know.
Absolute Batman continues to be one of the strongest books DC is putting out. It’s an innovative and powerful reexamination of a cultural icon. Batman’s been stripped to his core and even as a lifelong fan, I’ve found myself surprised by what was there. No matter how dark the world may seem, there is hope and this book gives us a hero that’s building his way to it. Don’t sit on this book. It’s doing some absolutely insane things and you’ve got to come along for the ride.