Scott Snyder Teases Absolute Batman’s “Friends and Foes” in Upcoming Arc
In an exclusive look ahead on the CBR: Heroes Journey Podcast, multi-award-winning writer Scott Snyder unveiled the emotional core of the next arc in DC’s Absolute Batman. While the nightmarish Scarecrow steps into the spotlight as the antagonist, the real conflict will be one that is internal. It forces Bruce Wayne to confront a painful belief: that his mission inherently hurts everyone he lets into his circle.
“The next arc brings in Scarecrow and all of this is largely about his relationships with his friends,” Snyder revealed. The plot will hinge on a melancholy conclusion Bruce Wayne reaches. “And how he decides… all he does is hurt people, so he needs to actually shut everybody out. And it’s the wrong way to go.”
This isolating choice will have profound consequences, pulling Bruce toward unexpected alliances. “It brings him closer to Harley and a lot of the Red Hood gang,” Snyder teased, suggesting their return after cooperating with Bruce and Alfred in the defeat of Absolute Bane. “So there’s a lot of stuff coming that we are really excited about that deals with the friends.”
But these “friends” aren’t just the familiar faces of the Bat-Family like Richard “Dick” Grayson and Harley Quinn. Snyder confirmed the return of Bruce’s childhood friends. “You see their design, you are gonna see The Penguin, Two-Face and The Riddler.” He was quick to assuage fan concerns, stating, “The one thing I tell to people that get worried that we are gonna make them his villains, we’re not. Like there’s a very different relationship here.”
Snyder paints a picture of a Gotham City where shared, difficult origins create complex bonds. “They are gonna get antagonistic but ultimately… this is a world in which people who grow up without a lot and make wrong decisions can find each other again in some ways when there are people who are deliberately awful and very powerful throughout this Absolute Universe.” Snyder is likely referencing the Justice League from Absolute Evil #1. They appear to be a powerful syndicate aiming to halt heroism, viewing it as a disturbance to the Absolute Universe’s balance.
The arc becomes a story of fractured connections and necessary reunions. In the face of a greater, oppressive evil, even the most broken relationships might need mending. As Snyder put it: “So, you know it’s hard to band back together with your old friends even if they are never the people you thought you would band back together with when you are facing something much worse.”
About The Author
