The anticipation surrounding DC's new Absolute Batman show is high, but one important detail has become the biggest point of contention among fans. DC Comics introduced the Absolute Universe, an Elseworlds-style world featuring reimagined versions of iconic heroes in a darker world shaped by Darkseid energy. At the forefront is Absolute Batman, which reimagines Bruce Wayne not as a billionaire playboy but as a young, blue-collar civil engineer who grew up poor in Crime Alley after his father's murder. DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation are going all-in with Absolute Batman because they officially announced an adult animated series adaptation at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
DC Studios' upcoming Absolute Batman show will be helmed by Scott Snyder as showrunner and executive producer, and by Nick Dragotta as producer, marking a rare and exciting milestone that keeps the original creators at the helm of their vision.
Despite this exciting development, the project's biggest talking point and the source of fan division emerged right at the Annecy announcement: the series will be fully CG/3D animated, with early previsualization handled by Stellar Creative Lab, the studio best known for Marvel's What If...? series. While the talent and creator oversight sound perfect on paper, not everyone is a fan of this animation choice.
Many felt that DC Studios' Absolute Batman series would be better suited in 2D, drawing more inspiration from Nick Dragotta's original artwork. Dragotta's arty style is highly stylized, dynamic, and illustrative, heavy on dramatic angles and imbued with almost hand-drawn intensity.
Traditional 2D animation would better capture that energy, similar to how other notable 2D shows like X-Men '97 and Arcane succeeded in that format by leaning more into their artistic identities.
Still, it is worth clarifying that the pre-vis was done by Stellar Creative Labs, and that pre-vis work is frequently handled by a different studio from the one responsible for the full series. DC Studios has not yet confirmed who will lead the animation, but it's worth noting that it will still be in 3D.
It's not that fans hate 3D entirely; they are concerned with the final output. The point here is that they've seen too many projects where the format prioritized realism or cost-saving over style, resulting in a show that sometimes feels disconnected from the source material.
These concerns are closely tied to Marvel's What If...?, the project Stellar Creative Lab is best known for. While the MCU anthology series delivered some visually striking moments and concept-driven episodes, it drew criticism for inconsistent animation quality throughout its three-season run on Disney+. Some of the comments note stiff character movement and a sense that the animation style prioritized volume and schedule over bold, risky, on-screen expressive takes.
For Absolute Batman, many worry that a similar TV-CGI approach could result in a version of the Dark Knight that lacks the artistic flair of the trending comics. Still, a 3D version of Batman has precedent worth considering.
A Past 3D Animated Batman Show Proved This Animation Style Worked
2013's Beware the Batman from Cartoon Network embraced a fully 3D CGI model, and many fans claimed it was actually good and underrated, suggesting there is a chance the art style could work for DC Studios' Absolute Batman.
Beware the Batman had a darker, more procedural tone than most Batman shows, with action sequences that still hold up surprisingly well over a decade later. While it was not perfect, it proved that a 3D Batman can still stand out when the models and animation are handled with care.
Some episodes of What If...? had already proven that 3D can be expressive and imbued with a lot of personality when the right artists and direction are involved. The fact that Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta are closely overseeing the series suggests that they will not let Absolute Batman be ruined with the wrong animation style.
DC Studios' Absolute Batman clearly has it all: passionate creators, incredible source material, and an embrace of an adult animation style. This show could easily become one of the most exciting Batman projects in years. The only real wildcard is the execution of these visuals.
Beware the Batman's success in the CGI format is a silver lining, and the fact that creators now have access to modern tools and higher budgets makes even better results possible. Hopefully, DC doesn't make a mistake with the Absolute Batman show.
