Absolute Batman, Vol. 2: Abomination

Absolute Batman (2024) #7-14

by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta (Artist), Marcos Martín (Artist)

In this chilling new saga, Batman confronts the icy menace of Mr. Freeze and the brutal force of Bane as he uncovers dark secrets within the Ark M facility that link Victor Fries, the Joker, and Gotham's deepest evils.
The story marks the debut of Mr. Freeze's Absolute Universe version, focusing on Victor Fries, his connection to the Ark M experiment, and its mysterious link to the Joker. Batman faces a deadly battle against Mr. Freeze, uncovering chilling secrets about Ark M and the Joker's involvement. Ark M is a facility meant to help society's broken, but it has also played a role in creating evil. When Bruce Wayne infiltrates Ark M, he encounters Bane--an old foe with a brutal origin story and a terrifying plan to break Batman. The narrative reveals Bane's background, motivations, and how he arrived in Gotham, all while Bruce and his friend Waylon Jones endure harrowing trials inside Ark M.
Collects Absolute Batman #7-14

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Batman, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes

240 pages, Paperback

Expected publication February 3, 2026

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

[Daniel Hoare · Rating 5 out of 5]

boldly asking the question: What If There Was An Even Bigger Guy

[Tyson]

the concept of absolute batcat

[Kurt Lorenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

7-8, Absolute Zero, ☆☆☆
9-14, Abomination, ☆☆☆☆

[Axel · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow
I loved the Freeze arc!!! It was so chilling (haha) and unsettling but also very moving. I loved how it introduces the human experimentation thing and how important Bruce's friends are in it.
Because, really, Bruces relationships with his friends and family and allies are the core of this Batman, that's why he fights. And having the rogues be that it's just so so interesting.
His relationship/bestfriendism with Waylon is super beautiful and moving too :)

Really can't wait to see where it keeps going!

[Sem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Snyder once again proves I underestimated the fuck out of him, writing a deranged, glorious story that mainline DC would never see. The art here is just as stunning, of course, but that's to be expected from the greats.

[Mik Cope · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series continues to surprise and excel. The alternate origins stories of how Bruce's buddies become supervillains is amazing and the big showdown, after months of build-up, is something to behold. Definitely my favourite Batman story in a long while.

[Alex]

it’s cold out there in buff guy city

[Cristian Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOAHHHHHHHH, THAT WAS CRAZY!!! A lot of modern media has made Bane into a joke, BUT HE JUST GOT ALL HIS AURA BACK AND HASN'T BEEN THIS MENACING SINCE KNIGHTFALL. Bruce's intelligence and willpower were really on display from issues 9-12, especially in Ark M, it was great to see. Getting the transformation for Killer Croc, The Penguin, Two-Face, and The Riddler in two issues was a crazy move but it hooked me in even more to this universe. I don't think Bruce is venomed out right now, there's gotta be some way he survived that second encounter with Bane. Can't wait to see where the story goes from here, but now I'm annoyed because I have to wait a month for issue #13 to come out.

P.S. Obviously I didn't read an unpublished volume, I just didn't want to log every issue so it made more sense

[Yoghavaarman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just when i thought they were done, they cooked even more holy hell. Batman in literal hell. Absolute Depression.

[nitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bane is the scariest guy i know" is unironically the best way to describe this

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this version of Bane, bringing him back to his classic Knightfall form being both a literal and mental giant. He breaks the bat in record time (and repeatedly!) compared to his Knightfall counterpart. I don’t know if I’ve ever looked forward to a villain’s downfall more than with Absolute Bane.

I’m going to keep reading this series to see where it goes, but be warned, it’s got WAY more body horror going on than I signed up for. Dragotta really cranks up the violence, many of his panels are downright gruesome. Like we get it, DC wants Bruce Wayne, and anybody in his immediate friend group, to suffer lol

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aaand, you lost me.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how the issue from this volume was better and better with each chapter. This and black mirror are so far my favorite written work from the goat, excited for vol 3 and the Ark M special!

[Pruett · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn’t ALL work, but issue #14 (the last of this collection!) is some of the most fun I’ve ever had reading a comic book. Dragotta’s art hasn’t disappointed for a SECOND.

[Ricardo Calderón de la Barca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.1/5

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

They promised Batman As Fuck and delivered Batman As Fuck.

Batman comics on crystal meth. Incredible ride.

