The beauty of an annual issue like Absolute Batman 2025 Annual is that you can tell an extra-sized tale that doesn’t affect the main continuity. It acts as a bit of a breather, as well as an opportunity to give other creators a shot at a character. That’s definitely the case with this issue, which also features two backup stories and a main story that’ll have people talking around the water cooler today.
Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1 opens on a very young Bruce Wayne asking his father why extremists set off a bomb. His father doesn’t know, but he does know that being a teacher, you can make a difference in one life at a time. When he asks Bruce how he’ll save the world, we turn the page to see a full-page splash of Batman wearing a flame thrower with bodies strewn before him, and flames behind him burning a white supremacist flag. It’s a striking page turn, connecting what Bruce learned from his peace-first father and how he is dealing with criminals today.
The story then shifts to Slaughter Swamp, where a tent city has sprung up. Innocent people gather as Bruce drives by in an old pickup truck. It’s here he meets bad men in pig masks who beat up a mother and child who don’t speak English. This is the enemy, Bruce, and later in the issue, Batman faces.
This is a story about fighting extremism in two different ways. In one way, we see Batman punch people so hard their faces are flattened, while in another, we learn about peaceful protests that amounted to little. Ultimately, Daniel Warren Johnson seems to be saying this darker, more violent Batman has a lot to learn, and maybe this story is the start of that. That said, he’s likely going to be chopping off arms and burning people up for the foreseeable future.
How badass is this?
Credit: DC Comics
The art is stunning, with Johnson employing a layout style similar to Nick Dragotta’s at times. There’s a cinematic layout style and plenty of splash pages that’ll please Johnson fans. The most striking thing is how Batman punches faces; it’s as if the faces are made of rubber. It’s nearly comical at times, as faces squish impossibly, but the point being made is extreme punishment, which isn’t lost on the reader. In a way, you can see Johnson is working out the anger he sees day to day, as we all do, in these trying times. That can make the art almost therapeutic when you look at it that way.
James Harren of Ultramega fame writes and draws the first backup story in this issue. The tale focuses on a bunch of goons working for a man in a skull mask, looking for something in an average house. One of those goons is the owner’s son, who very much loves his dad, but they’ve had a falling out. As visually inventive as Harren’s previous work, the story is exciting, scary, and leans heavily into the savagery of Absolute Batman. Getting to see him take out goons in style is fun, while the underlying story of a boy having second thoughts about letting criminals into his dad’s house lingers. The story ends in a touching way that shows even this brutal Batman can see when some kindness is okay.
Also in this issue is a two-page tale by Meredith McClaren titled “Let’s Learn About Bats!.” This is a fun lesson on bats, with captions featuring a cute bat head detailing all sorts of bat facts. Mixed with the facts are Batman sightings around the city, be it in traffic or through a window. There’s a message here about how vigilante justice works best when it inspires others, who may not fight crime, but they can wear the symbol in solidarity.
Absolute Batman 2025 Annual #1 is an intense, beautifully illustrated exploration of extremism, morality, and what happens when Batman’s war on crime blurs into something darker. Daniel Warren Johnson and his collaborators deliver a main story that’s both brutal and thought-provoking, paired with two inventive backups that balance spectacle with reflection. This is a mirror held up to Batman’s mission and our own world’s rage.
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