Absolute Batgirl Design Reveals The Hero’s Hardcore New Costume

Absolute Batman’s pacing is surprisingly satisfying and fluid for a book that slows to a crawl with some arcs and goes at breakneck speed with others, particularly as certain Absolute universe supervillains develop throughout a five- or six-issue arc, whereas other villains’ stories are told in a brief two-part story. Meanwhile, Absolute Batman’s narrative has done a phenomenal job of gradually developing a handful of side characters, such as Bruce Wayne’s childhood friends, as well as Gotham City Mayor James “Jim” Gordon and his daughter, Barbara.

It’s tough to single out any individual issue of Absolute Batman as being epic or pivotal in the overarching story, since that would hardly be unique to this superb book thus far, but Absolute Batman #19 and #20 have caused seismic shifts in the book’s landscape. Indeed, Gordon’s murder (as influenced by Absolute Batman’s “Straw Man” Scarecrow) has been catastrophic for Bruce, who is also reeling from the revelation of his origins as Batman and who his mother truly is, and is about to have a massive effect on Barbara, too.

At HeroesCon2026 (and shared on Twitter/X by user Chris Anton), Absolute Batman’s Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta attended the Absolute DC panel to reveal and briefly discuss Absolute Batgirl—known in-universe simply as “The Bat.” This Batgirl design melds elements of her GCPD uniform, her father’s trench coat, and Batman’s costume and equipment.

Barbara wears a cowl (ears “swooped” back a bit, and presumably extractable as blades like in Batman’s cowl) and has tentacle appendages lining Jim’s coat, which is oversized even on her muscular frame, to create the same jagged cape silhouette. Beneath the coat, the Bat wears a bulletproof vest with a “chonky” yellow bat emblem spray-painted onto the chest. Interestingly, Barbara chooses to wear a bandana mask over her mouth to conceal her identity completely.

Barbara’s signature weapon is Alfred’s shotgun from Absolute Batman #1 that Bruce modified to fire non-lethal batarang buckshots, and she’s described as having other Bat gadgets. How she doles out violence and how well she and Batman pair as Bat-Family companions will be a neat thread for Absolute Batman to explore, especially if she is only donning a coat and cowl so that she can have her revenge on Scarecrow.

Barbara becoming Batgirl in the Absolute universe has been teased repeatedly, just as it was teased that Gotham City EMT Dick Grayson would soon play a larger role. Absolute Batman juggles a ton of characters, and it’ll be exciting to see how the Bat folds into this mixture when she makes her costumed debut this September.

Absolute Batman #24 is scheduled to be released in September 2026.