We probably should have expected this from DC Comics‘ Absolute Batman: Ark M Special, but — and spoilers past this point — the one-shot is hiding a slew of surprise villains. Not only do we get glimpses of Absolute Universe versions of Poison Ivy and Man-Bat, but we’ve also got the arrival of Deathstroke.
To jump back a bit, the majority of the book is concerned with the origins of Ark M in the Absolute Universe, the facility that thus far has been used to create Killer Croc, Venom-ize Batman, and much, much more. And surprisingly, its origins are in… Arkham Asylum.
Written by Scott Snyder and Frank Tieri, with art by Joshua Hixson, the issue jumps all over the place through time as Dr. Amadeus Arkham, in his journal in 1945, recounts meeting a man who wants to buy his Asylum. It also goes back to the origins of the Asylum, and how a horrible tragedy spurred Amadeus on to found the institution. He’s telling all this to a man who is clearly the Absolute Universe Joker, aka Jack Grimm, who got his own origins told — or at least speculated on — back in Absolute Batman #15.
Even further back in time Amadeus explains one of his most challenging patients was a man named Jack Doe who always smiled, and sure looks like The Joker we know from the regular universe. Around the same time, in 1885, Amadeus adopted a child who was found at his doorstep covered in blood. A lot of other things happen in the middle there, but the short version is that there’s a massacre at the Asylum, and it’s assumed Jack Doe perpetrated it, and killed the boy who would become Amadeus’ son. But that’s not what happened… At all.
Instead, it’s the boy who killed Jack Doe, and buried him in the walls of the Asylum. And that boy is The Joker, who reveals himself to Amadeus, causing the latter to burn the Asylum to the ground.
The issue ends with Jack Grimm fondly recalling the devastation he wrecked on Amadeus Arkham, while inside the current Ark M facility. There, an unseen man watches footage of Batman, and doesn’t think he’s even remotely a threat.
“I can handle him,” says the man. “Easy.”
“I know you can,” says Jack Grimm. “But… There are other friends I’d like to introduce him to in the meantime. So with that in mind…”
At which point, Grimm opens two “biomes,” one for Pamela Isley, aka Poison Ivy, the other for Kirk Langstrom, aka Man-Bat, as the two exit their cages. There are additional files, too: Hugo Strange, Jonathan Crane (aka Scarecrow), Basil Karlo (aka Clayface), and Jervis Tetch (aka Mad Hatter). We don’t see any of them, but we do see one more.
“None of this was necessary,” the unseen man says.
“Don’t worry,” says Joker. “You’ll get your chance soon enough. Everything in due time… My Deathstroke.”
And there on the final page is Absolute Deathstroke, with metal legs, a black cloak, and white, slicked back hair. It’s not entirely clear if he has an eyepatch, but there’s evidence he does. Specifically, we’ve already seen a picture of Joker and Deathstroke together, in Absolute Batman #9. Not only that, Snyder has talked about what Slade Wilson’s role in the story is: Darth Vader, to Alfred’s Obi-Wan.
“He has a long old relationship with Alfred,” Snyder told the TLDR podcast. “They trained together, they were old allies, they were friends, right? And now he’s his worst enemy and he sort of teamed up with Joker and that whole group. So for Alfred, that character is the pinnacle, like it’s the person he’s afraid of facing, it’s his Darth Vader, you know? It’s the person he feels he let down, it’s the person he feels guilty about, it’s the person he failed, if he’s Obi-Wan in that way.”
When will Deathstroke show up next? Well, Absolute Batman #16 finishes a two-part crossover with Absolute Wonder Woman. The next two issues, though, will introduce (or reintroduce) Poison Ivy, and promise that Joker gets a new ally. Perhaps Slade will pop his one eye up then…
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