Highly Anticipated Absolute Batman Story Just Got Some Bad News

DC's Absolute Universe is still holding strong, which has revisited Batman through a much-needed and refreshed narrative point of view. However, some titles may not be hitting the shelves as soon as fans may hope, and The Absolute Batman Ark-M Special #1 one-shot by Scott Snyder, Frank Tieri and Joshua Hixson has received an unfortunate update.

While originally scheduled to publish on Dec. 3., 2025, The Absolute Batman Ark-M Special #1 has since been delayed to Jan. 7., 2026, per Bleeding Cool. The comic book news website shared new publication details which confirmed the story's postponed release date. "ABSOLUTE BATMAN ARK-M SPECIAL #1 (ONE SHOT) (W) Scott Snyder, Frank Tieri (A/CA) Joshua Hixson. INTO ARK-M! The origins of the enigmatic Ark M are explored! What terrible secrets lie within its walls, and just who is assigned to protect it from discovery?! $4.99 1/7/2026," the new Absolute Batman Ark-M Special #1 summary reads.

On his Substack, Snyder confirmed that they were to follow the upcoming Absolute Evil one-shot. "We're going to be announcing soon, so I guess I'm spoiling it, but we have an Arkham special, Absolute Arkham," he wrote. "It's me and Frank Tieri writing it. And it's Josh Hixson of The Deviant and just an unbelievable artist. And it's straight-up horror, but it gives like a real surprise about Arkham. A couple of big surprises. So I can't wait for you to see that."

Arks have been established in the Absolute Universe as detention centers created by the Joker through his company, J.K. Holdings. These Arks are scattered around the world, and are intended to create chaos on a global level. The Joker's first Ark, Ark A, established itself in Santa Prisca. Since, Ark B has been built in Russia, and Ark C was constructed in China. Aligning with the now-belated Absolute Batman Ark-M Special #1, Ark M will find itself located in Gotham City, with Roman "Black Mask" Sionis and his Party Animals taking on the responsibility of starting more anarchy in the city.

What's Next For Absolute Batman?

There's absolutely more to come for the Absolute Batman series as more Batman characters will integrate themselves into the alternative universe. Bleeding Cool reports that Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta have promised Robin's debut in Absolute Batman, but haven't disclosed on which Robin would be featured. Absolute Scarecrow and Absolute Poison Ivy have additionally been confirmed, with Snyder teasing a greater elaboration on what fans can expect from the revamped take on both Batman villains.

"Scarecrow is something VERY different than the other villains we've seen so far. Ivy is coming up again very soon and you'll see that she has extremely powerful abilities. While she isn't exactly a monster like Mr. Freeze or Joker where she'd be strictly terrifying, she's also kind of wondrous and dazzling while not strictly being human," Snyder said in a League Of Comic Geeks Absolute Batman AMA, "Scarecrow is human. He is a man obsessed with the power of fear. He has all of the gases and the things from history, a full kind of museum of fear that he loves to keep, but he's very modern. He's someone who uses fear to bring down government, to topple rulers. He's like a hired gun or a shadow that moves behind the scenes. I did some reading on the history of scarecrows, and some of the originals in ancient times contain nets that would catch birds so they could be killed, not just scare them away, but genuinely scare them to death. This Scarecrow is very dark in that way, but, he's a man rather than a monster."

Absolute Batman Ark-M Special #1 is set to release on Jan. 7., 2026.