Absolute Batman #23 Review – Bruce Wayne Is Losing Control

Absolute Batman #23 Review – Bruce Wayne Is Losing Control

Absolute Batman #23 continues the “The Straw Man” storyline with another strong issue that puts Bruce Wayne through both a physical and psychological battle. I really liked how this issue mixed the mystery surrounding Scarecrow with Bruce’s growing obsession and distrust of the people around him.

The greatest strength of the issue for me was Bruce himself. He has become completely obsessed with figuring out what Scarecrow is doing, and it is starting to affect the way he treats everyone around him. His friends try to convince him that he may be seeing connections that aren’t actually there, but Bruce refuses to listen. Instead, he starts wondering whether the people closest to him have been compromised.

I thought this was a really interesting way of showing what Scarecrow is doing to Bruce. Batman normally relies on his intelligence and detective skills, but now he can’t even completely trust his own mind. The deeper he gets into the mystery, the harder it becomes for both Bruce and the reader to tell what is actually real.

There are also some surprisingly emotional moments throughout the issue. I especially liked the conversation between Bruce and his mother. She tries to remind him that his life belongs to him and that he needs to stop letting everything involving his father control him. Bruce has people around him who genuinely care about him, but he is becoming so consumed by this mystery that he keeps pushing them away.

The Robins were another part of the issue that I really enjoyed. Their scenes bring some humor into an otherwise pretty dark story. They argue, joke around and act like brothers, which makes their relationship feel natural. But when things become serious, you can also see how much they actually care about each other.

That makes the scene involving Tim even more effective. When it appears that Tim has been killed, the entire tone of the story changes. Seeing Batman holding him while the others react was one of the strongest moments of the issue. Tim blaming Batman for what happened also hits Bruce exactly where it hurts because Bruce already feels responsible for putting everyone he loves in danger.

The artwork by Nick Dragotta is also one of the best parts of the issue. The Scarecrow scenes become increasingly disturbing as the story continues. His appearance becomes less human and more like a giant monster, and there are moments where even Bruce doesn’t seem to understand what he is looking at. The heavy shadows, red backgrounds and strange imagery give these scenes an almost horror-comic feeling.

I also liked the flashbacks showing Bruce before becoming Batman. Even before putting on the cape and cowl, you can already see parts of Batman in him. He’s willing to put himself in dangerous situations, he refuses to give up and he keeps trying to protect people even when doing so puts himself at risk.

The ending was probably my favorite part of the issue. Bruce’s fight with Scarecrow becomes completely chaotic, and once again it becomes difficult to know exactly what is real. Bruce is angry, exhausted and barely holding himself together, but he still refuses to stop.

Then the issue ends with the tease, “Next: The Bat Is Born!”

That was a great way to end the issue because it feels like everything Bruce has experienced throughout this storyline has been building toward this moment. We’ve seen the pieces of Batman slowly coming together, but now it looks like we’re finally going to see Bruce truly become the Bat.

Overall, Absolute Batman #23 was another strong issue. I really enjoyed the mystery surrounding Scarecrow, the relationship between Bruce and the Robins, and the darker artwork throughout the issue. But my favorite part was seeing Bruce pushed further than we’ve seen him before. He’s becoming angry, paranoid and obsessed, and it feels like all of that is leading directly into the birth of Batman.