DC Comics’ Absolute Universe has brilliantly recreated well-known and obscure comic book characters. The creative teams have made heroes like Batman bigger than ever, while keeping his genius. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman is still the goddess she’s known as being, except she uses magic more than her fists. On the side of villainy, Absolute Bane is a terrifying beast with the brain capacity to hold a library's worth of knowledge.
It may seem like the Absolute Universe has been around for a while, but we’re only a year into this Elseworld’s debut. More reinvented characters are being introduced regularly, and that trend doesn’t seem to be ending. Recently, Scott Snyder revealed that Absolute Joker’s origin will be told in Absolute Batman No. 15. On top of that, the first look at Absolute Zatanna was also unveiled.
Absolute Joker
As you can see from the image above, Absolute Joker is the stuff of nightmares. He’s already been seen with a vest that looks like it’s made out of babies (Absolute Batman No. 6) and was nicknamed Joker because he doesn’t laugh. If that’s not enough, he’s known for acquiring skills from the best fighters worldwide. When he's learned everything he needs, he kills them.
While we don’t know if this is Joker’s alternate form or if something else is going on. The only thing for certain is that the visual is horrifying, and the internet is having a field day with it.
My favorite joke online was someone saying, “Absolute Wonder Woman is fighting gods. Absolute Superman is battling capitalism. Meanwhile, Absolute Batman is fighting Kaiju Joker.” As funny as it is, it’s kind of true. It’s bad enough that The Joker is one of the richest people on the planet with fighting skills from around the world. But now he’s a dragon? If he breathes fire, I don’t know what I’ll say. Nevertheless, I'm here for it.
Absolute Zatanna
In Absolute Wonder Woman No. 12, readers received their first look at Absolute Zatanna. She’s in a straitjacket with a muzzle over her mouth. In the corner, Director Veronica Cale from Area 41 says she’s sending her after a witch. After Diana flooded her maze and freed her prisoners, it only makes sense that she’d send someone after her.
If I had to guess, Zatanna will be a fan of Diana’s adopted mother, and famous sorcerer, Circe. The questions I have are the same ones everyone else does. How was Zatanna caught, and what was she doing before that? And, it may be the angle of the picture, but Zatanna looks bigger than her Earth-Prime counterpart. Is this version of Zatanna an Amazon, or is it that everything is bigger in the Absolute Universe?
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