Comic Book / Batman (2025)

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Batman is a 2025 comic book series published by DC Comics as part of the DC All In branding initiative, following Chip Zdarsky's run and the first half of Batman: Hush 2. It is the fourth series to use the Batman title.

The initial creative team for the relaunch is writer Matt Fraction and longtime illustrator Jorge Jiménez.

According to Matt Fraction, the comic aims to bring a revamped look for Batman and Gotham City, with Batman donning a new suit and Gotham City having a more "slight pop influence" harkening back to its classic depictions, while maintaining the modern dark atmosphere of the runs prior.

The first issue was released on September 3rd, 2025.

Previews: Batman #1 Teaser Trailer

Batman (2025) provides examples of:

• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: In Issue #9, Vandal Savage has his enforcers hunt down and raid all the Bat Family's bunkers across the city.
• Animal Motifs: Butterflies, in relation to the first issue's themes about the willingness to change.
• Armor-Piercing Response: The mentally regressed Croc still has enough intelligence to notice that Batman also has "head bad," and asks him "who help you?" Partly to reassure him, Batman claims he doesn't need help. Croc leaves him with "if you say so," in a manner that makes it highly ambiguous if he's still in Hulk Speak or temporarily became lucid.
• Bat Signal: A truly majestic example. After Vandal Savage spends weeks discrediting Batman and his allies and going on about how he is finished and will soon be arrested, Batman creates a massive, glowing bat signal on the sky with thousands of drones to show the people of Gotham that he isn't abandoning them or backing down any time soon.
• Best Served Cold: Alan Scott warns Batman that because Vandal Savage is an immortal, he's able to play the Long Game with plotting revenge against those he feels have slightly him, in this case on Batman for interfering with his attempts to stabilize his failing immortality during Zdarsky's run.
• Boring, but Practical: As it turns out, just putting a small bat toy on a window makes for a useful and simple substitute for a giant flashlight that shines a big bat symbol in the night sky, considering Batman's vigilance and awareness of even the smallest things happening in Gotham. Gordon tries to justify the psychological and symbolic reasoning behind the Bat-Signal, but Batman interrupts him.
• The Bus Came Back: After his one time appearance in The Toy Box back-up in Zdarsky's run as well as the end of Tim Drake: Robin, Bernard makes his mainstay title debut as well as his return after two years.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Invoked when the Joker warns Batman that someone is trying to kill him, prompting Batman to dismiss this as "Tuesday" since so many people are always trying to kill him. He only takes it seriously when the Joker calls him "Bruce", something he rarely does.
• Captured on Purpose:
  • As Bruce deduces at the end of issue #3, Eddie's return to crime was in hopes of getting into Arkham Tower, where, he hears, the experimental psychiatric care device known as the Crown of Storms is being tested on the patients.
  • In Issue #9, during Savage's raids of Bat Family bunkers, Barbara deliberately exposes the Clocktower in order to get arrested, so she can be sent to Savage's private Supermax prison, in order to investigate how he's having enemies locked away there murdered. This gets followed up on in the miniseries Barbara Gordon: Breakout.
• Character Death: Hugo Strange is gunned down on the Minotaur's orders in Issue #10 as a gift towards one of his allies in the Torus, whom Strange had targeted in a gang war.
• Crazy-Prepared: When Tim drives the new Batmobile, he's bewildered to find out that it has thirteen gears. Batman explains that three out of the four extra gears he installed are for use during space-time crisis events, and the thirteenth gear is... "secret." Tim is more weirded out by the "secret gear" than the three created for space-time anomalies. However, considering the space-time anomalies were an explanation Batman actually gave, the fact that one of them is secret anyway might actually be more disturbing.
• Creator Thumbprint:
  • In lieu of a "To Be Continued" caption at the end, Matt Fraction has the title character's emblem bookend an issue. This was something Fraction has used in past works like Hawkeye (2012) and Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen (2019).
  • The series shows graphics displaying descriptions for various gadgets that Batman pulls out, which was something Fraction did similarly in his Hawkeye run with the character's Trick Arrows.
• Complexity Addiction: Played for Drama. When the Riddler returns to crime, he's rattling off a bunch of riddles to Batman. It soon becomes clear that he's not trying to lead Batman on with clues to a bigger crime like he usually does, but at some point his compulsion to make riddles had taken him over, as he's completely unable to do anything straightforward or basic like making a grocery list without making riddles out of it (he despairingly laments how just making the list took him hours). The crime he's committing in turn is shockingly basic for him as it turns out he's hoping to be sent to Arkham Tower and have the Crown of Storms used on him so he can finally stop.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Vandal Savage is still Gotham's police commissioner.
