In this review of Absolute Batman #20, The Robins set their sights on taking out Batman after the death of Jim Gordon.
Absolute Batman #20 main cover by Nick Dragotta (DC Comics)
ABSOLUTE BATMAN #20
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art and Main Cover: NICK DRAGOTTA
Variant Covers: KRIS ANKA, FABRIZIO DE TOMMASO, KYUYONG EOM, NICK ROBLES, JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ, RICKIE YAGAWA, JAHNOY LINDSEY, MARTIN SIMMONDS
Page Count: 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
Release Date: 5/13/26
This review contains spoilers
The truth can hurt, especially when you find out that the lie was your entire life.
Sound confusing? It’ll all make sense after reading Absolute Batman #20. However, let’s start with the big reveal at the end of #19. The Absolute universe gets its Robin…or should I say Robins? As if that wasn’t crazy enough, they’re also all wards of the state under the care of The Joker.
Oh, and they’re trained by Deathstroke. It’s another fresh take on a legacy character that has arguably made the Absolute Batman series so popular among fans and the followup to that reveal does not disappoint.
Analysis
Absolute Batman #20 opens with Jack Grimm/Joker laughing in his mansion’s cave, which looks eerily similar to the classic Batcave in the “normal” versions of the Batman universe, complete with the giant penny.
We then see a newscast mentioning how the Robins have grown more popular than Batman, and how they approach crime-fighting from a lighter view rather than one of complete darkness like Batman.
Is this setting up a future where we meet a Batman who realizes he also has to be a symbol of hope as well as vengeance? I’d bet it does as we saw Batman already mention he has to evolve in this world but maybe he’s gone too far the other direction? Time will tell, I suppose.
Meanwhile, Batman has isolated himself in the wake of Jim Gordon’s death and Harley and Alfred try to break him out of it…literally. Bruce leaves after finding a note saying he’s susceptible. But to what? Stay tuned.
We also see that Bruce has successfully converted Waylon Jones back to a regular human being and he goes to see Eddie. Both continue to deal with the aftermath of what Bane did to them, especially Eddie. He knows his brain isn’t firing like it used to, but it’s still pretty darn sharp. The two pair back up and discuss what to do about Bruce. Watch out for a team up here!
Now to the heart of this issue: Batman confronts Joe Chill. Moments like that are always epic but this confrontation takes the tension up to 11 as we learn why Batman stormed out of the bunker earlier in the issue. He’s read the files Gordon gave him before he was killed and it turns out Batman was “Project Batman” and a setup all along.
All of it, going back to the first issue. The science fair, the project, the trip to the zoo, even Thomas Wayne’s death. It was all a setup to create Batman.
Why? Enter the Scarecrow, who mentioned Bruce was “susceptible” back in the bunker.
Batman realizes it was Scarecrow who killed Gordon but dismisses him as another one of Jack Grimm’s operatives. Scarecrow doesn’t confirm or deny that, but he also drops one hell of a bomb on Batman’s psyche: he tells him Martha is a member of the Court of Owls.
This causes Batman to react as you’d expect: he goes berserk, and Scarecrow distracts him by getting Joe Chill to hang himself. It’s a pretty remarkable moment when the killer of Batman’s parents (or parent in this case) dies and he does try and stop it, but it appears he doesn’t succeed.
We then learn this Scarecrow doesn’t necessarily spread fear, he spreads dread. Another brilliant twist on the motivation of a classic Batman villain. Applause to Scott Snyder here.
Batman pursues Scarecrow and leaps through a wall which brings him face to face with…the Robins.
Truthfully, we all knew the confrontation was coming but this quickly? There’s got to be more to it, right?
Guess we will find out in issue #21.
Every single time we’ve met a villain in this series, we meet a version that’s different yet also familiar. It’s been a brilliant approach to characters that have been etched in readers’ minds for decades and Snyder’s approach to the Scarecrow has been another home run in this series.
There are also plenty of easter eggs and seeds planted throughout this issue that set up future arcs, including an ever so brief look at how one of Bruce’s friends has “split” into a potential foe. Combine that with the conversation between Waylon and Eddie and you can see the early signs of a big showdown in the future.
Absolute Batman #20 is paced well and kept me drawn in the entire way through. The only thing I can nitpick here is a familiar one: the time jumps. I recently re-read the entire series and I still have to go back when flashbacks come up and say “okay, when did this happen again?” It pulls the reader out of the story, and I do wish they’d be placed better or explained better than a simple “Then.”
Overall though, another solid issue in one of DC’s best-selling comics. Let’s hope the battle with the Robins doesn’t disappoint next issue.
