Everyone knows Batman’s origin story. In 1939, DC established his backstory, which is based on the tragic death of his parents. A new story changes everything now and reveals a sinister plan.
Anyone who has seen a movie or series about Batman knows for sure that Batman’s parents were killed during a mugging, which is why Bruce Wayne becomes Batman as an adult. Occasionally, the story was altered in alternate universes or something was added, like in Tim Burton’s 1989 film, where the Joker killed the parents as gangsters.
The Absolute Universe, which started in 2024 with Absolute Batman, significantly alters the origin story of the Dark Knight. In this universe, Batman is not a wealthy heir, but a regular guy with little money. After his father was killed during a shooting while visiting the zoo, he became Batman.
As it has now been revealed, this was not a coincidence, but a sinister plan intended by none other than the Joker and Scarecrow, as they found it amusing.
He is a joke
What kind of plan was it? In the comic Absolute Batman No. 20, recently released in the USA, Batman wants to delve deeper into his past after learning that more is behind the shooting. He goes to Joe Chill, the murderer of his father. There, he meets Scarecrow.
Scarecrow explains to him the Batman project
. Batman learns that they are a member of the Court of Owls, a secret organization operating in the shadows of Gotham. Scarecrow further provokes Batman and asks him if he didn’t notice something as a child in the zoo.
He continues, stating that his life is not a project, but just a gag by Grimm (the Absolute version of the Joker) and he says: Grimm and I thought it would be funny. What is the natural prey of an owl, Bruce? Exactly … a bat. That’s the meaning of your life. Batman is not a project. He is a joke.
So Batman was just a small side project of Scarecrow and the Joker to toy with the Court of Owls.
This is a harsh twist for a character who has acted according to his own sense of justice.
How can one read Absolute Batman in Germany? Since July 2025, Absolute Batman has also been published in Germany by Panini. The latest volume is Volume 4, and a new volume is released every 3 months (Volume 5 is released on June 30, 2026). If you prefer to stay up to date and read in English, there are Kindle versions or a subscription with DC Infinite, which allows you to read current issues from the USA. Batman’s origin story also leads to his most important rule, which he doesn’t always follow: Everyone knows Batman’s most important rule, but he himself hasn’t taken it seriously for 86 years
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