Absolute Batman, Vol. 2

Batman goes up against Mr. Freeze in this second collection of the Absolute Universe run. This version of Victor Fries is new to the line, and the story ties him to Ark M, a facility whose link to the Joker stays mysterious at the start.

Ark M is meant to help society's broken, yet it has also helped produce evil. Bruce Wayne gets inside the facility and meets Bane, an old enemy with a brutal origin and a plan to break Batman. Bruce and his friend Waylon Jones endure harsh trials within its walls.

Alongside the fight with Freeze, the book fills in Bane's background and motivations, and how he came to Gotham. Along the way Batman learns what Ark M did and how deeply the Joker is involved, with Victor Fries at the centre of the secrets.

This is a superhero comics collection that leans toward the dark and the menacing, pairing physical showdowns with a slow uncovering of a hidden institution. It gathers Absolute Batman issues 7 to 14, so it reads as a continuing run rather than a standalone story.