Scott Snyder just gave fans a number, and it’s a lot bigger than anyone expected. During a livestreamed Absolute Access Live event on the WhatNot app, the writer laid out exactly how far ahead he’s plotted his acclaimed Absolute Batman run.
The series has been a phenomenon since its October 2024 launch as the flagship title of DC’s Absolute Universe imprint, reimagining Bruce Wayne as a working-class civil engineer rather than a billionaire.
Harvey Dent, Waylon Jones, Edward Nygma, and Oswald Cobblepot are reworked as childhood friends rather than strangers, while the Joker becomes the story’s wealthy, structurally powerful aristocrat standing against a blue-collar Batman. That premise turned issue #1 into a runaway hit, selling close to 400,000 copies and going through multiple reprints.
Scott Snyder Confirms Absolute Batman Is Mapped Through Issue #50
Snyder didn’t hold back on the scope.
“We have it planned through #50, and that’s not the end. It’s just like, it’s the end of the first big cycle, about Batman becoming who he needs to be, fighting Joker. So it’s kind of like one giant first year in his life, you know?” he said.
That framing means the current Batman-Joker conflict, building toward a climax at issue #25, is really just the opening chapter. Based on the current release pace, issue #50 is projected to land around November 2028.
The number has also been steadily climbing. As recently as late 2025, Snyder told fans in a newsletter Q&A that he was mapping something closer to 35 to 40 issues, with other reports floating a run as long as 60. At MegaCon earlier this year, he confirmed plans for 50-plus issues and said there are no plans to wrap the story until readers stop buying it.
Snyder has also teased what’s still ahead: Clayface’s debut in issue #23, and a Scarecrow arc feeding into the issue #25 climax. He’s also confirmed the first Absolute Universe event is expected to begin in November, likely bridging the current storyline into whatever comes next for the wider line, which already includes reworked takes on Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.
With Absolute Batman #22 having dropped a major twist involving Bruce’s missing father, Snyder’s #50 comment isn’t sounding like an ending. It’s a marker for a story that’s only getting started.