Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: absolute, Absolute Batman, barbara gordon, nick dragotta

Our First Look Under The Coat: Barbara Gordon As The Absolute Bat

Our First Look Under The Coat with Barbara Gordon as The Absolute Bat in Absolute Batman #24 from Nick Dragotta

We have seen at HeroesCon, the new look and name for Barbara Gordon in the Absolute Universe as The Bat. Picking up the mantle from Bruce Wayne as the Absolute Batman is lost in a spiral of depression as a result of the actions of Jack Grimm, the Absolute Joker and his Absolute Scarecrow.

And now we have Nick Dragotta's designs for the character, which Scott Snyder was just recently going through… as well as what they said about them at the show.

So we have the Absolute Batman cowl that Bruce gave to Barbara Gordon to contact him, but the ears have been pushed back. Her father's coat. Alfred Pennyworth's shotgun refitted with non-lethal technology by Bruce Wayne, with Baterang buckshoots. The Batman costume cutting, stripped from Bruce's original to make her parachute, now creating Bat tentacles weaved through the coat. A spray-painted Bat emblem on a Kevlar vest. Lots of gadgets under that coat, and Barbara Gordon has also been working out. She is buff, and she shows off her guns, as well as her shotgun.

• Nick Dragotta: "Everyone else is. Barbara knows Batman didn't kill her father. She's going to grab her dad's coat. We've seen Bruce hanging up; he's going down this spiral from the Scarecrow. Barbara's going to take the mission into her own hands to avenge her father. She's got this great story; she's going to become The Bat. Her day job is a cop, but at night she'll have to go outside the law to get things done. But she still has this core, it almost feels more Btman than Batman"
• Scott Snyder: "This character story has been there from Nick forver, we;'vbe been talking about in since 24, it really comes to a head here, we wanted her to kind of come up under her father and her time at the police at the GCPD she sees all these things that are wrong with it everywhere, for her there's her father but there's tremndous corruption, and so she goes outside that, one of the fun things is she fights differently and so in terms of the shotgun, you might recoigniose that from the very first issue we did, Bruce repurposed Alfred's shotgun to be this Batshotgun that fires electrified mini Batarang pellets, so that it non lethal and at the same time super bad ass, she uses different weapons that way. So she follows some of the same tenants, she's not out there murdering people, but at the same time she is really tough, wait till you see her with the coat off, it's awesome, she's buff, she looks like MMA, out of control, she's got the wraps, she's got the tank top, kevlar with the Bat symbol on it. It's one of my favourite designs."
• Nick Dragotta: "How she comes across this gear, why are there bat tentacles woven in the coat, you'll have to stay tuned."
• Scott Snyder: "Or we could just spoil it now…"

Don't worry, Scott, Nick, Bleeding Cool already worked it all out… going from Absolute Batman #1 all the way to Absolute Batman #20…

…from when we first met Barbara Gordon, Gotham cop and daughter of mayor Jim Gordon…

…just as he is being deposed as the mayor… which also loses her a lot of influence.

And how Batman takes that shotgun from MI6 operativeAlfred Pennyworth… and then uses it against him…

Even it it had been modified a touch.

In the Absolute Universe, Barbara Gordon is a rookie officer in the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) and the daughter of Jim Gordon, former mayor of the city

Depicted as a principled, justice-driven young officer, she has secretly cooperated with Batman, providing him with information and assistance despite the GCPD's opposition to the vigilante. Early on, she chases him, confronts him, and ultimately lets him escape, but keeps his cowl….

…and later Batman uses it to communicate with her, and bring her to his side.

She participates in operations targeting threats such as the Party Animals gang and Poison Ivy…

Batman saves her during a Poison Ivy confrontation by pushing her off a ledge, attaching part of his high-tech cape to her as she falls, transforming it into a parachute.

… and keeping the Batman helmet. And the bit of costume, no doubt. Is that where the Bat-tentacles come from?

Maybe she will evolve? She has the helmet. She has a bit of the suit that is attached to her. And now it has been reported that Batman killed her father, Jim Gordon.

And that's her dad's coat, which she will also be wearing. Along with her disillusionment with the GCPD and her strong sense of justice, this pushes her toward vigilantism. Going against Batman, the CGPD, Scarecrow, or Joker? And using what he has from Batman to create something new?

• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #21
  (W) Scott Snyder (A/CA) Nick Dragotta
  SCARECROW'S REIGN OF TERROR CONTINUES! Friends become enemies. Enemies become friends. Final forms are revealed, and Scarecrow's reign of terror threatens to upend everything. $4.99 6/17/2026
• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #22
  (W) Scott Snyder (A) Werther Dell Edera (CA) Nick Dragotta
  THE ORIGIN OF HARLEY QUINN! As the Robins nest in Gotham's backyard, and Batman faces ultimate defeat, Harley Quinn's origin is revealed. How does Harley connect with Ark M, and how did the Robins fledge from hatchlings to birds of prey? The call of more than one predator will be answered in this issue. $4.99 7/8/2026
• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #23
  (W) Scott Snyder (A/CA) Nick Dragotta
  BATMAN VS. BATMAN! In a climactic showdown, Batman is forced to battle an unyielding enemy in not just the Robins but in himself. More than one dead character signals a call for help…and a symbol of hopelessness as more friends become enemies.
  $4.99 8/12/2026
• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #24
  (W) Scott Snyder (A/CA) Nick Dragotta

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