Absolute Batman 10 review – DC Comics 7/16/25

Absolute Batman 10 opens with an unfamiliar sight — a captive and seemingly demoralized Batman.

Last issue, Batman desperately tried to rally after getting pummeled by Bane, who hadn’t even bothered to tap into his Venom yet. Now, he’s under surveillance at Ark M looking for a possible means out. Any potential escape puts him right back to facing the terror that brutally beat him down — Bane. Writer Scott Snyder is slyly working his own take of Knightfall without taking a Bane-size forearm to hammer the point home.

Batman has been under control and fully confident of his abilities and his training. With the help of his childhood friends who now want to assist him on his mission, Bruce didn’t think he had anything to lose. Until he tried to locate Waylon and encountered Bane.

Snyder creates a nice symmetry here as well as one of the first characters Bane decimated was Killer Croc. Again, Snyder is not falling over himself to sloppily draw these parallels, but they are there if you know the original reference.

As Absolute Batman 10 plays out, Bruce is still in captivity for over 45 days as his mother, Martha, is growing worried since no one has heard from him. Snyder keeps finding new ways to prove this Bruce Wayne is nothing like the one readers have been invested in for nearly 90 years. He’s savvy of course, but also fully prepared to take extreme measures like using his teeth as weapons.

MORE:

• The Old Guard 2 review (2025)
• X-Men Age of Revelation 0 review – Marvel Comics 7/16/25
• Superman repeats atop box office with $57M
• DC Multiverse Page Punchers Starman review (2025)

Absolute Batman 10 also shows a deadly secret at Ark M with some creepy twists on familiar Batman Rogues like Clayface and Poison Ivy. Snyder has happily and very effectively taken the challenge to create a new Batman mythos and lean towards the unconventional in all aspects. It’s made for a compelling take on The Dark Knight without feeling like a betrayal of the work of countless Batman creators before him.

If anything, Absolute Batman 10 shows that Snyder reveres the classic source material so much that he doesn’t want to just make a few tweaks for contemporary audiences. This is an entirely different presentation of Batman.

Artist Nick Dragotta delivers impressive visuals with his towering presentation of Batman and even more menacing take on Bane. Dragotta ensures that Bane fills up 3/4 of every panel just to convey the in dominatable force Batman must overcome. Dragotta also does fine work with the flashback sequences where Bruce attempts to help Waylon train for his big bout against Bibbo. There’s a softer aspect to the characters in these scenes and Dragotta plays up the dynamic further with Bruce and Selina in Absolute Batman 10.

Colorist Nick Martin and letterer Clayton Cowles provide sharp color choices and dynamic sound effect fonts respectively. Absolute Batman has been a title where every member of the creative team’s contributions is completely essential to establishing what could be one of the more landmark Batman runs in the last 30 years. To truly keep this momentum going, DC has to make sure to keep this team together.

Absolute Batman 10 delivers big time on the initial Absolute Universe rivalry with Batman and Bane as well as the first appearance of Killer Croc. This Abomination arc has been fantastic and makes for a relatively easy enough jumping on point for new readers.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Photo Credit: DC Comics

Pre-order the first installment of Absolute Batman with the Absolute Batman: The Zoo trade paperback on Amazon. The Zoo is set to be released on Aug. 5.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.