Absolute Batman 2025 Annual (2025-) #1 (Absolute Batman

by Daniel Warren Johnson, James Harren, Meredith McClaren

Some of the biggest names in comics take a turn in the Absolute Universe! Daniel Warren Johnson and James Harren tell tales from Absolute Batman’s early days! How did Bruce acquire his batmobile? And what was it like for Black Mask’s party animals when Batman first hit the scene?

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Crime, Superheroes

Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2025

About the author

Daniel Warren Johnson is a Chicago-based comic book writer, artist, and illustrator. He's worked on titles for most major publishers, including Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image. His current series with Skybound/Image Comics is EXTREMITY, a sci-fi/fantasy title he is writing and drawing, and continues to update his webcomic Space-Mullet in his spare time.

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

“No. You are roaches. Only one way to deal with those.”

[zachariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the first time I’ve cried over Batman and for sure not the last

[Justin Biondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

More like Batman Smashes the Klan

[MrGlassWontBreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Warren Johnson takes a crack at Absolute Batman, and writes an awesome story about Batman brutally taking out a bunch of white supremacists.

James Harren also gets a turn in the other half of this issue, but in his take, we see the perspective of Black Mask’s goons as they try restlessly, but fail to stop Batman.

This issue was an awesome exposé of the Batman/Bruce Wayne character. Both stories kind of show us that underneath all the bone-breaking, face-smashing, vengeance-fueled rage, Bruce is actually just a very hurt, huge softie.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

he definitely killed at least 3 people in this 😂

[Bryham Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

How good an real-life Absolute Batman would be right now, when scared citizens live at the mercy of armed, masked thugs who feel immune to everything and assume responsibility for "saving the soul of their nation" (all under the protection of a repugnant, orange-coloured administration).

[dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This annual issue is something special. It might just be one of the heaviest Absolute Batman stories we’ve gotten yet. It’s emotionally grounded, raw, and real. It still delivers some of the most creative, intense, and downright brutal action we’ve seen from this character. In this story, Batman truly is vengeance.

What makes it hit even harder is how relevant it feels to what’s happening in our country right now. That layer of real-world reflection gives it even more weight.

Absolute Batman does not miss.

[Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey so this was the greatest thing ever and I don’t know what to do now

[Andrew Golab · Rating 5 out of 5]

You should do this to your local Neo nazi group. I fucking love DWJ GIVE HIM A WOLVERINE RUN

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sometimes words aren't enough"

Let's fucking GO. Fuck these racist pieces of shit up Batman!!!!

[LuluBerlu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quoi de mieux que de voir Batman cogner du fachos ?

[Craig Schorling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Topical, relevant, tragic, and brutal. That first story hit so hard. It goes through so many peak moments with sorrowful flashbacks to brutal ass whoppings. One of the better annuals that I have read.

[Francesco Lechi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Batman After Another

[Lizzy DeMarco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed both stories and the Bat lesson.

[Kormak · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly have no idea how this landed on any “Best of 2025” lists. The first story is pure dumb revenge fantasy. No real plot, no ideas worth chewing on, and artwork so inconsistent it becomes a distraction. One moment Bruce looks like an average guy, the next his fists are the size of a human head. Then suddenly Batman turns into a roided-out monster, halfway between Rob Liefeld and Simon Bisley, and not in a good way.

I am all for punching racists, but this is just ugly violence for its own sake. No insight, no bite, no reason for it to exist beyond noise and rage.

The second story is even thinner. It is shorter, the art is better, but the plot barely qualifies as one. Something about fathers and sons, resentment, love, insert heavy theme here, move on. It never settles, never lands.

In the end, this feels like a waste of ink and money. Loud, shallow, and instantly forgettable.

[Ramón Nogueras Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

No cabe más gloria.

[Zarrar Saleem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman vs ICE was insane

[Jerry Aguirre · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. What a comic one shot. Here, Batman beats the ever living **** out of white supremacists and kills a lot of them. But, throughout the story and with a huge twist at the end, it makes the reader think, is he actually doing the right thing? How does this make it any better moving forward? Would his dad be proud of his son who he deems “has a loving heart” and is different than him, or would his father be on the priests side of not letting them die? And because of this, his no kill rule has now been established. Great comic.

[Sofian · Rating 5 out of 5]

PVV heeft verloren, Mamdani wint, Batman slaat nazis in elkaar op een brute wijze, we are so back.

