Absolute Batman (2024-) #14

Absolute Batman (2024)

by Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta (Artist)

Batman and Catwoman face down Bane in a final battle! But once the dustsettles, what will it all mean for the future of Batman?

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

Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 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

[MrGlassWontBreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bruce prepares for the showdown with Bane, and plans to use the rest of the Venom in his system to win the fight after initially wearing Bane out. We see flashbacks of the boxing match between Waylon and a champion pro boxer.

The showdown begins with Batman dropping a skyscraper on Bane(Gyaat Dammn!!!), but he emerges unscathed. Batman, with the help of the Red Hood, Alfred, and Waylon Crock, launches a series of epic attacks on Bane, but he just keeps regenerating and growing bigger.

Batman cuts through Bane’s back with his axe, severing Bane’s spine and revealing a Venom infusion device embedded within, but Bane grows even bigger, and brutally beats Batman, trying to force him to use the Venom in his system. That’s when it’s revealed that Bruce took Selina’s advice and had Eddie(Riddler) remove all the venom from his body. Catwoman shoots Bane with multiple darts full of the venom they got out of Bruce, then Bruce flings his axe at his venom infuser, causing Bane’s body to overload, exploding into chunks of flesh.

Joker's Scientist collects Bane's organs, keeping him alive in a tank just to show him as the Joker nukes his home island of Santa Prisca, incinerating his family and everyone he loves. And of course Selina steals the venom extracted from Bruce’s body, obviously up to no good with it. They keep dialing up the awesomeness with each issue. Kind of bummed I didn’t get to see the venom-fueled Hulkified Batman they teased in the intro spread page.

[Machiavelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This issue is undeniably cinematic — a huge, brutal Batman vs. Bane showdown with the dial turned all the way up to 11. The action is wild, the visuals are massive, and the book goes for pure spectacle.

But the story doesn’t land as strongly for me. When everything is pushed that big, it starts to lose some emotional weight, almost drifting into WWE territory — entertaining, but not the kind of Batman that resonates most with me.

Fun in the moment, but not elite for me.

[Zoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

“He’s fighting to fight. The fight is the point.” -Alfred about Batman

Karma came for Bane in this issue, and it was bloody and devastating. Batman certainly does not do revenge by halves.

[Antonio Escobar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawg,

Now THIS is how you end a. storyline - fucking peak.
From the beginning to end, I was HOOKED

And seeing that joker is next; oooooooooooh man! I’m so fucking hyped

We will be there

Everything here is peak

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The flashbacks scenes with Waylon were the best. Overall this was fun and I'm not ready for Absolute Joker.

[Nathalaan Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

[Sam Theriault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do feel this series has lost the working class Bruce Wayne aspect but it's still so cool. The supporting cast is also one of the best of any batman book I've read. Love Scott Snyder and his goop obsession

[dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is it. The ultimate showdown we’ve been waiting for between Bane and Batman. Unhinged, ruthless violence on full display—and wow, does it pay off.

In terms of action, artwork, and surprise, this issue absolutely hits the mark on all fronts. Kudos to Nick Dragotta, who somehow makes the artwork feel powerful, grounded, and real, while still keeping it fun and unmistakably comic book-y.

One of the starkest contrasts I’ve noticed in this early version of Batman compared to other adaptations is his growing ability to embrace teamwork, even when he resists it at first. Watching him work alongside Alfred, Harley, Waylon, and Selina really highlights that growth.

I won’t give too much away, but this legendary fight with Bane is insane. And then, when Joker finally reaches his breaking point after Bane fails to take down Batman, what he does to Bane is absolutely unhinged, brutal, and deeply twisted. As evil as Bane is, Snyder somehow manages to make you feel both hatred and tragic empathy for him at the same time. That emotional balance is incredibly hard to pull off, and it works perfectly here.

If this is how twisted and cruel they made Bane… then I’m definitely not ready for Joker. Oh well… here goes nothing.

[Michael Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This keeps up, I’m gonna need a bigger TV.” So say we all, Jim. So say we all.

[Raymond Paquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to say plot armor saved the day, but it would have to take the back seat to ordinary stubbornness. Batman won the day not because he was stronger, but because he was angrier and meaner than the other guy

[Derrick McCall · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I got you, baby."