[Gabino Joaquin · Rating 5 out of 5]

PEAK

[Francesco Lechi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's getting dumber and dumber by the issue, but the ridiculous hype moments keep it afloat.

[jor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute Zero (#7-#8) -

a short but impactful tale on absolute batman’s journey. as a big batman fan, of course i love to see him losing.
it is only when batman loses that he allows himself to step back and evolve. having a young bruce learning to do this, to accept challenges face first but also mantain a sense of self-preservation is beautiful (bruce wayne, as a character, is always at his best when having suicidal ideation) and even more enhanced when this is driven by the care of the community around him. the writing in here is fenomenal in exposing how much batman could never be alone, even without any of the robins or alfred, because gotham supports him too. having a part of his classic rogue gallery be his circle of friends in here is genius in highlighting that. his rogues ARE gotham, just like batman is.

beautiful beautiful story, and a incredibly smart set up to the Horrors absolute bats will encounter in the future

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half was a little bumpy, but the Abomination arc really stuck the landing.

[Nathaniel Creative Freedom HQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

We finally got to see Snyder’s “Bane” and he is BRUTAL. Absolute Batman has been a consistently great Batman comic.

[Renato · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick recap of the setup for Absolute Batman (the first of the DC Absolute Titles):
• Bruce Wayne is not a billionaire, in fact he is a stacked nobody-Engineer who works out of a garage
• Thomas Wayne was a teacher who was killed in a school shooting, Martha Wayne is alive and a political aide
• Bruce has a cadre of lifelong friends whose names would be very familiar: Eddie Nigma, Way Jones, Ozzie Cobblepot, Harv Dent and Sel Kyle
• Alfred Pennyworth has no connection to the Wayne Family whatsoever, works for a shadowy master
• Batman sometimes fights with a massive axe that detatches from his Bat-symbol


In Absolute Batman Volume 2, Scott Snyder continues to show why he is the without equals when trying to figure out new ways of telling Batman stories.

It contains two arcs, the first of which is Absolute Zero, a Fries story.
It is a great tale - creepy as hell - and I can not wait to get more stories on this Absolute Batman rogue.

However, the 2nd arc (Abomination) is all that everyone is going to be raging about - including myself.

Abomination introduces Bane, and their version is not simply to 'add more muscles' (but of course they do add muscles).
Bane's motivations, intentions, and his enmity towards Batman are all dialed up to 11 in this arc.

The Absolute universe promised BRU-TAL-I-TY and it delivers it in spades here.

Scott Snyder's reasons for his Bruce Wayne backstory (specifically the company that Wayne keeps) come into full bloom as well in this 2nd arc. It is very clear that he had a plan from the start and it is now producing wonderful narrative fruit.

Also, a fan of the visual characterizations here as well (Bane and Croc below).

[Subham · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A BOOK!

Seriously this has gotta be one of the best comics of all time and I had such a fun time reading it like it starts with the Dr Freeze story and was fine and a new take on the character and he is kinda psycho and a giant but it does set up some stuff with Ark M and whats going on in there! Also Batman friends coming together after the death of Matches Malone and that was a hartwarming story and how the art and color changes there from dark to bright is so well done!

Then there is the big story vs BANE and holy smokes its like one of the best stories of all time seeing Batman fight this monstrosity like right from the beginning what he does to croc and seeing how he toretures Batman in Ark M and like how Bruce tries to escape and Bane is like please try he is taunting Batman and its so well done like you see the threat of Baene from there and his origin is insane and so dark and twisted here, made me love him as a villain even more and then what he does to Batmans friends.. so dark and twisted like seriously SNYDER making Bane so cool holy shit! And the end fight specially wow match of the year!!

Each page and panel is filled with so much excitement and like the resolution is so worth it and he sticks the landing and I love it so much! Hats off to Snyder for maybe writing one of the best and one of my favorite Batmen stories of all time!!

[Štěpán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely bigger. Not in scope, but really, just bigger. Bigger Bane and bigger Batman. It feels weird. It is bonkers and unhinged. It bends laws of reality, believability and reason. It is crazy and very chaotic, and yet it is so much fun. Dragotta`s art is dynamic, bigger than life and fits this interpretation of Batman so well. Absolute Batman is a ride which flows and just shoots one idea right after the other.

My biggest issues are these: Whenever Dragotta`s art is not present, it does not feel right. His presence is needed and is key to Absolute Batman working. Other great artists have issues here - ClayMann, Marcos Martin and it just doesn`t feel right. Even though the two issues which Marcos Martín feature a completely different villain, all the time I was thinking, I want Dragotta back. And the second problem is that sometimes it just feels too much. It works on the cool factor, but I absolutely (hhaha) know that this is a book not for everyone, and it will discourage some readers. And I hope I am not one of them.

