ABSOLUTE BATMAN gets back on track (for me…I wasn’t a fan of the Poison Ivy storyline) with an excellent and shocking issue #19, thanks in large part to the debut of a Scarecrow who feels genuinely threatening. This version of Crane isn’t leaning on theatrics or dressing like Ray Bolger in THE WIZARD OF OZ. He’s calm and clinical, treating fear as if he controls it (which apparently he does), giving the character a grounded horror edge that fits the tone. His introduction at the beginning of this issue, before the “credits,” is F’ed-up AF. Yeah.
Batman’s investigation brings him into direct contact with Crane’s work, and the sequence is handled with tight pacing and a strong sense of unease and dread. It’s effective, and it reinforces the idea that Gotham’s threats are becoming, and have been, way bigger than Bruce ever expected.
The brief but impactful exchange between Batman and Gordon is the issue’s biggest surprise/highlight/shocker…and I still don’t know what I think about it! With The Scarecrow involved, you don’t know what is real or what isn’t, right? Keep that in mind.
The introduction of Robin, or Robins, is…interesting? If you’re a fan of the Robin character, Scott Snyder pretty much covers all his sidekick bases here at least. Hopefully, Snyder’s “Superheavy” storyline during his run on BATMAN wasn’t in the back of his mind when he came up with the idea for the Absolute version of Robin(s).
There’s also a quick tease involving this universe’s Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and his involvement in the “Robin Project,” which is being funded by one Jack Grimm/The Joker.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN #19 gives readers a chilling Scarecrow debut, a notable shift/shocker in the Batman/Gordon relationship, and a few tremendously ambiguous teasers of what’s to come…maybe.
And lingering in the background is this world’s Court of Owls.
I liked this one a lot. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