  • After the destruction of Wayne Manor by Failsafe in the Zdarsky run, Bruce is still operating out of Pennyworth Manor.
  • Tim Drake being sprayed by water in issue #2 is drawn in a similar way to how he was shot in the dream sequence in the first issue of Chip Zdarsky's run.
  • Arkham Tower is still trying to be a proper mental health facility, rather than the Bedlam House of Arkham Asylum.
  • Poison Ivy is now Mayor of Gotham, as per developments in her own series.
• Costume Evolution:
  • Batman gains a brand new suit that redesigns that Bat-logo and colours it blue ^note It coincidentally looks like Dick Grayson's Titans Tomorrow Batman outfit that appeared in A Lonely Place Of Living.
  • Tim Drake gains a brand new Robin suit that harkens back to his third Robin outfit which debuted in Robin Wanted.
• Cryptic Background Reference: A news roundtable show has someone complain about Gotham's "ninja problem" and how it's the fault of all the "unregulated dojos" around the place.
• Depending on the Writer: Issue #3 has Bruce talk to Damian about college. Damian is portrayed as utterly dismissive of learning anything that isn't related to his role as Robin. This is a sharp contrast to the concurrent Batman and Robin (2023), in which he's taken up creative writing and is thinking about becoming a doctor.
• Diabolical Mastermind: The Minotaur unites the warring Gotham criminal organizations into a unified alliance which he leads like a company, promising not only an increase in return but to expand his operations worldwide.
• Doesn't Like Guns: Subtly Played for Laughs. When Batman discourages a cop from using his gun on Croc on the basis that it'll make him mad and scare a nearby girl, Batman takes it and holds it like he's holding a disgusting dirty napkin.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Hugo Strange, the oldest recurring Batman villain, is unceremoniously killed off in a flashback by the Minotaur's henchmen to show how effectively his organization deals with the enemies of its members.
• "Eureka!" Moment: In Issue #10, a Wayne Enterprises board member complaining about Bruce's business decisions costing them money and having to explain it to their shareholders helps Bruce realize that the Minotaur's position as Gotham's new crime boss is based on handling all the other criminals' money rather than brute force.
• Evolving Credits: The relaunch features a brand new logo and finally retires the one first introduced in the New 52 (the logos introduced during Tynion's run and Zdarsky's run were modernized modifications to the New 52 logo).
• Extra Digits: The Minotaur's Red Right Hand is having two extra fingers on his left hand.
• Formerly Fit: The Joker's naturally lean and energetic build has dissipated in captivity, replaced with a doughy body and multiple chins. Given the nature of his treatment, it's not just being suspended in a tube; Dr. Zeller mentions that his brain was burning an insane amount of calories (over 16 times the average per day), so the Crown of Storms is keeping his mind from essentially starving his body.
• Heel–Face Turn:
  • Killer Croc seems to be becoming a friend of Batman in the first issue, with Batman able to peacefully talk him into returning to Arkham.
  • Thanks to Dr. Zeller's treatment with the Crown of Storms, The Joker, of all people, seems to fall under this - with his mind in some semblance of order, he's nothing but polite to everyone he speaks with, sympathetic toward his past victims, fully aware of all the horrid shit he's done...and not trying to pull one over on Batman to escape his containment. Hell, he even gets Batman to come in just to warn him that someone is trying to kill him - and calls him "Bruce" to make it clear how serious he is.
    "I know it was me. I know what I've done. What I am. I am monstrous and violent and cruel. And. And I am thankful to be contained."
• Here We Go Again!:
  • The nature of Status Quo Is God and the subsequent character Snap Back it often causes is discussed in Issue #1, as Killer Croc has once again escaped from Arkham custody to wreak havoc as the typical Starter Villain for Batman to stop at the beginning of a new run/relaunch. Even Batman is annoyed at the perceived Vicious Cycle of the lack of change Gotham's colorful characters are unable to break out of.
    Batman: Getting really tired of this.
  • The cycle is referenced again in Issue #3, where Vandal Savage's attempts to put a target on Batman's back leads to the GCPD declaring war on Batman yet again, much to Batman, Gordon, and Bullock's chagrin.
    Batman: Everything old is new again.
• Hero with Bad Publicity:
  • Following the theme of a Vicious Cycle of violence, Dr. Zeller has a low opinion of Batman as someone who is needlessly violent and willing to assault defenseless civilians to keep his secrets or enforce what he believes is right. The irony being she's expressed part of this to Bruce himself.
  • Thanks to Vandal Savage as Police Commissioner (with backing from Mayor Poison Ivy), the entire Bat family are declared criminals and hunted down.
• Hope Bringer: In Issue #1, a crying little girl stops the tears and visibly smiles when she sees that Batman has arrived.
• Idiosyncrazy: Taken to tragic extremes when the Riddler returns to crime in issue #3, which it turns out is partially motivated by his compulsive fixation on riddles growing massively worse. After he's apprehended, Eddie hands Batman a sheet of paper covered in riddles, which Batman deduces is meant to be a grocery list. According to Eddie, it took him hours to come up with a riddle for each item. He passes out pleading for Batman to make his mind stop.
• Lighter and Softer: As emphasized by Batman's new brighter blue suit, this run is generally more lighthearted than the previous ones that went to dark places quickly within their first issues. Bruce is even more prone to cracking jokes whilst maintaining his stoic glower.
• Make an Example of Them: Hugo Strange is seemingly Killed Off for Real by the Minotaur's goons for having interfered with the operations of a member of his Nebulous Evil Organisation to show how the Minotaur will take care of his business partners.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The giant typewriter several supervillains use as a gimmicky deathtrap appears on top of a building as a massive decoration.
  • The news reports throughout the series are formatted similarly to the reports in The Dark Knight Returns. There is also a panel where a lightning bolt streaks across the sky against Killer Croc's mid-air silhouette, harkening to that comic's iconic cover.
  • Gotham's motto, "You don't have to be crazy to live here... but it helps!", was the motto a member of Arkham Asylum's staff had on their desk in The Killing Joke.
  • The Batmobile Damian is washing in Issue #2 is the one from the Tim Burton films.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Vargas's partner tries to turn on him and help Batman when he starts pointing his shotgun at the Dynamic Duo. This gets him killed, and Vandal Savage uses his death as an excuse to sic the Gotham Police on Batman.
• Operation: [Blank]: In Issue #8, Vandal Savage convinces Mayor Poison Ivy to sign off on Operation Peregrine, which declares zero tolerance towards Batman and all other vigilantes. Issue #9 shows that it involves mass raids against all the Bat family's safe houses and hunting them down.
• Our Slogan Is Terrible: A sign for the city shows that its motto is apparently: "You don't have to be crazy to live here... but it helps!", a Mythology Gag to The Killing Joke.
• Police Brutality: Officer Vargas in Issue #2 is fully willing to shoot fleeing suspects in the back and Robin as he's fleeing up a building. He then tries to lock him up in the back of a truck with a bunch of criminals in the hopes that he gets killed by them. This unsurprisingly lands him on Batman's bad side.
  Batman: Police brutality and murder puts us on opposite sides. Officers.
• Red Right Hand: The Minotaur, a new Diabolical Mastermind who has set up shop in Gotham, has seven fingers in his right hand.
• Revisiting the Roots: Batman's suit for the run is deliberately meant to harken back to his classic blue and grey suit, with some more modern flourishes like the blue Bat symbol and utility belt.
• Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Continuing from his new role in The Gotham War, Vandal Savage has decided to move to Gotham and become a Batman villain, with Alan Scott theorizing he's doing so to get revenge on Batman for all the times he defeated him as part of the Justice League of America.
• Rule of Seven: In issue #4, a new villain named the Minotaur forces an alliance between himself and six large Gotham crime families, one of which the Penguin's. To make the parallels closer, The Minotaur has seven fingers on his right hand.
• Rule of Symbolism:
  • As part of Issue #1's Central Theme of how Status Quo Is God is a Vicious Cycle of stasis and Snap Backs, Killer Croc is revealed to have not just grown into a more monstrous version of himself (again), but has also mentally regressed into a Hulk Speaking frightened child. Hoping to break the cycle, Batman doesn't try to beat up Croc with raw strength, but instead takes off his mask and keeps him company to comfort him until the Arkham staff arrives to take him back.
  • In the vivarium, Croc compares himself to the giant T-rex statue that is not dissimilar to the one Batman used to have in the Batcave. At the end of Issue #1, he gifts Batman his first trophy of the run: a small T-rex toy that not only represents Croc's regression into a more harmless, child-like creature, but also Bruce's attempts to better himself by being more compassionate so he can break the cycle that led to Croc's regression to begin with.
• Saying Too Much: After rescuing Bruce and Dr. Zeller from assassins, Damian doesn't notice she's within earshot when he refers to Bruce as his father. Luckily, Zeller doesn't draw the connection that Bruce is Batman from this.
• The Scottish Trope: A superstition that Gothamites are shown to believe in is that mentioning Batman by name will not only cause bad luck, but summon him as well. One lady tries this so she can be saved from Hugo Strange's Monster Men, and when Batman learns about this superstition from her, he's understandably confused but rolls with it to get the woman to evacuate faster.
• Series Continuity Error:
