Warning! The following article contains major SPOILERS for Absolute Batman #20.Absolute Batman is special for countless reasons, and maybe the most distinct of them all is that it is capable of harnessing several emotional gradients to wonderful effect in every issue. This is a testament to how colorful Absolute Batman’s cast of characters is, as well as how each issue presents the ongoing series with thrilling suspense, blood-soaked action, incredible worldbuilding, and/or bright humor.
The last thing readers might expect from a book as gory and devastating as Absolute Batman is for it to be funny, yet it is ironically because of how extreme its violence and atmosphere is that humor is able to slip in and out like a hot blade when it is needed most, and sometimes it can leave readers vulnerable to whatever horrors lie in wait ahead. Harley Quinn is responsible for a lot of Absolute Batman’s humor, for example, and issue #20 is further evidence of how amusingly industrious she is in this universe.
Absolute Batman’s Harley Quinn is introduced in issue #13 as the leader of the Red Hood, and has since aided Batman as a loyal sidekick, motivated by his ambition to topple Ark M. She also named Batman’s new Batmobile the “Bat-Nasty” (her red-sweater-wearing minions working as its pit crew) and designed an untraceable, encrypted Bat Signal for Batman’s cowl to receive distress beacons.
Now, Harley Quinn’s iconic mallet has made its debut in the Absolute continuity, replacing the nunchaku she was previously wielding. However, it is no mere mallet, but a hilariously overpowered, double-edged sledgehammer boasting an electrical jolt that is powerful enough to bust open a computerized vault in a single swing.
“It’s not a ‘hammer.’ It’s a ninety-two-thousand volt magnesium-amplified double lithium electrochemical thunder @#$%. M.A.L.L.E.T. 92. Nothing I use is ‘simple,’ Jeeves. Now **move!”
The M.A.L.L.E.T. 92 is a great weapon, as it reflects on popular Harley Quinn iconography while also leaning into how skilled she is as an engineer, technician, and hacker in this universe.
It is unknown who might be unfortunate enough to cross Harley when she is wielding this weapon, though it would be neat to see it in action against actual enemies, rather than a door. Either way, it is terrific that Harley’s supporting role in Absolute Batman has been given such a fun emphasis in the last seven issues.
One of the luxuries an untethered and original universe affords a series like Absolute Batman is that anything can be turned on its head or exaggerated in a way that runs perpendicular to how it is traditionally depicted. Absolute Batman has spared no expense in ensuring that its iterations of characters are unique, manifested in Martha Wayne being a member of the Court of Owls and some of Batman’s rogues’ gallery villains composing his close friend circle from childhood: Waylon Jones, Oswald Cobblepot, Harvey Dent, and Edward Nygma.
Alfred Pennyworth is still Batman’s closest Bat-Family companion in terms of who he is willing to work with, but Harley Quinn is the closest thing Batman has to a Robin of his own, especially since Absolute Batman’s Robins belong under Joker’s wing. Alfred and Harley have made a phenomenal, comedic pair—a much-needed balm between harrowing antagonists’ heinous acts, such as Scarecrow having Joe Chill commit suicide within his cell at Blackgate—and the single page they share in the latest issue of Absolute Batman is hysterical.
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Bob Kane, Bill Finger
First Appearance
Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.