Absolute Batman 18's Chainsaw Man Reference Is Undeniable

Absolute Batman's Bruce Wayne and Chainsaw Man's Denji may not be as different after all.

Clay Mann's Absolute Batman #18 variant cover has excited the internet after social media users noted the striking resemblance to Tatsuki Fujimoto's beloved Chainsaw Man. The color palette of choice, overall composition of the cover, and the fact that Batman is wielding a chainsaw could be an undeniable reference to the wickedly popular manga. X account @dcuworld shared Mann's cover, which predictably drew Chainsaw Man fans into the post's replies.

Prior to Mann's cover resulting in an online frenzy, some DC Comics fans had already interpreted that Absolute Batman was already doubling as a reference to Chainsaw Man. Perhaps Scott Snyder should have titled the run Ab-saw-lute Batman instead. Mann's Absolute Batman #18 cover isn't the first time that Batman has referenced anime or manga; the series has proudly reflected titles such as Akira or Kagurabachi ​​​​​​in its artwork.

DC Comics hasn't shied away from overlapping with anime and manga as alternative forms of entertainment media. President and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics, Jim Lee, recently reflected on manga's impact on the entertainment industry as a whole, directly comparing the medium's success to the performance of Western comics. “The stories told in Japanese manga and anime are incredibly powerful. I often find myself wondering, ‘What is missing in Western comics, and why aren’t they able to achieve the same flavor?’ Also, I think manga has an ‘advantage’ over American comics, which are mostly about superheroes, and that’s where the majority of sales and readers are concentrated," Lee said to Nikkei XTrend.

Lee added, “In Japan, [manga] is closer to ‘literature,’ and anyone can read it, and it’s not just hero stories. There’s a much wider range of genres, like stories about cooking and soccer. You can draw stories from that. So I’m very happy that the manga has been so successful, because it gives me a ‘goal’ to aim for. The manga market is bigger than our industry, so the question becomes, ‘what can we learn from this?’"

Bruce Wayne and Denji Aren't Drastically Different Characters After All

On a surface level, Denji and Bruce Wayne may seem like an unlikely pair of characters to compare, yet they're bound together through the pain of childhood trauma. Batman's inescapable grief over Martha and Thomas Wayne can be likened to Denji's status of being an orphan, though Denji truly had nothing to begin with. Pain and suffering aren't fleeting emotions for Batman nor Denji — these incredibly raw feelings are foundational to who they are.

Both Batman and Chainsaw Man are perceived as symbolic by society. While the two operate in completely polar senses — one in the shadows, the other through chaos — their struggle to isolate their alter-egos from their true identities persists. There's also the unforgiving torment of isolation that connects Bruce and Denji on a humanistic level. Bruce's isolation is intentional, while Denji hungers over the idea of human connection that he's been deprived of.

It's hard to overlook the similarities in Mann's Absolute Batman #18 between Chainsaw Man and Batman, just as it is easier to see how these two pop culture icons may not be as alien from one another as some may think upon first glance. Absolute Batman #18 releases on March 11, 2026.