As the first storyline in Gail Simone’s Lara Croft series draws to a finale, this penultimate issue lines up all of the pieces. Matsu’s plot is fully uncovered, a new player is introduced to the story and hopefully all that is left to do is give us a pulse-pounding conclusion next time around. Sure, this issue feels like the setting up of an episode, rather than an episode by itself, but hopefully the sixth issue will make this pay off.
After the plot heavy Borgman double-parter, I was expecting things to quieten right down for a while. Harley Quinn was never too big on tackling things like a narrative, so I assumed Borgman’s addition was a compulsory attempt at tackling a storyline and then this week we would get back to the episodic misadventures with Harley. Seeing as handling story only worked 50% of the time, I couldn’t say I overly minded just spending an issue with Harley chilling.
The biggest shame here is that there are a lot of storylines being brought back up, which I was waiting for with anticipation. This means that the return of these characters is met with a strong feeling of disappointment. Batgirl, missing ever since Issue #4, finally tracks down her lead, a Brazilian actor who was at the subway when Jim Gordon was set up.
I love how this issue advertised the fact it was delving into Carmine Falcone’s past to explain why he does what he does and we are given a quick flashback where he is scratched. Cut back to modern day. That is not an explanation or even character development. On the Falcone side of things, we are given a neat, little twist, but it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise.
I don’t know if it was the long wait for the next issue of Harley Quinn, especially after a lacklustre previous issue, but this comic really hit the spot. It was just non-stop funny. Last time, the fact that the plot was advancing like a usual comic hurt the Harley Quinn madness. There was no time to take part in the usual Harley antics. This time out, the set-pieces were far more up Harley’s street, so the writers were able to milk comedy out of every angle.
As much as I like the multiple narratives of Batman Eternal, I like how this issue doesn’t jump as much around as we are used to. We start with a brief catch-up with Forbes and Falcone, their partnership not as steady as Forbes wants us to believe. However, then we are thrust to Hong Kong, where Batman is trying to figure out why Falcone abandoned a successful criminal empire in Japan. Shen Fang has taken over where Falcone has left off and Batman needs to team up with his man in the Orient, Jiro, the Japanese Batman.
If every issue of Batman Eternal was like this, I would be a happy reader. In fairness, it has been a while since Eternal has had a truly bad issue. There was fun to be had last time and the few issues before that added a few more layers to the mystery, hooking us right into the conspiracy of the story. However, it still felt a little inconsistent and jumbled. The eighth issue settles into what I thought Batman Eternal would be: inching closer to the answer hidden behind Gordon’s incarceration.
This series is a very divisive one. People everywhere say that it is Gail Simone at her weakest, her dialogue and charm being sentenced to endless exposition. Fans of Tomb Raider are less than impressed with the depiction of their favourite gaming heroine. However, while I can agree with certain discrepancies with the plot (how can the villains be worshippers of the Solarii, a cult made up on the spot by a marooned Mathias in the game?), this is turning out be a fantastic series, with this issue thrilling in all the right ways.
This episode is probably the most action-packed yet. Despite this series having a nasty little habit of dancing around conflict, this issue finally delivers not one punch-up, but two terrific fight sequences. In a clever move by the writers of this issue, we strip away the Dr. Phosphorous taking on Batwing storyline for the time being, so the comic can actually highlight the characters it wants to discuss.
Action-packed might be the wrong word to use here. It certainly moves along at a brisk enough pace. Within the first few pages, we have set up numerous storylines. A ghostly figure begins brewing below Arkham Asylum that looks truly terrifying. A new villain is introduced in one frame that will get the fan boys pumped. On top of that, the crime war between Falcone and Penguin rages on, with Batman tearing across Gotham, sleep-deprived and desperate.
This issue moves away from Batman, Bard and ex-Commissioner Gordon and picks up a new strand of story. This time, we focus on the Red Robin, taking the investigation back to the first issue. While Batman and Batgirl take on Falcone and try to solve what happened to Gordon, Red Robin is focused on the children that were abducted by Professor Pyg. Turns out they were not infected by Pyg’s serum, but something else.
This week, Gordon goes on trial, provoking some angry feelings inside of Barbara, also known as the Batgirl. Batman begins to see parts of his earlier self inside her, mainly the anger at the injustice of Gotham. He might have to put investigating Gordon’s trial on hold to make sure that she isn’t about to do something stupid. Meanwhile, Bard struggles to stay afloat amidst the corruption of Gotham, Gordon’s troubles appear to only just be beginning and Stephanie, after finding out her father was the Cluemaster last issue, has no idea just how deep the conspiracy goes, and how much danger she is actually in.
Issue #3 of Tomb Raider starts off poorly, but by the end it wins you back over. The entire issue tackles what happened after the cliffhanger of the last comic. Lara and Reyes are surrounded by Matsu and his gang of Solarii worshipers. A gun is pressed to Reyes’ daughter’s head and the trigger will be pushed, unless Lara can give the location of an artifact she has no memory of taking. She has until the count of five..
Previously on Batman Eternal, we saw Jim Gordon go from hero to villain, when he fired at an unarmed suspect, resulting in a catastrophic accident in the Underground. Batman is hot on the trails of the culprit, seeing as the police aren’t asking too many questions. Last issue ended with Batman realising that Carmine Falcone had one of his men on the scene, and the reader learns that that same Falcone is now getting close to the Mayor, which is bound to cause some trouble for Gotham in the next, few issues.
I am going to come right out and say it. I didn’t like this particular episode of Harley Quinn. The irony of the whole situation is that I have been criticizing the comic for the last couple of issues, because they haven’t committed to a particular storyline. Each issue involves Harley showing up, smashing some things with a hammer and then job done. It turns out that Harley Quinn works best without a concrete plan in mind, because the plot-heavy issue #5 is too direct and to the point for the usual Harley comedy to come into play.