Absolute Batman #24 Review: The Bat Arrives, and the Issue Feels Rushed

The Bat arrives, and the issue feels rushed. I just read Absolute Batman #24, out September 23. Barbara Gordon is the Bat, and the chapter tries to land the friends, his mom and the Court of Owls, the Robins, Scarecrow, and the turn toward the Joker in the same issue.

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Nick Dragotta
Colorist: Frank Martin
Publisher: DC
On-sale: September 23, 2026

The Setup

Cover A is the homage to #1, the striking one that was shown around Heroes Con. Barbara is looking for Batman, and he finally answers. Absolute Joker and the Straw Man (Absolute Scarecrow) share a scene, and just seeing those two in the same room is interestingly evil.

Bruce also gets an exchange with his mom, and a little more info on the Court of Owls. I don’t think we learned a lot there as it mostly fills in information we already had. She gives him a choice of two ways forward and helps on both. The flashbacks are the slow burn: him at the end of his enforcer days with the actual baseball bat, her letter telling him to be more than this, and his reply that he will be a bat. I can see what that stretch is for. It is meant to slow the book down, and the thought is the right one, but It still isn’t enough to offset the pacing of the rest of the issue.

The Robins are supposedly done fighting each other and turning it all toward Batman. The city thinks he killed Gordon and Tim Drake, and that framing is going to turn the heat up — I guess, I mean weren’t they already all in on catching him? No Absolute Clayface in this one.

Highlights

The Scarecrow exchange has satisfying parts. There is a back and forth, as Batman seems to come out of the fearful, delusional stretch he has been in. There is also a reveal in the fight I’m not sure I love. Scarecrow has been a different kind of enemy than Bane, a new level of psychological threat. I think that is why the way he is (maybe/for now) wrapped up in this issue feels rushed. The fight itself is not the problem at all. The pile and pacing around it is. The Straw Man story is not finished here. It continues through #25.

Barbara’s arrival is paced better than the rest. If you have been following, the Bat was not a secret, and the “well, it’s about time” panel still lands. Pennyworth is pushing back on his handlers. The younger generation is hardening. Waylon, the Absolute Riddler, Absolute Two-Face, and Absolute Penguin are deciding what to do for Bruce, or to him, and they do not fully agree. Maybe they will try to bring him in, that thread stays open. The issue ends on Grimm Manor, which resembles the Absolute bat symbol a little, and points us towards the next big swing big swing: Batman versus the Joker.

Final Verdict

I’m still 100% in. I didn’t hate the issue despite my criticisms and this is still one of the best current runs. That said, it felt rushed, a lot of threads coming together in a less satisfying way than I had hoped after a long buildup. It felt like the different kind of threat that Absolute Scarecrow is deserved a different type of wrap up. Striking scenes, good art, some moments that satisfy and some that don’t. The Absolute Batman reading guide is the map if you are coming in late.

Did the Bat arrival carry this one for you, or did it feel crowded? Tag me on X @NostalgicNestEg.

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