Snyder goes so over-the-top that it's one of the best things I've read in a long while. Let him write a whole Absolute BatCat book. I cannot get enough of these two. And now Joker next issue? I cannot wait to see how insane things get.

Speaking of Joker, him bombing Santa Prisca so that Bane doesn't have to worry about going back to his family is never level super-villain shit and shows just how powerful this Joker is in the overall world and how much rule he's in control of.

Best book out right now and it isn't even close.

[Eddie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Craig Schorling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Snyder you marvelous man! This was epic and gripping from start to finish. Sure Bane looks ridiculous but it works in this series. The blending of past events into the current was masterful. Then we get to the end and it is even more chaos. This series is unstoppable right now.

[Celina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know Bane had to go but I can't believe his people did him like that. All he wanted was to rest after all that endless fighting.

[Bryham Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fight with Bane is everything that is right about this comic and this reimagining of the Batman universe.

[Ramón Nogueras Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ocho estrellas

[Liam Donohue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bane is the scariest guy, I’ve ever seen. Yeah it’s peak, what did you expect. Scott Synder is currently my favorite Batman writer. Everything he touches is gas, gas, gas, gas. I can’t get enough of this world. Art is out of this world, future generations will be looking at this comic seeing how raw and beautiful the artwork by Nick Dragotta is. Metal as hell. Bruce and Waylton are the tuffest duo in modern comic book history.

The only ongoing comic run, I’m continuing due to how absolute Batman keeps blowing me away

9/10.

[Cybernex007 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I call this move…Welcome to Gotham.”

That is exactly how I was hoping this arc would end, omg that was amazing. The biggest thing we feared was batman himself becoming the abomination, and as we open this issue, with all of Bruce’s closest friends racked through his mind pre and post encounter with bane, the plan he works out with Alfred for that big final fight batman setup with Bane was for batman to use the 2 last doses of venom in his system. He uses one of them beforehand with Alfred to make sure his body can handle it, then they plan to use the other during the fight. As the public watches all the news in anticipation, the mayor and his cronies stick to a strict script that this fight does not exist and is not happening…all while behind the scenes taking in orders from the top to keep everyone, save batman and bane, away from the arena. All the while Barbara Gordon is also watching on hoping he has one damn good plan. Bane is also counting on Bruce using the venom left in his system, he is still set on batman becoming the next test subject and bane going to a life on Santa Prisca. The doctors are also very clear that bane’s body doesn’t have much left to it anyway, and needs rest.

As our combatants enter the arena we immediately see parallels drawn to the fight between Waylon Jones and Bibbo Bibowski we have been hearing about throughout this arc, the fights are one and the same. As bane enters the field the red hood gang, lead by Harley, who line the stadium seating turn up the lights and command a fleet of drones to reduced and broadcast the entire fight. Batman starts the fight with his opening move of setting off a set of charges within the neighboring building and literally dropping a building on top of bane!! OMG, THAT’S MY FAVORITE DOWN TO EARTH ARCHITECT, CITY PLANNER, AND EVERY OTHER JOB HE DID! Just like the fight with Waylon, we see him come in swinging, all while Falcone watches with Bruce and Selina from the boxes planning for Waylon to go down hard in the 7th. Bane saw the building go down and pumped himself full of venom, he is literally already almost as tall as the bat dump truck and as he lifts the rubble off himself suddenly Alfred comes flying into the arena with the dump truck, latches into bane with 2 spears, then rips himself into Bane!! But as he circles back around for round 2, bane has already healed and using the spear hooks inside of him he is able to throw the bat truck out of the fight. He is healing at an exponentially high rate due to the venom, but what batman lacks in power and speed he makes up for in brutality. He is able to come in and flutter around bane ripping and tearing in all the impotent spots. But it comes to any point where the fighter on the ropes turns things around. Suddenly bane is able to pluck batman out of the air and slam him multiple times against the ground. Bane is taunting batman to use the venom, but he isn’t done yet and he orders the red hood gang to release Waylon! Ever have those moments where you look at something indescribable? That’s what I was feeling as Waylon latched his gigantic mouth around bane’s impossibly huge body, giving batman the opportunity to run over and lob off one of bane’s legs before being thrown into the seating. As we cut back to the Waylon fight in the old days, Waylon was on the ropes and the punches delivered to him were felt from the nosebleeds. So Bruce decided to head down himself, just as Waylon is with Bruce now Bruce didn’t leave him alone then. Alfred is freaking out watching this, bane just keeps infusing venom and there is no telling what his max is or if he has one and he is thinking batman should use the venom in his system now to try and push bane to that point…batman refuses, it goes against the plan. As bane is attempting to rip killer croc in half, Bruce jumps from the seating overhead with his axe in hand and rips apart bane’s spine all the way down the middle. Waylon is freed and free to leave, he provided the help batman needed and he has it from here. With his spine severed bane can’t use his legs, and batman makes sure he knows this. Batman then plays the same game bane played with him in ARK M, going for Bane’s arms next. Batman then makes it clear that they aren’t so different, they both lost their fathers…only difference is batman didn’t break his father’s back or heart. This enrages bane, he rips apart his body growing to a size surpassing any limit thought possible. Bane’s arm is literally bigger than all of batman. And we know how large batman is. This is the part of the fight in the present day and in the past where our hero is on the ropes, but that’s where Bruce’s voice cuts in. This is not the time to give up. As bane smashes batman into a small crater, batman suddenly lifts up on his knees. Alfred is calling for him to use the venom, and bane is goading him to as well. Batman obliges…calling on Catwoman for assistance. She appears from the rafters, firing her gun full of venom needles right into bane’s back! At the same time in the past Waylon has spun the fight around and has physically flipped his opponent in the air and landed on him head first. In both situations the fighters have just turned the fight completely around in one miracle move, and the extra venom going into bane’s system literally causes him to explode from the pressure as batman delivers one final hit by throwing his axe!

