At San Diego Comic-Con 2025, DC’s “Gotham City” panel pulled back the curtain on the wildest corners of the Bat-mythos, and made one thing crystal clear: Batman’s world is only getting bigger, stranger, and more ambitious.
Matt Fraction’s Batman Is a Love Letter to Gotham (and the Batmobile)
Kicking off the panel, Batman writer Matt Fraction described the Caped Crusader as the “universal LEGO” that every story can build on. He’s bringing a bold new energy to Batman #1, with Jorge Jiménez on art, a blue-and-grey costume throwback, and a tone that recalls his Hawkeye run: “one-and-done” stories with emotional punch. Fraction’s Gotham is a fractured map of gang territories, inspired by old NYC transit design books, with a militarized GCPD under Vandal Savage’s control.
Oh, and Fraction’s favorite gadget? “What if there was a billionaire who built cool cars?” he said to huge applause. The Batmobile is getting plenty of love.
Snyder, Dragotta, and DWJ Flex in the Absolute Universe
The Absolute Batman team, Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Daniel Warren Johnson, delivered the panel’s most unhinged energy. Snyder joked about Bruce being “butt naked in Arkham,” DWJ called his Absolute Batman Annual “Batman beating up white nationalists,” and Dragotta insisted, “You gotta start with Hulk proportions.”
DWJ also teased that he’s “angry, and it’s coming out in these next 30 pages,” as he’s writing and drawing the annual issue.
Snyder promised a deeply unsettling new take on Bane who believes “war is a divine thing.” In this world, Venom enhances the mind as much as the body. Oh—and Absolute Catwoman is coming, with a tail that plugs into her gun.
The cover to Daniel Warren Johnson’s annual issue!
Courtesy DC Comics
Jurgens Brings 1939 to Life in The Bat-Man: Second Knight
Dan Jurgens introduced The Bat-Man: Second Knight, a noir story set in 1939 with a zero-support-system Bruce, a WWI vet Commissioner Gordon, and a Lois Lane navigating sexism as a journalist. The Scarecrow’s fear tactics are inspired by FDR, and artist Mike Perkins is ensuring period-accurate visuals right down to the cars.
“This is Batman unplugged,” Jurgens said. “Only in the worst of cases does he go out at night.”
Kyle Higgins Goes Cosmic With Immortal Legend Batman
Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom are launching Immortal Legend Batman, a six-issue Elseworlds series set in a far future where humanity has conquered the stars. Think Western vibes, Tokusatsu flair, and a Riddler unlike any you’ve seen before.
“Our Gotham City isn’t a city,” Higgins said. “It’s a world.” He teased major formal experimentation: “We’re trying to push the boundaries of what a comic book is in 2025.”
Dan Mora is providing character designs and covers, to massive cheers from the crowd.
From naked Batmen and cosmic Elseworlds to militarized GCPD and shark-like Killer Crocs, DC’s Gotham City panel wasn’t just a showcase, it was a flex. And as Snyder put it: “He’s hot.”
Highlight Dates:
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Absolute Batman Annual #1 drops October 29
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Batman #1 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez hits September 3
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Immortal Legend Batman (August 27) and The Bat-Man: Second Knight (Sept 17) are coming soon
Stay tuned for more coverage from SDCC 2025!
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