DC has revealed its new redesign of the Scarecrow, as Batman meets his most terrifying villain for the first time. This time, the fear-based villain is scarier than ever, with some similarities to horror icon Slender Man.
Absolute Batman’s Scarecrow Is a Suave Horror
batman #296 cover cover showing the scarecrow
DC recently revealed Nick Dragotta’s cover for Absolute Batman #19. The issue will see the debut of the Absolute Universe’s Scarecrow, with Dragotta’s art showing the villain advancing on Bruce Wayne, reflected in the hulking Dark Knight’s twin knives.
Absolute Batman #19
ABSOLUTE BATMAN 19 COVER SHOWING SCARECROW
Release Date:
April 8, 2026
Writer:
Scott Snyder
Artists:
Nick Dragotta
Cover Artist:
Nick Dragotta
Poison Ivy proved to be just one of the many horrors within the bowels of the ARK M facility, and as Joker sets his sights on Absolute Batman, he decides to enlist the help of one of the center’s most terrifying doctors, Dr. Jonathan Crane. While Bruce Wayne tries to align himself with Barbara Gordon, there’s more than one alliance formed in this issue. New debuts, new villains, new arc starts here.
This version of the Scarecrow is suavely dressed in a tan suit, red tie and a campaign hat. As the villain lunges, fans can see that his eyes are covered by buttons and his lips are sewn together with red string. He also appears to be stitched together in a similar style to Frankenstein’s monster.
absolute scarecrow zoom in image from absolute batman
The new look has similarities to horror icon Slender Man – a tall, faceless monster in a black suit.
However, Absolute Scarecrow puts a ‘Southern Gentleman’ spin on that archetype, and rather than being faceless, the villain’s gigantic smile can be seen beaming out from under the brim of his hat.
Scarecrow Is the Latest Batman Villain to Receive a Hardcore Redesign
absolute batman’s mister freeze
In Absolute Batman lore, most of his iconic villains are the result of experiments carried out at the Ark M facility. Ark M is just one of (at least) twelve prisons around the world where extreme experiments are carried out on behalf of this world’s Joker.
absolute batman ark m inmates
As a result, many of Batman’s most iconic villains have been transformed into horrifying monsters. Mister Freeze is a skeletal horror, Poison Ivy is a maw of gnashing teeth, and Joker is a gigantic, lizard-like ghoul with multiple rows of teeth.
Absolute Joker opens his mouth to reveal sharp fangs and a long tongue in a hellish location
Grading on a curve, Scarecrow is actually the least extreme monster redesign we’ve seen so far… which probably means the issue itself is hiding a secondary transformation, just as Absolute Batman #17 just revealed Poison Ivy’s true form after teasing a design similar to her classic appearance.
absolute poison ivy reveal in batman 2
Up until now, the results of the Ark M experiments have mostly been test subjects. However, this issue’s summary suggests that Scarecrow was one of the people creating monsters, implying his own mutations may be more of a deliberate choice – and more powerful – than anything we’ve seen so far.
Iconic Batman villain the Scarecrow is entering DC’s Absolute Universe, with a nightmare-fuel design that’s just the beginning of the horror he promises.
Absolute Batman #19 is coming April 8, 2026, from DC Comics.
Created By
Bob Kane, Bill Finger
Alias
Bruce Wayne
Alliance
Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family
Race
Human
Franchise
D.C.