Absolute Batman Creator Unpacks the Universe's Surprising Inspiration: "Batman Is the Spirit I See in Them"
As Absolute Batman continues to impress readers everywhere, his creator is revealing what it was that inspired the reinvented hero. Scott Snyder has been building up his bulky new Caped Crusader for the last few months, and now he's peeling back layers and revealing what it is that drives Absolute Batman.
Scott Snyder sat down for an interview with Screen Rant to discuss Absolute Batman #4. During the interview, Snyder discussed how being a parent gave him a different perspective on Batman, saying he was inspired by the younger generation's spirit and their refusal to accept things as they are.
"Scott Snyder: But this time around, my fears have much more to do with the world my kids are facing than I'm facing. And so Batman is the spirit that I see in them and a young generation of people who kind of refuse to accept the world the way it is, no matter what the odds are, no matter what the challenges are. "
"Scott Snyder: ...this Bruce feels more reflective of the way I think the vast majority of people here in America, but also around the world, feel right now, which is that the levers of power are largely out of reach a lot of the time. And that the gap between people that have access to those things and the rest of us is growing every year, vastly and exponentially. And so I think that from this point of view and from that position, this Bruce would be angrier, because you feel more helpless, you feel more disenfranchised. You feel like "How am I supposed to change anything?". And so that raw feeling of absolute fury is part of who he is. "
Snyder also revealed he wrote Absolute Batman to be more "reflective" of the way people in the world feel right now when it comes to the power structure of the world. Snyder discussed the anger younger people feel at disenfranchisement and how that feeling helped influence his new Dark Knight.
The Anger of Younger Generations Influenced Absolute Batman
DC's New Dark Knight Embodies The Fury at Inequal Systems
In the Absolute Universe, Batman doesn't have the privilege his Prime Universe counterpart does. After his father was gunned down in a mass shooting at a zoo, Bruce spent years lashing out at the world in anger before resolving to change the world on his own. He spent years working hard, getting a job as a civil engineer and studying Gotham while secretly planning to change his city for the better. Bruce doesn't have the luxury of endless resources, but he does have a good gang of friends who have helped mold him into the Batman that Gotham needs.
It's no surprise that Snyder is tapping into the anger of younger generations to create this new variant. Like many of them, Absolute Batman is young, doesn't come from a privileged background, and is acutely aware of how corrupted the system is. Of course, young people aren't building batsuits and taking on mass murderers, but many of them have become politically involved and created movements in an effort to enact change in the world. After seeing what younger people were capable of, Snyder created Absolute Batman as a symbol of young people's indomitable spirit and willingness to buck the system.
Absolute Batman is a Hero That Truly Reflects the Times
DC's New Dark Knight is One Made for a New Generation
It's not uncommon for heroes to reflect the period they were created in. Right now, there are so many young people who look at the state of the world and are justifiably upset at the grim prospects offered by a sytem built on inequality and disenfranchisement. But lots of them have stood up and made it clear that they won't take that system lying down. Snyder picked up on a powerful generational shift that's happening right now, and he's used it to create a Batman that does indeed embody the fury of the youngest millennials and Gen Z.
While Absolute Batman is taking a much more different and violent approach than other young people, he's a powerful representation of what a large contingent of the population wants: Change by any means necessary. It's interesting to see how the collective powerful feelings has influenced a character as old as Batman, but it's led to one of the most creative and relevent Dark Knight variants that DC Comics has seen in some time.
Absolute Batman #4 is available now from DC Comics.
- Alias
- Bruce Wayne
- FIRST APP
- Detective Comics #27 (1939)
- Created By
- Bob Kane, Bill Finger
- Franchise
- D.C.
- Race
- Human
- First Appearance
- Detective Comics
One of DC's most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world's leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
