Absolute Batman #9 (2025)

In neutral Bialya, the leaders of the warring middle eastern nations Qurac and Khandaq meet for a peace conference. After a century of war in which generations of their people have died, including members of the two leader's families, they have both grown weary of it and have decided to finally end it with a face-to-face negotiation. They reach a mutually acceptable deal and agree to announce it the net day. However, as they go to leave the hotel room they were meeting in they see blood seeping out from under the door. The door opens to reveal a huge man in a mask with tubes plugged into his body: Bane. He tells them that one of them will die and the other will claim responsibility for killing him to reignite the war. The leader of Khandaq is defiant but Omar, the leader of Qurac, agrees to save his own life. Bane crushes the Khandqi president's skull with one hand, and tells Omar that the next day he will order an escalation of hostilities. He then gets a call from his employers, J.K. Holdings, ordering him to Gotham City. In Gotham it has been two weeks since Waylon Jones went missing. In that time Batman has been waging a one-man war against Gotham's underworld looking for him, putting almost the entirety of the Maroni and Falcone gangs in the hospital. As no criminals know anything about Waylon, Batman decides to get information from the other side of the law. He reaches out to Barbara Gordon via a communicator built into the mask he abandoned and which she kept rather than turn in as evidence. He asks her to find out where Waylon is and she is able to pull a police file on him. They meet at Gotham Zoo and Barbara asks Batman why he came to her, to which he replies that she knows she is a good cop. Barbara reveals that, according to the file, Waylon was arrested and imprisoned at Ark M for supposedly breaking curfew. Bruce meets with his friends and Alfred and tells them what he has learned, which they all agree makes no sense as someone should not be sent to a maximum security prison for such a minor crime. Harvey also tells them that the city has seized Waylon's property through eminent domain, meaning that he is not expected to ever leave. Alfred tells them that there are rumors of terrible things happening in the Arks and Bruce tells them all what he overheard Fries telling his bosses about the snow marking people. Oz asks how Ark M can already be open and imprisoning people when construction only started a few months ago, but Harvey reveals that JK Industries bought the land when the 19th Century hospital which stood on the site burned down and has been developing it ever since. Ark M retains much of the original ventilation and piping, so Bruce has studied the old blueprints and believes he has found a way in. Eddie agrees to build him something that can shut down any electronic surveillance and Harvey says that he can get Waylon into witness protection in Metropolis once they escape. Oz suggests that they all flee the city, pointing out what they are planning is crazy. Bruce yells at him in a sudden flash of rage but Oz says that just because it's crazy that doesn't mean they shouldn't do it. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon and Martha Wayne clear out their campaign office. The news on the TV reports on Hill's plans for a further authoritarian crackdown. Martha tells Jim that he should get out there and speak out against Hill is doing, but he replies that his time in frontline politics is done. Jim says that it's Martha's turn to take the leader. She replies that she's not going to run for mayor but he tells her that he will support her whatever she decides to do. Bruce and Alfred drive out underwater in the Batmobile to the island. Bruce swims out and Alfred guides him through a series of underwater caverns to Ark M's main pipeline. Bruce climbs up the outside of the pipe until he finds the point where it enters the rockface. He cuts his way into the pipe but Alfred tells him that, according to the blueprints, he is still at least a hundred meters below the prison. Bruce enters the pipe and crawls along it until he finds a grate and through it he sees a huge, sprawling underground complex of buildings. He realises that the prison on the surface is merely a decoy and that this is the real Ark M. Bruce drops down into the facility and Alfred loses contact with him. Bruce walks through Ark M's darkened hallways and sees a window in the wall with a human-sized bat skeleton behind it. Suddenly he finds himself face to face with Bane, who knocks him back with a kick. However, rather than follow up Bane simply stands there and encourages Batman to attack him. Batman throws his bat-thumbs at Bane and stabs him in the chest, but Bane shows no sign that it hurts and calmly invites Batman to advance. Bruce then charges at Bane and tries to punch him in the face, but Bane easily blocks it and paralyses Batman's arm with a nerve strike. He then paralyses Batman's other arm and one of his legs as Bruce tries to strike him. Bruce boldly claims that he can take Bane with one working leg no matter how juiced up he is, but Bane reveals that he hasn't even used the steroids running through his tubes yet. He activates the steroids and his muscles swell even larger, growing to monstrous proportions. He easily picks up Batman with one hand and says it's time to get him prepped for surgery.