DC’s Absolute Batman has a whole different kind of relationship with the Dark Knight’s classic rogues gallery.

After a series of long and arduous days and nights patrolling Gotham City and fighting back against all manner of threats, the titular hero of Absolute Batman #2 finally gets a chance to settle in for a round of poker with his closest friends. Surprisingly, the other players at the table consist of none other than Waylon Jones, Harvey Dent, Edward Nygma, and Oswald Cobblepot. Even more surprisingly, none of these usual foes of the Dark Knight seem to be anything like their usual selves, which is likely for the best considering how much of a threat they each typically pose.

• Written by SCOTT SNYDER
• Art by NICK DRAGOTTA
• Colors by FRANK MARTIN
• Letters by CLAYTON COWLES
• Main cover art by NICK DRAGOTTA & FRANK MARTIN
• Variant covers by DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON & MIKE SPICER, JAE LEE & JUNE CHUNG, JEFFREY ALAN LOVE, and SANFORD GREENE

DC Comics’ Absolute Universe as it stands today first came into form in the pages of the recently released DC All In Special #1 (by Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, Daniel Sampere, Wes Craig, Mike Spicer, Alejandro Sánchez, and Tamra Bonvillain. After forcefully bonding to the Spectre, the villainous Darkseid confronted the newly formed Justice League Unlimited. Unbeknownst to the heroes, Darkseid was looking to be defeated, which somehow allowed his consciousness to traverse the Multiverse and bond with the reality of the Absolute Universe as a whole. In doing so, Darkseid warped the infantile reality into one of overt violence and hardships.

This in turn altered the trajectories of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes, including the classic Trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. While Bruce Wayne fights costumed criminals and would-be terrorists in Gotham City, the Kal-El of the Absolute Universe has become a freedom fighter of sorts. As such, Kal-El has taken his latest fight to Brazil, where he confronted the Peacemaker soldiers tasked with keeping already downtrodden civilians further oppressed as they are forced to work tirelessly in dangerous mines. Unfortunately for Superman, the Peacemakers aren’t the only opposing forces he has to face, and the Absolute Universe’s Lois Lane has already proven to be among the worst of them all.

In the case of the Wonder Woman of DC’s Absolute Universe, her origin has seen her take on the task of trying to keep her people’s memory alive. As the last of the Amazons, this Wonder Woman was up against overwhelming odds from the start. Thankfully, she had a dutiful and caring adopted mother in the form of the witch Circe, who raised the future Wonder Woman in the literal depths of Hell. After growing up in the harshest environments imaginable, the Absolute Wonder Woman rose up to become a bastion of hope in an otherwise terrifying world.

Absolute Batman #2 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Source: DC Comics

Batman

Batman is one of the oldest comic superheroes, with nearly a century of comics, TV-shows, films, and video games. The mild-mannered Bruce Wayne becomes Gotham City’s caped crusader, protecting it from villains like The Joker, Killer Croc, The Penguin, and more. Batman is also one of DC comics’ “Big Three” alongside Superman and Wonder Woman, and together the three help keep the earth safe as founding members of the Justice League.