Meet the Batman You’ve Never Known

DC Comics is going all in on Absolute Batman . On Wednesday, the company officially announced DC All In, a new publishing initiative that will introduce the Absolute Universe and reinvent Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Launching this October with the oversized DC All In Special #1, a 64-page one-shot from writers Scott Snyder (Batman) and Joshua Williamson (Superman) along with artists Daniel Sampere (Dark Crisis) and Wes Craig (Deadly Class), this new line of comics aims to redefine the iconic heroes of the prime DC Universe, beginning with a manga-inspired Dark Knight.

“When you guys see Nick Dragotta’s art on Absolute Batman , it is going to blow your mind,” Williamson teased during DC’s All In announcement video. “It is primal. This is not the Batman you know. He’s a beast.”

In any universe, Batman is never one to underestimate, but the broad-shouldered, brawny Batman of the Absolute Universe is even more “badass,” according to Snyder. “That’s the spirit of this universe,” Snyder said. “In this universe, the heroes come up in ways that make them underdogs. They have a lot less of the comforts and things that they have in the main universe. Without spoiling things in each of the books, they have to be tougher, they have to be more resourceful, they have to shine brighter. And it makes them more badass.”

The Absolute Universe exists “in one shared space and as part of a bigger story that we’ll be telling over the course of the next few years,” Snyder explained. Describing DC All In as a “driving force for the company,” the initiative will span both the DCU and the DCAU, and spins out of Absolute Power, the Dawn of DC-branded blockbuster event by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. “That actually ends with some really big moments for the DCU, and that’s where we start picking things up with All In #1 in October,” Williamson said.

“All In is about inviting everybody in—the existing creators, some new creators, everything—to tell their best stories, and to begin them all at one point,” Snyder continued. “The idea is to create the greatest jumping-on point for you guys in many, many years.” DC will launch new books, including Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman with a long-haired look, and a tattooed warrior version of Absolute Wonder Woman. However, the ongoing DC continuity will not be rebooted or retconned.

The nature of the Absolute Universe’s creation won’t be revealed until October’s Absolute Power finale and the All In one-shot. However, a battle between Darkseid and Superman’s Justice League will “reshape the DC cosmology in a brand new way, in a radical way, in a way that we’re really excited about,” Snyder said. “In the midst of that, one thing it creates is a dangerous, wild new planet: a new DC universe.”

Nick Dragotta’s past works include Superman: American Alien, DC’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Image’s sci-fi western East of West, co-created with Marvel’s rebooted Ultimate Universe architect Jonathan Hickman. Scott Snyder is known for writing the bestselling series American Vampire and Swamp Thing, and for relaunching Batman as part of DC’s New 52 in 2011.