Warning: Spoilers for Absolute Batman #6 ahead!
We’re all familiar with Frank Miller’s classic cover ofThe Dark Knight Returns, featuringBatmanleaping into action, silhouetted by the brilliant blue lightning bolt that tears through the sky behind him. Frank Miller’s work on Batman is iconic and revolutionized an era, but I’d like to argue that the constant stream of references to his work—and this image in particular—is getting pretty stale.
Let Absolute Batman tell its own story, create its own iconic moments, and succeed on its own merits.
The comic page below from Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Frank Martin’sAbsolute Batman #6is one of the major moments that stands out in the issue. Seeking to cut off Black Mask’s reign of terror over Gotham, Batman isolates the gangster’s base on a boat in Gotham Harbor and drops on him like a bat out of hell, complete with the lightning backdrop, chunky armor, giant boots, and all.
While it’s certainly an appropriate image for the no-holds-barred, henchman-punting, smorgasbord of violence that follows,it comes off asa reductive choice for theAbsoluteUniverse’s supposed fresh startfor DC’s characters.
Frank Miller’s Legacy Has A Stranglehold On The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight ReturnsChanged Fan Perception of Batman With Its Darkness And Grit
The Dark Knight Returnsholds a legendary place in comic book history—and for good reason. At a time when Batman was still defined bythe campy antics of Adam West’s“old chum”era in the 1966BatmanTV series,Frank Miller’s gritty, noir aesthetic and 1980s cynicism revitalized the character.The story of Batman’s war on crime in a world that has gone soft and spineless hearkens back to Batman’s dark origins while simultaneously elevating the character to a level of strength, determination, and brutality that had never been seen before.
Where Batman went, the entire comics industry followed.The Dark Knight Returnsis largely credited for launching the"Dark Age"of comics, where violence and moral ambiguity ruled the day. In the long run, this era proved healthy for the industry, giving rise to fan-favorite characters like Venom and Lobo. Heroes were no longer confined to being stock“good guys”—they began questioning their own efficacy and morals. However, the late ’80s and 1990s were anything but nuanced. Grim and gritty became the standard, and in that era, you either got cynical or got out.
Absolute Batman Is the Perfect Response to The Dark Knight Returns: Here’s Why
The Dark Knight Returns is one of the greatest Batman stories, and it seems that a new universe is going the reverse of this iconic storyline.
The Dark Knight Returns Gave Fans a Batman Of Strength & Cynicism
Publishers Have Long Started Questioning This Vision of The Dark Knight
I, for one, am not particularly a fan of Frank Miller’s work. While I don’t question its impact,I disagree with much ofThe Dark Knight Returns' worldview:society is seen as soft and permissive, with politicians prevaricating and excusing the rampant population of criminals, who are depicted as literal monsters. Batman is presented as the one man who is strong enough to take action instead of talking about problems, the one man who can do what we all dream of doing and solve society’s ills with extreme violence. I personally see this as a reductive, black-and-white perspective.
Miller’s cynical outlook hasn’t escaped the notice of comic book publishers, either. InBatman (2016)#140—by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez—it’sFrank Miller’s version of Batmanthat ends up embodying Batman’s sadistic “Zur-En-Arrh"alternate persona, acting as the ringleader for the other aspects of Zur inside Batman’s mind. Likewise, inThe Immortal Thor: Annual#1—by Al Ewing, David Baldeón, and Federico Blee—Miller’s iconic lightning bolt background is used to convey that the hero Powerstone is an ultraviolent,“might-makes-right"buffoon.Miller’s depiction of Batman is now used to reject this brand of strongman superhero,not celebrate it.
Batman’s Lightning Bolt Backdrop Is Overused
Absolute BatmanDeserves a New Vision, Not a Rehash of the Past
I was frustrated to see the lightning bolt background inAbsolute Batmanbecause the series is supposed to be about new takes. DC’s AbsoluteUniverse has been a smash hit, subverting what we know about DC’s classic heroes and giving them a fresh start. Writer Jason Aaron referred tothe AbsoluteUniverse as a placewhere “a fundamentally different story than the DC Universe” can be told, providing new viewpoints that aren’t bogged down by decades of lore. If this is the goal,why define this new version of Batman through a visual language that is nearly four decades stale?
Batman contains multitudes, and there’s plenty of room across DC for different versions of the character, including gritty and hyperviolent interpretations. But if the Absolute Universe is meant to offer a new take on Batman as the one man strong enough to confront the world’s corruption, then let it be just that—a fresh interpretation that stands on its own. Let Absolute Batman tell its own story, create its own iconic moments, and succeed on its own merits.Batmanhas long since moved past this singular vision of the character from the 1980s, so please—let’s leave the lightning bolt backdrops in the past.
