Are We Sure Absolute Batman Doesn’t Kill People?
We’ve known from the start that Absolute Batman is a much more brutal and violent alternative to DC’s more traditional takes on the Dark Knight. He pretty much has to be when he lives in a corrupted world where the deck is utterly stacked against him and his fellow heroes. But after reading Absolute Batman Annual #1, we’re starting to wonder. Is there a limit to how far Absolute Batman will go? Does this Batman actually kill?
Read on for a breakdown of what happens in Absolute Batman Annual #1 and why this Batman takes things further than any other version, even the hyper-violent Batman of the Arkham games.
Warning: Beware of spoilers ahead for Absolute Batman #1!
While the main Absolute Batman series is currently exploring the feud between Batman and this universe’s terrifying incarnation of Bane, the annual flashes back to an earlier period in the young hero’s career. In this story by writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson (of Skybound Transformers fame), Batman wages a one-man war against a group of white supremacists who have targeted a homeless encampment.
Early on, Bruce is shown buying equipment for the coming battle. He asks the seller if the weapons are non-lethal, to which the seller refers to them as more “less lethal.” That doesn’t seem to faze Bruce at all, one sign that maybe he won’t be too broken up if he leaves a few dead bodies in his wake.
Later, when the battle begins in earnest, Batman pulls absolutely no punches in combating the white supremacists. One ringleader finds his arm broken in a truly grotesque fashion. Another is hit with several Batarangs in his eyes, only for that to be swiftly followed up with a brutal knee to the face. As many fans have pointed out, Absolute Bats seems to borrow some moves from AEW star Kenny Omega’s playbook, from the V Trigger to the One-Winged Angel (Johnson is famously very fond of professional wrestling).
Later, Batman goes even harder still, crashing his enormous Batmobile (basically a repurposed construction vehicle) into a building where the white supremacists flee and torching many with a flamethrower. At some point, it becomes hard to imagine some of these people don’t die from the sheer ferocity of Batman’s assault.
But is that the idea? Bruce’s actions are contrasted by those of a pacifist priest who implores him to realize that violence isn’t the answer. This stirs up memories of Bruce’s dead father Thomas, who once praised his young son for his compassion. It’s even revealed that Thomas and the priest once participated in the same protest against police brutality together. Haunted by those memories, Batman can do nothing but hang his head in shame. His mission is successful, but at what personal cost?
While this issue doesn’t make it explicit, it could be inferred that Absolute Batman didn’t start out with a firm no-killing rule. Perhaps that only came as a result of the lingering guilt Bruce feels over his actions in this issue. In Absolute Batman #1 (which takes place after the annual), Agent Alfred Pennyworth observes Batman using incredible discipline in his battles with the Black Mask Gang. He has no qualms about breaking bones and severing limbs, but he takes care not to leave anyone with mortal injuries. Again, it seems he wasn’t always so discriminating.
Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo
What do you think? Was Absolute Batman a killer when he started out? Will he kill again in order to end the threat of Bane or Joker? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
For more on Absolute Batman, find out why Absolute Joker is a fundamentally different character and see why artist Nick Dragotta wants an anime series.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