Next story arc should focus on Joker, and I am interested to see what Snyder does with him, which is again different from the status quo.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t impressed with Vol. 1 of Absolute Batman, and this arc is even worse. Snyder’s Bane is so obviously meant to invoke Judge Holden from Blood Meridian that most of the writing in these issues sounds like one of those pretentious YouTube video essays, with a handful of cliché jokes thrown in to make it even more dreadful. For example, here’s some dialogue from #10:

Bane: “It’s not the strongest or most intelligent of us who survive this war called life, but the most adaptive to change.” That’s Xenophon. Corinth, Athens circa 400 B.C. Time for you to change, little man.

Batman: “Shove it up your ass.” That’s Batman, circa now.

Give me a break…

Over the last 14 issues, it’s been clear that Absolute Batman relies on what the kids call “aura” and pointless shock value (see #11 where Batman is torn apart in what is obviously Alfred’s nightmare-fantasy but had illiterate readers all over the internet confused about how Bruce would come back to life…). It might look cool from afar, but it reads like a teenager’s concept of an edgier Batman.

[Diego Sastre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always beautiful when what you consider to be one of the best only gets better. I wanna take some time to talk a bit more on other things I adore of this series so far.

The art- Unbelievably creative and gorgeous. This is such a unique looking book, with fantastic color, and unbelievable monstrous, designs. I always found a strong appeal to Batman gently courting horror. This time Batman goes all in. The truly amazing part is as monstrous, and horrific as this book gets, it never feels like too much. Its always just right.
The framing and paneling is unbelievable. Some of the most complex, genius paneling youll get to see. the amount of depth on each and every page is insane.

I wanna call back to my previous abs batman review. I love how this book flips the idea of as bad as things are, you are better. This book says: yes, things are horrible, scary, bad as fuck. But you are so much worse.

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abomination takes what's great from The Zoo and does it even better. This is Knightfall Bane, but on steroids, it goes so beyond what you typically expect from DC, especially from a body horror perspective. The previous comic didn't really introduce great antagonists, but here, Freeze and especially Bane were such a brilliant foil to Bruce. We slowly understand how Bruce's closest friends in this alternate version slowly become a part of Batman's Rogue Gallery. An aspect I really do appreciate is Bruce's vulnerability. There are certain actions that just wouldn't happen during the main line but are necessary here, as Bruce doesn't have unlimited resources. If Absolute keeps this quality up, it will be up there as one of the greatest runs for the character.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm digging Snyder's horror approach to Batman. Everything's turned up to 11 and Snyder makes it work. First is a two part Mr. Freeze story drawn by Marcos Martin. I thought it was interesting that Matches Malone was an actual person and not just a secret identity of Batman's. Then Nick Dragotta returns for the Bane arc. It's crazy. It's over the top. It's really good. It's super violent. Batman in particular is more violent, gouging out eyeballs. I like this take on Bane and the changes to Bruce Wayne's friends who are all part of his rogues gallery in the main DC universe. Looking forward to see what they do with Joker next issue.

[Spencer Gilliland · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can you follow up the 10/10 all timer that was volume one? With another 10/10 all timer, of course!Snyder and Dragotta are making magic here with this series. Ark M, Bane, the Joker— it all feels so fresh, even if it is all a lead up to some of the baddies we’ve seen before. They lean hard on the connection between Bruce and his friends, and it all freaking WORKS. Bruce and Waylon’s friendship is incredibly well-written. The escape from Ark M is freaking awesome. Bane’s backstory is horrifying. The final battle? Chef’s kiss. Just a really incredible book all around. The saddest part about being caught up with this series is that now I have to wait another month for the next issue.

[Gabriel Horta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um dos melhores quadrinhos que eu já li na minha vida, eu juro por Deus. Eu tava dando socos pra cima lendo a edição 14. Literalmente urrando. Se em "The Zoo" o Snyder apresentou um novo universo, inteiramente repaginado e sombrio, para a gente, em "Abomination" ele foi além e nos entregou uma das melhores releituras de uma saga clássica na história dos quadrinhos.

Cada edição ficava melhor que a anterior, e ficar esperando quase dois meses pela luta final entre o Batman e o Bane valeu cada segundo.