Spoilers for Absolute Batman #25 follow.
Absolute Batman #25 gives Bruce Wayne his clearest evidence yet that Jack Grimm V, the billionaire known as the Joker, is far more than an ordinary man. In the issue, Batman encounters Grimm in a cave beneath Grimm Manor, where the Joker reveals his monstrous form and says he has been alive for a “long time.”
Grimm explains that his nickname comes from how rarely he laughs. He says the few worthy opponents he has met over his long life have been the source of his amusement, and hopes Bruce will become another person capable of making him laugh. A display of ancient-looking warrior outfits hints that Grimm may have been alive even longer than Alfred Pennyworth’s research into the Grimm family suggested.
The confrontation follows another painful discovery for Bruce: several of his friends have been turned against him. Waylon Jones, Harvey Dent, Edward Nygma and Oswald Cobblepot tell Bruce that Grimm approached them separately and persuaded them that the aristocrat was innocent, while portraying Batman’s accusations as delusions. Bruce escapes authorities seeking to take him to a psychiatric facility, then falls into the cave beneath the manor.
Barbara Gordon, now operating as The Bat, helps Bruce escape as Grimm pursues them and begins to grow wings. Barbara later learns that the creature was responsible for the murder of her father, former mayor Jim Gordon. That revelation may connect to the solo story Scott Snyder has teased for Absolute Batman #26.
The issue also ends with Selina Kyle returning with a baby bump, telling Bruce that he is going to be a father. The child’s identity and the effect of the news on Bruce’s fight against crime are expected to be addressed after a time jump in Absolute Batman #28. Issue #25 is available wherever comic books are sold.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.