In the Absolute Universe, Bruce Wayne never had a dime, the Joker is a cold industrialist who never laughs, and Superman is still fighting Brainiac. Four years after the imprint launched, Funko finally ships the general-release version of the Batman-Superman-Joker trio, rounded out by Brainiac. Except one name central to the license isn't in any of the four boxes.
The broke engineer is finally getting his own cartoon
Absolute Batman launched in October 2024 and set the rule for the whole imprint: reinvent DC's heroes without their usual comforts. This Bruce Wayne loses all his money and becomes a scrappy construction worker who fixes Gotham's potholes himself, while his Alfred turns into a grizzled former MI6 operative working as a mercenary. New York Comic Con, just last week, showed the first footage of an animated series pulled from the comic, with Scott Snyder set as showrunner. At the same time, issue #26 brings Cliff Chiang on art and hands the cowl to Barbara Gordon, who's off looking for what happened to her father. The general-release Absolute Batman Pop lands in the middle of all that, chase odds set at 1 in 6 for the black-and-white version.
- Absolute Batman – Pop #658: the engineer's costume from the 2024 comic, stripped of the character's usual fortune.
- Absolute Batman (Chase & Black & White) – Pop #658: same sculpt, 1-in-6 odds, in the black and white of Nick Dragotta's line work.
The Joker stands over four meters tall, and the box remembers it
This version's Joker goes by Jack Grimm V, a cold media-dynasty magnate, essentially this universe's own rich, humorless answer to Bruce Wayne, complete with his own hidden lair under his mansion. His real form, revealed in the comic, is nothing like a billionaire: a creature well over four meters tall, with claws and teeth to match. Funko picks exactly this figure to break from the standard format: The Absolute Joker is the only Supersized piece in the wave, 15 centimeters against the usual 10, a size call that lines up neatly with what the character is actually hiding. Brainiac's release, meanwhile, rides the Superman calendar: issue #25, due November 4, settles his fight with the Kryptonian for good. His figure glows in the dark, with no Supersized or chase edition attached.
- Absolute Superman – Pop #659: standing just ahead of issue #25, out November 4, which closes out the fight against Brainiac.
- Absolute Superman (Chase & Black & White) – Pop #659: the same 1-in-6 odds as Batman, in the same black and white.
- The Absolute Joker (Supersized) – Pop #660: the only figure in the wave to break the standard format, a quiet nod to his real size on the page.
- Absolute Brainiac (Glow in the Dark) – Pop #661: the opponent whose fate issue #25 decides.
The most central of the three is the one left out
This isn't Funko's first trip into the Absolute Universe. Back in July, at San Diego Comic-Con, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman each got a 1,000-piece exclusive, authenticated through the brand's Octane5 anti-counterfeiting system, Wonder Woman shown standing with her hand on the Athena Blade rather than mid-flight. Five months later, Batman and Superman are back in general-release form, scarcity swapped for an ordinary chase. Wonder Woman doesn't come back at all, even though she shares top billing in the crossover announced for this fall and her own issue #25 ships the same day as Batman's. Of the three faces the license is actually built on, exactly one is missing from this general-release wave, and it's not a coincidence of pose. All four figures are up for pre-order, with release expected in December 2026.
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