Absolute Batman #10: Monstrous

The term “monstrous” should not be taken lightly, so when Absolute Batman debuted with a 6’9” 421-pound Batman, some called him monstrous. Absolute Batman #9 did an incredible job of introducing Bane, who makes the biggest Batman to date appear tiny. However, it is the other test subjects that are imprisoned in Ark M that add an entirely new dimension to monstrous. Absolute Batman #10 – written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta, coloring by Frank Martin, and lettering by Clayton Cowles – blows the doors off what readers have come to expect from the series.

Absolute Batman #10 does just about everything perfectly. Snyder is a master of pacing and foreshadowing, telling three overlapping plots that nearly all converge in a horrifying climax. Batman stories have never shied away from including horror elements, but this issue features some of the best horror out of DC in years. There is psychological and body horror heavily prominent throughout the entire issue. The plot follows Bruce as he is held prisoner as a test subject at Ark M for a month and a half while his mother desperately searches for him. Interwoven between these sections is a series of flashbacks following Bruce as he helps train Waylon “Croc” Jones for a boxing match. Dragotta knocks it out of the park, as always, but his art in this issue is goosebump worthy at so many different points. Snyder does an incredible job of demonstrating just how resilient and brilliant Bruce is at problem solving while Dragotta and Martin perfectly execute his vision.

Absolute Bane is less of a man in this universe and more of a presence, and dwarfs nearly everyone. Some of Ark M’s handiwork was demonstrated in issue #9 when Bane had an Akira-esque transformation, but issue #10 sheds more light on just what is going on. Bruce encounters various test subjects that are nightmare-worthy. It will be interesting to see what Snyder has in store for the series moving forward, because this issue pulls no punches but hints that this is just a taste of what Ark M is capable of. Without spoiling anything, the climax of the issue is jaw-dropping and one of the best moments from the series. If readers loved the Batmobile reveal in one of the earlier issues, they are going to lose their minds reading this issue.