DC Comics' Absolute Universe has done an amazing job of slow rolling popular characters from Universe-Prime. For example, in Absolute Superman, writer Jason Aaron brought in Lois Lane and Brainiac perfectly. Then, out of nowhere, Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul debuts as a major villain in this series.
Speaking of the Dark Knight, Scott Snyder’s Absolute Batman brilliantly introduced Bruce Wayne’s enemies in the prime continuity, who are now his friends in this universe. We also see a more dangerous version of Black Mask and a billionaire Joker who doesn't laugh.
In issue No. 9, however, fans finally get another classic Batman character. In this universe, he doesn’t wear tights or run from rooftop to rooftop, but he’s still a hero. Everyone, welcome Dick Grayson to the Absolute Universe. I hope you survive the experience.
Absolute Batman No. 9 creative team
- Writer: Scott Snyder
- Artist: Nick Dragotta
- Colorist: Frank Martin
How do we meet Dick Grayson?
At the end of Absolute Batman No. 8, Bruce’s best friend, Waylon Jones, was knocked out by unknown people in suits. After taking a sample of his DNA, he was kidnapped. This sent Batman into a rampage for the next two weeks. He was attacking everyone in Gotham City’s underworld in an attempt to get information on Waylon's location. No one knew anything, but that didn't stop Bruce from searching.
Things in Gotham got so bad that they ran out of ambulances, leading to Bruce's victims getting picked up in ride shares. Sadly, that wasn’t enough either. When that eventually ran its course, one EMT took people to hospitals in a rickshaw. We see this person say, “F*** Batman.” and the next panel reveals the EMT’s name badge, and it says, “Grayson, D.” We can assume that this stands for Dick Grayson.
What's next?
During the Comic Watchers Podcast, Scott Snyder said, “It was an interesting set of choices because it was like, 'Is he a kid, or is he a grown-up?' Because if Barbara is a grown-up and he's a kid, is that too weird? So, you know, what if he's a grown-up? Who would he be? And then that opened this whole door. You'll see some friendly Bat characters and some vicious Bat characters, all coming soon." So, we know he will appear, but that's the extent of the available information. For now, we don't even know if he'll be Batman's partner.
Honestly, Dick Grayson shouldn’t be Batman’s partner in tights. We’ve already seen that Dick is annoyed with Batman’s antics. Bruce's onslaught took EMS services out of commission. This had to have left other people in need without access to ambulatory services. Dick would understand that Batman is looking for his friends. However, after seeing all the chaos he caused, it’s doubtful he could work with him directly. The keyword here is directly.
If Dick Grayson sees someone is in trouble, and Batman can assist, he will help. If that means passing along information, then that’s what he will likely do. But, don’t get your hopes up. It’s doubtful that characters like him and Barbara Gordon will be wearing tights.
With DC Comics' Absolute Universe being what it is, maybe remaining an EMS instead of becoming Nightwing or Robin is the best bet. Plus, both of his Earth-Prime tags could be nicknames given to him by his co-workers due to his heroics or something from his past. Either way, we should have trust in Scott Snyder's plan for Dick Grayson.
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