Written by: Scott Snyder
Art by: Nick Dragotta
Colors by: Frank Martin
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Nick Dragotta (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: November 13, 2024
Absolute Batman #2, by DC Comics on 11/13/24, continues the hunt for the Party Animals' leader as the violent crime escalates in Gotham City. Meanwhile, Alfred Pennyworth offers a helping hand.
Is Absolute Batman #2 Good?
Writer Scott Snyder's sophomore entry in the Absolute Universe's flagship title is a mixed bag of developments that range from decent to so-so to eye-rolling. I can see what Snyder is trying to do, but in his effort to combine twists on the mainline Batman's cast of characters and inject wow moments, the issue comes off with an uneven energy that fails to pull you in.
When last we left the alternate Dark Knight in Absolute Batman #1, MI-6 Agent Alfred Pennyworth returned to Gotham City after a years-long absence to find crime is on the rise. The Party Animals gang, led by the enigmatic Black Mask, terrorizes the city at every turn, but a bat-like vigilante has emerged to do what the police can't. Alfred's research into Batman leads to a City Engineer named Bruce Wayne. The issue ended with Alfred's previous assignment, the Joker, making moves.
In Absolute Batman #2, we begin with a brief prologue that shows how young Bruce was swarmed by bats at the zoo during the incident that took his father's life. Interspersed throughout the issue are snippets of flashbacks that show how Thomas Wayne's death and the shocking swarm attack by a cauldron of bats irrevocably changed Bruce's relationship with his mother and friends.
Scott Snyder's snippets of background help to build out Bruce's character to explain his motivations, his personality, and, of course, his inspiration for becoming Batman. Young Bruce socially withdraws as a result, which explains his guarded demeanor during the brief scenes with his mother and friends in his adult years.
Now, Alfred Pennyworth continues to monitor Batman's activities as the latter engages the Party Animals gang in an escalating series of skirmishes. At the Gotham Aquarium, Batman uses his unusual suit gadgets to defeat an entire gang of attackers, including concentrated doses of hydrochloric acid. When one of his many hideouts is discovered by and sieged by the Party Animals in a high-rise, Batman sets off strategically placed explosives to destroy evidence of his presence and send a signal to the city that Batman is here.
Batman's battles with the Party Animals continue to suggest that Alfred's observation in the first issue that Batman doesn't kill is incorrect. Batman douses the entire Party Animals group with HCL in the Aquarium, which threatens death from toxic inhalation. Batman sets off explosives in a high-rise while the Party Animals are trapped in the upper floors. If Snyder intends to show Batman is so precise with his attacks that regular threats, which would normally kill scores of people, are not lethal, he and Nick Dragotta are doing a poor job of making that point plausible.
Meanwhile, Mayor Gordon continues healing in a hospital after the press conference attack in issue #1. When Gordon receives visitors, including Martha Wayne, Barbara Gordon, and Office Bullock, talk turns to how the Party Animals attacks make the Mayor's efforts to stop crime look ineffective, paving the way for the Former Mayor Hill to win a re-election.
Elsewhere, Bruce Wayne arrives at a card game with his childhood friends, much to their surprise. Bruce not-so-subtly pries his friends about information concerning the Party Animals. The conversation takes on a more serious tone when Bruce produces one of the Party Animals' skull masks for input on the intricate wiring it contains. Harvey Dent offers a tidbit that Former Mayor Hill might be receiving a PR push against Mayor Gordon due to the Party Animals' attacks, and the Former Mayor is funded by an unknown benefactor.
The issue concludes with Batman hacking into the Former Mayor's election office looking for intel, an ambush by the Party Animals, and an escape that will either make you cheer or roll your eye out of your head.
What's great about Absolute Batman #2?
You can tell Scott Snyder is thinking through all the little ins and outs to build out the full breadth of the Absolute Batman mythology in record time without walls of narration or unsatisfying shortcuts. You could argue that Absolute Batman #2 covers too much ground at once, so the issue may feel overstuffed to some, but Snyder keeps the threads moving in the same direction and a clarity of purpose.
What's not great about Absolute Batman #2?
Yes, the issue feels overstuffed by Scott Snyder's push to flesh out the entire Absolute Batman origin while following through on a criminal/political conspiracy mystery at the same time.
Yes, this is a dialog-heavy issue. It's true that you get two brief action scenes, but the rest of the issue leans on expository dialog scenes, so the energy is largely low.
Yes, it's very hard to believe that Batman's gadgets haven't killed at least one, if not multiple, people, which runs counter to a core aspect of Batman's personality. At the very least, this issue confirms people are maimed by his gadgets.
Yes, the final pages unveil the massive Absolute Batmobile. This reviewer's reaction to where it's stored and how it appears rolled my eyes down my throat and into my stomach. The only thing that's missing is Hulk Hogan breathing fire while playing an electric guitar as he body slams a crate of Slim Jims. Snyder went for cool to the extreme, but the Absolute Batmobile's debut comes off as silly and dumb.
How's the Art?
The art is fine. As with the art in issue #1, Batman's pinhead physique looks cooler in action than it did in the concept art, and the action scenes are handled well. Further, Nick Dragotta makes the most of what he's given in a talk-heavy issue by making the multitude of quiet moments visually interesting.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Absolute Batman #2 is a mixed bag of an issue that doesn't match the energy and cool moments in issue #1. To Scott Snyder's credit, he fills in a lot of information quickly but in a manner that makes the comic readable, and Nick Dragotta's art is strong, but the issue feels at times overstuffed and unevenly paced. Plus, the Absolute Batmobile debut is both head-scratching and eye-rolling.
6.5/10
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This issue was fine. I don't think it's something special, most of the hype around this series is cause it is ages between a good Batman action scene in his own main title from issue to issue while here there are multiple per issue but other than that the story is usual elseworld stuff. However, that acid bit and the reveal of Batmobile was bad. The Batmobile bit was hilarious as much as bad. What is that???? And why????? At this point why wouldn't it be just Batplane? How would he hide the "car" after this? And how super spy Alfred didn't notice where he was? I would think a guy like him would definitely know where exactly he is and how to get out so he would know he is currently in a vehicle unless I am missing something here.
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