Absolute Batman #12 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Nick Dragotta, Artist; Frank Martin, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: The Absolute Universe moves fast, and you can feel like an entire status quo has changed in only twenty issues. If you thought Absolute Batman wasn’t pulling punches until now, just wait. The last issue saw Batman go through an unbelievable series of trials, being broken again and again by Bane as he attempted to escape Ark M. But with every escape and torture, he wound up being rebuilt stronger by the mysterious masterminds – until now, he’s not entirely human at all anymore. Permanently bonded with the Venom system, he’s got the same type of altered strength as Bane – something Alfred tries to get across to him, but he’s not interested in listening. Because he’s not the only one who was affected by this attack. We know Waylon has been transformed into a giant crocodile mutant, so consumed with hunger that he begs Bruce to kill him – but that’s just the start of the brutal reveals here.
We all knew that Bruce’s friends were meant for bad ends, just based on the names, but I didn’t expect it to go just this badly, this quickly. Harvey gets his traditional facial appearance, of course, but in a darker way than ever courtesy of Bane. Ozzie winds up literally crushed into the twisted spectre of the Penguin, in a scene that feels like it’s far more at home in a hardcore horror movie. And Eddie winds up having his own strongest skills turned against him in a truly disturbing segment. The level of body horror in this issue might take some people by surprise, but it’s nothing unexpected, given what Bruce and Waylon have been put through over the last few issues. This is probably the darkest issue of the run so far, and so the character who appears at the end is very welcome. Scott Snyder has played with these dark themes before, but we’ve never seen him unleashed quite like he is in this run.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
