Will Absolute Batman’s friends all become villains?

Batman jumps down from a building in front of an orange backdrop, bullets flying past him.

It has long been a theme in Batman stories that Gotham would not be so messed up if Batman did not exist. Sure, he may fight crime and apprehend villains, but Batman’s mere presence encourages maniacs to multiply and flourish. DC’s Absolute Batman looks like it has a twist on this idea, as Scott Snyder has recently introduced multiple origin stories for potential villains, who all happen to be Bruce Wayne’s friends. By association, will they become villains?

Major spoilers ahead for Absolute Batman

Absolute Batman has been a wild ride so far. While the series has perhaps not strayed too far from the general Batman mythos, especially compared with other Absolute titles like Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter, Snyder has added interesting takes on characters. One of the more notable changes has been including a circle of friends made up of people more regularly known as villains; Edward ‘Eddie’ Nigma, Selina Kyle, Waylon Jones, Oswald ‘Ozzie’ Cobblepot, and Harvey Dent.

A photograph of Bruce Wayne and his friends when he was younger — *Bruce and the gang when they were young.*

This group were made aware of their friend’s secret identity at the end of The Zoo (Absolute Batman 1-6), and supported Bruce. When Waylon was kidnapped by Bane; Eddie, Harvey, and Ozzie help plan how to rescue him.

While Batman does manage to rescue Waylon from the mysterious Ark-M, his friend has been hideously transformed into something we would recognise as Killer Croc. Waylon begs Batman to kill him but Bruce cannot go through with it. Waylon turns to Batman and says that he “should have left you in that place” before swimming away into the sewers. Will their paths cross again and will it be as friends or something more complicated?

Bane breaks Batman

It was during his time in Ark-M that Batman met the terrifying Bane, amped up to the max in the Absolute universe. Batman manages to escape, much to Bane’s apparent enjoyment, retreating to Gotham. Bane does not immediately go after Bruce, instead targeting his friends – this is how he wants to break Batman’s back.

In bad shape after Ark-M, Bruce awakens after being comatose for 20 days. He discovers that while he was unconscious, Eddie, Harvey, and Ozzie were all brutally attacked by Bane. Eddie had been challenged to a duel of wits by Bane, while he subsequently lost. Bane removed part of Eddie’s skull, destroyed his frontal lobe, leaving him obsessed with questions. The real question of course will be whether this will be the birth of regular Batman rogue, the Riddler?

Waylon Jones as Absolute Killer Croc, cover of Absolute Batman 12 — *Waylon Jones on the cover of Absolute Batman 12*

Poor Ozzie had a similarly traumatic encounter with Bane. He had almost every bone in his body broken; surgically done by Bane to avoid damaging any major organs. If Ozzie survives, his prognosis is not positive; he will be two-foot shorter and in constant agony. Will he still be friends with Bruce or become bitter, possibly earning the nickname of the Penguin due to his difficulty walking?

Lastly, is Harvey Dent. Harvey had his head split in two by Bane, literally. One half of his body was badly burned as well. Harvey is conscious and mentally stable unlike the other two and lays the blame at the feet of Bruce – “You gambled for real […] your friends, the city, everything…” Again, will this change in fortune see Harvey become the villain Two-Face?

Will Batman have a crisis of faith in his own mission if his friends slowly turn against him? Of course there is one more friend who looks like they evaded Bane – Selina Kyle, Catwoman.

Buy Absolute Batman Vol 1: The Zoo (Bookshop.org US – I earn a commission)

Buy Absolute Batman Vol 1: The Zoo (Bookshop.org UK – I earn a commission)