This series has already shown Bruce's inciting moment of Thomas Wayne's death, but there's a long way between that and the Batman we see in first issue. With no billionaire trust fund to allow for globetrotting training or high end gadgets, he can't rely on the traditional origin fans have become familiar with for the past 80 years. There have been brief glimpses into Bruce's childhood to flesh out what led him to where he is now, but Absolute Batman #4 is the first time it's fully bridged that gap. It finally reveals just how a scared young boy was able to transform into the ruthless Batman capable of taking on the Party Animals gang.

The structure of the story intercuts between Bruce as a young boy and his first outings as Batman. Going back and forth between the two of them, it shows how even his earliest life lessons continue to shape his actions and the way he sees the world. This highlights the central theme of the issue, which is the presence of an almost immutable "core" that exists within every person.

At one point, Bruce's father talks about how he wanted to be a surgeon but became a teacher instead when Bruce was born and he didn't have the time or resources to go to med school. Both paths revolved around wanting to help people, even if circumstances caused his to manifest in different ways. What's true for both a rich and poor Thomas Wayne is true for Bruce. It acts as a sort of meta commentary on the wide array of different Batman stories and universes that exist. In each one, for one reason or another, Bruce becomes Batman and launches his crusade. That's because no matter what, (so long as the writer is doing their job) the central core of Bruce Wayne remains the same.

More than just keeping the idea of a masked vigilante who dresses up as a bat, certain motifs and references connect the wide range of Batmans. Given that this is an origin story, it should come as no surprise that it shares similarities with Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. There's a fairly explicit callback to the iconic "you've eaten well" scene, except Snyder goes much further in emphasizing that Batman's wealthy targets aren't necessarily criminals, yet steal from Gotham all the same. This once again highlights the contrast between Absolute Batman and the main version; his working class background puts him in a position of seeing the cruel elites of Gotham as an outsider.

Another sequence from Batman: Year One that gets reimagined is his first time out fighting crime. In both instances he struggles to take on a group of petty criminals and realizes the changes he needs to make to be successful. What sets this one apart is just how brutal he is from the very beginning. He clearly takes the bat theme to heart, complete with vampire fangs filled with toxins to paralyze criminals upon biting them. It lays the groundwork for the over-the-top, theatrically violent action that will come to define the series.

This scene is also where artist Gabriel Walta gets a chance to show if he's up to the challenge as a fill in artist. It has plenty of action and dramatic moments, which is what regular series artist Nick Dragotta is best at. Right away you notice that this is a much grittier, raw style than what the series has had so far. Its simplicity fits the grim setting of Gotham and Bruce's underprivileged status. However, it also loses a lot of the expression and detail that made Dragotta's action so exciting to read. Big moments can come across as static and rigid, which loses much of the impact.

With his initial fang-inspired outing less than satisfactory, Bruce decides that what he needs is to go even bigger. That means more elaborate gadgets that are able to target the real movers and shakers of Gotham's underground. At each step we get explanations about how Bruce uses his engineering knowledge to build them despite his limited resources. It's a little on the nose, but it does a fine job of drawing the line that separates him from the typical Batman, even if the end result is still functionally the same.

All of this is tied together by the story of the bridge Bruce designed as a child for a school competition. His approach to security through overwhelming intimidation was present since childhood, when he decided that the bridge should mimic a bat to make people feel safe. More than anything, though, it signifies his ingenuity and ability to overcome the odds to build tools to help people. His initial bridge eventually evolves into a new design that can adapt to any environment and even fly. It's arguably an absurdly impractical idea, but in the logic of the story it works. In this way the bridge is a metaphor for Batman himself. No matter what the obstacles might be, he will adapt to overcome them, even if the solution is something as insane as a giant flying bat bridge.

Recommended If

• You want to see how Absolute Batman got his start
• Stories should explore their characters' motivations
• You ever thought to yourself "what if Batman: Year One was more extreme?"

Overall

Absolute Batman #4 reveals the origins of this new, brutal Batman. His ingenuity, perseverance, and willingness to succeed at any cost have always been there, but they just needed time to coalesce into a formidable dark knight. The fill-in artwork does not quite live up to the standards set by the rest of the series, but still manages to capture the grit of this darker Gotham.

Score: 7.5/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.