A series of murders branded with the mark of the witch goddess Hecate has drawn Wonder Woman to Gotham City, but she is not a detective, so she contacts the city’s guardian. Thus begins the first meeting of two Absolute heroes in Absolute Wonder Woman #15, written by Kelly Thompson, drawn by Hayden Sherman, colored by Jordie Bellaire and lettered by Becca Carey.
Hoping to be able to help one of his friends, Batman goes to Wonder Woman to find a magical cure for Waylon, to turn him human again, to stop him from turning more croc than man. And so Batman and Wonder Woman set off on an odyssey into the underworld. Absolute Batman #16 is written by Scott Snyder, drawn by Nick Dragotta, colored by Frank Martin and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Will Nevin: You know, we talked about this last night on the show, but I’m not too proud to repurpose content: I cannot fucking believe Tom King killed Alfred accidentally.
Matt Lazorwitz: It is fascinating to me. Comics are a collaborative medium, which has so many good points. But then you get this, where one person (and in this case a person in power with, shall we say, dubious tastes) gets an idea that no one else seems to like and just railroads it through. This is the first time I have ever been curious to reread “City of Bane,” as I want to read that whole issue again with this in mind.
Will: As King himself says in the interview, “It was entirely supposed to be a fake out. If you look closely at the issue, you can see it was supposed to be scarecrow gas.” Which, I mean, bring it on, big man. I agree with you — might be the only reason to revisit that story.
Wonder Woman Comes to Gotham
Matt: Is this your first return to Absolute Wonder Woman since the first couple issues?
Will: Aye, that it would be. And, boy, have I missed it. I think it’s in Absolute Wonder Woman that I really get the point of the line — these characters divorced from the shackles of your expectations doing crazy-assed fun and (generally) dark things. It was the Absolute Wonder Woman premise that I enjoyed the most and the character that works the best … again, only having read two or three issues. Also, having Hayden Sherman really helps.
Matt: Does it ever! Any page they do is a masterclass in layouts, but I love when the layout can be playful. I just smiled when, on the last page, Wonder Woman suggests she and Batman should meet Superman, and that panel is in the shape of the S-shield. It’s just so freakin’ clever and something very few artists would think of doing.
Will: And it never, ever detracts from the story or makes it hard to follow. That’s such an incredibly hard task, yet Sherman makes it seem easy. The great ones always do.
Matt: Storywise, I think it’s clever that this crossover subverts a lot of the expectations we have for these. While the heroes do fight, it’s not your normal misunderstanding fight. Despite this being the darker world, these two immediately get along. The crossover itself is two fairly standalone stories, so you could read one easily without the other. And the Wonder Woman issue brings her to Gotham, and while there’s some magic in it, it reads more like a Batman investigation, while the Batman issue sends them into a mystical realm. It gives readers of each title a taste of the other without throwing everything going on out of whack.
Will: The ever-so-gentle nature of the crossover surprised me. I assume they don’t want to burn readers out? Or maybe keep the powder dry for a bigger story that brings in Supes? In any case, this felt more like giving Kelly Thompson a chance to write a Batman murder-ish story and Scott Snyder a go at Greek gods and monsters. Not that I’m complaining. I think overall it was a lot of fun — even if the only thing we really have to take forward is that Bruce has one more charge left on his Diana pager.
Matt: Thompson’s Wonder Woman is an amazing character. I love that she is still recognizably Wonder Woman but has a sense of, well, wonder that we don’t get to see in post-Year One Wonder Woman stories, and even not as much there. That moment at the end of the issue, where she sees snow for the first time? How charming was that? And speaking of treading a fine line, that’s the kind of thing that can easily come off as robotic or quaint, rather than poetic, but Thompson nails it.
Will: I think it works for this version of Diana because she grew up in Hell, which, you know, doesn’t get snow. If it can snow in Hawaii, it can snow in Themyscira. But it can’t snow in Hell, Matt. That’s, just like, one of the rules.
Matt: Final note here: This also is one of two issues this month that is following up Absolute Evil (the other being Absolute Superman) with the team-up of Veronica Cale and Jack Grimm. But it’s not a huge deal, just logically dealing with how these two characters would interact. The whole Absolute line is slow rolling stuff that we often see rushed, and I think that breathing room is really helping this feel more like a story and less like a gimmick.
