Absolute Batman creative team Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta dropped the first look at Absolute Barbara Gordon in a Bat-suit, but don’t call her Batgirl…
Barbara will suit up in Absolute Batman #24. But she is not Batgirl. The design sheet provided by series artist Dragotta simply calls her alter ego “The Bat”.
By Nick Dragotta
As per usual, Dragotta’s design sheet gives so much information about the costume design choices for The Bat. However, some of the choices may be spoilers for people not caught up in the latest issues of Absolute Batman.
Breaking Down Absolute Barbara Gordon and Her Look as the Bat
Potential Spoilers Ahead.
Barbara is wearing Jim Gordon’s trenchcoat. This makes sense given that Jim Gordon died seemingly by the Scarecrow’s machinations in issue number 19. Now Barbara has co-opted the coat for herself probably to honor Jim. But she seems to have outfitted it with Bruce’s Bat-tentacle cape tech. So while it wears like a trench coat, it can still give the classic Bat-cape silhouette when it flares up.
By Nick Dragotta
Dragotta’s notes also indicate that Barbara is wearing a bulletproof vest with a hastily spray-painted Bat-logo onto it. She also has a periwinkle scarf that she can put up when she is trying to obscure her identity even more. If one wonders where did Barbara get a Batman helmet, she took a discarded one from Bruce way back in the first arc of “The Zoo”. Since then, she’s been using it to radio-communicate with Batman on-and-off.
Finally, Barbara is armed with the buck-shot shotgun. This was originally Alfred’s gun, before Bruce stole and modified it to only shoot non-lethal Batarangs in issue number one. How did Barbara get her hands on it is still a mystery.
Also a mystery is what exactly pushed Barbara to don the cowl.
More Spoilers Ahead from Absolute Batman #21.
The latest issue of Absolute Batman shows Barbara having a tense, disgruntled conversation with the Robins. She might be disillusioned from the Robins’ extreme methods, even stating that she is not even sure what the law is anymore. But is this the breaking point for Barbara or is there more?
Absolute Barbara Gordon transforming into the Bat happens in Absolute Batman #24. The issue hits comic book shops in September.