Absolute Batman #5 Review

• Written by: Scott Snyder

• Art by: Nick Dragotta

• Colors by: Frank Martin

• Letters by: Clayton Cowles

• Cover art by: Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin

• Cover price: $4.99

• Release date: February 12, 2025

Absolute Batman #5, by DC Comics on 2/12/25, turns Black Mask's offer of money in exchange for immunity on its head when Batman decides to sacrifice himself to warn the public.

Is Absolute Batman #5 Good?

Recap

When we last left Bruce Wayne in Absolute Batman #4, we received an issue-long series of flashbacks detailing the life lessons taught to young Bruce Wayne by his father. Bruce incorporated those life lessons into a series of design iterations for his school project as a boy and designs for his Batman persona in the present. 

Plot Synopsis

In Absolute Batman #5, Gotham City is about to experience its first Purge... maybe. The issue begins with young Bruce Wayne receiving condolences and help from the adults in his inner circle after his father's death. Dr. Leslie Thompkins administers aid after Bruce is "attacked" by bats at the zoo where his father was killed. Commissioner Gordon offers a word of condolence at the funeral and explains to Bruce that the zoo will be torn down to honor everyone killed in the mass shooting. Instead, young Bruce tells Commissioner Gordon that he wants the zoo to remain as a symbol.

In the present, Batman arrives at the meeting place with Black Mask atop a large parking garage. Black Mask makes good on his promise to wire the money to Batman (see Absolute Batman #3) in exchange for Batman's agreement to stay out of the way of the Party Animals.

Batman turns the tables by activating a Bat-Signal made out of a spotlight from the zoo and 200 million dollars arranged in the shape of a bat. The signal only lasts as long as the money burns. Black Mask shouts to the Party Animals that Batman canceled the deal, prompting the gang to attack. Batman handles the crowd as well as every past issue, but this time, Black Mask came prepared.

Black Mask orders his henchman to launch net guns to trap Batman in place. What follows is a series of abuses that knock Batman back on his heels as the Party Animals stab him with his cowl knives and beat him with his Bat-axe, eventually knocking him over the ledge to the street below. Batman is saved at the last minute by his cape, but he's badly injured. Batman manages to escape down a sewer drain with a little help from Officer Barbara Gordon.

Despite the damage, Batman believes he made progress because he transmitted the attack and Black Mask's confession that he's behind the Party Animals' crime spree. Unfortunately, Black Mask makes use of the revelation to deliver an impromptu speech to the news crew arriving on the scene. The issue ends with Black Mask opening Party Animals membership to all the downtrodden and disaffected of Gotham City.

First Impressions

Hmm, this is the kind of issue that needs to sit with you for a bit before you decide if it's a banger or not. Scott Snyder absolutely (*heh*) demonstrates a mastery of momentum and tension as the entire issue builds to a point where you're convinced some big twist is about to happen. Unfortunately, that twist never comes, but it might pay off in the next issue. Everything hinges on what happens next, so we'll call it a tentative banger.

How’s the Art?

Nick Dragotta returns to art duties as the regular artist for an action-heavy issue that isn't afraid to lean into violence and a bit of gore. Can we definitively say somebody died in this issue? No, but several Party Animals get pretty darn close. Further, Batman's survival in this issue, after taking a lot of stabbings and a high-impact fall, looks cool as heck but strains credibility to the Nth degree. In other words, it looks great and implausible at the same time.

What’s great about Absolute Batman #5?

Beyond the basics we expect to see in a story, Scott Snyder nails the growing atmosphere of anticipation and urgency as Batman's gambit against Black Mask goes right, then wrong, then right again, and finally, wrong... maybe. Absolute Batman #5 is a roller-coaster that grabs your attention and doesn't let go.

What’s not great about Absolute Batman #5?

Scott Snyder winds the plot up tighter than a coiled snake, but the issue ends before the tension is fully paid off. In fairness, the next issue could make the buildup all worth it, and the prospect of a Gotham City-styled Purge event does sound intriguing, but Scott Snyder doesn't quite end the issue on a satisfying note.

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About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts

Absolute Batman #5 may or may not be a banger issue, depending on your point of view. Scott Snyder's script draws you into a roller-coaster of tension and anticipation, and Nick Dragotta's return to art duties is a surprisingly brutal return to form. That said, Snyder's tale of woe builds up more than it pays off, so readers may feel unsatisfied by the ending.

8.5/10

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