Absolute Batman # 9 Fourth Printing 2026 BN

Absolute Batman #9 kicks off the series' third major story arc, titled "Abomination". Released on June 11, 2025, the issue is written by mastermind Scott Snyder with kinetic interior art returning to series regular Nick Dragotta, colors by Frank Martin, and lettering by Clayton Cowles.

This pivotal chapter officially introduces the Absolute Universe version of Bane, re-imagining him as a tactical, gargantuan nightmare who serves as a chilling, hyper-lethal counterweight to this working-class Caped Crusader.

Plot Summary & Lore Developments

The storyline takes a global scale before diving deep into the underground infrastructure of Gotham City.

• The War Profiteer: The book opens in the neutral nation of Bialya, where the leaders of warring middle eastern countries Qurac and Khandaq meet for peace talks. The mercenary Bane interrupts the negotiations, brutally crushing the Khandaqi president's skull with his bare hands. He forces Qurac's leader to reignite the border conflicts because peace isn't profitable for his shadow corporate employers, JK Holdings (the same group backing the Absolute Joker).
• The Search for Waylon: In Gotham, two weeks have passed since the kidnapping of Waylon Jones (Killer Croc). Batman has been waging a brutal, sleep-deprived crusade across the criminal underworld, hospitalizing entire mobs to shake out answers. Desperate, Bruce reactivates an abandoned cowl to establish a back-channel line of communication with officer Barbara Gordon. She reveals that Waylon has been transferred into a highly active black-site facility known as Ark M.
• Infiltrating Ark M: Bruce navigates underwater drainage pipelines to break past the decoy prison above Ark M. Inside, he finds a sprawling, highly advanced genetic facility and discovers a frozen, human-sized pre-mutated bat skeleton (teasing a horrifying new take on Man-Bat). 
• A Humbling Defeat: Bane catches Batman off-guard inside the facility. In an epic, deeply unsettling show of force, a completely un-steroided Bane casually counters Batman's heaviest martial arts blows, mocking Bruce's lack of formal training before snapping Batman's elbow with just two fingers.
• The Venom Nightmare: To secure a total victory, Bane hooks into his custom steroid rig. In a display of extreme, Akira-esque body horror, the super-steroids tear his own skin and body apart as he undergoes a grotesque physical expansion. The issue leaves a heavily wounded Batman pinned by a 20-foot-tall, monster-sized Bane, who readies him for forced surgical experimentation.
• Alfred's Connection: Throughout the chaos, Alfred Pennyworth's notebook narration reveals a grim history: Bane is an old, deeply personal black-ops adversary from Alfred's past MI6 deployments. 

Issue Specifications

• Page Count: 32 pages
• Age Rating: Rated Teen Plus (15+ for intense violence and body horror body-warping)
• Key First Appearance: Features the first appearances of Absolute Bane, alongside a brief background cameo tease of an adult Dick Grayson.