In the Absolute Universe, everything you know about DC Comics has been flipped on its head. While Bruce Wayne is still Batman, he’s not a billionaire, doesn’t have a bat cave filled with unlimited resources, or the partnership of his butler Alfred. In the Absolute Universe, Bruce is a working-class bruiser trying to make a difference in the dangerous city of Gotham with the equipment and armor he built himself.
A Tragic Day at the Zoo and a Brand-New Normal
The issue starts with a young Bruce Wayne at a school field trip to the Gotham Zoo. Led by his father Thomas, who works as a school teacher rather than a wealthy surgeon, Bruce is having a good time. While young Bruce watches a lion get pampered and fed prime rib, sudden gunfire erupts. His father makes sure the kids are safe but is tragically shot and killed.
Fast forward to the present day, Bruce is a massively large, 24-year-old working-class civil engineer. He works on the power grid but previously worked a number of jobs to learn how the city is made. He lives in Crime Alley with a tight-knit group of friends he’s known since childhood:
- Selina Kyle (Absolute Catwoman)
- Harvey Dent (Two-Face)
- Oz Cobblepot (Penguin)
- Waylon Jones (Croc)
- Harvey Dent (Two-Face)
He spends his free time training hard at Croc’s Gym. He has the test scores to prove he’s a genius. Bruce is a former engineering student, using his intellect to mix science and technology.
Alfred and the Party Animals
Meanwhile, Gotham is being torn apart by a ruthless, chaotic gang known as the Party Animals. They wear ape skull masks and have killed so many people the city’s murder rate is sky high. Behind the scenes, mob bosses Roman Maroni and Carmine Falcone try to flex their century-and-a-half-long control over the city. They quickly learn they are outmatched. A mysterious figure named Dr. Benjamin and his crew ruthlessly assassinate the mob leaders on a luxury yacht, toasting champagne over their bodies.
Alfred Pennyworth, reimagined as an assassin working for MI6, was pulled off an assignment to watch what the Party Animals do. He isn’t there to stop them, only observe them. Matter of fact, he is warned there is another player in town. If that person who is Batman, interferes, Alfred is to engage Batman. Not the gang of criminals murdering everyone. Alfred reminds himself not to question his orders because he’s a servant. He sends a message to his daughter Julia to let her know he’s in town. She responds later in the issue, texting “NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN!!”
Chaos at Town Hall and the Arrival of Batman
Tensions rise when Mayor Jim Gordon holds an emergency town hall meeting to address the increase in crime. Angry citizens yell down the police, but before anything can be resolved, the Party Animals storm the building. In a heartbreaking moment, the gang shoots Mayor Gordon in front of his daughter Barbara, who’s a police officer and Bruce’s mother Martha.
While the Party Animals are gloating and threatening people, Batman makes his grand entrance. Gunfire bounces off of Batman’s huge heavily armored frame. He moves with terrifying efficiency, breaking bones and even cleanly slicing off a gang leader’s hand at the wrist. He makes sure there are no fatalities.
Alfred watches this unfold through his sniper scope, baffled by this unorthodox vigilante who refuses to kill. Eventually, he follows the order of his superiors to engage if things get out of hand. Alfred confronts Batman but he easily disarms and subdues the veteran operative by kicking him.
Batman vs. Alfred
Bruce sits on the steps outside with his mother, checking in after the town hall tragedy. Alfred watches them from afar, ready to pull the trigger. He’d figured out Bruce is Batman and has been watching him for a while. While he could have killed Bruce and his mother, Alfred reflects Bruce is a kid and opts to leave him alone.
Later on, Alfred tracks Bruce to his Bat “cave” which is on the upper floors of some unfinished buildings. Bruce discovered the Party Animals’ ape masks are wired with high-tech circuitry and is recording notes when he hears something. By the time Alfred makes his way to Bruce, the young vigilante is already wearing his Batman gear. He’s sitting on Alfred’s motorcycle, pointing the assassin’s rare gun at him.
How did Bruce get his hands on Alfred’s motorcycle?
At the beginning of the issue when Alfred first arrived in Gotham, he went to a store that sells his favorite tea. He has a place next to the store with a bunch of guns there. The store owner, Amir, warned him to not leave his motorcycle out. Alfred chained the bike but it was missing by the time he left his place! Batman knew about Alfred when he arrived in town. What’s funny is that Alfred said he rode around the city multiple times, on that futuristic motorcycle but didn’t realize Bruce was watching him.
Anyway, Bruce shoots Alfred with his own gun then rides off the top of the building Alfred is left on the ground, pissed. “Where the hell is he going to land?” Alfred wonders.
The Joker
After talking to his superiors, Alfred finds out his target from his previous assignment vanished. His target studied with Henri Ducard in France, then killed him. He studied with the League of Assassins, then killed them. Now, no one knows where he is.
Meanwhile, in a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Manila, two pilots talk about the passenger they’re about to pick up.
“So just “sir,” nothing else?” One pilot asks. “No Mr. This or That?”
“Nope,” the second pilot says in response. “They’re all fake anyway”. He notes that when you’re one of the thirty richest men on the planet, you can be whoever you want to be.
When the first pilot jokes if the passenger would want to be his “rich, generous best friend,” the second pilot scolds him. They can’t under any circumstances crack jokes around this man. The guy never laughs at anything, which is why people call him The Joker.
For fun: Batman can do the splits!
