Absolute Batman (2024-) #10

Absolute Batman (2024)

by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta (Artist)

Bruce Wayne is trapped within the horrors of Ark M as his best friendWaylon Jones endures unimaginable tortures…but what awaits Batman isfar more terrifying than anything either has faced…the true form of Baneis revealed. But it’s how Bane plans to break Batman that will have you,our dear readers, bending over backward.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Superheroes, Comic Book, Crime, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published July 16, 2025

About the author

Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

Reviews

[Jadyn❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5* This book is insane. I'm a little bit scared of it.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is Ark M?



At the end of the last issue, Bane kicked Batman's ass and dragged him to the Ark M laboratories.
So, now what?
Let the experimentation begin!
While Bruce fights to keep his sanity amidst becoming the newest experiment in this hidden facility, Bane continually manages to thwart his escape plans and bring him back to the creepy doctor in ever-worsening shape. On each excursion, Bruce comes face to face with more of his fellow test subjects, and the reader gets to the Absolute versions of characters like Clayface & Poison Ivy. The ending is quite satisfying as Batman rides to freedom into the sewers with his old friend, Waylon, who has now fully become Absolute Killer Croc.




So.



I'm sort of overwhelmed by the craziness of this title, at times.
But it is different.
Do I like it?
Do I not?
I've sometimes been less than satisfied by Snyder's take on Batman in the past, and I don't fully know which side of the fence I'll end up falling on when everything is said and done.
But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the ride and see how it all pans out.



Recommended.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never knew I needed that team up till just now. Absolutely insanely badass, Bane continues to deliver being a sinister as fuck villain, SWAMP THING is there!!! Overall an amazing issue. Scott Snyder is going balls to walls here and I love it.

[Machiavelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolute Batman #10 is a brutal, high-octane read packed with intense brawls and gritty visuals. The Ark M/Bane “training” gauntlet is pushing Bruce to his limits, and the creative team delivers on sheer atmosphere and action.

That said, while it looks and feels fierce, the story didn’t quite land emotionally for me. It lacks the deeper pull that the best issues in this run have delivered.

Solid, but not top-tier.

[Gabriel Lamonica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only Batman could aura farm after being bullied by bane for 90 days straight

[MrGlassWontBreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bane keeps Bruce in Ark-M, trapped, beaten, and experimented on with multiple surgeries for months. Bruce never stops trying to escape, but is always stopped by Bane, until he finds Waylon, who had also been experimented on, but in a far worse manner. They both work together, and manage to escape.

Currently, Ark-M seems like a facility for creating genetically engineering monsters. Does that mean Bruce will have powers here? I’m not sure I like that idea too much, but let’s see where it goes.

[Zoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was some extreme body horror. From what Batman did to himself with yanking out his own teeth to be used as weapons to the creatures that were once humans and distinctly aren’t anymore, it’s clear that Dr. Arkham is willing to go to extreme lengths to get the information she’s looking for. Also, I’m very worried about Waylon and his future.

[Stacy (Gotham City Librarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce’s resilience here reaches frightening levels. That was my favorite part of the issue. I’m a little anxious about where the Bane plot line is leading, but he’s definitely a formidable enemy.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

ABOMINATION PT.2

Trapped in Ark M...and designated as Subject 27..for over a month...Bruce is worn down...with Bane there to oversee .

[Michael Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what an issue! Wildly, sometimes hilariously, over the top. Snyder's scripting shows us a Bruce Wayne in captivity for months, swinging us through hopelessness to hope, culminating in a terrific exchange between him and Bane and a perfect one-liner to cap it all off. This issue is a great showcase for Batman's resiliency, even as he's broken down bit by bit, in ways that are oftentimes shocking and disturbing. Nick Dragotta also gets to showcase some great body horror as we're guided through the mad science laboratories of Ark M, teasing potential future foes (or maybe allies, given how much Snyder has flipped Batman's traditional rogues gallery). I also really dug Batman being labeled Subject 27, a nice little callback to the character's debut in Detective Comics #27, back in 1939. Talk about resilience indeed!

