Review – Absolute Batman #8: Deep Freeze
Absolute Batman #8 cover, via DC Comics.
Ray: If there's one thing that sets apart the Absolute Universe from the main one, it's that the villains here are absolutely terrifying. They're bigger, more vicious, and far more distanced from reality. That's never clearer than with Mr. Freeze, who in the main continuity is a gimmick crook driven by love and obsession. In the Absolute Line, he's a sickly child transformed into a monster by an obsessed father, and now he's built his own lab filled with volunteers for cryogenic research – who are now trapped in a never-ending chamber of horrors, frozen but conscious in agonizing pain. And now Batman is about to join them, as Bruce Wayne's ruse to discover how his friend Matches Malone died has led him directly into this trap. And even if he manages to escape, a horde of deranged, pain-drunk attackers are waiting to rip him apart in the name of the man who did this to them. Deep freeze. Via DC Comics.
There are two main stars in this comic, with the first obviously being Marcos Martin. His art is very different from Nick Dragotta's, and while his Bruce remains on-model, the tone of the issue is perfectly suited for the chilling lab atmosphere. But the second is Scott Snyder's writing. This issue deals a lot with questions of mortality and death wishes, with all of Freeze's victims volunteering for this out of a fear of death. But at the same time, Bruce might have a death wish – something Waylon tries to get out of him in a flashback as they fight. There's some fascinating backstory about Matches Malone and why he fell so far that it eventually led to his death, and the ripples of Thomas Wayne's death continue to create fascinating new storyarcs for his son and the people around him. This is one of the most radical reinventions of Batman I've seen, but it's also incredibly true to all the characters and delivering a stunning story.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
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