Absolute Batman Finds a New Answer to Kingdom Come’s Biggest Question

(Image Credit: DC / Bryan Hitch)

Absolute Batman offers a new answer to a question famously posed in the classic DC storyline Kingdom Come. This is fitting, given the Absolute Universe is based around redefining classic superheroes in a universe without hope. However, both answers speak to the core of who Bruce Wayne is, regardless of the reality.

Absolute Batman #24 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta is one of the most action-packed issues of the series to date. Chapter 6 of “The Straw Man” largely deals with Bruce Wayne confronting the Absolute Universe version of Scarecrow. At the same time, Barbara Gordon adopts the mantle of Batgirl to help him in his fight.

In the middle of this, a quieter subplot centers around covert operative Alfred Pennyworth. The old soldier had mentored Absolute Batman while assessing whether he was a danger to his bosses. However, as he is ordered to leave Gotham City for a new mission, Pennyworth speaks of how Bruce Wayne has changed his city for the better, despite being “frustratingly unpredictable, a liability, and yes, even a threat.”

(Image Source: DC / Nick Dragotta)

However, Pennyworth also tells his bosses that the Absolute Batman has become a symbol who inspires idealism. He says that Bruce Wayne has conquered his fears and shown others they can do the same, despite their seeming powerlessness. He concludes that Bruce Wayne is many things but ultimately just a “boy who suffered the most terrifying trauma a child can. And instead of giving in to it, he goes out every night and faces that fear.”

How Absolute Batman and Kingdom Come both perfectly define Bruce Wayne

Pennyworth’s assessment resonates with a famous line from the 1996 miniseries Kingdom Come. Set in a near future, the story by Alex Ross and Mark Waid details the return of Superman to a world now protected by violent anti-heroes. As Superman assembles a new Justice League to face them, a semi-paralyzed Batman seems to join the villains exploiting the conflict.

(Image Source: DC / Alex Ross)

In truth, Bruce Wayne was seeking to learn their plans to stop them from the inside. Unfortunately, a brainwashed Shazam is unleashed in the process, intent on killing every superhuman he can. This leads to a climactic scene, in which Superman confronts his oldest ally.

An embittered Batman says that maybe it’s better for humanity if the superhumans all die. Superman refuses to accept this, saying Batman has always believed in the sanctity of life. The Man of Steel then utters a line that many consider to be the greatest summary ever of Bruce Wayne’s character.

(Image Credit: DC / Alex Ross)

“More than anyone in the world, when you scratch everything else away from Batman, you’re left with someone who doesn’t want to see anybody die.”

While the words are different, the sentiment is the same. More, they both prove the point of the Absolute Universe, where Scott Snyder did scratch away everything that defines the Dark Knight.

Absolute Batman lacks the classic Batman’s resources and training. His trauma is different, having lost only one parent instead of two. Yet at his core, he remains the same light in the darkness. He is still the same man who harnesses his fear to prevent others from suffering as he has. This core is why Batman still resonates with fans nearly nine decades after his creation.

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