Everything has led to this.
Warning: spoilers ahead!
A Bat-Intervention
“Absolute Batman #25” is a monster celebration and culmination of a consistently excellent storyline over two years. Not everything works, but so much of it is satisfying considering everything we’ve been through with this giant son of Gotham. Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta always do stellar work with Bruce’s inner workings and his persona life, especially in the relationships with his Crime Alley friends.
Absolute’s versions of Harvey Dent, Oswald Cobblepot, Eddie Nygma, and Waylon Jones are intriguing, funhouse mirror twists on their main universes selves. Them being Bruce’s earliest curated support system makes the series incredibly unique on its own. That’s what makes this issue’s betrayal so painful. Bruce walking in to what is essentially an intervention and slowly finding out that his friends have been paid off to gaslight him into thinking he is crazy. But more importantly, to back up off Jack Grimm V a.k.a. the Joker, a creepy immortal man.
The creative team really do some astounding work making Bruce’s betrayed face feel palpable. That realization that he’s more alone that he anticipated was well-written and haunting. Just when you think you can’t feel anymore bad for the guy, Dragotta and Snyder come in with another gut punch.
Speaking of the Literal Devil
One of the many things revealed in the intervention was the fact that Grimm V knows Batman’s real identity and is “withholding” it from authorities because he feels bad or whatever, all part of his manipulation. Bruce obviously saw right through this, but his friends, so thoroughly broken by Bane during the Abomination arc, saw a light at the end of the tunnel and took it. Even if it meant individual deals with the Devil.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for finally arrived and it was just as horrifying as Batman’s previous face-offs with Bane and Scarecrow. Every iteration of Joker’s foundation is rooted in being just some crazy guy with white face paint and dyed hair, but not in the Absolute Universe. Oh no. This Joker is a literal demonic, horror freak show, borne out of sucking the life force from infants. He is almost Biblical levels of frightening.
The fight between him and Batman feels almost hopeless for Bruce. After what we endured with him during the Bane era, this is starting to feel like torture porn. If it weren’t for our newly found Batgirl (Barbara Gordon, decked out in her late father’s trench coat), Batman would’ve been food for the Devil.
The Biggest Surprise Yet
There’s something poetic about this 400-pound behemoth being rescued and protected by a gaggle of misfit women. Babs and Harley have something to show Bruce after he wakes up and, surprise surprise, it’s Selina Kyle. A very pregnant Selina Kyle.
Bruce and Selina have a well-established romantic relationship in this universe, so an incoming baby isn’t that crazy, but the timing feels off. We finally just got to the big Joker showdown and then took a hard right into family planning? I smell a stunt. I mean, I get it, it’s the 25th issue, so they wanted something big to end on. However, a pregnancy feels kind of cliché. At the same time, I’m excited for a Wayne-Kyle offspring (if there aren’t any tricks afoot).
If you’ve been following “Absolute Catwoman,” you’ll know Selina’s got her own heavy, mysterious backstory being explored complete with Helena Bertinelli, Cassandra Cain, and her connection to Black Mask. With Snyder writing both series, I wonder how soon the pregnancy will show up in Selina’s book, considering she’s on the hunt for her friend outside the country.
Final Thoughts
“Absolute Batman #25” checks all the right boxes for a milestone issue. It has betrayal, brutal fights, truly disgusting villains, last-minute saves, and a big reveal. What more could Absolute Batman fans want? I personally would’ve liked for a longer, more unexpected fight between the two foes, but for a teaser it was good enough. I enjoyed seeing Batgirl in action and actually helping out without being nerfed. We’re watching the slow death of Bruce’s old family and support system (the Crime Alley kids), while a new one forms without him realizing (Barbara, Harley, Alfred, etc). Snyder should be proud of what he’s accomplished these last two years.
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