But how did we get here? We jump back 2 days ago to see Bruce team up with Selina and actually listen to her, getting Eddie to take our every last drop of venom from his system and putting them into her syringe darts. In the past Falcone wants Bruce dead for screwing him out of the fight as Bruce refused to screw Waylon out of his. But what really ties it all together is Alfred’s monologue:

“Now, in hindsight, I understand how he won. I see it. The thing bane didn’t. The thing all kings and generals and masters of war always fail to take into account— therefore some soldiers winning isn’t the point. Because theirs is a fight that’s bigger than any war. It’s old as time and immediate as a baby scream, and there’s no end to it, ever, not really. It’s about doing what’s right, no more, no less. So for someone like Batman? He’s not fighting to win. He’s fighting to fight. The fight is the point. For home. For the people he loves. And I’m grateful to batman for the reminder.”

As the fight comes to an end batman literally scoops up the exploded remains of bane and dumps them in the ocean and sends them right towards ARK M. His friends watch on from the hospital at the victory before them, and Selina ditches town…all with her own vial of venom. We cut some time later and find that Doctor Arkham has somehow kept what remains of bane alive…even if right now he is just a brain, eyes, and some other remains, but he is regenerating. But joker is not done with him and decides to give him something to push him forward. As such he forces bane ro watch as he drops bombs all over Santa Prisca and destroys any hope he had. I really hope bane never comes back, omg.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 5 out of 5]

No hay mucho más que decir en cuanto a cómo Scott Snyder se ha dejado llevar por completo por el inesperado y salvaje paroxismo de violento poder físico que ha irrumpido en esta cabecera con la versión Absolute Bane que ha re impulsado el perfil brutalista de este Bruce Wayne y sus compañeros y aliados como ese Killer Croc que también toma parte en la nueva lucha de titanes en Gotham City. Nick Dragotta sigue esmerándose en que la épica grotesca esté totalmente a unas gigantescas alturas conceptuales como las que aquí vemos con una perturbadora recreación de la masa informe del Tetsuo de la recta final de AKIRA. Pero ni habiendo superado una nueva pesadilla body horror, Snyder deja respiro alguno augurando ya totalmente el conocer la versión ABSOLUTE del Joker, el cual no ha podido manifestar de forma más inquietante esa reconocida maldad y perversidad sin haber hecho amago alguno de su maquiavélica sonrisa circense.

