Welcome to Batman Forever, a weekly review of “Batman Eternal” from DC Comics. I’ll look at the weekly comic every time for a short review and a prediction as to what comes next. Here we go!
Batman Eternal #5
KSSSSSSH! This issue makes me want to queue up They Might Be Giants’ “Nanobots.” We got a taste of Vicki Vale and another run-in with the Tasered-up Harper. Everything comes together in the Narrows where Robin has a run in with a few nanobot swarms.
The anger between Robin (I refuse to call Tim Drake by his new moniker) and Batman that lingers from “Death of the Family” feels a bit manufactured especially because Robin once again out-detectives the world’s greatest detective. (Batgirl did it last issue.)
Not a lot happens in this issue other than Robin, Vicki Vale and Harper running around the Narrows. Most of the plot points from previous issues aren’t even visited here.
It’s becoming clear that this is more of a story about Gotham than a story about Batman. He’s barely in the issue.
There are entirely too many characters in this series. I don’t even know who the guy in the final panel is. It’s supposed to be a big cliffhanger, and I have no clue. Maybe that says something about my level of Bat-fandom, but I think it says more about the fact that Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV are trying to make this into an epic tale that touches all corners of Gotham City. (Edit: It turns out the dude was Sergei and his monkey is named Maxwell. They were in Batman No. 22.)
The unfortunate thing is that it’s confusing. We haven’t seen the big bad, Falcone, in awhile. The Spectre was in Gotham for one issue and hasn’t been spoken about since. Deacon Blackfire appeared and has only been mentioned once. We have no idea what’s going on with (former) Commissioner Gordon.
I realize that in a 60-or-so issue series, they’re able to fit a lot in, but they’re five issues in. They need to stop introducing pieces and start playing the game.
Next Week: Two Face gets in on the gang war. Batman breaks someone’s fingers trying to get information. We finally catch up with Gordon in prison where he’s made at least one friend.
Next week’s cameo: The Spectre is back in Gotham!
Was I right?
Last week, I said, “Batgirl does indeed find some evidence to help exonerate her father, but he’s feeling so guilty that it’s going to be tough to help him. Gordon’s cellmate turns out to be a violent offender. Rookie cop Bard teams up with Harvey Bullock to learn the Gotham streets. A one-liner will explain how Falcone kinda/sorta came back from the dead.”
As mentioned above, none of the storylines from last issue were even mentioned in this issue. So none of my predictions came true. Not even close. I also predicted a cameo from the Batboat. We didn’t see it, but I know I will.
——————————–
By night, Kevin Coffey fights crime as a masked vigilante. By day, he’s the music critic for the Omaha World-Herald, Dungeon Master, lover of the Muppets, husband and father. He also enjoys making snide comments during movies (his wife has asked that he stop, but he refuses). Read his musings on Twitter (@owhmusicguy), music reviews and previews at Omaha.com, and bloggy stuff at his blog, Rock Candy.
