This Batman article contains spoilers.What defines Batman?As part of the Absolute Universe, the new DC Comics line that reimagines core characters, Absolute Batman frequently wrestles with this question. Creators Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta recreate Bruce Wayne into a hulking chunk of working class rage, raised by a single mother and without a massive fortune to fund his crusade. Even Alfred appears here not as a loyal butler but as a cold-hearted mercenary who takes an interest in Batmans actions.Each time Snyder and Dragotta reintroduce a familiar part of Batman lore, we should all pay attention. Absolute Batman #5 is no exception, as it brings in a new version of the familiar Bat-Signal, changing it into a statement of purpose for this radical take on the Dark Knight.A New LightAbsolute Batman #5 picks up on the cliffhanger from issue #3, with Batman seemingly giving in to a deal offered by Roman Sionis, aka the Black Mask. If Batman stops attacking Black Masks gang, the Animal Party, he will receive a payment of $200 million dollars to finance the future of his vigilante crusade.Half of the issue follows Batman and Sionis as they meet on a rooftop to seal their deal. The rest flashes back to the funeral of Thomas Wayne, where Jim Gordon offers his condolences to the boy. Imagined in the Absolute Universe as a beat cop who responded to the shooting instead of the GCPD commissioner, Gordon thinks he has good news to share with Bruce. He tells Bruce that the zoo where his father died is being torn down, so hell never again have to see that painful sight. When Bruce asks about its replacement, Gordons non-committal: I dont know. Something practical, Im sure.The two storylines come together late in the issue, when Batman reveals to Sionis that he took the money and has already put it to use. Dragotta expertly lays out five rows with panels of various lengths, creating tight, tension-building rhythm. In between close-ups of piles of cash, we see images of Sionis gleefully mocking Batman by speculating about potential purchases (Cars? Planes? Bat-computers?) and young Bruce and Gordon talking at the funeral.I dont want them to knock down the zoo, or turn it into something practical,' pleads Bruce. I want something there that makes everyone look. Like you said, something that shines.With that, we turn to a glorious splash page, Bruce bent forward, as if his heavy mitts pull him toward the ground, under a massive yellow oval in the sky. In the enter of the oval we see this Batmans chunky new logo.Working-Class HeroTraditionally, the Bat-signal exists as an extravagant form of communication, a way for Commissioner Gordon to call for the Batmans help. Sometimes, it also serves as a warning for evildoers, a point made in 2022s The Batman. Whatever the case, the Bat-signal stands as the most obvious of Batmans wonderful toys, meant to keep everyone in line.While Absolute Batman still has sympathetic police officers in the form of Gordon, his daughter Barbara, and even to an extent Harvey Bullock (now the commissioner and also ripped), this take on the Dark Knight isnt about maintaining social order. Sionis and the Animal Party represent the privileged classes, who can treat their city as a playground precisely because they get to hold others into place. Even the Joker, thus far only teased, is a figure of order instead of chaos, while other traditional villainsincluding Riddler, Killer Croc, and the Penguinare now old pals who grew up with Bruce in Crime Alley.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!This moral perspective drives Snyder and Dragottas heavy metal take on the Caped Crusader. A gigantic figure who pounds through walls and pulls his insignia from his chest to make a massive axe, Batman fights for justice by sowing anarchy, well aware of how the powers that be allowed his fathers murder.For this Batman, then, the Bat-signal doesnt warn the baddies to stay inside or support the police force. It disrupts the darkness to spark hope. It breaks up the sky in a blaze of chaotic justice.Burning For JusticePerhaps the most important moment in the Bat-signals debut isnt the way that Bruce used the cash to put his symbol on the light. Its when the heat from the signal lights the cash on fire, publicly burning the money away.The burning cash underscores the central conflict between Batman and Black Mask (The only hero of this story is money! Sionis gloats). It also makes Batman more inspirational than ever before. If Batman doesnt need money to do good, then neither do we. And if money burns away, then the power it gives Sionis and other villains (real or imagine) does, too.When the Absolute Bat-Signal hits the skies, we know that Batmans out there fighting for justice. And we know we can all fight with him. And thats what defines Batman.Absolute Batman #5 is out now.