Absolute Bane Just Beat Batman Worse Than Any Villain Ever Has - And it Isn't Over

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The following contains major spoilers for Absolute Batman #11, on sale now from DC Comics.

DC Comics' Absolute Batman has just been broken by Bane - and remade by the Joker.

After yet another attempt at taking down the hulking powerhouse known as Bane, the titular hero of Absolute Batman #11 (by Scott Snyder, Clay Mann, Ivan Plascencia, and Clayton Cowles) suffers the worst injuries of his career yet when the villain tears his arms from their sockets and smashes in the Bat's skull with his own axe. If that weren't bad enough, Bane isn't content to let Batman simply die, instead bringing him to the Joker's Ark M as he just barely clings to life. There, Batman is put through the same procedure as the likes of the KGBeast and Bane himself, giving rise to a Dark Knight that is anything but the hero Gotham truly needs.

Bane Breaks and Rebuilds the Dark Knight in Absolute Batman #11

Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by CLAY MANN
Colors by IVAN PLASCENCIA
Letters by CLAYTON COWLES
Main cover art by NICK DRAGOTTA & FRANK MARTIN
Variant covers by LEE GARBETT; CHRIS BURNHAM & DAVID BARON; CLAY MANN & SETH MANN; and CHRIS MOONEYHAM

Originally introduced in 1993's Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 by Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan, the hulking menace known as Bane is a relatively recent addition to the Dark Knight's rogues gallery, yet his presence since then has made him an indelible part of the wider Batman mythos. Born to serve his father's sentence in the infamous Peña Duro prison, Bane's entire life was one nightmare after another, all the way up until he made his escape and embarked upon a career as one of the most cunning and capable crime lords of all time. Thanks to the drug known as Venom, Bane's already formidable set of skills are enhanced by imbuing him with an oversized physique and superhuman strength to match.

Although Bane has been reimagined dozens of times in the decades since his debut, the Absolute version of the character is arguably one of the least extreme in terms of how far it diverges from the character's original incarnation. Whereas the Absolute Universe has given rise to some drastically different versions of iconic DC Comics characters, Bane has largely remained his same old self. That is, save for the fact that he was effectively created by and works for the enigmatic billionaire known as the Joker, who was behind the creation of facilities like Ark M which was built in Batman's own home of Gotham City.

Even if fans haven't seen much of the Absolute Joker so far, they are all but certainly going to get to know the character a whole lot better in October with the release of Absolute Evil #1. Written by Al Ewing with art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Stefano Nesi, Absolute Evil #1 is set to bring the likes of Ra’s al Ghul, Veronica Cale, Hector Hammond, Elenore Thawne, and the Joker together for the first time to kick off one of the most insidious events that the Absolute Universe has ever seen. Per DC Comics, Absolute Evil #1 will feature "the introduction of not one but two major Absolute characters who will change the course of the Absolute Universe in its second year," giving fans every reason to look forward to the issue when it hits comic book store shelves later this year.

Absolute Batman #11 is available now from DC Comics.