Absolute Batman Has Introduced Two Classic DC Antiheroes – With One Big Change

Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta's "Absolute Batman" has been crafting a new Bruce Wayne; this Dark Knight is a working class engineer trying to save Gotham City from some powerful (and dangerous) people. Now, issue #13 brought in a new Selina Kyle/Catwoman.

Opening arc "The Zoo" established that Selina is one of Bruce's childhood friends, which turned into puppy (kitty?) love. After Bruce's dad was murdered, she took him to a movie to cheer him up. The second and ongoing arc, "Abomination," has a flashback storyline of how Selina helped Bruce become Batman — by stealing money from mob boss Carmine Falcone. (Issue #9 shows them having sex on a pile of stolen cash.)

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Usually Catwoman contrasts Batman by coming from the lower class; see "Batman: Year One," "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Batman," etc. Here, they're fighting the same uphill battle together. "If the rules aren't fair, stop playing by them," Selina says.

"Absolute Batman" #12 ended on a cliffhanger of Selina returning, as Catwoman, to Gotham. Issue #13 shows her in action, as she and Batman tangle with the Red Hood Gang. Catwoman's mask is a metal orb, implied to be stolen from an operation similar to Black Mask's Party Animal gang from "The Zoo." Catwoman often has a whip meant to evoke a cat's tail. Here, the tail functions as a bandolier, similar to the hidden weapons in the Batsuit (i.e. the bat ears on the cowl detach as knives).

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The comic has been building up to Catwoman, but "Absolute Batman" #13 also features a surprise debut: Absolute Harley Quinn, leader of the Red Hoods. While Catwoman's look and role are pretty classical, Harley's a whole different animal.

Harley Quinn was the unexpected breakout character of "Batman: The Animated Series." Voiced by the late Arleen Sorkin, she was the Joker's psychiatrist who fell in love with him. As she became popular, she broke free of the Joker and became an independent antiheroine. Now, "Absolute Batman" is giving us a more heroic, Joker-less Harley right off.

Mind you, the "Red Hood" identity comes from the Joker. 1951's "Detective Comics" #168 (written by Batman co-creator Bill Finger) revealed the Joker had once been a criminal called the Red Hood, until he jumped into a chemical vat to escape Batman and walked out with a clown complexion. 1988's "The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland expanded on that. When Jason Todd, the Robin murdered by the Joker, returned, he took on the name "Red Hood" to taunt his killer.

In Snyder's 2013 story "Batman: Zero Year" (drawn by Greg Capullo), he depicted the Red Hoods as a savage gang terrorizing Gotham during Batman's early days. Their leader was implied to be the future Joker. In "Absolute Batman," Black Mask's Party Animals fill that role, while Harley's Red Hoods are an anarchist collective. Batman has had a "loose alliance" with them and needs their help tearing down the evil inside the twisted "Ark M" science metropolis controlled by the Joker.

In "Absolute Batman," the Joker is a billionaire, not Bruce Wayne. Joker and his oligarch allies call themselves the Justice League because they control what justice means. Batman, and Harley, are noble chaos. Note how instead of blonde ponytails, Harley has a shaved head to look extra punk. While Batman is working with Harley, Snyder has teased it might be the Joker who has Robin sidekicks in "Absolute Batman."

Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" is Snyder's favorite Batman comic, and it shows. When Batman and Catwoman go on their "date" in issue #13, Dragotta draws a splash page in the style of Miller:

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In "The Dark Knight Returns" issue #2, Batman fights the leader of the Mutant gang one-on-one; the first time he loses, the second time he wins. The villain of "Abomination" is Bane, who bested Batman and stood guard as Ark M's scientists tried breaking Bruce. When Bruce escaped with his mutated friend, Waylon "Killer Croc" Jones, Bane mutilated Bruce's other friends Harvey, Eddie, and Ozzie. "Absolute Batman" #13 features Bruce challenging Bane to a rematch, positioning the second arc of "Absolute Batman" to end like the second chapter of "Dark Knight."

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Ark M's scientists infused Bruce with the Venom steroid that Bane uses because Bane wants Batman to take his place. Bruce thinks he needs to embrace the Venom to beat Bane. Selina, his conscience, tells him not to. It's likely that, in "Absolute Batman" #14. Bruce will reject the Venom because he doesn't have to beat Bane alone. Flashbacks have shown Bruce training Waylon for a boxing match; that fight will parallel them (and the Red Hoods) beating Bane.

Alfred has warned Bruce: "The Devil knocks three times, and [Bane] is your second chance, kid." The first "knock" was when Black Mask offered Batman $200 million to look away, and Batman refused. Unlike Bane, who made his deal with the Devil, Batman will keep resisting the temptations of a world stacked against him.

"Absolute Batman" #1-13 are now available.