The DC3 decided to take on the Herculean task of covering DC’s weekly books! Our coverage will rotate between creator interviews, issue reviews and annotations, and long-form pieces on featured characters. This, friends, is the DC3kly!
Batman Eternal #5
Written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
Illustrated by Andy Clarke
On the cover: Batman bashes and tears through a swarming barrage of nanobots that are rapidly burying a very distressed Red Robin. This is a Tim Drake-centric issue that also injects some pseudo-science nano-technology into the proceedings of “Batman Eternal” stylistically moving what has up until now been mostly a gangland tale of an underground war for Gotham.
How is the story progressing?: The issue opens on Red Robin investigating Professor Pyg’s attack from the opening issue of “Batman Eternal.” For those not caught up on the ‘New 52’ status quo, there’s been a bit of a falling out in the Bat-family since the Joker spoiled things in ‘Death of the Family’. Beyond that, Red Robin hasn’t had a very strong link to the Bat-books thanks to his muddy status as a Robin in the post-‘Flashpoint’ continuity. “Batman Eternal” #5 presents itself as a bit of a move in the right (or at least more familiar) direction for the character. Tim Drake has always been presented as the keenest detective of the various Robins, and here we see him mulling over aspects of the crimes that even Batman himself hasn’t considered yet. Eventually, he and Batman cross paths at the home of one of the injured (infected?) children, and discuss the discovery of the nano-swarm that Pyg’s attack ended up releasing. Oh yeah, Tim gets a few personal verbal jabs in at Bruce before he goes too.
At the Gotham Gazette, Vicki Vale picks up a young, idealistic partner (we’ll talk about him more later) and heads off into the night to to do some investigating. “Batman Eternal” has done a nice job of paying a little bit of service to all of Gotham’s elements, whether it’s the police force, media, gang underworld, or Bat-family. There’s a bit of the ‘old guard vs. young upstarts’ stuff going on the paper over the recent Jim Gordon arrest. This seems to have caused a spark on the newswire, which is a little strange, because when does Gotham City ever slow down enough for news to slow down to begin with?
When Vale and her new partner find themselves in over their heads with a few members of Falcone’s gang, who’s there but Harper Row (as ‘Bluebird’) to get them out of it? Vale ends up getting her story, but seeing as Harper’s there and her brother is never far behind, Cullen Row ends up taking a heavy dose of nanobots right down the esophagus for his trouble.
New 52 Debuts: The eager new Gotham Gazette character who tags along with Vicki Vale this issue is named Joey Day. As far as I can tell, he’s an entirely new character, but he represents a modern approach to news reporting and blogging – one that Vale harangues him about.
I’d also like to say that the real Tim Drake finally stood up. That’s not entirely true. Even though they seemingly tried to move him away from the Bat-family early on as the leader of the ‘Teen Titans’ (“He was never an official Robin” – believe it or not, an actual writer at DC Comics), his appearance here in “Batman Eternal” #5 feels pitch-perfect as he was before ‘Flashpoint’ happened. While we still can’t be sure that means that he’s been given the namesake “Wayne” through adoption – it does mean his richer characterization as an ace detective and integral member of the Bat-family is coming back.
“Batman Eternal” Debuts: The bespectacled Russian, Sergei, and his monkey Maxwell appear for the first time in “Batman Eternal” #5. They previously appeared in the gorgeously-rendered Rafael Albuquerque backup story in Snyder & Tynion’s “Batman” #22. The backup story demonstrated Sergei’s unique sense of invention as he challenges a pre-Batman Bruce to escape an Egyptian tomb using a bunch of mechanical junk. Basically, he taught Bruce how to MacGuyver his way out of problems – another key element of Batman’s heroism. Here in “Batman Eternal” #5 he seems a little more sinister than the last time we saw him, obviously having had something to do with the nanobots that plagued the rest of the issues’ events.
