Absolute Batman #9 - DC Comics

ABSOLUTE BATMAN No. 9, August 2025

Despite its twenty-page plot being rather devoid of pulse-pounding pugilism until its very end, Issue Nine of “Absolute Batman” still should have kept its audience hooked with the increasing mystery it shrouds the “all new Ark (M)” with. Indeed, the titular character’s carefully planned infiltration of Gotham City’s “fully operational institution” is absolutely packed full of foreboding atmosphere – whether it be simply a tense meeting of minds to discover a suitable entry point, or the deep-sea swim into one of the Nineteenth Century Hospital’s original water pipelines; “Private records show they’ve been working on the site ever since.”

Furthermore, Scott Snyder’s introduction of his ‘reinvented’ Bane is superbly well-penned, with the supervillain causing bloody chaos the moment he appears in the neutral territory of Alegab, Bialya. Massively muscled, it is clear that the masked monster has lost absolutely none of the formidable strength and political savvy which his co-creator Chuck Dixon first imbued him with, and this makes his highly anticipated confrontation with a much less experienced Bruce Wayne all the more foreboding for the cowled crime-fighter.

Lastly, the American author finally appears comfortable to firmly establish Batman’s family for these ‘Elseworlds’ adventures by assembling all of the protagonist’s friends in one room alongside the covert operative Alfred Pennyworth. In addition, it quickly becomes clear that the Caped Crusader has the ear (and loyalty) of former Mayor Jim Gordon’s daughter for the time being, with the street cop seemingly willing to provide the costumed vigilante with all sorts of information from her Police Department’s records.

Also well worth a mention are Nick Dragotta’s layouts, which do a terrific job in holding the readers’ attention. Of particular note has to be the way the artist emphasises Bane’s tremendous size when the deadly combatant first appears at Omar’s peace party, and then how truly talented at martial arts the huge bulk of a human being is when he methodically disables the Dark Knight using a series of simple strikes to the hero’s limb joints. These meticulously precise finger jabs upon Wayne’s pressure points truly smack of a surgeon carefully cutting away at some patient’s disease, and comes before the ferocious felon has even juiced himself up on Venom…

The regular cover art of "ABSOLUTE BATMAN" #8 by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin