Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder talks about how he is making fear the central theme around the title.
In an podcast hosted by AIPT Comics, Snyder dives into what makes Batman tick, as well as how the fear motif applies to all sorts of characters and future stories.
‘Nightmarish Trauma’
“Batman is someone who suffers a nightmarish trauma and then devotes himself to confronting every fear possible. He exists to make us brave in the face of the things we’re afraid of. His whole construction is [that] the world punches him and he punches back — and that’s it… It’s about being brave. What do I think is the scariest thing right now? Batman goes right at it.”
Fear is definitely not a new theme when it comes to Batman stories. You could play a drinking game and take a shot every time someone says the word “fear” in Batman Begins. But Snyder is delving into a different type of fear and how fear can looking different in today’s modern times.
Like, Snyder updated Batman’s origin from the Waynes being shot in a mugging to his father being killed in a public shooting. The anxiety around a potential shooting in a public space is more resonant with people nowadays, because it takes safe spaces- like a school or a zoo- and unroots its sense of safety.
Redefining Fear for Our Modern Times
Other things that people have an anxiety about is how so many big global decisions are made by the teensiest sliver of the population who happen to be billionaires. What makes these people qualified to make momentous decisions other than they are rich? Absolute Batman plans to distill that concern into their version of the Joker.
“I don’t ever want it to feel like a direct corollary to reality. The Joker in our story is a longtime Davos-attending, multi-company-owning, entrenched evil figure. But I pitched that before we had billionaires openly manipulating democracy. The world caught up.”
Hope in the Face of Fear
While the book is about fear, there is still a sense of hope as well. Alfred provides that foil for Bruce. Alfred is grizzled and cynical, but sees a spark of hope watching Bruce be Batman. Their relationship is core to making Absolute Batman work emotionally.
“Alfred is the emotional center of the book. In an egotistical way, he’s me in the series. I’m not young and idealistic anymore, but Alfred sees Bruce and is inspired by that idealism.”
Check out the entire interview on the AIPT Comics podcast. Scott Snyder talked about all sorts of topics, including why monthly comics are important and the thinking one of his most memorable scenes in Absolute Batman. Hint: it’s the part in issue 6 where Batman drop-kicks a child off a boat.
Absolute Batman comes out monthly from DC Comics.
Source: AIPTcomics.com
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