# How Absolute Batman #25 Changes Everything for Bruce Wayne

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/how-absolute-batman-25-changes-everything-for-bruce-wayne/
- Published: 2026-10-28T18:14:20+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-29T06:34:23+00:00
- Original publisher: IGN
- Original article: https://www.ign.com/articles/how-absolute-batman-25-changes-everything-for-bruce-wayne
- Topics: Entertainment, TV

## Key points

- Batman’s first fight with the Joker ends in a narrow escape.
- Jack Grimm may be centuries older than the story suggested.
- The issue’s final page raises the stakes for Bruce’s crusade.

## Summary

In *Absolute Batman* #25, Bruce Wayne finally confronts the Joker, ending the “Straw Man” arc with a fight that leaves Batman badly outmatched. The issue’s final revelation changes the stakes of his crusade, while the series takes a short hiatus for the rest of 2026.

Before the clash, Bruce’s friends urge him to seek psychological treatment, believing Jack Grimm’s claims that he has helped Bruce and acted lawfully. Batman escapes, finds Grimm’s trophy-filled “Joker Cave” and learns the villain may be far older than previously suggested. The Bat, identified as Barbara Gordon, helps Batman escape; he later makes peace with Harley Quinn, but Grimm may expose his identity.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.