Absolute Batman #25 Review: Gotham’s Worst Nightmare Gets Worse

Scott Snyder woke up and decided Gotham wasn’t suffering enough! Absolute Batman #25 throws Bruce Wayne into another round of twisted family business, backroom schemes, and one of the nastiest versions of the Joker I’ve seen in a minute. We’re seven chapters into “The Straw Man,” and this ain’t the Batman who strolls into a room with a billion-dollar gadget and a backup plan for every emergency. This Bruce is built like a refrigerator, angry as hell, and trying to hold together a city where even the people he grew up with can end up on the wrong side of his fist. Papo, Gotham needs therapy, an exorcist, and maybe a building inspector. In that order.

The issue kicks off with Bruce dealing with the fallout from all the madness that went down previously, checking in with the folks connected to Croc’s Gym while trying to figure out what the hell is really happening over at Grimm Manor. Now, this is something Snyder is doing that I’m really digging. He’s making Bruce’s history with Gotham feel personal, like these people actually have a past together instead of every villain being some random lunatic who woke up one morning and decided to become a problem. Killer Croc ain’t just another name on Batman’s greatest hits list, nah, there’s history here, and plenty of it. We’re talking loyalty, resentment, old wounds, and that uncomfortable feeling of dealing with people who knew you before you became whoever the hell you are today. That’s the kind of storytelling I appreciate because these relationships actually mean something, and you can feel that history every time these characters open their mouths. Just when Bruce thinks he’s finally putting the pieces together, Gotham pulls another nasty little surprise out of its ass. Seriously, this city needs more than Batman. It needs a damn exorcism!

Now, don’t get it twisted, fam, this ain’t just Batman running around Gotham handing out knuckle sandwiches like he’s got a two-for-one special going on! There’s some serious detective work happening here, and I LOVE that Snyder hasn’t forgotten that Batman is supposed to be the World’s Greatest Detective, not just Gotham’s angriest bodybuilder. Bruce is following leads, checking out some shady locations, dealing with bizarre technology, and talking to people who clearly know more than they’re letting on. You know those types, the ones who act all innocent while practically sweating secrets? Yeah, THOSE people! Then you got Bane lurking around, and listen, when that big bastard is involved, you already know somebody’s day is about to get seriously messed up. What I appreciate is that Snyder doesn’t need Bane smashing somebody through a wall every five minutes to remind us how dangerous he is. His presence alone is enough to make you uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Bruce actually has to THINK, listen, question people, and put the pieces together. Sure, this Batman can rip a damn door off its hinges like he’s opening a bag of chips, but those muscles ain’t solving every mystery, Papi! THAT’S BATMAN! My only little gripe is that Snyder occasionally throws so many clues and character connections at you that you might find yourself flipping back a page like, “Hold up, what the hell did I just miss?” Still, the mystery is juicy enough that I wasn’t complaining too much.

Now let’s talk about the Joker because… COÑOOOOOO! WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL IS THAT THING?! Fam, forget everything you thought you knew about the Clown Prince of Crime. Forget the purple suit, the playing cards, the goofy little jokes, and that creepy smile we’re all used to. Snyder and Nick Dragotta said, “Nah, we’re gonna traumatize these readers today!” This ain’t the Joker you grew up with, Papi. This is some straight-up nightmare fuel, looking like somebody grabbed a clown, tossed his ass into a blender with a demon, and let a mad scientist put the pieces back together while drunk on cheap rum! The elongated body, the twisted anatomy, the sheer WRONGNESS of this creature had me staring at the page like, “YO, WHO APPROVED THIS NIGHTMARE?!” LMAO! The crazy part is that this isn’t some cheap horror gimmick thrown in just to make readers lose their lunch. This reveal changes EVERYTHING about the atmosphere of the story. Bruce can beat the brakes off a whole gang of armed thugs before breakfast, but what the hell is he supposed to do with something that looks like it crawled out of Satan’s rejected science project? Listen, I’ve seen plenty of creepy Jokers over the years, but THIS version? Nah, fam, this dude needs an exorcist, a priest, a whole church choir, and somebody’s Puerto Rican abuela throwing agua bendita at his ass! WEPAAAA!

