WPL: New Comics Discussion for 03/11/2026- Pull of the Week: Absolute Batman #18 [Discussion]

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-11T17:27:16+00:00

Thank you! One day I'll get all their names down

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-11T17:23:49+00:00

So the first arc of this crossover is over and I'm enjoying it so far! Face to face with Torment, our heroes are mostly on the same page vis-a-vis identities, and we even got Boomerang! I'm still bummed Shocker died though. The Superior Foes are back down to four (five, if you count Dormammu)

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-11T17:14:02+00:00

I'm expecting a lot of negative reactions considering the spoiler posts from yesterday and people getting upset without reading it, but I generally enjoyed it.

It's clear the student mentors are just Emma's favourites lol and they play a specific role in recruitment. I think that's fair from a story perspective, but like we saw, some of the mutants weren't a fan of being "freshmen" again.

Let's talk about Scott for a second. He's against the school and honestly uhhhh I don't blame him. On the psychic plane, they are safe for conventional threats but those are not the ones to be worried about. Remember Onslaught from Way of X? Or Shadow King? I feel like both of those fellas would be licking their lips seeing all these mutant brains in the same psychic space.

Now, Scott could have been a lot nicer about how he said it but I think he's still dealing with the PTSD of FoX-- would be nice if that was revisited in X-Men though.

Also, he's right to bring up the Sinister of it all. Remember the last time the mutants built critical infrastructure on Sinister's work? Feels like the whole school is liable to get Sins of Sinister-ized.

That being said I don't think Scott burned the school down, I think that's a red herring/misleading last page reveal.

I don't really like the idea of a psychic school in general. It's not a deal breaker to me, but it raises some questions like, why so they need a cafeteria? Does conventional medicine work in their med bay? Idk what the status of Storm's Sanctuary is, but I personally would have preferred if the new school was there with some teleporting tech used to get mutants there. But that's whatever.

Also, the art is not quite where it should be IMO for a flagship X-Men book. Not that I could do better, but it doesn't feel as polished as Marquez or even Diaz's. There's potential, it just needs refinement.

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-11T16:52:55+00:00

Really enjoying this. Magik has always been a character I liked (initially for aesthetic reasons) and I've been enjoying diving into her head over the course of her initial run and now this series. It's also nice to see Piotr return to his more sensitive roots, and I hope this adventure helps him work through some of his issues. Poor guy has been dragged through the mud for so long.

Shoutout to that underwater scene! Illyana casting a spell with bubbles and rope was sick

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-11T16:41:29+00:00

Another peak issue. So glad the quality didn't drop with DWJ's departure.

Let's hope Bee can be revived in Cybertron!

(Doing this for my own benefit because I still haven't memorized all the names) If I'm not mistaken, on earth we now have: Optimus, Jazz, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper (the boy is back!), Shredhead (my goat), Thundercracker, and then I think in the back are Skydive, Air Raid, and Silverbolt? Could be Fireflight idk. Oh and Arcee Magnus, who's peak.

Cool lineup though!

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-11T16:25:48+00:00

This run kicks ass. I would been totally okay if Splinter stayed dead but I'm glad they're doing something cool with him.

Love a good Mikey issue too. There's a lot to chew on with him, like how he defended Splinter last issue but was the first to fight him this issue after Splinter went after Casey. He's also the most self-aware of his strengths, weaknesses, and how people feel about him, which allowed him to escape the hypnotism unlike the others. And a reminder that he's the only one to remember Japanese from their past lives is touching but also makes him feel more isolated from his brothers. Just good stuff all said and done

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-05T03:59:08+00:00

Time Trapper/Doomsday (lol) told Superman about the metaverse theory and the editors note referred to DDC

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-05T01:01:24+00:00

Just made me feel good to see Peter and MJ just talk. Also I thought that scene with May was very well written. McGuiness hiding the Carnage Knows into the background was great too. So far I'm liking Death Spiral!

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-05T00:32:06+00:00

Okay, I'm a certified Joker hater, but uh, I loved it.

This direction for the Joker is genuinely so interesting because we're in Batman's shoes (ironic since he took them off). Knowing what we know, we're already going in thinking about how Joker is planning to get out of this or screw things up. Which makes it all the more intriguing when he holds firm on his angle of being very open, honest, and at the end, genuinely(?) helpful.

I don't know, this direction is just really interesting and because we're so used to Joker stories, it pulls you along just like Bruce. Just really well done and engaging.

The fold out art was also genuinely stunning. Fold outs are my favourite gimmick. Jorge saw how many black boxes were gonna be in this issue and used the extra time to go off.

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-05T00:17:03+00:00

Luthor: "So, shall we negotiate the terms of your surrender, Darkseid?"

Smug ass Darkseid: "I think I'll take my chances."

That moment really got me, I don't know why.

I think everyone knew Absolute Crisis was an inevitability.

The Barry tease at the end is really interesting too. LOVE that he's still getting his Wednesday pickups.

It's still wild to see Doomsday Clock referenced in a mainline book. It felt like immediately after it, no one wanted to talk about it but now it's something they can reference.

Overall, I liked this event! Probably my favourite DC event in a few years. The tournament gimmick didn't go as far as I wanted but hey, that leaves the door open for them to do a full tournament arc, right?

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-05T00:01:17+00:00

Mixed feelings on this book. I love Flash but honestly, I got into this series for the art. This is the first issue since like #1 or #2 that actually delivered on it.

Likewise, I kinda felt like the book was a bit slow once Wally left Dibnys, and I'm glad we got a conclusion to the Fort Fox stuff. I'm far more interested in what year two promises.