  • Apparently, #2 is the first time Tim has ever driven the Batmobile, and the flashback shows Bruce teaching him to drive in a pick-up while Damian hangs around being unhelpful. By the time Damian was introduced, Tim had not only driven the Batmobile several times, he'd also had his own car, the Redbird for many years, having been given a driver's permit at a young age owing to his father's injuries.
  • The current run also features many inconsistencies regarding Damian such as Bruce attempting to convince him to go to university with girls being used as a persuasion despite Batman and Robin (2023) having Bruce force Damian to go to high school and also has knowledge of the fact that Damian is dating Flatline. Damian's sentiments in issue #5 as a self-harmer and hating Tim for retiring as Robin feels incredibly dissonant towards his characterization in Robin (2021), where he mellowed out as a person in general and had retired from being Robin himself following the death of Alfred during Teen Titans (2016).
• Snap Back: Consistently deconstructed:
  • Killer Croc has undergone yet another mutation that causes him to become an even more monstrous version of himself, but the drawback this time around is that it's mentally regressed him into a frightened child. This new development gives Batman pause, and instead of treating Croc as a monster, he sits with him peacefully to comfort and calm him.
  • The Riddler has gone back to his old ways, attempting to rob a Wayne Sciences building while rattling off random riddles. Batman even lampshades that he's pretty much thrown out the success and wealth he's achieved with Nygmatech to go back to petty crimes. It's then revealed that Edward's compulsion is legitimately becoming a problem for him, as he reveals he's spent hours creating new riddles for things as mundane as a mere grocery list and begs Batman to make it stop. Batman obliges by gently giving him a sedative to put him to sleep and rest.
• State Sec: Under Vandal Savage's reign as Police Commissioner, the GCPD has been militarized, with mercenaries and criminals hired as his elite Tactical Urban Combat Officers (TUCO) units, which are used to hunt the Bat Family and anyone else who questions Savage's control of the city.
• Terror Hero: Defied. Batman was about to, as he says, "strike a little terror" into Killer Croc's heart. However, when he sees that Croc truly regressed mentally into a frightened child, he heeds the Alfred AI's advice and instead keeps him company until the authorities come to escort him back to safety.
• Tragic Villain: Issue #3 paints the Riddler as one. In spite of having achieved success and wealth through Nygmatech in Chip Zdarsky's run, Edward Nygma has found himself going back to committing petty crimes, in this case blatant robbery while speaking exclusively in riddles. It's soon revealed that this is because Nygma has been compulsively creating riddles for things as basic as a grocery list, and begs Batman to "make it stop," painting his usual M.O. as something akin to a genuine compulsive disorder he suffers from and has no control over.
• Trash the Set: In Issue #9, Bruce and Damien blow up Wayne Manor in order to keep Savage from continuing to make use of it and the Batcave.
• The Unifier: For the time being, The Minotaur attempts to force himself on this role on six of the crime families of Gotham, with promises of profit and, in twenty years' time, control over the world.
• Virtual Sidekick: Since Alfred Pennyworth is still dead following the events of City Of Bane, he's shown in the teaser to be an AI assistant accompanying Batman, not unlike A.L.F.R.E.D. in The New 52: Futures End and the Alfred Protocol in Batman: The Murder Machine. That said, Matt Fraction has implied that this isn't a holographic projection of Alfred.
• Wham Line: When the Joker tries to warn Batman that someone dangerous is out to kill him, the latter is initially unbothered by this since he normally has a lot of people gunning for his back. That's when the Joker follows it up with something that really gets him and Dr. Zeller to understand the severity of the situation. It's also worth noting that this is one of the few times Joker has ever called Bruce by name, further highlighting the danger.
  Joker: Someone's coming to kill you. Bruce.
• Wham Shot: The final page of Issue #6 reveals who Dr. Zeller has been testing her Crown of Storms tech on: The Joker.
• What Is This Feeling?: While connected to the Crown of Storms, the Joker is not only lucid but capable of emotions he previously wasn't, admitting that one of the reasons he's reaching out to Batman "may be empathy", in a way that suggests personal unfamiliarity with how it feels.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: Robin stops a truck robbery by some followers of Anarky and initially assumes that the score is some stash of drugs. He finds out quickly that it's actually baby formula, and the mook he stopped is apparently a father with a very hungry baby. Said mook also ends up shot in the back by some cops while trying to flee.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Joker's always known who Batman is under the cowl since Death of the Family, but by his own admission, he only really cares about his alter ego and has no interest in Bruce himself. Thus, Batman takes Joker's warning that someone is out to kill him seriously when Joker actually calls him "Bruce".