We've Met Absolute Batman, but What About Absolute Joker?

Absolute Batman is undoubtedly 1 of DC’s biggest comic publication launches successful years. The archetypal contented was the best-selling comic of 2024, and the bid has remained atop the income charts ever since. Clearly, readers are responding good to this bold and often astonishing reinvention of the Dark Knight.

Now that creators Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta person wrapped up their archetypal communicative arc, “The Zoo,” they sat down with IGN to sermon each the ways successful which Absolute Batman up-ends the accepted Batman mythos. Read connected to larn much astir designing this impressively buff Batman, wherefore having a parent changes everything for Bruce Wayne, and what to expect arsenic Absolute Joker emerges from the shadows.

Warning: afloat spoilers for Absolute Batman #6 ahead!

Designing Absolute Batman

The Absolute Universe’s Batman is thing if not an intimidating figure, betwixt the bulging muscles, the enarthrosis spikes, and the assorted different embellishments to the accepted Batsuit. There’s a crushed we included Absolute Batman among our database of the 10 top Batman costumes of each time. To footwear things off, we asked Snyder and Dragotta however they cooked up this hulking imaginativeness of the Dark Knight and however they sought to bespeak the conception of a Batman who lacks the wealthiness and resources of his accepted counterpart.

“Scott's archetypal thought was to spell big,” Dragotta tells IGN. “I mean, that was his archetypal absorption to me, was this is going to beryllium the biggest Batman we've seen yet. And judge maine erstwhile I archer you, I drew him truly large astatine first, and past erstwhile Scott saw it, helium was like, ‘Nick, I privation to spell bigger.’ And I was like, ‘Scott, we're getting into Hulk-like proportions now.’”

Dragotta continues, “I deliberation that was the impetus for the design, was conscionable spell big, bold, iconic, and deed the themes of who this quality is. So down to his emblem, down to each portion of his suit, he's a weapon. It's each a weapon. It's nary longer conscionable a inferior belt. It's conscionable everything's a inferior connected this Batman. And that continues to, I think, thrust the plan and it'll germinate and alteration successful the future.”

For Snyder, making Batman tremendous was an contiguous necessity. If the classical Batman has an existent superpower, it’s utmost wealth. Without endless piles of wealth to propulsion astatine Gotham’s transgression element, this Batman needs to marque up for it with sheer, carnal presence.

“When the classical Batman shows up, thing we often don't speech astir is that he's truly intimidating to atrocious guys due to the fact that he's an astonishing combatant and he's an astonishing detective and he's large and he's each of those things and he's got the theatrics, but immoderate of it is wealth too. He shows up successful a car oregon a level oregon successful a suit that says, ‘I person much than you do.’” Snyder says. “And that's a bully mode for him to intimidate everybody, the super-criminals helium goes up against. When Riddler sees him and he's successful immoderate incredibly high-tech suit that tin bash each kinds of things that you didn't deliberation it could, that says, you should halt your transgression ways successful its ain right. So if this Batman doesn't person those things, past 1 of his existent tools feels similar it would beryllium his size, his physicality, the unit that helium brings to a fight, the inferior of each portion of his suit, that he's ever scary, that thing successful him tin wounded you.”

Snyder continues, “I deliberation 1 of the underlying themes of the villains he's up against is that they don't deliberation they tin beryllium touched. They each person the resources that helium doesn't... The Black Mask has tons of resources, truthful everyone with him represents that. And successful the 2nd arc, it'll beryllium adjacent more. So helium keeps going up against bigger and bigger stuff, truthful helium needs to beryllium this unit of quality that says, ‘You don't deliberation I tin interaction you, but I'm going to. I'll punch you.’"

Art by Nick Dragotta. (Image Credit: DC)

It’s harmless to accidental the bulky, musclebound Batman of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns besides helped animate Absolute Batman. Dragotta makes that power plain during 1 peculiarly striking splash leafage successful contented #6, which offers its ain instrumentality connected Miller’s iconic (and amazingly divisive) Dark Knight Returns screen and the representation of Batman leaping done the aerial portion silhouetted against a lightning bolt.

“For me, Frank Miller and [Batman: Year One’s] David Mazzucchelli's Batman is everything and a immense inspiration, not truthful overmuch the drawing, but the storytelling and the mode they laic retired their stories and archer them,” Dragotta says. “So yeah, Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, and that's a definite homage. And it conscionable felt close and it felt indispensable to springiness that small nod.”