[Nikhil Math]

They got Batman beating up the KKK/Nazis in this book lol. That is cool, to see a champion for the immigrants. The art is amazing. I think they went a little more unrealistic, which is always a plus. I am trying to see a fantasy, not.a biography lol.

[Colin Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow…you know DWJ is going to turn in something great, but his story here is a timely take on the limits of Batman as a symbol. The over the top violence is illustrated in such a grotesque way, so that you’re not sure whether to cheer Batman on or be afraid - and we see the little kid who Bruce saves is just as terrified of him as the white supremacists. DWJ builds the story so beautifully, interweaving the flashbacks of Bruce as a child with his dad, to earn that moment at the end where Batman feels regret, shame, grief. It’s a complicated, gruesome story that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

[Eddie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glimpses of The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen.

[michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

ik the whole point is for this to be non-specific w when this is happening continuity wise but it is fun to read this under the idea that batman simply chose to take a pause on Enduring The Horrors to brutalize nazis and the cops that enable them. pretty good

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best of Absolute Batman but it has some amazing art and good storytelling from the early days.

[Luca Siletti · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick little blurb for the annual itself bc I actually just want to put my thoughts on Batman as a character down somewhere while I procrastinate the 5+ projects I should be editing: Batman beating up neo-nazis is cool. the caveman in my brain clapped when he dropped the corrupt cop on his head. not much more to say on that.

but for actual thoughts, my Batman content intake has increased 10-fold this month due to the algorithm thinking I'm into reels of him breaking his no kill rule (it funny) and as a byproduct of a few friends getting on a crazy kick themselves, and to be honest, the more Batman content I consume, the less I like the character, bar a few special cases where the creators clearly challenge the fundamental concepts and codes of the character. even now, watching through the animated series, while visually beautiful and ahead of its time, feels like it should be left to its time.

watching Batman hang someone from a building for a little bit of information and then proceed to bounce them off cement "without killing them" just, I dunno, doesn't seem like something someone proposed to be an idealized individual should be doing. 9 times out of 10, "The World's Greatest Detective's" number one form of information gathering is just terrorizing someone until he gets what he wants. I guess cos he's a white billionaire it's ok? if there's one thing consistent in American culture, terrorism is good if it happens to "bad" people. idk. in general he's a character that seems to be gaining popularity in the mainstream as he should be getting questioned as an example as to what a hero should not be.

is this woke? I dont really care. should I get back on task? probably. is using Absolute Batman to fight back against fascist racists in the most brutal way possible funny and cool? yes.

[Taylor Bowling · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Batman stories I've ever read. Another take on the vengeance vs justice arc that he inevitably learns early in his career. You've seen it in The Batman. It was talked about in Batman Begins. It's what eventually separates him from any other guy dressing up, going outside, and blowing off some steam.

Absolute Batman is set in a universe where xenophobes act as militiamen and work alongside the local police who are allegedly there to protect and serve. What a fiction!

I admittedly bought a copy of this for the same reason as most readers, to see Bruce put some work in on these guys, but the real surprise is the pastor character caught in the middle of all this. His impression on Bruce leaves Batman with a sobering perspective and brings him a step closer to the caped crusader we are all more familiar with.

DWJ was also blowing off some steam in this book. And after this dumb year who can blame him? He might be having his cake and eating it too, but it's a great hook. It was the entire hype around the annual. We were drawn in with the glorified violence and by the end are left asking how we thought rage and vengeance could have ever been enough to make meaningful change.

Also we see how this Earth's Batman got his Batmobile, so that's fun.

[Štěpán · Rating 4 out of 5]

DWJ and James Harren tackle Absolute Batman Annual, and it is polarising. The first part is DWJ unleashing hell on white supremacists. It is brutal, the art is awesome, and it feels like DWJ wanted to write and draw something filled with emotions and heart. It feels right at home in the Absolute Batman, where he can really go all out and use a flamethrower.

The other story by James Harren, has great art, but storywise lacks more depth and would be better with more pages of content. Nevertheless, it was a fine short story, but compared to the previous one, filled with rage and hate for supremacists, it is lacking and drags the annual down.

[harveymundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

the way he broke that white suprematists arm 🤌🤌

[Gabriel Calderón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quisiera que Batman sea real para que se pichasee a ICE al igual que como se pichaseo al KKK aquí

[sniederhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

white pow — *POW*

batman beating the absolute snot out of nazis? yes. *absolute* yes. a nice little shift / break from the madness.