If you read one DC series this year, make it Absolute Batman. From Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, the re-imagined Batman mythos is off-the-scale epic, dialling everything up to eleven. With the Joker, Snyder and Dragotta have taken things to another level of cool.
We’ve seen many iterations of the Joker over the years, but nothing quite like the monstrous, billionaire serial killer Jack Arthur (likely a nod to Arthur Fleck and Jack Napier) in Absolute Batman. Joker is one of the richest inhabitants of the Absolute Universe. His character, an outlandishly rich business mogul and highly-skilled fighter, is a total re-imagining of the Joker we know. Many fans have cited that this iteration of Joker echoes Bruce Wayne’s core character. It’s no longer Wayne Industries; it’s J.K. Holdings.
Joker’s exterior appearance is businessman-like, but really, he’s a monstrous entity who needs blood transfusions to keep up his human facade. His core appearance is otherworldly with heavily bleached skin, bursting veins, and sharp teeth. In fairness, it’s much easier to show you. See for yourself:
From the second this version of Joker was unveiled, fans haven’t been able to get the image out of their minds. Moreover, he’s not just evil in appearance. Snyder recently told Casually Comics that Absolute Joker is “easily” the most evil character he’s ever written. “Wherever he goes, people die, kids disappear, all kinds of horrible things,” he said.
After a very brief cameo at the end of Absolute Batman #14, the Joker will debut in Absolute Batman in issue #15, which will serve as an introductory issue with plenty of backstory. Check out our review of Absolute Batman #14 here. If Absolute Bane wasn’t enough, prepare yourselves for Joker.
