Absolute Batman #9 Review - Not Enough Ambulances

New Month, New Absolute Batman Arc!

Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta return with Absolute Batman #7, launching a brand-new arc titled Abomination—and the team is firing on all cylinders. Following the brutal opening arc and the nightmare-fuel Mr. Freeze storyline from issues #7 and #8, this next chapter doesn’t waste a second.

Gotham is still reeling. After being torn apart by the Party Animals and Black Mask, the city remains under curfew—practically a police state. The tension radiates off every page; this version of Gotham is dark, oppressive, and utterly gripping. Batman is on a rampage, taking out bad guys left and right. My favorite moment? He takes down so many thugs that the city runs out of ambulances and resorts to using Ubers and rickshaws to haul off the injured. It's brutal, it's absurd—and it’s perfect.

Snyder continues to reinvent the Batman mythos in fresh, fascinating ways. Watching Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot , Harvey Dent, and Alfred Pennyworth team up with Batman to rescue Waylon Jones isn’t your typical Bat-story—but it works brilliantly.

And while this isn’t much of a spoiler, yes—we’re introduced to the Absolute version of Bane. And let me tell you: this is not someone you want to mess with. Dragotta draws him with such terrifying intensity that you'd think the venom’s already kicked in… but nope. This is Bane pre-injection. He’s massive—almost inhuman. Batman may have the tech and the will, but getting away from this monster? That’s going to take something else entirely. (Maybe a new Bat-family made up of Riddler, Penguin, Two-Face, and Alfred???)

Also—real talk—we’ve all joked about how huge Absolute Batman is, but have you seen Bane’s body-to-head proportions in this issue? Wild.

And finally, we get a tease of Dick Grayson—and I’m hyped. Please, DC, give us Absolute Nightwing. The world needs it.

Definitely check this issue out—it's a great starting point for new readers and continues the epic journey of Absolute Batman.