Scott Snyder Teases Two Major Absolute Batman Reveals

2 weeks ago 24

Published Feb 12, 2026, 12:30 PM EST

Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.

It appears that Scott Snyder takes pleasure in keeping fans on their toes about what to expect from his hit DC series, Absolute Batman, even several issues in advance. Well, he is at it again.

On Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, the acclaimed comic book writer shared a pretty big tease about not one, but two upcoming issues of Absolute Batman on social media.

Attached to the post are two photos. One is apparently a snippet from the cover of Absolute Batman #20, which Snyder intends to reveal the full artwork fairly soon. The other is the previously revealed, gruesome cover art for Absolute Batman #17, which supposedly depicts Bruce Wayne succumbing to a biological attack by Absolute Poison Ivy.

It had been announced that the revered series, set in a corner of the DC Universe in which Bruce Wayne is a middle-class construction worker with a still-living mother, would officially bring this version of the seductive eco-terrorist otherwise known as Pamela Isley to the fold in its seventeenth issue. Yet, apparently, the debut of Absolute Poison Ivy, whose emergence was also teased at the end of Absolute Batman: Ark M #1, is not the only thing for readers to look forward to.

As for the tweet's other big tease, it is not unusual in the least to see Snyder offering a preview of a preview of a new chapter in The Dark Knight's corner of the beloved Absolute Universe. In fact, he was already raving about what a "really big one" the cover of Absolute Batman #20 was on social media in a recent post.

Of course, at this point, with only sixteen issues available to readers at the moment (in print, at least), it is still hard to tell exactly what challenges Absolute Batman will be facing in #20, which currently does not even have a set release date.

What Will Happen In Absolute Batman #17 And #20?

Absolute Batman 17 variant cover featuring Absolute Poison Ivy

The entire point of the Absolute Universe, since it was launched in 2024 as part of DC's All-In initiative, has always been to challenge readers' expectations. The first issue of Absolute Batman even introduces a version of Alfred Pennyworth who, having never been hired by the Wayne Family, is a hardened, veteran secret agent who becomes an ally to Bruce.

Yet, what makes being a fan of this imprint so fun is making an attempt to guess what comes next. For instance, while it has already been established that Absolute Poison Ivy is appearing in Absolute Batman #17, there must be another recognizable member of the Caped Crusader's rogues' gallery showing up, but who?

There have been rumors that the issue will also see the debut of the Absolute Court of Owls, which was created by Snyder with artist Greg Capullo in 2011. However, the ending of Absolute Batman: Ark M #1 implies that a whole slew of new versions of classic enemies will soon be coming after Bruce Wayne, including Scarecrow, Hugo Strange, Clayface, and Deathstroke.

Of course, any or all of those baddies could also be what Snyder is saving for Absolute Batman #20, unless that issue sees the vigilante cross paths with the monstrous Absolute Joker. However, their epic showdown was implied to take place in the series' eighteenth issue in a bloody variant cover shared on social media by artist Dexter Soy.

Perhaps whatever diabolical trouble depicted in Absolute Batman #20 will be something that once again has Bats calling on the help of Absolute Wonder Woman, with whom he recently teamed up in Issue #15 of her series and his own sixteenth issue. Honestly, any guess is as good as anyone else's for now.

Absolute Batman #17 hits the shelves on Feb. 18, 2026.