As DC's New Batman Takes the Hero to New Heights, His Villains Are Ready to "Break" All the Rules

Absolute Batmanhas been a huge success for DC Comics, thanks in large part to author Scott Synder’s skillful inversion of the Caped Crusader’s classic lore, and that includes the series’ approach to the hero’s legendary roster of villains, who take on entirely new dynamics in this updated version of the character’s lore.

In an interview with Newsweek, Snyder teased further plans to subvert the “rules” governing certain Batman villains, specifically mentioning the upcoming appearance of Absolute Mr. Freeze.

At seemingly every turn, what fans have come to know and expect about Batman and Gotham City has been upended in exciting and thought-provoking ways, and according to Snyder, he has only begun to scratch the surface of this dramatic reinvention. In addition to Mr. Freeze, Snyder also promised that “everyone is coming,” referring to Batman’s most infamous rogues.

"Absolute Batman" Author Promises To Break The "Rules" Of Gotham's Greatest Villains

Scott Synder On His Absolute Batman Plans

Batman has arguably the most stacked rogues gallery in superhero history; ask an average, non-comic reader to name comic book villains off the top of their head, and a disproportionate amount are likely to come from Batman lore. The reason for that stems from thier iconic designs, but also from the tropes that reliably guide these antagonists' actions. The Joker is the unhinged, sadistic clown; Two-Face flips a coin to determine his actions, good or bad; Mr. Freeze, as Scott Snyder points out, is on a continuous quest "to save his wife."

Comic book art: the Joker with Batman Mask over half his face

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As Snyder told Newsweek, though, "that doesn't have to be the rules" that define the character, which speaks to the groundbreaking nature of Absolute Batman as a whole, with its narrative project being defined by quite literally "flipping the script" in many cases. The stand-out example so far, of course, is the fact that Absolute Bruce Wayne comes from a poor, working-class background, rather than being born into ultrawealth, while his archnemesis the Joker is the extraordinarily rich one. Based on Snyder's comments about his plans for the series, fans should consider this just the tip of the iceberg.

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So Far, This Strategy Has Been A Hit

By radically altering Bruce Wayne's backstory, Absolute Batman has already recontexualized his relationship with several classic Gotham rogues, making them youthful acquaintances of the future vigilante. While fans eagerly watch these updated character dynamics blossom, they should also expect many more classic villains to get drastic new Absolute incarnations. According to Scott Snyder: "we have plans for everyone, from Man-Bat to Ivy, Clayface." In other words, this new DC continuity is still very much in the process of taking shape, and what dramatic heights it will take Batman to is as up in the air as it has ever been.

Source: Scott Snyder Newsweek interview