Absolute Batman #14 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Nick Dragotta, Artist; Frank Martin, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: This series has managed to be one of the most brutal DC has ever put out, starting with gang murders and brutal bat-beatings and turning towards full-on body horror. But somehow, it manages to top itself once again with the conclusion of the Bane arc. The enforcer of Ark M has managed to rip Bruce Wayne’s life apart, capturing him and slowly transforming him into a hulking Venom-powered cyborg like Bane himself. He also horribly transformed Bruce’s closest friends into twisted forms that reflect their deepest insecurities – and their iconic guises, of course. And now, Bruce is finally ready to fight back. He, Alfred, and Catwoman have developed a plan that will allow Bruce to contend with Bane in a massive battle royale in the center of Gotham, using only two Venom doses – the maximum a human body can take. And Bruce doesn’t particularly care if he lives – he just needs Bane to be finished.
The fight is one of the most intense things I’ve ever seen in a DC comic, with Bane growing beyond any human possibility. What starts as a brawl slowly turns into something more like a kaiju fight, as Batman adjusts to the new terrain and delivers brutal, precise strikes – all the while Alfred waits for the word to activate the Venom. One thing that seems interesting is that Bruce’s friends don’t seem to have been successfully turned against him – Waylon and Eddie play a key role in his survival this issue, and even Eddie and Oz seem to have some remaining hope for him despite the horrors inflicted on them. When the reveal of what Bruce plans to use the Venom for comes, it’s one of the best scenes of the entire run so far, and the last few pages give us a brief glimpse of our next villain – as well as one of the most brilliantly creepy fates for a villain I’ve ever seen in a DC comic.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
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