Absolute Batman’s World Is Turned Upside Down, And It’s All Thanks To The Scarecrow (Review)

April 15, 2026, 6:44pm

Absolute Batman has built a reputation of excellence with its villainous introductions, with Black Mask, Joker, Bane, and more all delivering unexpectedly twisted takes on these iconic Batman characters. Now it is Scarecrow’s time up to bat, and after this issue, he might be the villain that has left the largest impact on Batman and Gotham as a whole, and he’s not even Batman’s only problem. Suffice it to say, Absolute Batman keeps taking big swings, and it hasn’t missed yet.

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The team of Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Tom Napolitano wastes no time setting the tone of the issue with Scarecrow’s debut, which is as brutal as one would expect from the character. He’s not the sole focal point though, and fans of the series will be happy to know that the recent switch in Bruce’s perspective is really at the heart of the issue. The issue balances moments of hope and hopelessness effortlessly, and as Bruce’s internal conflicts continue to mount, his story gets all the more compelling.

Rating: 4.5

PROS	CONS
Scarecrow Makes A Major Impression (And Is Intensely Creepy)	Not Entirely Sold on The Robins, But I Trust The Creative Team To Make It Work
Absolute Batman Continues To Be One of DC’s Best-Looking Books
The Series Is Still A Bruce Wayne Story At Its Heart, and That’s What Grounds Everything Else

Absolute Batman’s Version of Scarecrow Is Even More Unsettling Than He Is Terrifying

One of the standouts of the issue is Scarecrow, who is making his Absolute Universe debut here. While the character’s core design isn’t as larger than life as other villains in the series, it still leaves you deeply unsettled, especially as you see him toy with people before his manipulations lead to their deaths.

As with everything in Absolute Batman, one part of the story is put in place to set up a payoff at the most unexpected times, and that is pulled off brilliantly in Absolute Batman #19. The seeds of future events are teased in how Scarecrow operates, and it sets up a truly shocking event towards the issue’s end.

This Is Still A Bruce Wayne Story At Its Heart

In addition to the Scarecrow debut, there are all sorts of thrilling shenanigans in the streets of Gotham, and Batman’s newest ride is supremely cool all on its own. I’m also a big fan of how Alfred and Harley have been worked into Batman’s world, because it’s a fantastic contrast to the change in perspective of Bruce Wayne, and it’s his story that is still at the heart of this series.

After what happened to Bruce’s friends and their subsequent freezing out of Bruce, he’s cut himself off from anyone connected to his life outside of Batman. You can understand why, but that’s what makes his reunion with Waylon so powerful. In just two pages, Snyder hits you with a rollercoaster of emotions, and while it doesn’t end as one might hope, it’s a perfect representation of Bruce’s conflicted feelings about his own approach.

The embrace between the two is a much-needed moment of hope for Bruce and Waylon, and yet it’s quickly apparent that Bruce isn’t shifting from his chosen path of isolation. Even with all the history between them when Bruce was at his lowest, he isn’t budging, and again, it’s understandable after what just happened to everyone Bruce thought of as family. Not only did they almost die, but even with survival, he’s lost them as friends and must now carry the guilt of their lives never being the same, both physically and mentally.

As for those final few pages, there’s still a lot of mystery around the Robins and Slade Wilson, but what’s been shown here is promising. I’m not entirely sure of the Robins as a concept, but what I do know is that the Absolute Batman team hasn’t let me down yet when it comes to their reimaginings of characters, and I’m 99% sure this will end up following in that tradition.