DC Unveils Batman Villain’s Greatest Redesign Of All Time, Bar None

The two latest Absolute Universe redesigns make their debut in the pages of Absolute Batman, and they’re terrifying. Besides their multi-decade stories, their unique abilities, and their complex relationship with Batman, the Dark Knight’s dozens of enemies are even more iconic than most DC heroes because of their memorable appearances. It only takes a small glimpse of the Joker’s clown make-up, the Penguin’s bird-like appearance, or Two-Face’s burns to recognize them, even if they’re drastically redesigned on the printed page or in live-action, animated, or video game Batman adaptations.

Scott Snyder’s Absolute Batman has introduced some of the best character redesigns in DC’s Absolute Universe. Villains like Black Mask, Mister Freeze, Bane, and Killer Croc established the stakes for this universe, and the monstrous Absolute Joker continues to show new facets of his villainy. More recent antagonists like Deathstroke, Scarecrow, and the Robins push Batman to new limits, and other characters like Absolute Clayface and Absolute Mad Hatter are inevitable threats to this version of Bruce Wayne.

Just as Batman’s childhood friends embrace their creepy new appearances and Scarecrow grows as one of Gotham’s biggest threats, Absolute Batman introduces two new villain redesigns.

DC Unveils Absolute Calendar Man, And Absolute Tweedledee & Tweedledum

Absolute Batman #22; Written By Scott Snyder; Art By Werther Dell’Edera & Frank Martin

Absolute Batman #22 adds another twist to the Absolute Universe with Harley Quinn’s new origin story. Turns out, while Harleen Quinzel is actually the Absolute counterpart of her regular self, her mother receives a much familiar origin than her. Harley’s mother becomes obsessed with investigating Jack Grimm, only to lose her sanity and transform into something of a female version of the Joker. While escaping her, Harley falls into a secret room, where she finds two Ark M test subjects: conjoined twins with severe physical deformities, and a kid coming out of a dead man’s decaying corpse.

One of the conjoined twins utter the words “dee-dum, dee-dum,” and both the kid and the corpse sport Roman numerals tattooed around their head. These are clear hints at these characters’ identities: Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and Calendar Man. This is a welcome change for Dumfrey and Deever Tweed, who are usually almost exact mirrors of their Alice in Wonderland counterparts. Calendar Man had already undergone a massive change from a contrived costume-hero supervillain to a grounded serial killer in Batman: The Long Halloween, but the idea of periodic self-births is so inspired that it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s replicated in other universes.

Batman’s Rogues’ Gallery Continues To Be The Best Source Of Terrifying Absolute Redesigns

Absolute Batman’s Rogues’ Gallery Is Expanding Gradually

Batman’s villains have always thrived on strong visual appeal and symbolism, which makes them uniquely suited to radical reinterpretation in the Absolute Universe without losing what makes them recognizable. Absolute Batman has taken full advantage of their adaptability with drastically different takes that come across as unsettling. Absolute Batman villains can be identified immediately even though they bear little resemblance to their original selves. For instance, Absolute Two-Face sports long white hair that covers part of his face and a skull-like deformity instead of facial burns, and Absolute Mister Freeze exchanges his traditional armor for an almost fully naked look, with extremely long limbs and glowing red eyes.

Most other Gotham criminals are equally likely to make their Absolute Universe debut. Some of the most logical additions are Man-Bat, Professor Pyg, and the Ventriloquist with his Scarface puppet, all of whom are already terrifying villains in most DC timelines. Others, like Hush, Azrael, and Prometheus could serve as primary villains, like Bane; others, like Bat-Mite, Condiment King, and Kite Man could be transformed from comedic antagonists to living nightmares. DC’s Absolute line is here for the long run, and even though Batman’s war against the Joker definitely heads towards a climax, there’s still decades’ worth of material to adapt.

Which Batman villain would you like to see in the Absolute Universe?

Absolute Batman #22 is now available from DC Comics

Alias

Bruce Wayne

Created By

Bob Kane, Bill Finger

FIRST APP

Detective Comics #27 (1939)

Alliance

Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family

Race

Human

Franchise

D.C.