Absolute Batman #25 may well be the most important chapter of this series to date. It marks the end of the "Straw Man" story arc, culminating in the long-awaited showdown between Batman and the Joker and a truly game-changing final page. This issue is such a big deal that the series is going on a short hiatus for the remainder of 2026, leaving readers to sit with these major revelations for a few months.

What happens in issue #25, and how does this showdown redefine Batman's crusade going forward? Here's what you need to know.

Having finally overcome Scarecrow and his relentless campaign of psychological manipulation, this storyline ends with Batman finally venturing into Grimm Manor and preparing to confront the man they call the Joker. There, he's surprised to find not Jack Grimm, but his friends gathered in a sitting room. Waylan Jones, Eddie Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot, and Harvey Dent have all staged an intervention to convince Bruce to give up his fanatical crusade.

In turn, each man admits that they were approached by Jack Grimm, who revealed that he's been secretly helping Bruce evade the authorities. Grimm provided each with evidence that his business empire is 100% legitimate, that he's been campaigning against the Ark-M facility, and that he genuinely wants to help Bruce before Bruce gets himself killed. The friends tell Bruce that he has one last chance to turn himself in for psychological treatment, or else Grimm will finally leak his identity to the authorities.

Batman knows his friends have been fooled by a master manipulator, so he leaps out a window and flees into the woods with the GCPD hot on his trail.

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