DC Just Turned Absolute Batman Into His Own Worst Nightmare

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Batman is known for being a very forceful hero. He’s highly skilled in all kinds of fighting, and he uses those skills to control crime in Gotham City. Some people believe he goes too far, inflicting serious harm instead of simply stopping criminals. While this is often overstated, Batman is an action hero, and violence is a key part of how he saves the day – that’s true even in stories like Absolute Batman.

The Absolute Universe presents a far grimmer and more violent world than the one our heroes typically inhabit. Absolute Batman is incredibly brutal in combat, and while some might find the level of destruction excessive, it serves a purpose beyond shock value. The Absolute Batman 2025 Annual specifically used this intense violence to offer a deeply emotional glimpse into Batman’s mind, ultimately revealing his deepest fear.

Absolute Batman Is A Monster of Absolute Vengeance

This year’s annual Batman story showed how the Absolute Batmobile came to be, starting with a particularly violent event early in Bruce Wayne’s career. He traveled to the troubled town of Slaughter Swamp to buy some specialized, non-lethal equipment from a questionable arms dealer. There, he found the town in chaos, with a white supremacist group thriving due to widespread poverty and resentment. Bruce was badly beaten while protecting a mother and child from the gang, but was rescued by a local priest. The priest tended to Bruce’s injuries and revealed the gang’s plan to forcibly remove a camp of homeless immigrants and people of color from the town.

Okay, so in the latest Batman story, things got intense. He basically declared war on a group of white supremacists, and it was way more brutal than anything we’ve seen in this universe so far. I’m talking broken bones, a flamethrower, the whole nine yards! He even drove a massive truck – which is going to become the Batmobile, apparently – right through their hideout. It was a seriously violent display of vengeance. But here’s the thing that really got me: after all that, a priest just walks in and starts treating their injuries. When Batman questions him, the priest admits he can’t fix their lives, but he knows how to prevent further harm. It was a powerful moment, and Batman is left reflecting on a memory of his father, who always knew Bruce had a good heart and a desire to help people. It really makes you think about the cycle of violence and what it truly means to be a hero.

The priest and Thomas Wayne shared a long friendship, united by their commitment to peaceful activism and improving the world. Batman was consumed by feelings of guilt, shame, and regret, lost in his own dark thoughts and clutching his injured hands. The story’s ending was deeply impactful, revealing Batman’s greatest fear and the source of his deepest regret, and resonated more powerfully than any of his physical confrontations in this issue.

Absolute Batman Is A Good Man Filled With Rage

Bruce always strived to earn his father’s approval and become the man his father believed he could be. His father was a champion for positive change, but Bruce feels unable to follow in those footsteps. As Batman, he’s a hero driven by both justice and revenge, and this iteration is far more brutal than any previous one, often resorting to extreme violence like dismemberment and severe bone fractures. Though his father hoped he would be kind and compassionate, Bruce spends every night inflicting harm.

Batman is completely dedicated to protecting Gotham City, and he won’t ever give up. However, he’s not satisfied with how he does it. Growing up, his father was an educator, someone who believed in building people up, but all Batman seems capable of is destruction. He both despises and embraces this tendency, feeling it’s the only way he can truly impact the city. This version of Batman is particularly troubled by his methods and fears his father’s disapproval. But even more than that, he’s terrified of what his still-living mother would think of the person he’s become.

Batman is deeply affected by the memory of his good father, and his mother feels the same way. He keeps his work as Batman a secret for many reasons, but a major one is his fear of her reaction. He worries she’d be upset by his violent methods, or even believe his father would disapprove, and that thought is almost unbearable. Ultimately, Batman’s greatest fear is letting his parents down, and he feels he fails them with every night of crime-fighting.

Absolute Batman 2025 Annual is on sale now!

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2025-11-01 18:42