Written by: Scott Snyder
Art by: Nick Dragotta
Colors by: Frank Martin
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: January 28, 2026
First Impressions
This issue is a relief after the relentless grimness of the Grimm arc, swapping dread for adventure and actually landing both the humor and the emotional weight it reaches for. The central conceit, Bruce descending into a magical underworld to save his friend Killer Croc, feels earned and specific rather than generic spectacle. The execution balances genuine stakes with character moments that matter, particularly the dream sequence with Bruce's father and the final reveal that he found something real in that nightmare realm.
Recap
In the previous issue, Alfred reveals his theory that Jack Grimm, the trillionaire behind global chaos, is actually an immortal being, possibly the Joker in disguise. The issue ends with Master Grimm descending into the cave beneath Wayne Manor to formulate his plan, leaving Bruce facing his most intimate threat yet. This issue pivots directly away from that cliffhanger, suggesting Bruce is handling the Grimm situation behind the scenes while attending to personal business.
Plot Analysis (SPOILERS)
Bruce returns to Gotham after his absence and receives two pieces of emotional fallout. Lucius Fox pressures him to take a weekend off, sensing something serious has occurred, while a visit to Gotham Presbyterian Hospital forces Bruce to confront Oswald Cobblepot and Harvey Dent, who are recovering from injuries and furious he abandoned them. Cobblepot's resentment cuts deep, challenging Bruce's heroic self-image by asking why he saves the city but fails his friends. Desperate to help Killer Croc, who has been mutated into a half-human, half-animal hybrid, Bruce summons Wonder Woman through a mystical talisman and asks for her aid.
Diana agrees and performs a ritual that transports Bruce to a mythical realm between the surface world and the underworld, located beneath her mother's island, Aeaea. The journey spans sixteen grueling days of traversing a landscape filled with lethal hazards: lightning that kills on sight, sirens that kill on sound, and shifting sands that kill on a single misstep. Diana shares stories of fallen kings and prepares Bruce psychologically for the fight ahead, while Bruce processes the weight of his world expanding to include gods and monsters. On the night before the battle, Bruce dreams his father walks with him and explains that heroism is not about singular moments of saving but about daily commitment to building something better.
The next morning, Bruce and Diana confront Akrolis, a centaur lord of transformation whose bow can reshape bodies from two legs to four and back again. The fight goes catastrophically wrong when Akrolis kicks Bruce off a bridge into the abyss, but he is saved by Pegasus, the flying horse that Diana brought to the realm. Riding the skeletal beast, Bruce strikes Akrolis from above while Diana finishes the battle with raw, comedic brutality, literally punching the centaur's face and cracking a joke about transformation. Wounded, Bruce returns to Gotham with something crucial but never fully revealed, places a necklace in Killer Croc's hands, and tells him he is never alone.
Writing
The pacing snaps between three distinct tones: intimate drama in Gotham, mythology-soaked journey through the underworld, and action spectacle on the bridge. This should feel disjointed, but Snyder and Dragotta anchor each section through Bruce's emotional state, making the shifts feel intentional rather than scattered. Dialogue ranges from Cobblepot's bitter accusations to Diana's matter-of-fact warnings about lethal terrain to Bruce's increasingly funny misunderstandings. The structure of mounting obstacles across sixteen days creates rhythm and stakes without relying on exposition. One weakness surfaces in the dream sequence with Bruce's father, which leans toward telling rather than showing what Bruce needs to hear, though the payoff still lands because the emotional need was established earlier.
Art
Dragotta's linework handles the quiet moments in Gotham hospitals with as much care as the chaotic action sequences on the bridge. The underworld journey, told through page after page of Diana and Bruce walking, avoids becoming boring by varying composition, using silhouettes and negative space to convey the passage of time and the weight of the journey. Colors shift from Gotham's urban palette to a hellish dreamscape of deep purples, sickly greens, and reds that make the space feel genuinely alien. The centaur fight itself is kinetic and clear, with solid panel composition that tracks the action without losing the reader. Pegasus arriving as a skeletal, bat-winged steed is a visual detail that perfectly blends Bruce's aesthetics with the mythological setting.
Character Development
Bruce's internal conflict between being a hero and being a friend reaches a critical moment here, and Cobblepot's accusation that Bruce only saves cities, not people, wounds him enough to seek help across impossible boundaries. The dream with his father provides Bruce with a reframing of what heroism means in the long term, shifting from isolated, grand gestures to sustained, daily commitment to improvement. Diana's characterization shifts from exposition machine to an active partner who respects Bruce's drive even as she doubts his chances. The final beat, where Bruce gives Croc a necklace and tells him he is never alone, suggests Bruce internalized the lesson without needing to verbalize it.
Originality and Concept Execution
Placing Batman in a Greek mythology framework could feel like stunt casting, but this issue commits to the premise by building sixteen days of escalating challenges and maintaining internal logic around Akrolis's transformation powers. The joke of Bruce riding a bat-pegasus and Diana literally punching a centaur's face while cracking a transformation pun shows the creative team knows exactly how absurd this is and leans into it. The core concept, using myth as a vehicle for exploring Bruce's values as a person rather than a vigilante, comes through clearly. The real hook is the artifact Bruce retrieves, which the issue deliberately keeps vague, betting that readers trust the journey enough to care about the destination even when it is withheld.
Positives
The emotional payoff justifies the mythological detour because Bruce's motivation is personal, not world-saving. Cobblepot's hospital scene cuts deeper than most dialogue because it asks Bruce a question he cannot answer with money or technology. Dragotta's visual clarity throughout the underworld sequence means even the most arcane moment lands without needing heavy explanation. The sixteen-day montage could have been filler, but instead it becomes the issue's emotional core, with Diana's warnings functioning as both practical advice and metaphor for Bruce's journey inward. The final twist, that Bruce retrieved something real and tangible rather than just wisdom, stakes the metaphorical journey in concrete consequence.
Negatives
The dream sequence with Bruce's father tips into sentimentality, spelling out themes the issue had already earned through action and dialogue, which weakens its impact. The issue raises the question of what the artifact actually is and then refuses to answer it, which works as a mystery hook but frustrates readers looking for closure on this arc. Killer Croc's mutation is treated as already established from previous issues, so new readers may feel lost about who Waylon is and why Bruce's guilt matters. The mythology-soaked section, while visually strong, occasionally prioritizes spectacle over genuine peril, since readers know Batman will find a way to solve this problem. Diana's characterization, though capable and witty, sometimes feels more like a plot facilitator than a fully realized character with her own agenda.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TwitterThe Scorecard
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): [4/4]
Value (Originality and Entertainment): [2/2]
Final Verdict
Absolute Batman #16 is a solid, confident issue that understands when to lean into character and when to swing for spectacle. The issue justifies taking a weird left turn into Greek myth because it uses that premise to interrogate Bruce's priorities as a human being rather than just a cape. The art carries visual weight throughout, and the emotional stakes feel grounded despite the fantastical setting. If you have been following this arc and care about Killer Croc as a character, this detour earns its place in your collection and sets up interesting consequences down the road.
9/10
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