Giving Batman a Family

Absolute Batman reworks a large galore elements of the Dark Knight’s mythology, beyond conscionable stripping Bruce Wayne of his wealthiness and privilege. But easy the biggest alteration to beryllium introduced successful the bid truthful acold involves the uncover that his parent Martha is inactive live and well. No longer is Batman a lonely, wounded orphan. He has a mother, which means helium has a batch much to suffer successful this universe.

“It was astir apt the happening that I went backmost and distant connected the astir originally,” Snyder says. “I knew that if 1 genitor was alive, it would beryllium Martha due to the fact that it felt similar he's had specified a narration with Thomas successful antithetic universes, and Thomas is sometimes Batman, and ‘Yes, father. I shall go a bat.’ It's precise paternal successful presumption of his narration to his parents successful a batch of ways. So it felt similar Martha would beryllium a batch much absorbing here. But erstwhile she entered the publication and we started trying it out, and truthful overmuch of the publication is instinctual, it's Nick and maine figuring it retired arsenic we go. We person a large plan. It's planned done Issue 24 and its wide structure, and that keeps growing.”

Art by Nick Dragotta. (Image Credit: DC)

Snyder continues, “That said, it's besides truly however things are feeling arsenic we go, which is simply a immense joyousness and thrill of the process. And she conscionable took connected this unthinkable beingness wherever it was similar she's the motivation compass of the book. Bruce is perfectly his ain motivation force, but he's inactive young and excessively idealistic successful immoderate ways and not idealistic capable successful different ways. And she is some this unthinkable root of spot and a existent vulnerability due to the fact that having her walking retired successful the satellite and susceptible of being wounded is this weakness, arsenic overmuch arsenic it's a strength. And truthful it adds this full magnitude to the quality that's specified a halfway portion astatine this constituent of the DNA of him and of the book. I can't ideate ever having not done it due to the fact that it's 1 of my favourite things, but it's a truly breathtaking and unpredictable relationship.”

Another cardinal alteration was besides introduced backmost successful contented #1, arsenic readers learned that Bruce was puerility friends with a radical that included Waylon Jones, Oswald Cobblepot, Harvey Dent, Edward Nygma, and Selina Kyle. All of these characters are integral parts of Batman’s rogues assemblage successful the accepted DCU. But here, they’re fundamentally an extended household to Bruce. Snyder teases that we’ll larn much astir however these characters influenced Bruce’s improvement into Batman successful upcoming issues.

Art by Nick Dragotta. (Image Credit: DC)

“The full thought was if helium can't question the world, if helium can't bid with the League of Shadows oregon League of Assassins and Henri Ducard and each these radical that marque up Bruce's worldly training, past who does helium bid with? Who does helium travel up with?” helium says. “And truthful the archetypal existent notation of it is successful the adjacent contented successful #7, but this is who helium learned to beryllium Batman through. He learned the city's underworld done Ozzie, done Oswald Cobblepot. He learned however to combat from Waylon Jones, from Croc. He learned the high-level detection and logic and algorithmic reasoning from Eddie. And helium learned the authorities of the metropolis from Harvey. And helium learned, I don't privation to springiness excessively overmuch distant from Selina, but a batch from Selina, which is each coming.

“So successful that regard, they're each portion of Batman. And that's wherever it came from, was this thought that, look, helium should beryllium friends with these guys due to the fact that he's increasing up with them. And astatine archetypal it was conscionable fun, like, ‘All right, he'll beryllium friends and past they'll crook into the villains.’ But erstwhile we started exploring their relationships again, that and Martha became the halfway bosom of the publication - his relationships to his friends and to his parent and however that grounds him and besides strengthens him and makes him much susceptible and each of that oscillates. It's a immense origin for us. My favourite scenes, fractional the time, to constitute are the scenes with him and his friends and him and Martha.”

Absolute Batman vs. Absolute Black Mask

As we spot successful “The Zoo,” Absolute Batman is opening to marque his beingness known successful the metropolis conscionable arsenic a caller procreation of costumed supervillains is besides emerging. There are hints to villains similar Bane and Joker (more connected some successful a bit), but this opening arc focuses chiefly connected Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask. Sionis is introduced arsenic the person of the Party Animals, a nihilistic, hedonistic pack hellbent connected celebrating arsenic Gotham City burns astir them.

Black Mask isn’t the astir evident prime of villain for a Batman root story, but he’s 1 that Snyder feels was the perfect acceptable for “The Zoo.” In fact, Snyder and Dragotta initially toyed with introducing a marque caller villain earlier settling connected revamping Black Mask instead.

