Absolute Batman Finally Highlights The Series' Biggest Criticism

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"Absolute Batman" still looks like Batman, but writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta have made substantial changes to Bruce Wayne and Gotham City. "Absolute" Bruce isn't an old-money billionaire; he's a working-class Gothamite with a day job as a construction engineer. In an interview with Screen Rant, Snyder said that if "Absolute" Batman ever met the classic Batman, he'd probably butt heads with him over his wealth.

"Bruce would be like, 'Dude, you can't change it from within. You can't be a billionaire and use all this stuff.' This Bruce is more like 'You've got to come at it from outside and change it by breaking some things,' whereas I don't think the other Bruce is that way."

"Absolute Batman" has been a blockbuster hit, but even a great comic like this one isn't immune to critique. One recurring criticism is that the book doesn't emphasize Bruce being a working man enough. Batman still never lacks for resources thus far. If Bruce spends his days working construction, then how does he have energy for nights as Batman? During the "Abomination" arc, Bruce was held captive by Bane for months. Once he escaped, he didn't seem worried about keeping his job. If this Batman isn't going to face the problems that working-class people do, why make him one?

The latest "Absolute Batman" #16 is putting Bruce's construction career back in focus. It opens and ends with Bruce beginning his work day at a demolition site; the crew is cleaning up debris from Batman's stadium-destroying battle with Bane. The issue even introduces Lucius Fox as Bruce's foreman.

Now, "Absolute Batman" still doesn't have all the answers for the logistics of Bruce holding down a job. But this issue spotlights the importance of Bruce's career choice as an engineer.

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To paraphrase "It's A Wonderful Life," a poor man can still be rich with friends. "Absolute Batman" explores that trade-off; because Bruce was raised in the Crime Alley neighborhood, he has a childhood friend group made up of reimaginings of classic "Batman" villains, like Selina Kyle and Waylon Jones. But in "Abomination," Bane got his hands on Bruce's friends, mutilating most of them and turning Waylon into a Killer Croc.

In "Absolute Batman" #16, Bruce summons Diana (whom he met back in "Absolute Wonder Woman" #15) because he wants to know if her magic can help Waylon. When Diana says that'll have to make a trip into another dimension, Bruce tells her: "I have a job."

But Diana has an easy answer: time flows differently in this other dimension, so they can take weeks there and still be back well before Monday. Another way to write this story would have been with a ticking clock, where Bruce can only be gone for a weekend, or he'll be fired. I'm not saying this would've been the correct approach, to be clear, but it would've made Bruce's job a true source of drama — say, the way Stan Lee & Steve Ditko (then much later Sam Raimi) did for Spider-Man's money problems.

Lucius even acknowledges Bruce's months-long absence in this issue, but doesn't seem to be worried about it. His slack attitude makes you wonder if Lucius knows or suspects that Bruce is Batman (which wouldn't be unprecedented). In defining a "working class Batman," Scott Snyder seems less interested in writing the tension of Bruce making rent or not, and moreso in setting Batman up as the one who needs to stand up and smash corrupt power systems. The book is delivering dividends there.

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As a crossover with Wonder Woman, this is the most fantastical "Absolute Batman" issue yet — the climax is Diana and Bruce grappling with a Centaur. Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta do so well in this realm that you forgive their hesitance to explore Bruce dealing with everyday challenges.

"Absolute Batman" #16 uses fantasy to reach for your heart. Across their days-long trek across a barren desert, Bruce tells Diana the origin of Batman — how his father, schoolteacher Thomas Wayne, was murdered in a mass shooting. While Bruce sleeps, Diana places gold coins over his eyes, paying Batman's travel fare to the underworld. Bruce, reduced to the child he was when he last saw his father, meets Thomas again. (Note how Dragotta draws the young Bruce adorned in Batman's too-big costume; Batman is armor forged to protect a child who never grew up.)

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Bruce has questioned before whether changing the world by violence is honoring his father's memory. Thomas urges Bruce on, but he highlights the job he works by day. "You're an engineer, Bruce. You know building isn't about any one ribbon-cutting. It's the commitment to making the city better," Thomas says. "So get out there and build." 

The page pulls out to reveal the Waynes are standing on a life-sized version of a model bridge Bruce designed as a kid (a call-back to "Absolute Batman" #4 added to this issue by Dragotta). This scene reveals why the issue reintroduced us to Bruce's engineering job. Bruce Wayne was born to fix Gotham City, and he still found a way to do so even in the hours when he can't be Batman.

"Absolute Batman" #1-16 are now available.