Buy Absolute Wonder Woman #15 here.
Batman Goes to Hell
Matt: I think this is the first appearance of Absolute Lucius Fox! Get on it, speculators!
Will: I’m going to slab my iPad right now, Matt.
Matt: I’ve been thinking about what Snyder is doing here, beneath all the violence and body horror, and I think we’re starting to explore what might be the central theme of what this whole book is about: cycles of violence. Batman was birthed by violence, and thus he became this violent vigilante. He attacked Black Mask and the Party Animals, which drew the attention of Jack Grimm. Grimm sent Bane, and Batman’s violence was exacted upon his friends. And the ugliness of what Harvey and Oz are becoming is coming to the fore. And I mean the metaphoric ugliness in this case.
Will: And is Bruce so focused on Waylon that he’s missing the sense of urgency needed to help those two? He certainly feels guilty. Maybe even a touch horrified. But it seems like there will come a time when he will wish he would have done more to assist those two in these moments. But given that Waylon’s transformation is so much more radical, and he’s literally at risk of losing his humanity, I suppose it’s all that can be done. I would hope that the trinket from the underworld can help. Maybe it will remake him into a more traditional Killer Croc?
Matt: I think that’s what we’re meant to think is going to happen. But I don’t hold out a lot of hope for it; things haven’t exactly gone in Bruce’s favor so far. But maybe he’s due a win.
Actually, saying that, this is the universe built on despair, on Omega, not on hope, but still, these heroes find ways to show the spirit of heroism lives on. Batman questing through the underworld like a great hero of Greco-Roman mythology. The moment where the Pegasus, who Diana has said is wary of mortals and finds them “unworthy,” comes to Bruce’s rescue and we get a great image of Batman riding a skeleton horse. This shows that even this darker Batman isn’t the Punisher. Punisher feels no warmth, no hope. Batman, at his core, under the darkness, is a hopeful character, hoping he can make the world better and hoping he can save his friends.
Will: Punisher would have flayed Bane alive and been done with it; he certainly wouldn’t have quested into the underworld in the hopes of *maybe* saving *one* of his friends. So you’re right, even with a Batman who does relish violence quite a bit more, there’s still some separation between him and Frank Castle — which is a good thing. I thought in both stories the rapport between Bruce and Diana was solid … and maybe the partner joke a bit of foreshadowing? Bruce/Diana is not a ‘ship we see often. Do you think it could work in the Absolute universe?
Matt: It’s a highly popular ‘ship in the DCAU, where it was teased through much of the run of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, so it might be one of those ‘ships with a big fanbase outside of traditional comics circles, and since this line is being marketed both to old school fans and people who aren’t as familiar with the comics? It might be something that the creators want to tease here, too. Wonder Woman certainly has romantic feelings for Steve Trevor in her book, but that love triangle is completely new, and I think it might be fun to see. Or love … square, I guess, when you factor in Selina.
This issue did have more laugh lines than I think any previous issue of this book, and most of them hit for me. The recurring line about everything killing you, until you get to the Cyclops, where looking in his eye is just impolite? I liked that.
Will: Everyone knows it’s rude to look a Cyclops in their one eye. Duh.
I think the scene that hit the hardest for me was Bruce chatting with his dad. We’ve seen lots of versions of Thomas — from bad guy to simply not-so-great dad. But I think there’s every reason to believe that Absolute Thomas Wayne was a real gem, and it makes his death even sadder. Especially great was Thomas (or Bruce’s idealized Thomas?) reflecting on his death.
Matt: Oh, that was gorgeous. Just emotionally powerful moments. And something to look at in relation to Bruce’s feelings in the Daniel Warren Johnson story from the annual. That story ends with Bruce concerned he has failed his father by using violence. But here, Thomas doesn’t bring that up. He just offers him sage advice about making the city, and by extension the world, better.
Will: Just build, Bruce. Build.
Bat-miscellany
- Matt McThorn rejoins the BatChat podcast to talk about three crossovers between Batman and his allies and characters published by Dark Horse Comics.
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Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