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an issue from start to finish. Picking up from where issue nine left off it leans a lot into this Arkham environment in the Absolute universe and all the character appearances are stellar. The journey of Bruce in this is also unlinke anything seen with the character so far so excited to see where it continues.

[Rob Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even on the cover: look how big Batman’s body is, and how small his head is. This series—which started so great—is now absolute garbage. What a mess.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the "absolute" batshit craziness I keep coming back for.

[Tiago Meira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nessa história, Snyder constrói uma narrativa que se sustenta em uma espécie de terror corporal e um estudo que nos leva a entender o que se pode tirar do Batman que ainda permita que nós ainda o percebamos como Batman?

Em Absolute Batman temos uma desconstrução do que é o Batman e o seu universo. Contudo, mesmo o Batman não sendo aqui mais o bilionário, mesmo ele tendo uma fisionomia muito diferente do habitual, nós ainda conseguimos identificar: ok, esse é o Batman. Mesmo que o mundo ao seu redor esteja também muito diferente (vilões como amigos e etc)

Especificamente nessa história, o volume 10 de Absolute Batman, o Snyder coloca Bruce em uma das situações mais extremas, talvez, que o personagem já vivenciou. E ao fazê-lo, Snyder desveste (fisicamente inclusive) o personagem de quase tudo.

Além do que já foi falado, Bruce aqui não tem (ainda) um parceiro mirim ou um mordomo, nada disso. Snyder, ao trancafiar Bruce/Batman no centro de torturas e experimentos do Arca M, arranca literalmente tudo do personagem- Bruce está nu física e espiritualmente.

A nudez na qual Bruce é exposto aqui é essencial, visto que além de Bruce, outros personagens sofrem primariamente com seus corpos (como cara de barro e bane)- Snyder então subverte o que antes era um local de violência psicológica/psiquiátrica, para enfatizar o horror da exploração corporal. Porém, os “cientistas” do local sabem que ao expor os corpos de suas cobaias ao máximo, podem vir a quebrar a sua alma.

Bruce então é privado de sono, de comida e tudo mais nessa passagem que ele tem pela prisão do Arca M. Os experimentos com o personagem têm o intuito de leva-lo ao abandono de sua persona vigilante, de sua obssessão. Contudo, a teimosia parece ser algo que nunca irá abandonar o personagem. Snyder nos prova isso muito bem. Ele usa da repetição para nos mostrar um dos aspectos mais essenciais do personagem. Sobre isso, muitos vão chamar de resiliência, ou “nunca desistir”. Acho essa perspectiva um tanto rasa. Por trás do que chamamos de “resiliência” existe um aprisionamento. Bruce, na verdade, não pode desistir ou acredita não poder desistir. Está fechado para suas possibilidades, por isso, acredita estar fadado a repetir e repetir esse fardo. Contudo, esse aprisionamento nesse único sentido de vida, ironicamente é o que move o personagem- o que o liberta do Arca M.

Além disso, por mais que a herança aristocrática do personagem tenha sido tirada nesse universo, nós vemos que ele ainda resguarda muito do sentimento de “cavaleiro branco”, de dever. Nessa recusa, Bruce foge da cela inúmeras vezes como um prisioneiro rebelde que não aceita de forma alguma a ideia de não poder salvar alguém- veja, ele não pensa em salvar a si mesmo, de forma que ele usa e abusa do seu próprio corpo como ferramenta dessa batalha.

Em 90% dessa trama, Bruce não veste o manto de Batman, porém, essa essência aristocrática-salvadora e o aprisionamento na figura do morcego faz com que reconheçamos de longe o personagem em questão.

Melhor edição da saga até aqui.

[Christian M. T · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bane arc continues in this issue that takes the brutality up another notch just when you thought it couldn't get anymore brutal.

