By Luke Abbott
This weeks issue handled something very interesting: a finale of sorts. The end of the Penguin vs Falcone subplot. Interesting, yes. Good, no.
The problem with handling a franchise as massive as Batman is that it leaves you very restricted with where to take new stories. For example, the writers here felt very restricted by the fact that they were unable to kill off Falcone or the Penguin. It would have made a very bloody end to the gang war and would have made the build-up justifiable. However, seeing as there is the possibility that the fan base (as well as the writers themselves), would revolt if one of the more intriguing bad guys was written out of the canon, they felt unable to make that risk. As it stands, the gang war fizzles out rather than coming to an explosive end. The solution Bard came up with felt like the writers tying off an arc, rather than giving us a great ending to one of the main storylines of Eternal. The Penguin got to scene-chew, Falcone got what was coming to him and the gang war is finally over. As a reader, I wanted more. The Batman felt like an outside force rather than the hero of the story; I was happy with Bard doing the heavy work for a change, but Batman needs to actually progress some of the action, as it is his comic book series.
When we are dealing with a series as long as Eternal, we want assurances that the finale will be good, otherwise there is little point to investing time and money into the series. On the other hand, one good thing does come out of the finale: Bard’s character is a very interesting one. I actually thought he wasn’t going to make it. Seeing as I assumed Falcone or the Penguin weren’t going to be biting the bullet, I thought Jason Bard would be the major shock of the issue. Blossoming romance, check. A force of good in a corrupt town, check. A character minor enough to be killed off but major enough to deliver emotional impact, check. Maybe it is a good thing that the comics didn’t do the obvious thing, because now the Batman and Bard have an interesting relationship. Bard committed a crime to bring down the bad guys, something Batman couldn’t allow. It was a justifiable crime and the loss of life belonged to mobsters; it just doesn’t match up to Batman’s black and white morals. This brings the two major good guys at loggerheads, which could make some of the following stories much more interesting.
And now all eyes are turned to the Asylum. It has all but been forgotten about, but the Joker’s Daughter reappears for the final frame, kidnapping the Scarecrow. And when the Scarecrow begins getting terrified, you know you are in for something good just around the corner.
Quote of the Issue:
Mayor Hardy: (insulting) You’re just like Gordon, kid…
Bard: Thank you.
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on July 11th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman Eternal #14 review, Bruce Wayne, DC Comics, Jason Bard, Jim Gordon, Luke Abbott, Red Robin
By Luke Abbott
For once, I am more than happy to let Batman take the back seat on this issue. Jason Bard is a very fun hero to spend this issue with, especially as his plan goes full throttle and he turns into the smartest guy in the room.
The writing, pacing and dialogue of the thirteenth issue of Batman Eternal is terrific. I love Jason Bard as a character; he is the newcomer to the Batman franchise, but he instantly becomes a success with the reader. He takes a bad situation, and this issue spends a lot of time hammering home to the point that Gotham really is a corrupt nightmare, and works out a plan that could usurp Forbes corrupt rule of the police force, allowing Batman to properly take on the vigilantes, tearing up Gotham right now. I love his scenes with Vicki Vale; their back and forth banter is always delicious to read and adds a spark to the issues in a place I didn’t expect much excitement to be coming from. The Bard gang war storyline plays out incredibly well and again, even though Batman is essentially only here to look awesome in a handful of frames, I didn’t mind. I hope Bard becomes a major figure in the next few issues to come.
The other subplots are whittled down to brief recaps, which is fine, because they cover everything they need to. The Red Robin and Bluebird story is kept to a few pages, but its only job is to remind us that this is an ongoing side-plot, so when the issues are ready to tackle it, we haven’t totally lost interest. All we need from the writers is a few funny and charming moments from the two characters (Bluebird will end up a fan favourite for sure), to keep us happy. The Cluemaster storyline is still the best thing about Eternal overall. I love how the comic handles the Cluemaster, Vale describing him as a ‘second-rate Riddler’. However, everyone’s complacency is causing a massive problem for Stephanie Brown and the inability of anyone to take the Cluemaster seriously has a serious consequence for a few characters. Again, this side-plot is still my vote for the one to watch. I hope it plays a massive part in the finale.
Finally, Jim Gordon comes face to face with his renegade son. It will be a nice parallel between James Jr. and Batgirl and seeing how they both cope with Gordon’s imprisonment. I hope the two children of the Gordon family come face to face at some point in this series. I could criticise the scenes in the prison as scene-chewing. It is essentially the two characters reeling off monologues and justifications for their actions. If this was a movie, it would serve as nothing more than giving two good actors a reason to bounce off of each other. However, these scenes are far too fun to criticise. It opens up some interesting ideas and, most importantly, makes Jim Gordon the central figure once more, something that Eternal is always moments from forgetting.
And in the background, I cannot shake the memory that this gang war means little. It is killing time while the true nemesis, the nanobots, the real reason Gordon fired at an unarmed man, is revealed. We still have to explore the Joker’s daughter, Dr. Phosphorous, the mysterious first frame of the entire series. Batman Eternal is only just kicking off and we have a lot more great set-pieces waiting for us.
Quote of the Issue:
Stephanie Brown: Out of all of the super-villians in the world, why did my Dad have to be one of the crap ones?
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on July 5th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman Eternal #13 review, Bruce Wayne, DC Comics, Jason Bard, Jim Gordon, Luke Abbott, Red Robin
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