(Image Source: DC / Fabrizio De Tommaso)
DC‘s new Absolute Universe setting has not shied away from killing many classic and/or beloved characters. Absolute Batman #20 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta continues this trend. However, the shocking death of one villain serves not only to confuse the Dark Knight. It also confuses the readers, who are still discovering just how different this brave new world is.
The previous issue found the vigilante framed for the murder of Jim Gordon. This came after the former mayor approached Bruce Wayne with documents regarding a conspiracy tied to his father’s death. A conspiracy called “Project Batman” which had apparently been manipulating Bruce all his life. However, before Bruce could further question him, Jim Gordon was forced to jump off a building by the villain called Scarecrow. This causes witness to presume Gordon was thrown off the building by Batman.
(Image Source: DC / Nick Dragotta)
Absolute Batman #20 finds Bruce breaking into Blackgate Prison to question Joe Chill; the man who killed his father. Chill seems confused as he’s accused of being part of a conspiracy. However, the situation becomes further muddled as Scarerow appears and orders Chill to hang himself with his bedsheets.
Absolute Batman is unsure how he’s being manipulated
As Joe Chill sets about ending his own life, Scarecrow further teases Bruce with the suggestion of secret knowledge. He claims that Martha Wayne was part of a terrorist group called the Court of Owls, before saying Project Batman was just a prank set up by The Joker. Naturally, Bruce is quick to dismiss both claims. However, the audience knows Scarecrow is at least partly telling the truth, as Martha Wayne’s connection to the Court of Owls was confirmed in an earlier issue of Absolute Batman.
(Image Source: DC / Nick Dragotta)
Beyond throwing Bruce Wayne off balance, the death of Joe Chill and Scarecrow’s story serve to call much of what Absolute Batman has suggested regarding Bruce’s past into question. This is a neat twist in the idea of the unreliable narrator. In this case, however, the protagonist is presuming that an honest truth is a blatant lie.
Absolute Batman #20 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