Batman has now been captured by Bane and put through a range of experiments and challenges akin to absolute torture. Bruce is not only trying to survive this ordeal, but he is also fighting with his guilty at not believing in his friend Waylon and not being able to find him. This seemingly lends to his resolve and determination as Bruce's ingenuity is on horrific display as we are treated in seeing what makeshift weapons he can create with just a feeding tube, some guano and urine!!

This issue also leans into horror and supernatural as we see dark scenes of genetically modified subjects already put through Bane's experiemnts. Bane and his scientists have been hard at work creating abominations, but Batman has now another ally that he or we didn't see coming!

As always, a shout out to the art of Dragotta. This issue again just shows why he's made for this series... its action, action, and action.... 5 star art!!!

[Ethan Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.5/5⭐️] Issue #10 starts off just as good as the last but gives on interesting take on Batman being captured. In most Batman media he is able to avoid any real threatening scenarios just in time, but the Absolute series takes a completely different turn. It gives us a look at a young Batman who faces a hopeless and dreadful scenario, being repeatedly captured and subjected to experimentation by Bane and others. This arc of Bruce slowly losing hope as he repeatedly tries to escape reminds me of TDKR but with much greater stakes. Having Batman actually repeatedly fail really shows his humanity in this adaptation. Only real complaint I have with this Issue is how tf was Batman able to tame a 20 foot Killer Croc in 5 seconds😭😭

[dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This abomination arc is truly unsettling. Some bold choices are being made in this series, and every single one of them feels like it’s paying off.

The way Bane and Dr. Arkham hold Bruce prisoner and reduce him to a lab subject is dark, twisted, and deeply uncomfortable. I expected him to be captured for maybe a few days—but over a month? Scott Snyder is very intentionally showing just how slowly and completely Bane and ArkM are trying to break Batman.

Bane’s fascination with Bruce’s escape attempts, and the sick pleasure he takes in his suffering, is genuinely terrifying. It becomes clear very quickly that something far darker, and far worse, is coming. And somehow.. I can’t wait to see it unfold.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh that one was REALLY good. I loved the way it was set up and how Bruce’s determination kept him going and the cuts to Martha searching for him—very good stuff man! I’m SO into needing to know what happens next

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bane is known to many as the man who broke Batman. The way they try to go about doing that here is absolutely fucking terrifying. And it’s amazing and I find myself surprised at the places this series has been going.

Well done, absolute Batman. Well done. Keep it up!

[brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTE BATMAN MORE LIKE WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK
yeah no, the doubt should be GONE that he for sure is batman wyd he hid all those weapons INSIDE his body and then used the acid inside his stomach as a weapon
that croc design is cool af please be chill af too

[dalmo]

Quanta roba ha in corpo sto ragazzo??
Mi piace il design di Croc

[Jeff te cuenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

El mejor capítulo hasta ahora de todo Absolute, cada día me gusta más.

[Sam Theriault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely shocking issue. Snyder has always had a horror lean to his work but there's some revolting stuff here that I didn't think DC would allow. 10/10

[Nightwing’s Thiccness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone out here talking about Bane’s size and Croc’s mouth, but barely anyone about the hive mind body horror nightmares of Ivy and Clayface?!

[Derrick McCall · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Keep trying. Please."

So billionaire Bruce Wayne gets to fight goofy clowns and short mob bosses but middle-class Bruce Wayne has to fight literal demons from hell on a daily basis. My boy may not survive this goddamn book.

[Nikhil Math]

Dude, this is insane. This is such a body horror book. Dude, batman, you gotta stop. '

I wanna keep pushing through the pain like he does. He has resolve like no other. I want to be like him. Willing to do anything I can to get to my goal.

Middle of august is the next release, I cannot wait for it.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Insane issue with entertaining revel towards the end.

[katie. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce is literally the definition of batshit insane in this fucking comic run and I’m so obsessed with it. Like what do you mean he pulled out his own teeth to use as a weapon? HIS OWN TEETH! Unhinged to the max!!! Poor Waylon :(

[Ramón Nogueras Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pero qué barbaridad

[Eddie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This version of Arkham is way more brutal than your average.