Now, can we PLEASE give Nick Dragotta his flowers because this man is out here committing artistic FELONIES on these pages! Seriously, somebody check his drawing hand because there’s no way he’s putting out this level of madness without that thing catching fire! His Batman is an absolute UNIT, moving through Gotham like a Mack truck with anger issues, but what makes the artwork work so damn well is that Dragotta never forgets there’s an actual human being underneath all that muscle and armor. The quieter moments tell just as much of the story as the action, and I love how he’ll squeeze you into these tight little panels, make you feel like something ain’t right, then BAM! He opens everything up with an impact that practically jumps off the page. You can FEEL the punches, the movement, the tension, all of it! Then there’s his Joker, and sweet baby Jesus, the way that freak moves is enough to make your skin crawl without him saying a damn word. Now, I know Dragotta’s exaggerated anatomy isn’t for everybody, and that’s cool, different strokes for different folks. Me? I’M LOVING IT! This is the ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE, baby! I don’t want regular Batman with a fresh coat of paint and a new pair of Timbs. I want something different, something bold, something that makes me look at the page and go, “YO, THESE DUDES ARE OUT OF THEIR DAMN MINDS!” Dragotta understands the assignment, and he’s delivering like the rent is due tomorrow!

Now, let’s show some love to Frank Martin because, FAM, this man ain’t just coloring pages, he’s helping turn Gotham into one seriously messed-up place! The sickly greens, those nasty bruised purples, the reds and oranges exploding across the action scenes, everything feels like this city has been through some serious trauma and nobody bothered calling a therapist! LMAO! Then the Joker shows up, and COÑO, that acidic green behind his twisted ass makes the whole scene look like somebody opened a radioactive sewer underneath Arkham Asylum! What I love is how Martin can take us from a regular conversation to some straight-up body horror madness in the blink of an eye, and somehow it all works together beautifully. That’s TALENT, Papi! We also gotta give Tom Napolitano his props because lettering a Snyder comic with this much dialogue, chaos, and action flying around ain’t exactly a walk through Prospect Park! He keeps everything readable without the pages looking like somebody dumped a whole damn novel on top of Dragotta’s artwork. The sound effects hit when they need to, the dialogue flows naturally, and most importantly, the creative team knows when to SHUT THE HELL UP and let the artwork speak for itself! Sometimes one horrifying image is all you need to tell the story. We don’t need a villain explaining his entire evil business plan like he’s presenting quarterly earnings to the board of directors. Show me the madness, baby, and let my imagination do the rest!

Now, Snyder, my brother, come here for a second because we gotta talk! LMAO! Listen, I’m loving what you’re cooking with this Absolute Universe, but COÑO, you’re throwing EVERYTHING into this issue like a Puerto Rican grandma preparing Thanksgiving dinner for 40 people! We got Croc, Bane, the madness surrounding Grimm Manor, Bruce dealing with his personal history, and then this nightmare version of the Joker showing up like he owns the damn place! There’s so much happening that a few moments barely get a chance to sink in before we’re already being dragged into the next revelation. Some of the detective scenes are packed tighter than the 7 train during rush hour, and just when you’re trying to process what somebody said, BOOM, we’re off to another fight or another crazy discovery! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a comic that respects my intelligence and doesn’t feel the need to spoon-feed me every little detail. I’m a grown-ass comic book reader, Papi, I can connect the dots! Still, there’s a difference between keeping the story moving and making me feel like I’m chasing the damn Q train after the doors already closed! Give some of these moments a little room to breathe, especially when we’re dealing with characters who have this much history together. Let those emotional punches land before somebody starts throwing actual punches! A little patience would’ve made a few of these confrontations hit even harder, and considering how much I’m enjoying this book, that’s really my biggest complaint.

That ending, though? Fam, I ain’t spoiling the exact reveal here, because it’s the kind of final-page moment you deserve to experience with your own eyeballs. Let’s just say Bruce’s personal life is about to get a whole lot more complicated, and Snyder clearly has plans beyond another monster-of-the-month brawl. That’s the secret sauce of Absolute Batman. Beneath the violence and grotesque redesigns, this book keeps coming back to relationships, the choices people make, and the price Bruce pays for trying to protect his city. It’s a brutal world, but there’s still a human heart beating inside that ridiculous chest plate.

Absolute Batman #25 is a vicious, stylish chapter that proves Snyder and Dragotta aren’t running out of ways to make Gotham feel dangerous. The mystery has teeth, the Joker is pure nightmare fuel, and Dragotta, Martin, and Napolitano deliver pages that look and sound like a proper comic-book event. Yeah, the pacing gets crowded and some scenes could use another beat, but I had a blast with this one. DC’s Absolute line keeps giving us familiar icons through a wildly different lens, and this issue shows exactly why that approach can work. Bruce, my brother, you got problems. BIG ones.

Crusaders Score:
4.5/5

Story: The Straw Man, Part 7
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Nick Dragotta
Colorist: Frank Martin
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Main Cover: Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin
Associate Editor: Sabrina Futch
Editor: Katie Kubert
Executive Editor: Chris Conroy
Batman Created By: Bob Kane with Bill Finger
Publisher: DC Comics