DC’s Absolute Batman closed out its first arc with a number of compelling teases, but there was one in particular one-word tease that got everyone buzzing the most. That would be the tease of Bane’s introduction to the Absolute Universe, and now DC has revealed the first look of the iconic Bat-villain, and the best way to describe him is Swole Bane. You can check out your first look at the even deadlier Bane in the images below.
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To be fair, Bane was already intimidating and often depicted as incredibly jacked anyway, but similar to Batman, he’s evolved to be even more massive. As you can see in the images, Bane’s neck alone is the size of like three ordinary people’s necks, and his arms are even bigger than normal.
The cover, which was done by Absolute Batman artist Nick Dragotta, shows Batman in front of Bane, but it’s hard to tell if he’s standing on lower ground or if he’s on the same level, so a direct comparison in stature can’t be made just yet. Batman is a force of nature in the series, and he often stands taller than most of the people he fights, so it will be interesting to see how he looks when compared to Bane as they stand across from one another.
The venom is accounted for, as you can see tubes coming from his head and arms like in the main universe version, but Snyder likely has a twist coming for that as well if we’ve learned anything from the series thus far. Bane is also working for the Joker it seems, and thanks to the official description for Batman #9, we know that Bane is actually a former foe of Alfred’s. You can find that official description below.
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ABSOLUTE BATMAN #9
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by NICK DRAGOTTA
Cover by NICK DRAGOTTA
Variant cover by GERARDO ZAFFINO and TIRSO
1:25 variant cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
1:50 variant cover by DAN HIPP
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 6/11/25
AN ALL NEW ARK (M) STARTS HERE!
The latest development in saving the derelict and despondent of our society is a facility known as ArkM—a fully operational institution that has played a rather sizeable part, on purpose or not, in the creation of evil. And it’s active. So when Bruce tries infiltrate it and distill its secrets, a new villain from Gotham City arrives to deal with the problem…an old adversary of Alfred’s…a man known only as Bane.
What do you think of Bane’s new design? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics and DC with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