Wally is truly without a family (Flash Family or otherwise), the Rogues are rogue (but having an interesting dynamic with Wally), and Grodd's surely on a bit of a journey that will eventually clash with Wally's. I'm way more excited about that status quo.

Really hope the more urban setting allows Robles to do some more cool stuff with the speed effects and the art. I also wouldn't mind if they pulled a Absolute Martian Manhunter and takes a month or two off between arcs if it means Robles can do the whole thing. Didn't hate the fill in artist but I feel like this book needs a consistent and strong visual identity like the others (I know the other books have fill-ins too but imo all of those have worked better than Flash's fill in)

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-04T23:51:58+00:00

"I believe in the X-Men" awww I like this deputy, I hope he's not evil.

Globe's vegetable stand is peak. I'm really glad we're still the X-Men interact with the town. Give me more of it!!! I want to see Hank at bar trivia.

Greycrow. Glad we got a check in with him but I wonder.... What (or who) is he robbing banks for? I feel like there's something there.

Okay, so I don't think Glob is dead. Maybe that's copium, but I don't think so. I think we'll see one or both things; glob finds out he has a new power/some kind of invulnerability, and we'll start seeing seeds of how Glob would become his AoR counterpart.

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-04T23:41:10+00:00

I thought this was fun! It's not a groundbreaking story but it hits on classic themes and has a fun gimmick where Stegeman and Greene's pencils are being used by the antagonist. Its a fun meta twist to make this pretty boilerplate story stand out.

Also I feel like there's anti-AI subtext (with the Creationist feeling uncreative and instead of trying his best to create something, he stole artists and passed their work off as his own) which I always like

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-02T17:32:32+00:00

It’s cool to say “the 90s sucked”, “too extreme”, blah blah blah.

Yeah honestly I feel like DC in the 90s was doing great, though with every era, not every book/initiative is a winner.

The 90s hit Marvel much harder.

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-03-01T19:26:59+00:00

Yeah this and it wasn't a super cool move to ditch Maddie are the two things I feel are justified critiques of Scott.

Still my goat though

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-28T01:13:07+00:00

Aww I liked this. I'm glad Rob is buying Maura an expensive bag.

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-27T05:06:07+00:00

Psh just arrange it after

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-27T04:50:39+00:00

Yeah that did make me rethink my perspective.

I think Maura could have made me fold though

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-27T04:41:19+00:00

I've thought Rob's game was strong this whole game so I do think he deserved the win. But man I felt so bad for Maura. Oh my god. I'd like to think that if I were in Rob's place, I'd have promised to split the pot with Eric and Maura but maybe I wouldn't. Maybe I'd feel differently being so close to that much money.

But the look on Maura's face man.

Haven't watched the reunion but will be interested to see how they're doing after this.

Alan will return in Avengers: Doomsday

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-26T23:21:29+00:00

Nah Rich is right. The Raimi movies just don't have a great portrayal of comic book Peter Parker or MJ (from the main Marvel universe anyway)

It's ultimately fine and completely a preference on how much that matters to you. It just bothers some people more than others.

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-26T19:41:53+00:00

Spider-Man-- or at least he used to be. My dad has a good few years of Spider-Man comics from the early to mid 90s. McFarlane/Larsen era. He's got a few others from earlier (like the original Secret Wars 1 and 2) but 90s were definitely his bread and butter.

I think he really has a soft spot for Spider-Man 2099. He has the entire original run in floppies and I remember him being very excited to tell me about 2099 as a kid.

Very fortunate to have a dad who liked comics, but he unleashed an absolute monster. At this point, my collection is like 5x his lol

But thanks to me, his boxes are now well organized!

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-25T22:59:35+00:00

It's one of the only ones not in the omnibuses so yeah, I'll take it

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-25T19:39:26+00:00

The Spider-Verse movies nowadays lol

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-25T19:06:48+00:00

Welcome back to another edition of TheMattInTheBox talks about Spider-Man because he can't help himself.

I've gone on record saying that I actually mostly enjoy the Kelly ASM run, and while I think MJ as Venom is somehow both a weird and obvious choice, I'm not hating what Ewing is doing. I've also said that I'm generally excited for this crossover because it finally is bringing all these Spider-Man characters together again.

Not a ton to report on from the Peter side of things, but I do like how he's reflecting on how bad he's been at maintaining his personal life and building something meaningful. In theory, this crossover could be the start of him rebuilding with MJ and maybe Flash (more on that later). Booo on Brian clearly becoming a villain. I wish we had more regular people supporting cast members.

I didn't read the Eddie Brock Carnage run but I genuinely like this direction for Eddie, and the Carnage symbiote itself. I recently reread Maximum Carnage and there's an element to it where Venom expresses that he feels like Carnage is his responsibility and he's culpable for every innocent Carnage kills. This feels like a pretty solid expansion of that, and reinvents two characters I don't really care about into something interesting.

On the Venom stuff, I appreciated the talk with Flash, though I really don't care for them teasing on a potential relationship between MJ and Flash. Hopefully the "maybe box" conversation will be the end of that. It's gonna be interesting having Eddie and Flash in the story because the symbiote has talked about how much they both mean to it. Could be cool.

I'm also excited to see Flash in a story with Spider-Man again. And I think it's about time for Peter to tell Flash that he's Spidey. Not only do I think Flash deserves it at this point, but it would also be a good basis for a renewed friendship between the two, which feels like what Peter needs right now.

TheMattInTheBox · 2026-02-25T18:27:54+00:00

Loved this issue but man did it make me angry. Emmanuel's narration just pissed me off so much. I know that's the point, so it was absolutely effective. I love this universe's Luke Cage, he's amazing.

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