Continued belowVisuals: Andy Clarke gets the art duties on “Batman Eternal” #5. He’s been a frequently-used talent in the “Batman” corner of DC Comics since 2007, but is probably most remembered for his arc on Morrison’s “Batman and Robin” run with Dick Grayson under the guise of Batman. Clarke employs some of the best use of cross-hatching in modern comics, filling his figures with detailed linework that results in some subtle character expression. He also lends a eerie sense of quiet to Tim’s detective work in the early scenes, which made them stand out more.
On the other hand, the visual depiction of the nanobot swarm as an amorphous force, gave them more of a supernatural feel than anything in the way of technology. “Batman” traditionalists beware – you might not care for that element of the plot, philosophically or visually, considering that it requires an even greater suspension of disbelief than usual.
If we’re to consider Clarke a “fill-in” artist on “Batman Eternal”, it is certainly in the nicest sense of the word as his art is worthy of a regular gig in the Batman universe.
Three Big Questions:
1. Who is Sergei working for?
When we last saw him, he was Bruce’s mentor in a pre-Batman training flashback story. The way Bruce described him made him seem slightly cantankerous at best – surly at worst. In the end, however, he helped shape Bruce into the gadget master he’s known to be today. In the present, it seems his aims are much more sinister. In fact, downright evil, if he’s the one who implanted the nano-swarm in the children somehow. Could this be a really over-the-top red herring, or is Sergei working against Gotham City in some way – ‘League of Shadows’ style?
2. What does Deacon Blackfire have to do with all of this?
We get another mention of Blackfire’s name – this time from Joey Day. Remember that in issue #2, we saw Blackfire at Arkham Asylum, wherein he eviscerated Doctor Phosphorous quite gruesomely. In the old Jim Starlin/Bernie Wrightson story “The Cult”, Deacon Blackfire used the Gotham City sewers to cultivate a cult following that eventually included a brainwashed Batman himself. Given the fact that a gang war is coming, how much messier could things get if Deacon Blackfire’s cult still lives and throws itself into the mix?
3. Who else is shipping Tim Drake and Joey Day?
Multiversity writer, James Johnston, can I get a ‘Hell yeah’?
Joey isn’t shy about admitting he’s got a Red Robin poster on his wall back home. Tim seems a little creeped out about it, but I’m sure he’ll come around, right?
By the way, anyone else think something else might be up with Joey? He introduces himself to both Cullen and Tim in a slightly awkward fashion. One that invites a hesitant response from the both of them. I could be reading far too much into this, but who knows – new guy at the paper, stuff hitting the fan in Gotham – maybe he’s not just some eager young reporter either? Vicki Vale calls him “the enemy”, which in context is supposed to be seen as Vale being in the wrong – but could it also be taken literally? A lampshade hanging over something more sinister?
Final Verdict: 8.0 – The strongest issue of “Batman Eternal” yet, with a particular highlight being the deftness with which it handled the relationship between Tim and Bruce. In just a couple pages, we were reintroduced to Tim’s core character elements, his relationship with Alfred, his icy falling out with Bruce, and the resentment that he still harbors for Bruce having continually chosen his slavish devotion to the city over working together with and looking out for his extended Bat-family.
Batman Eternal #6
Written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Ray Fawkes
Illustrated by Trevor McCarthy
On the cover: Arkham Asylum has been turned into some kind of jack-o-lantern mansion as its landscaping comes alive to ensnare Batman, Batwing, and special guest Jim Corrigan. I’m sure this is a completely literal cover and not intended as a metaphor for any spooky goings-on at Arkham.
Continued belowHow is the story progressing?: “Batman Eternal” #6 opens on Batwing vs. the Gentleman Ghost, lending a greater supernatural element to go along with the gangland stuff and the pseudo-science from earlier issues. As I pointed out above, “Batman Eternal” seems consciously interested in incorporating all elements of Batman into its length. Batman shows up to help Batwing dispose of the exceedingly polite apparition, which leads to the best bit of dialogue in “Batman Eternal” yet:
Put more of these words in Batman’s mouth, please.
