Batman's Dark Reboot Just Debuted Robin's Replacement For First Costumed Sidekick

Published Sep 23, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com.

His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead For Absolute Batman #24!

The Bat Family has enjoyed a ton of iterations, reconfigurations, and team-swaps since its inception and especially in the past several years. It's hard to look past just how radically Absolute Batman has pushed the envelope further, as is characteristic of the comic by this point, and the same can be said of its primary cast. Batman's faithful sidekick Robin has instead been turned into a deadly paramilitary force led by Slade Wilson and assembled by the Joker, turned instead against the emerging caped crusader. But while key allies like Alfred Pennyworth and even Harley Quinn have popped up in this story to help Batman, a true sidekick is only just emerging, with potential to be a compelling hero all on her own.

The Absolute Universe's Barbara Gordon has been around since the start of Absolute Batman, as an early sympathizer with his cause recognizing his dedication to preventing harm by the Party Animals before. She's even chased him down in issue #5, knocking off his cowl in the process. Batman has seen her potential, and even broke him free from Pamela Isley's grasp, while facing a difficult crossroads following the tragic murder of her father pinned to the vigilante. But now, as of Absolute Batman #24, Barbara has made her choice, becoming the first member of the Bat Family in the series as a result, while debuting her first costume in the process.

Absolute Batman Debuts His First Bat Family Teammate

Dubbed "The Bat" in this iteration rather than simply Batgirl, Barbara is guided by Bruce Wayne's directions to his hideout, complete with this universe's hilariously massive Batmobile dump truck. The whole sequence plays out across the issue, with Barbara talking to Batman through the cowl she got after running him down in issue #5. Trying to confront him over the crimes being pinned to him, Barbara demands answers, and is given directions to the original Technical Tunnels, Junction 359. While promising Barbara would find Batman, this would in fact lead her to her true destiny, a way to make a difference and bring the fight to the villains overseeing everything, with a selection of cowls, a non-lethal shotgun, and a jacket to tie together Barbara's costume as The Bat.

The entire reveal is gradual and eventually interlaced with Alfred's narration as he justifies what Batman has inspired in Gotham City, with Barbara as a prime example of those rising to be fearless in the face of the terror ruling from above. It's all the more fitting that, while Barbara undergoes her transformation and is shown donning her new costume in a stunning full-page panel, Batman defeats the one villain most emblematic of fear itself, before they move onto the man pulling the strings from above. With the Scarecrow defeated, Absolute Batman #25 will feature the biggest confrontation yet.

The Chips Are Down As Batman Moves Onto Grimm Manor

Already teased with the triptych cover reveal of Absolute Batman #25 and its brief synopsis, the fight is being brough to the Joker in the next fight. It makes a fair deal of sense that, in rising up against the shadowy billionaire organizing much of the suffering going on, they'd come to the Absolute Universe's twisted version of Wayne Manor.

All the villains. All the heroes. All the stakes. What's left... of Absolute Batman?

It's uncertain just what the extent to which the convergence of heroes and villains will be, and whether Catwoman's collision course with the League of Shadows will be incorporated in any way. But given hints of Superman feeling driven to abandon Earth in this continuity after his issue #25 event, and Wonder Woman entering a new phase of her own, it'll be interesting to see just what is taken away this time around. While the Scarecrow's last words before Batman walked away could easily be desperate bluffs, they tease a different fate for what happened to Thomas Wayne at Gotham Zoo, among the many consequential events that could threaten to traumatize Bruce further as Absolute Batman enters a new era of its own.

Absolute Batman #25 is set to release everywhere on October 28, 2026.