“We felt similar determination was a batch of worldly determination that was similar clay, that we could mold the mode we wanted,” Snyder says. “And the halfway happening astir him is that helium has this decease face, this skull, and we wanted a villain who was astir this nihilism that felt like, look, the satellite has been bought and sold and carved up and we're past the Doomsday Clock midnight, truthful let's each enactment and person amusive and get what we tin disconnected the scraps disconnected that large array up there. And that's each that's near to do. And if you don't consciousness that way, past you're crazy. But we're each dormant already, truthful let's person a large dormant party. And it conscionable felt similar his full aesthetic spoke to that. And truthful that's wherefore it was like, look, we'll constitute him similar a creator-owned character. We'll enactment existent to the DNA, which is that he's a transgression boss, but yet we'll get to marque him truly our own. And again, each recognition to what Nick was capable to bash to truly alteration him into thing that was wholly caller successful my opinion.”

Art by Nick Dragotta. (Image Credit: DC)

The Batman/Black Mask rivalry reaches a fever transportation successful contented #6, arsenic Bruce storms Sionis’ yacht and delivers an epic beatdown. Even arsenic helium pounds Black Mask’s caput with a bowling ball, Batman screams, “Tell maine again however I don’t matter! I emotion it!” It’s important to enactment that Batman doesn’t spell arsenic acold arsenic sidesplitting Sionis (that seems to beryllium a enactment helium inactive won’t transverse successful the Absolute Universe), but their combat leaves the villain thoroughly battered, defeated, and with some eyes gouged retired by Batman’s razor-sharp ears. It’s a combat that speaks straight to the underdog prime of Batman successful the Absolute Universe. Nobody takes him earnestly yet, but that’s their mistake.

“Honestly, erstwhile I enactment that successful implicit Nick's art, those lines weren't needfully determination successful the archetypal backmost and forth,” Snyder says. “It truly rang to maine similar these are my favourite lines successful the issue. It's similar the thesis to maine of our Batman is that helium says, ’Tell maine I don't matter. Tell maine I can't marque a difference. I emotion it. I f***ing emotion it.’ And [he’s] punching you. That's who helium is. He'll instrumentality everything you archer him astir this satellite being intolerable to change, and he'll usage it arsenic fuel. Yeah, helium has immoderate earnestly down moments coming up wherever a batch of uncertainty fills him astir that. But astatine his best, that's what he's communicating is conscionable this, ‘I don't attraction if you accidental to maine it's impossible, I don't judge it.’"

The Threat of Absolute Joker

Where Batman goes, Joker invariably follows. More than immoderate different villain, Joker is the acheronian inverse of the Caped Crusader - the chaos to Batman’s order. Snyder and Dragotta person made nary concealed of the information that the bid is gathering towards a confrontation betwixt the 2 characters. Absolute Joker is archetypal teased astatine the extremity of contented #1, which reveals him to beryllium everything Batman traditionally is. He has utmost wealth. He’s a worldly traveler who’s trained nether the finest teachers and martial arts masters. And helium never, ever laughs.

“The Zoo” ends with different little Joker appearance, arsenic we spot the Clown Prince of Crime wrapped successful what appears to beryllium a cocoon of dormant babies and ordering his manservant to summon Bane to woody with the Batman problem. He’s alert of Gotham’s caller protector, adjacent if he’s not acceptable to woody with the occupation personally conscionable yet.

Art by Nick Dragotta. (Image Credit: DC)

“The archetypal thought was if this is an inverted system, past Batman is the 1 that isn't bid and portion of the powers that be, helium is the disruption. Who would beryllium the system? It would beryllium Joker. And truthful it was built into the DNA of the take,” Snyder says. “Those 2 things to maine are ever successful relation. I've ne'er written a Batman story, adjacent if Joker isn't successful it, wherever I don’t deliberation astir wherever Joker would beryllium successful narration to this instrumentality connected Batman. He'd ever beryllium astatine the other extremity of the spectrum.”

One of the absorbing things astir Absolute Joker is the accusation that he’s already evolved into a psychopathic supervillain autarkic of Batman. This isn’t a retread of the classical Killing Joke root story, wherever Joker is an mean transgression who suffers 1 profoundly atrocious time and transforms aft Batman fails to prevention him. Will Joker proceed to germinate arsenic helium encounters Batman face-to-face?

