If you haven’t picked up Absolute Batman #2 written by Scott Snyder yet, you’re missing out on one of the wildest reinventions of the Dark Knight in years. In this new comic universe, Bruce Wayne isn’t a billionaire. He’s a working-class city engineer with a massive build, a brutal fighting style, and his circle of friends would be members of his rogue’s gallery in any other universe.
So, how does part two of “The Zoo” story arc play out?
The Trauma That Made Bruce Batman
The story actually starts in the past, bathed in blood-red artwork illustrated by Nick Dragotta. A young Bruce Wayne is pounding on a locked door at the Gotham Zoo begging his father, Thomas, to open it. On the other side, Thomas is slumped over, dying from a gunshot wound. Before Bruce can process what’s happening, a swarm of bats close in on the young boy as he screams.
Later in the issue, we learn that Jim Gordon (back when he was a cop) was the one who found Bruce surrounded by those bats. The trauma broke something inside the boy. Days later, Bruce locks himself in his dark bedroom clutching the first-place science fair medal he won on the day his father died. His mother, Martha, tries to get him to come out and say hi to his friends waiting outside, even for a second. Bruce screams at her to leave him alone. Alone again, he throws his medal out the window in tears.
Right at the end of the issue, though, a young Selina Kyle climbs up his fire escape wearing a cat-eared hoodie. Holding the medal he threw away, she tells him to get up because he’s coming with her.
A Man on the Offensive
Back into the present day, Gotham is at war. The city is under constant attack by the Party Animals, a violent gang wearing skull masks. They’re led by a mysterious crime boss named Roman Sionis (also known as Black Mask).
While all this unfolds, someone is watching Batman’s every move. It’s Alfred Pennyworth, a British intelligence (MI6) agent. Alfred has been secretly protecting Batman’s digital footprint because Batman’s attacks on the Party Animals help Alfred gather intelligence on Sionis.
Alfred notices something terrifying about this Batman: he never backs down. In military training, good soldiers know when to advance forward and when to retreat and regroup. Batman only knows how to advance. We see this firsthand at the Gotham Aquarium. Outnumbered by a small army of Party Animals, Batman uses the room as a weapon. He smashes a high glass tank to flood the floor, then drops a chemical pellet into the water. The reaction turns the saltwater into burning acid, forcing the screaming gang members to run away while leaving the fish safe above the crack.
Away from the mask, Bruce’s life is strict and lonely. He works his day job, disappears into secret stash houses (his “Batcaves”) hidden around the city. He avoids everyone, including his friends and mother. His only break in routine? Visiting Blackgate Prison to stare down Joe Chill, the man who murdered his father.
Eventually, Alfred’s bosses order him to stop protecting Batman because the vigilante is getting too reckless. Alfred reluctantly pulls his digital cover. Almost immediately, the Party Animals track down Bruce’s secret stash houses in abandoned high-rises. Alfred expects Bruce to run and hide. Instead, Batman blows up the buildings himself, sending a burning, bat-shaped cloud of smoke into the Gotham sky. He isn’t retreating. He’s doubling down.
Old Friends and a Trap
While Batman wages war in the streets, Gotham’s leadership is falling apart. Jim Gordon is now the Mayor of Gotham, for now at least. He’s currently lying in a hospital bed recovering from the gunshot wound the Party Animals gave him back in issue #1. Former Mayor Hill is running for reelection in spite of lingering corruption charges, blaming Gordon for the rising crime.
Meanwhile, Gordon’s daughter, Officer Barbara Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock argue over Batman. Bullock thinks Batman is working with the Party Animals to cause chaos, while Barbara points out that Batman literally just saved all their lives. When word comes in that the Party Animals are attacking the Port Authority, the cops rush out. But Mayor Gordon isn’t alone because his old friend Martha Wayne is with him. The two talk about how much they miss Thomas with Martha reflecting on how Bruce has shut his mother out of his life since the day his dad died.
So, who does Bruce actually talk to? Surprisingly, his childhood friends, who happen to be Batman villains in the main DC universe.
Bruce shows up to a late-night poker game with Ozzie (Penguin), Eddie (Riddler), Harv (Harvey Dent, who now works for the District Attorney), and Waylon (Killer Croc). They tease him about being distant and mention getting a postcard from Selina in Cairo. When Bruce asks about the Party Animals, Harv drops a major clue. Roman Sionis isn’t trying to take over criminal territory. He’s just trying to destroy the city, and it’s all funded by dirty money.
The Escape
Bruce follows Harv’s lead straight to former Mayor Hill’s campaign office. Harv mentioned that Hill has been receiving massive, secret donations for a fund called his “Golden Chest.”
Batman breaks into the office, plugs a drive into Hill’s computer, and finds encrypted folders labeled Gotham, Karachi, and London, along with a strange file named “ArkM.” Before he can figure out what an “Ark” is, the computer screen hijacks itself. Roman Sionis appears on the monitor, wearing a skull mask. He tells Batman it’s a trap. The police have already been tipped off, Party Animals are surrounding the building, and Batman has to fight just to survive.
A second later, a gang member fires a rocket launcher straight into the office.
Batman survives and stumbles out into the alley, where he runs straight into Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred wants to team up and tells Batman he has a getaway car hidden nearby. Batman isn’t interested in Alfred’s ride because they’re standing inside of his own vehicle.
Suddenly, the duo are bursting through the wall in a massive, heavily armored Batmobile. Built like a giant mining dump truck, it smashes and flips any police car standing in its way as Batman makes his escape.
