Scott Snyder has been on a roll sharing details about his and Nick Dragotta’s highly anticipated Absolute Batman in recent weeks, and today he took took to Reddit to answer fan questions. Those questions were quite revealing, with a lot of details giving hints and outright shedding light on this somewhat mysterious project.
As far as the bigger picture, Snyder revealed he was a consultant at first, not planning on writing Batman, but with some advice from James Tynion IV, he jumped in as long as Dragotta would work with him. As the project came together, Snyder and Josh Williamson came up with the basic story but added he hasn’t been show running so much as letting creators do their thing.
“Give creators a basic starting point (the character has to feel exciting, new, you have to be passionate about the take, but it also has to be true to core, not a breaking of the DNA, so that the whole world feels coherent), and then let them work their magic. So I read the pitches for the characters, but it was more like creators just spitballing and helping each other.”
The project also went both ways as Snyder said, “Jason was the first to sign on, and he and I talked every week for months, and he helped me with Bats, I soundboarded SM, then Kelly came in… it was just us all building things together.”
In one of the most revealing answers, Snyder said, “I don’t want to give too much away, but one of the core concepts of the series is that in this world, Bruce will be the small chaos in the system and the villains will be more powerful, have more resources… But his rogues play a new and particular role.”
Could this mean the rogue’s gallery collaborates with Batman against the system? He also revealed Riddler will be appear early in the series but, “though most likely not as you expect…” Snyder also confirmed Catwoman will be appearing early on and Dick Grayson also exists in this universe.
Snyder also detailed how Absolute Batman is similar and different from the main universe Batman, writing, “They’re both idealistic – no killing – with every cell in their body devoted to the mission. Both turn trauma into determination to make the world better (the core of Batman IMO).”
He added, “But Bruce of the main line is someone born with a lot of resources – he can outdo the villains, the police, it’s this compelling power fantasy where he’s almost just bigger than the system. This Bruce, in Absolute, comes up in Park Row (Crime Alley). Martha works in the mayor’s office, and Thomas is a teacher. He has no resources beyond his intelligence and determination. So they’re similar and yet wildly different.”
Hold on…are Batman’s parents alive? Maybe I’m just misreading that, but it sure sounds like it!
Snyder also said the plan is to keep Absolute Batman, along with Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman, ongoing for a very long time, as long as sales are good. If you’re wondering about crossovers, Snyder said it will be at least a year until we see any of that. “The goal is to give you two very different things with the main U and the Absolute U – main U now has everyone connected and working together (via JL Unlimited). There’s a feeling of togetherness there. In the Absolute U, everyone is isolated, just learning to stand.”
For fans of Green Lantern, Snyder shed light on Al Ewing’s take saying, “I can tell you Al has this incredible reinvention of the mythology coming. A new idea for the light, the dark, all while staying true to the core ideas of GL. And everyone’s in it…”
Snyder also revealed he’s had a Detective Chimp series in the back of his mind for some time.
For more on Absolute Batman, don’t miss our SDCC coverage, and check out all the covers here.
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