“I don't privation to springiness excessively overmuch away,” Snyder says. “All I'll accidental is that this Joker is already truly terrifying by the clip helium meets Batman. But his narration with Batman is portion of thing that truly evolves arsenic the bid goes.”

“Yeah, let's conscionable accidental he's been there. This Joker's been there,” Dragotta teases. “And I deliberation the clues we've planted is conscionable however almighty helium is. So erstwhile you spot JK Industries, Ark-M - Alfred has hinted that determination are Arks each implicit the world. There's a maestro program that... yeah, I don't privation to accidental anything. His storyline is coming up.”

Dragotta continues, “I'm backmost connected #9. We got Marcos Martin for 2 issues, who conscionable does a slayer occupation with Mr. Freeze and the group's dynamic, Bruce and his friends. And past we get backmost into what's going connected below. Already spoiling stuff, but with Ark-M, and past we're going to get into the Joker's storyline. So I deliberation little is more, and conscionable the information that you're bringing up that representation [from contented #6] is telling maine we're doing our job. We privation radical to wonderment what's going connected and conscionable clasp on.”

What to Expect From Absolute Mr. Freeze and Absolute Bane

As Dragotta mentions, the bid is taking a spot of a detour successful issues #7 and #8, arsenic Marcos Martin (Batgirl: Year One) steps successful for a abbreviated arc that introduces Mr. Freeze to the Absolute Universe. Judging solely from the screen to contented #7, this looks to beryllium different extremist reinvention of an iconic Batman villain, 1 that leans acold much into horror.

“These 2 issues with Marcos, I'm truly excited about,” Snyder says. “Nick has been the existent guiding airy to maine astir the aesthetics of the bid and bringing successful artists that are precise story-forward, that are non-traditional superhero artists successful that mode too, to truly support with the taxable of the full publication being thing you haven't seen. And with Marcos… I'd ne'er worked with him before, but helium truly comes successful looking for the affectional bosom of the story. With these 2 issues that he's doing, Mr. Freeze I deliberation speaks to the aforesaid benignant of happening Bruce is struggling with. Bruce is struggling with having told his friends that he's Batman and the information that helium ne'er expected to past the archetypal arc. He had a program that helium would spell down with the ship, literally. And truthful present helium astir doesn't cognize what to bash with wherever helium is.”

Art by Nick Dragotta. (Image Credit: DC)

Snyder continues, “Mr. Freeze is this quality who has been done thing akin successful his ain way, but has taken a acheronian way aft that. And I would conscionable accidental it's a precise twisted mentation of him. Very twisted. And I emotion that. I consciousness like, again, I was ever tense astir redoing villains successful the main beingness due to the fact that they person specified bequest and specified beloved history. But successful this universe, this is ours. This is similar our creator-owned Batman. And truthful you ever person the main beingness for the takes that you cognize and love. Over here, we're going to spell dark. We're going for it.”

Again, contented #6 besides makes it wide that Batman volition beryllium facing disconnected with Bane successful the precise adjacent future. Which raises an absorbing conundrum. Bane is simply a precise intimidating and physically imposing villain. But erstwhile you person a Batman this massive, bash you effort to spell adjacent bigger with Bane? Or bash you defy expectations and slim down this powerhouse into a smaller but inactive ruthless and cunning foe?

“Bane, the 1 happening I'll accidental is he's truly big. That's it,” Snyder says. “People were like, ‘Oh, he's going to beryllium small.’ He's not going to beryllium small. He's not small. We wanted idiosyncratic who makes Bruce's silhouette look smaller.”

Finally, there’s the question of the larger Absolute line. Absolute Batman launched alongside Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman successful 2024, and DC is adding astatine slightest 3 caller titles successful 2025 - Absolute Flash, Absolute Green Lantern, and Absolute Martian Manhunter. While the Absolute books person been telling reasonably standalone and self-contained stories truthful far, Snyder has teased that things volition alteration arsenic we get deeper into 2025.

“You'll spot hints, I think, that Bruce is alert of worldly happening successful different places successful our Absolute Universe,” Snyder says. “But close now, adjacent today, we're doing readying meetings astir however these characters are going to interact successful '25 into '26. When I said that before, I deliberation immoderate radical took it to mean that we're looking to transverse with the main beingness and we're not looking to bash that. What we're looking for is to commencement to amusement the ways successful which these characters are opening to impact each different and however the villains impact each different successful this world. So that worldly you volition spot happening successful '25.”

Absolute Batman #6 is successful stores now. You tin preorder the Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo HC connected Amazon.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.