Warning: Spoilers for Absolute Batman #4Absolute Batmanhas just laid out the ultimate challenge for the DCU’s take on Batman: to unleash the iconic character’s full potential. In one issue, the series has spelled out its own reasons why the character has been an enduring part of pop culture for so long, using the evolution of the character to explain the Batman legacy and what has made him so beloved for nearly a century.
The result is an issue that answers why theBatmancharacter has remained an icon and that challenges the films to embrace the character in totality.Absolute Batman#4 by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Gabriel Hernández Walta is a flashback to Bruce’s early career as Batman, setwhile he’s still figuring out what Batman is supposed to be.
The multiple iterations of Batman seen in this issue are interspersed with a further flashback of Bruce working on the bridge that won his class a field trip to the zoo, with the final iteration of the suit in the issue being paired with the winning design of the bridge, as well as narration about bats being creatures that defy the impossible.
Scott Snyder’s Batman Has Always Defied the Impossible
Absolute Batman#4 by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Gabriel Hernández Walta, Frank Martin, and Clayton Cowles
Throughout the issue, an allegorical narrative forms around Bruce’s attempts to makeBatmanwork, with each iteration of Batman and his gadgets stepping further away from realism and closer to the impossible. In doing so, Snyder spells out the idea that Batman works best, both as a character and as an ongoing series, when he steps beyond the realm of the physically possible and embraces the idea of being larger-than-life. While the darker tone of the character does remain intact, Snyder posits thatBatman is at his strongest when he defies the impossible.
Throughout Snyder’s tenure with the character, a consistent theme has always been the idea of Batman rebuilding and rebuilding…
This idea isconsistent with Snyder’s take on the character, going all the way back to the first issue of his and Greg Capullo’srun on the New 52Batmantitle. Throughout Snyder’s tenure with the character, a consistent theme has always been the idea of Batman rebuilding and rebuilding, going from a man and turning into a symbol that stands larger-than-life. TheZero Yeararc of Snyder and Capullo’sBatmanmakes this apparent, telling the story of Bruce’s evolution from anonymous vigilante to icon, and how he builds himself up better to get there.
Absolute Batman #4is a microcosm of these ideas, as Bruce directly says in his narration that Batman is supposed to be more than someone who fights street criminals and that the only way he can do this is to build Batman bigger. This conclusion results in him building up the idea of Batman in extremes. The moments of him designing the Batsuit and its gadgets are interspersed withBruce talking about how the bridge needs to be more than it was before, with Thomas Wayne saying that while it may be too much, that might be for the best.
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This tract about the character does speak to a truth about his enduring appeal, andmany of the character’s strongest eras involve the series embracing the fantasticaland stepping forth into the impossible. While the gritty, grounded side of the character will always have a place, it helps to remember that there’s more to the character than that. Batman doesn’t just exist in a world that’s grounded and realistic, but he lives in a world that’s full of the impossible. The character is at his strongest when these elements are embraced.
This notion proves especially true for the character’s cinematic history, especially in the last twenty years. As James Gunn’s DCU promises its own version of Batman, which will run parallel to Matt Reeves’s grounded take on the character,the only sensible course of action is for the Batman of Gunn’s DCU to be that larger-than-life figurethat defies the impossible. It will help differentiate the different cinematic takes on the character, while also shining a light on this understated but essential aspect of the character.
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Absolute Batmangives the DCU its perfect challenge: unleashing the full potential of Batman by making him a larger-than-life character that defies the impossible. The most recent issue of the series reiterates why the character has remained iconic while being a microcosm of Snyder’s own ideas about the character. While the gritty and grounded part of the character will always have a place in the Dark Knight’s legacy, embracing the impossible, fantastical side of the character doesn’t mean sacrificing his darkness. With a new cinematic Batman on the horizon, it’s time forBatmanto defy the impossible in film.
Absolute Batman#4is available now from DC Comics.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
