Based on the live-action Batman movies, not to mention a metric boatload of animated films to go alongside them. All of these have had their own distinct take on the iconic DC hero, even when adapting versions of Batman that are theoretically quite similar for the most part.

The most recent of these renditions is, of course, that of The Batman, which brought an engrossing new version of the classic story of the hero learning to be Gotham's protector to life, enriched by Robert Pattinson's Batman performance, as well as the likes of Colin Farrell's Penguin and Paul Dano's Riddler. While a critical and box office success in its own right, the move was made to ensure this franchise exists in its own separate corner of the overarching DCU release slate, which has some fascinating implications for what else may be possible for this new chapter of DC movie history.

The Batman Established The DCU Is Willing To Have "Elseworlds" Dark Knight Movies

The Batman's dark, gothic world is perfect for its story, and for setting itself apart from prior Batman releases via its own separate tone. However, it's hard to say whether it would have worked being integrated into the DCU, since the grounded, gritty take on Gotham and its protector relies on a more realistic cast of characters and plotline. With this in mind, placing The Batman franchise into the more outright fantastical world of the DCU may have well teed up both for a disaster of sorts, despite how excellent this version of the Caped Crusader's mythos is.

As such, it was instead confirmed that The Batman would fit into the DCU's Elseworlds line, with the main DCU timeline getting a solo Batman movie titled The Brave & The Bold instead. The Elseworlds label mirrors the comic label of the same name, and is important to the DCU as a different category for films and shows that essentially lets audiences know they're taking place in an entirely different universe to the main DCU timeline, and that thus can be wildly different in tone and lore compared to the mainline DC Universe installments.

Based on the fact this seems to mean The Batman and the DCU's Batman will co-exist in their different respective universes during the same time period, it doesn't seem impossible for other iterations of The Dark Knight to emerge too, even if this would potentially need to be later on to prevent three Caped Crusaders from potentially accidentally competing. However, given how different the hero is in one Batman comic story that seems like it could be perfect for the DCU to adapt, this may not be that much of a concern.

Absolute Batman Would Be A Seriously Perfect DCU Movie Project Waiting To Happen Already

DC's Absolute Batman initially raised some eyebrows before its success truly became tangible. A version of Batman that depicts him as a hulking civil engineer rather than a billionaire who inherited his wealth from his family estate, the Absolute Batman line changes a lot of the core aspects of the hero while also still feeling like a story that stays true to the mythos via Bruce's absolute commitment to improving Gotham, which naturally comes as at least a little bit of a surprise.

Of course, it certainly helps that the Absolute Batman line provides a high-octane version of the Dark Knight's fight for Gotham that often feels like it amps everything up to eleven, with the first issues alone offering a hardened active secret agent version of Alfred Pennyworth, a genuinely unsettling version of DC villain Black Mask who's responsible for the deaths of a harrowing amount of people, and a Batman who chops off his enemy's hand or explodes a building with relative ease in the name of dealing with Black Mask's unleashed minions.

The Absolute Batman comic line began in October 2024, and is still currently ongoing.

With all of this in mind, it seems the Absolute Batman series would make great logical sense to adapt if DC wanted a more action-focused movie line - or solo movie - for its roster, since it has kept things very much centered on epic and dramatic fight scenes throughout its entire run thus far. This way, The Batman is able to lean more into the mystery aspect of the World's Greatest Detective's story - and keep things reasonably grounded - and the DCU's Batman can focus more on likely bringing a range of different tones to whatever installments he appears in, as befits the wider franchise he will fit in.

Adapting Absolute Batman As An Elseworlds Movie Would Be A Best Of Both Worlds Scenario

Given Absolute Batman's notable popularity since it first began releasing - and the fact that one of the things the series is most complimented on is the way it's able to subvert expectations when it comes to Batman's lore while still providing stories that made sense for the character and feel well-written, well-illustrated, and well-delivered all around, bringing it to the big screen later down the line would be an excellent way to capitalize on its unique successes twofold. Indeed, given Absolute Batman kicked off the Absolute Universe for the comics, it wouldn't be impossible for follow-up releases, either.

With that said, though, Absolute Batman would be a perfect prospective opportunity for the Elseworlds treatment because it is so strikingly different to the usual Batman stories in so many ways. As such, this would be able to underline the Elseworlds side of the franchise to audiences who may not have been as familiar with it or aware of what the concept means, helping the DCU to more clearly delineate things while also giving the Batman series the chance to establish its own distinct tone, world and characters without having to worry about fitting into the main DC Universe story itself.

Though the Absolute Batman series is still very much in its infancy at this point, its first volume still offers the potential for an engrossing and high-energy movie story that also holds the potential for further follow-ups should this be an avenue the DCU wishes to go down. However, with the mainline DC Universe Batman yet to be properly set up, it's likely anything along these lines would need to stay on the backburner for now while the focal film version of the hero gets established.

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