I Can’t Believe DC Just Rewrote One of Its Most Iconic Moments to Make Batman Look Cooler

Warning! Spoilers for Absolute Power: Origins #3!Batman is one of the most popular comic book characters ever created, and I’ve noticed that DC Comics tends to inflate that reputation every chance the publisher gets by making him the most dangerous and powerful person in the room. This ego-inflation most recently led to a strange retcon as a major Suicide Squad moment is changed to prop up Batman even more.

The surprising retcon to the Suicide Squad was seen in Absolute Power: Origins #3 by John Ridley, Alitha Martinez, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse, and Steve Wands. This book details Amanda Waller’s rise to absolute power in the DC Universe and goes over a few events that avid DC readers have already seen. One such event is Batman’s assault on Belle Reve when he discovers the existence of the Suicide Squad, but the way this story retells the event is very different from how it originally played out.

In this book, Amanda Waller is humiliated and easily defeated by Batman. He threatens her and gets everything he wants with few issues. This utter defeat pushes Waller to begin plotting even more against superheroes, but looking back on the event as it first played out, this simple defeat on the part of Batman isn’t what happened. Instead, Origins’ retcon was made to further boost Batman’s reputation, but I truly do not think it works that well. I honestly think that the original story is much better because it shows both characters at their best.

Amanda Waller Originally Faced Batman Down – And Won

Pages from Suicide Squad #10 by John Ostrander, Luke McDonnell, Bob Lewis, Todd Klein, and Julianna Ferriter

The original confrontation between Batman and Amanda Waller was first seen in Suicide Squad #10 by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell. At first, this story plays out much like the retelling, with Batman sneaking into Belle Reve and stealing data from Amanda Waller, which she quickly realizes. The difference is, in the original story, Batman then quickly tries to escape after stealing the data, only to be stopped by Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad. Waller manages to negotiate with Batman, essentially threatening Batman with his secret identity to turn over the data he stole. Batman obliges and leaves empty-handed.

This isn’t a loss for Waller; it’s a moment of victory as she averts a nearly catastrophic moment of sabotage.

This single issue established Amanda Waller as a real threat to the DC Universe at large, practially leading to more recent events like Titans: Beast World by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, and Lucas Meyer and even Absolute Power by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. She knew exactly how to handle Batman and what to threaten him with to get him to back down. Even Deadshot expresses surprise that Waller actually got Batman to stand down and leave. I think it’s clear this isn’t a loss for Waller; it’s a moment of victory as she averts a nearly catastrophic moment of sabotage. But in Absolute Power: Origins #3, she later describes this as Batman intentionally “humiliating” her. That’s simply not how the event played out in the original version of events, and was only shown this way to try and beef up Batman’s reputation as an unstoppable force.

Amanda Waller Once Stood Her Ground and Defeated Batman

DC Officially Rewrites One of Its Most Iconic Moments

Batman is an amazing character, and he’s one of my favorites in the entire DC Universe. But what makes Batman cool is that Bruce Wayne is just a man. He’s not some unstoppable force of nature. I think it’s okay if Batman loses or faces setbacks, because what makes him incredible is how he overcomes them. In the original version of this story, Batman tried to expose Waller and failed. She beat him, unquestioningly, making her a fascinating force in the DCU and making Batman a more complex hero. But this defeat doesn’t mean he gives up; he outright says he will continue going after her and find another way to bring her down. In this retelling, then, why is Waller still active if Batman got what he needed to shut her down?

Batman is an incredibly popular character and fans love to see him succeed. But sometimes DC takes this desire for Batman’s triumph a little too far and makes him seem unstoppable, even when it doesn’t serve the plot. Waller has had years of buildup to her dislike of superheroes, and the original confrontation between Waller and Batman in Suicide Squad doesn’t change her motivations. If anything, the original event strengthens them. Waller managed to successfully talk Batman down, forcing him to leave empty-handed. This event shows her that Batman can be defeated, which is much better than him just showing up as an impossible force and humiliating her and the entire Suicide Squad.

Absolute Power: Origins #3 and Suicide Squad #10 are available now from DC Comics!