[AviChaim Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible finale to this arc! This issue captures everything that makes Absolute Batman such a standout series: bold, grotesque, unrestrained, and absolutely badass. I enjoyed every moment of it and couldn’t be happier with the direction this creative team is taking.
This is the kind of story you simply can’t tell with mainline Batman, and that’s exactly why its Elseworlds setting works so well. It embraces a darker, more extreme vision of the character and never holds back. The entire issue is packed with fantastical, visceral action, including a massive, literally, take on Bane that steals the spotlight.
Without giving anything away, the fate of Bane and his village at the end of the arc is shockingly brutal and sets the stage for some major character shifts. I’m eager to see how these events reshape him and those around him moving forward.
I can’t recommend this issue and the series as a whole enough. Grade: A

[Colin Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ‘final’ (it does seem like Bane will come back…or maybe he’ll be convinced now to join Batman’s side) confrontation between Batman and Bane has been built up over the last many issues - *almost* to the point where the actual battle would be a disappointment…but it lived up the hype. What a showcase for Dragotta (as if this whole book wasn’t already a career-defining showcase), who makes the grotesquerie of Bane pumped up with the venom to the point of exploding a reality on the page. Absolute Batman is ferocious and brutal but his tactical ingenuity is pure Bats.

I’m also super curious to see how Bruce’s relationship to his friends change now that they’ve been made monstrous. We’ve started to see that with Croc but was about Harvey, Eddie, and Oz? And let’s get Absolute Robin/Nightwing!!!

[Ben Nealis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been a fan of the more monstrous versions of Bane, this is the exception. While maintaining his intellect, this final fight dips into pure theatrics, body horror, and the kind of brutality that would be necessary to take on an enemy of this caliber. The ending teases a storyline to come which I am eagerly awaiting. some part of me did not want to give this a full five stars because of it feeling more akin to a kaiju battle than a Batman beatdown, but let's all be honest with ourselves, this was a spectacular issue.

[Emiliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my living fuck and fuck

WHAT AN ISSUE GOD DAMN. The art is just fucking amazing it brought the intensity and grand scale of this fight holy fuck. Batman using his allies to stop Bane without the venom o my peak. This was just pure pandemonium and I loved it a lot. Also, the ending…. jesus fuck Joker is so fucked. A brutal cómic that lived up to the hype and I honestly want to reread it right now like it was that good!

[Benjamin Lund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly brilliant conclusion to the Abomination storyline

Might be one of the all time great endings to one of the all time great Batman stories. Snyder is firing on all cylinders… they need to bottle what’s inspiring this writer. Absolute Batman is holding its own against Absolute Wonder Woman as probably the two best books in DC’s Absolute universe. If you haven’t gotten on the Absolute train, start with Batman and Wonder Woman… you will not be let down.

[Ramya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This issue felt sharp and heavy all at once. Bruce walks in with a calm face, but you can feel the price he’s paying underneath. The moment Catwoman injects the venom into Bane is so quiet and brutal that the twist hit me like a shock… I didn’t see it coming at all. Bane’s fall felt sad more than anything, like he was already broken long before this. And Bruce ends the chapter looking tired, not victorious… what a magnificent damn moment.

[Jason Holtzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to love this series. Brilliant pacing combined with smart writing that shows even the wildest plot events can still be entertaining with a well developed emotional arc running underneath them.

To that end, a couple things started to get away from me while reading this, mainly that from a reader’s standpoint I think the literal scale of Bane is hard to understand at times. Still, I’m looking forward to more!

[Jerry Aguirre · Rating 5 out of 5]

The EPIC conclusion to the Band arc. WOW. A MUST MUST READ. The question leading up to this comic was: will Batman become the monster he needs to be to defeat another monster? If so, does that mean he’s doing what Bane wanted him to do? What if he doesn’t, does that make him a better man even if he dies?

READ !!!! EPIC

And The Joker………. What a scary, evil, ****** dude. I might be on Banes side

[Joseph Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

As close to perfection as a comic is likely to get. This is just so audacious and has to encompass so much, it could have fallen apart in so many ways. Folly, really. And yet somehow it works.

The build up over previous issues has helped to set out the monstrosities in store. And yet this issue still surpasses them and delivers something utterly beguiling. Raw. Savage. Kinetic. And deeply poignant.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfectly horrific and emotional end to the Bane arc! You get everything from Bane pushed to the edge of what his body can do and a vengeful Batman with an axe to grind. Let’s also not forget that we got our first glimpse at Dick Grayson! I can’t wait to read more of this and see where the story goes

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a finale to the Bane arc, can’t even describe the amount of hype that is the final battle. Snyder cooked hard in the writing and having a great conclusion to this. Subtle setup for what’s next and still just in shock at how crazy this went.