DC’s New Batman Origin Story Just Took The Dark Knight From Good To God Tier

Published Sep 27, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot. Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for Absolute Batman #24.In Absolute Batman #24, Batman surprises Scarecrow in a cornfield on the outskirts of Gotham City and finally defeats him. But, while an epic confrontation on its own, this fight is doubly special because it’s intercut with the conclusion of the Batman origin story that this series has been gradually doling out piecemeal. Indeed, Bruce Wayne was the Bat-Man before he was the Batman, and it’s now been revealed that Bruce’s role as a baseball bat-wielding enforcer for Carmine Falcone led him to where he is today. Beautifully done, writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta depict this culmination of his journey with an explicit tribute to one of the greatest Batman origin story retellings ever. Absolute Batman Just Had Its Own ‘Year One’ Moment Absolute Batman #24 pays homage to Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Batman #404 (Part 1 of the “Year One” storyline), wherein Bruce interprets a bat crashing through the window of the Wayne Manor study and perching before him as a sign from his father, and says, “... yes. Father. I shall become a bat.” Absolute Batman flips this, with Bruce lying in the zoo’s bat enclosure, where he had hid from Joe Chill’s Scarecrow-induced mass shooting episode as a child. He produces the message his mother wrote for him, which says, “Be more than this, Bruce! Love, Mom,” and he responds: All right, Mom. I’ll be a bat. Absolute Batman #24 simultaneously finishes telling two distinct origin stories for characters who’ve decided that they’ll be a bat, with Barbara Gordon’s Bat being the other. But while it’s neat to finally see Barbara as the Bat, her appearance in the issue itself is lackluster compared to her prominence on the issue’s cover artwork. Indeed, you wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the Bat might play a big role in Absolute Batman #24 due to the fact that she graces virtually every cover available for it. If you were hoping for Absolute Batman #24 to actually be devoted to Barbara donning a coat and a cowl, though, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Had the copious number of covers and Dragotta’s concept art not already fully revealed what her costumed appearance looks like, this reveal still deserved to marinate and was hastily appended at the end of the issue. Either way, it’s a Batman book first and foremost, after all, and his origin story being paired with the Bat’s is quite special. Where Does Absolute Batman Go From Here? A quarter of 100 issues later, it’ll be interesting to see what’s in store for Batman now that his origin/backstory is fully illustrated and everything that had haunted him has been resolved, more or less. We still don’t know with 100% certainty whether or not the emaciated man Scarecrow seemingly has imprisoned is Thomas Wayne; if that was merely Absolute Batman’s Clayface, for instance, then does that mean Clayface made contact with Thomas in order to create a mold print of him? And where is Thomas’ corpse, if not in its marked grave? Clarifications aside, we may be able to surmise that he is truly dead if Bruce was able to talk to him in the afterlife. Absolute Batman will hopefully go on for as long as possible, and its extraordinary popularity and success may ensure that it does. As for the upcoming climax in Absolute Batman #25 being teased as “Batman vs. Joker,” the issue’s solicitation doesn’t mince words: All the villains. All the heroes. All the stakes. What’s left... of Absolute Batman? Absolute Batman #24 is out now. Created By Bob Kane, Bill Finger First Appearance Detective Comics Alias Bruce Wayne Alliance Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family Race Human Franchise D.C. FIRST APP Detective Comics #27 (1939)