5 Best Batman Comics of 2025, Ranked

2025 was a fantastic year to be a Batman fan. Over the last decade or so, Batman comics fell into a rut, repeating the same tired storylines that fans spoke out against the first time. The status quo demanded that Batman be miserable, and that often involved villains taking over Gotham City, Bruce fighting against his family, and Batman being deconstructed without ever being built back up. For a long time, Batman comics seemed intent on punishing Batman for being Batman, with no better example than stories like “Gotham War” and “H2SH” showing just how far the Dark Knight had fallen. 2025 changed all of that for the better.

After years of Batman comics where Bruce was practically painted as the enemy, there was a major turnaround in both the main series and side books that celebrated the Caped Crusader. The overall quality of DC’s All In event was out of this world, but Batman specifically reached a level of consistent quality that hasn’t been seen in decades, and maybe was never reached before. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at the five Batman comics that defined 2025, ranking them to see exactly how great each one was, and talking about all the amazing things these comics have done for fans of Batman.

5) Batman and Robin: Year One

This series took us back to Batman’s early years and the very start of Robin’s career. It followed Dick and Bruce as they learned to both work and live together, going from partners to father and son, even if neither said it. While the villain was a fairly standard, and at times, uninteresting crime boss with a rather disappointing end to his career, the mystery elements and emotional core of Bruce and Dick easily carried this comic into greatness. The final issue alone felt like the perfect love letter to the Dynamic Duo, showing how they’ve changed each other for the better and are going to change Gotham even more. The final panels are legitimately some of the most heartwarming Batman content ever produced.

4) Detective Comics

Tom Taylor’s run on Detective Comics started in late 2024, but it really kicked into gear this year and quickly established itself as a fantastic book. I’d call this run the de facto good Batman book, where it takes the Dark Knight we all know and love and puts him in interesting cases that have him touch every aspect of his character. We get to see his detective skills, fighting abilities, his connection to Gotham, his connection to his allies, and the strength of his character in every story. 

This is easily some of Taylor’s best work, and sets a baseline of an awesome story every single issue. There’s nothing bad about this comic, and any other year it would likely rate at least a top-three spot, but there’s simply nothing legendary about it, and that isn’t something that can be said about the other three entries. When the worst thing you can say about a comic is just that it is a fantastic Batman book, then that is some of the best criticism you can give.

3) Batman (2025)

After years of stories like the over-written and excessively long Failsafe storyline and “H2SH,” the start of Matt Fraction’s Batman was the light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel. It ripped Batman out of the endless cycle of misery and despair and placed him squarely back in an optimistic world as a symbol of redemption in a single issue. Its first issue is easily my favorite Batman issue of the year, in no small part because of the way it firmly placed Batman on the path to a better tomorrow, Jorge Jiménez’s legendary art, and the spectacular new Batsuit. That suit is easily one of Bruce’s best looks.

This comic not only freed Batman, but it restored Gotham City and Bruce Wayne to their former glory. Fraction immediately started introducing new civilian characters to flesh out his Gotham, which he said will no longer be cloaked in endless rain, and made Bruce feel important again. All of that, alongside actually utilizing Tim Drake, makes this the most optimistic start to a Batman run in years. Reading this comic feels like reconnecting with an old friend. I could go on about this comic all day, but we have two more entries to talk about. 

While I can easily see this run earning its place in the Batman hall of fame, currently, only four issues are out, so it would be unfair to rank it any higher despite its many claims to fame. In the future, I expect to see a whole lot more of this run that saved Batman. It made him feel like a hero again, and that’s the most important thing it could do.

2) Absolute Batman

Absoltue Batman isn’t just a great comic, it is a phenomenon. The Absolute Universe is DC’s most successful new idea in decades, and it spearheaded it all with Absolute Batman. The comic debuted last year to roaring success, but proved in 2025 that it was more than just a passing fad; it was a legend in the making. I cannot remember the last time every single issue of a comic sparked so much outreach and hype amongst fans. Whenever Absolute Batman drops, the entire fandom turns to stare in awe at the new monsters Batman has to carve his way through in glorious violence that’s gratuitous in the best way.

Absolute Batman captures that childlike excitement at seeing monster trucks and explosions and marries it to a deep emotional core of fighting against a system without hope. Batman becomes the hope Gotham needs, even if it doesn’t want it. This comic reinvented classic characters to near universal applause, and its takes on Bane and the Joker are legitimately some of the scariest things in comics. This is the most creative and fun that Batman, and really any comic, has been in a long time, and it truly feels like it lit a fire that just keeps getting bigger. This comic almost singlehandedly created a new generation of comic readers, and that is a gift in every way.

1) Batman: Dark Patterns

Where Absolute Batman is lightning in a bottle, and Batman (2025) is the best return to form in ages, Batman: Dark Patterns is an undeniable classic. This twelve-issue series set a new standard for Batman stories that honestly cannot be lived up to, and is, without exaggeration, the perfect series for a specific style of Batman comic. Dark Patterns is a series of four standalone mysteries set in Batman’s third year, letting him be experienced enough to be extremely effective, but not as established as the hero he is today. It strikes a perfect sweet spot in Batman’s career, and does the same in every aspect of his character.

This is Batman at his best. He truly feels like the World’s Greatest Detective and Gotham’s hero, defying the odds to uncover the truth and save the day while being deeply human in both body and spirit. He is a source of endless determination and compassion while finding each and every possible way to save the day. This comic blends the realistic and fantastical elements of Batman’s mythos perfectly, crafting an atmosphere that has to be experienced. While all the other entrants are phenomenal comics, this is the series that I can point to and say that this is what Batman is all about. It is one that people will read decades from now, standing alongside the greats like The Killing Joke and The Long Halloween.

So there we have what I believe are the five best Batman comics of 2025. There are still plenty of other great options that almost made this list, but which Batman comic was your favorite this year? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!

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