Things have gotten pretty grim in Gotham over the years, but leave it to Roman Sionis to sink it to a new low, and in a completely different way than what’s happened before. Sionis, also known as Black Mask, has managed to not just outmaneuver Batman, but also enact a plan that has turned Gotham City into the straight-up Purge. It’s a nightmare scenario and turns the already dangerous city into a ticking time bomb.
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Sionis kicked his plan into gear last issue as he had his crew deliver crates of masks throughout the city, but this wasn’t just a Party Animals recruitment drive. Instead, these masks were all connected to Roman’s main network, which fed them up-to-date information on targets throughout the city.
Once someone puts on the mask, they see real-time data on anyone they are looking at, telling them their identity (if in the system) and how much they would be paid for killing them. We learn this thanks to Martha Wayne and James Gordon, who are caught in the middle of the city as everyone around them is putting on masks and getting up to speed.
As Martha puts on the mask, you can already see violence happening around them, and that’s because Sionis is not just offering money for murders. Like in The Purge, which makes everything legal for 12 hours, Sionis is rewarding various crimes with heavy rewards.
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Robberies offer $50k, while arson offers $100k and assault offers $150k. Murder is at $250k, and then the mask totals all crimes committed for a total payout at the bottom of the screen. That total will also add bounties for certain individuals, and for Mayor James Gordon, it is set at 1 Million dollars.
We start to move to other parts of the city, and as more and more people put on masks, we see places suddenly turn into nightmare factories. This is also like The Purge, as while everyone knows when the Purge begins, the further into the night we go the more frightening and deadly it becomes. There are also plenty of masked individuals sporting weapons of all kinds in the films, and those who find themselves outside of a safe end up in a true fight for survival.
In actuality, Absolute Batman is even worse than The Purge, as it introduces money into the mix. While there are plenty of people making money off of The Purge in the films, it’s not everyone, and there are many people just being violent for the sake of it without any financial reward. In this case, Sionis is rewarding everyone with a cash value for their crimes, which can turn someone who is on the fence about it all to the side of crime for an unprecedented payday.
All in all, both are bad scenarios, though Absolute Batman might win out in being the most dangerous. Absolute Batman #6 is in comic stores now, and let us know what you think of the issue in the comments. You can also talk all things comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