Back at Wayne Manor, Jim Corrigan has come for a visit. If you’re wondering about Bruce’s secret identity – apparently “The Spectre” is a bit of a blabbermouth. He comes to warn Bruce about the supernatural events that the Spectre sees bubbling under the surface of Gotham. Batman doesn’t have time for that, so it’s up to Corrigan and Batwing to investigate that particular angle.
So what are Corrigan’s supernatural premonitions all about? Well, they probably have something to do with the cultish group that’s assembled deep below Arkham Asylum for a “summoning.” Again, the parallels to “Batman: The Cult” and Deacon Blackfire are strong. One has to assume at this point that the mob has assembled to resurrect the deacon himself. This is one of Batman’s most revered stories that hasn’t yet been mined to death for recurring elements and characters.
New 52 Debuts: Only one, but it’s a biggie. It’s almost like they put him in there just for this column.
The one and only Maxie Zeus makes his triumphant ‘New 52’ debut in “Batman Eternal” #6. Maxie Zeus is a minor villain in the history of the DCU, and is most often considered to be a Batman villains – though he’s shown up all over. His thing is that he believes himself to be the Greek god Zeus, himself.
“Batman Eternal” Debuts: Ever our favorite precocious little scamp, The Joker’s Daughter finally gets to join the “Batman Eternal” party. Here, she’s the self-appointed leader of the summoning festivities, which makes perfect sense for her status as an agent-of-chaos. The Joker’s Daughter is a controversial character, because she seems to stand for a lot of the things that bum us out about modern comics – gratuitous violence, cheap gruesome stunts like face-removal, and paper-thin connection to another lucrative and popular character. But gimmick or not, we get a mercifully small dose of her in this issue and so it turns out to be a pretty satisfactory way of using the character.
We got a quick glimpse of Luke Fox in “Batman Eternal” #2, but I believe this is the first time we’re seeing him suited up as Batwing in the series. For the time being, he’s going to be our “supernatural specialist”, whether that suits him or not. “Batwing” has been a mixed bag since its ‘New 52’ inception, but it’s nice to see Luke Fox find a place here in “Batman Eternal” as an integral piece of the hero effort.
Let’s not forget the Gentleman Ghost, who had a very early ‘New 52’ run-in with Carter Hall in “Savage Hawkman.” He’s disposed of pretty quickly here, but it’s nice to see Batman embracing the supernatural and weird for a fun cameo from an unlikely villain.
Visuals: Trevor McCarthy has been a regular artist on “Batwoman”, and had been trading off art duties between arcs with JH Williams III during Williams’ writing run on the title. It’s not easy to be a worthy stand-in for an artist of JHW’s caliber, but McCarthy managed to meld together his crisp cartooning with emulations of the sort of inventive, eye-popping layouts that Williams III is known for.
Here in “Batman Eternal” #6, he confines his work to relatively straightforward layouts and doesn’t rock the boat too much. That’s totally fine, considering his work is so sharp and stylish on its own. McCarthy reinvented himself as an essential artist in the Batman family of books with his work on Snyder & Higgins’ “Gates of Gotham” miniseries shortly before the ‘New 52’ began. On this issue, he shows off his strong sense of the layout of Gotham City, as well as harkens back to the “Gates of Gotham” idea that so many of the secrets of Gotham exist under the surface of its magnificent architecture. A rotation of Fabok, Nguyen, Clarke, and now McCarthy is an all-star cast of Gotham-specific artists. The book continues to be in good hands.
Continued belowThree Big Questions:
1. Do you think Bruce Wayne’s ever really read Meister Eckhart?
Or does he just want to look smart when he brings ladies home, or when guys like Jim Corrigan grab a random book off the shelf?
Meister Eckhart was a German philosopher who steeped his writings in ideas about god, mortality, darkness, light, the force of will – you know, light and breezy stuff like that. Not sure how much of a godly man Bruce is, but all of that force of will/dichotomy stuff probably sounds pretty good to him.
And Aaron Eckhart was Two-Face.
And Eckhart was a corrupt Gotham City detective in Tim Burton’s Batman. Here’s a fun video bridging those last two little facts:
2. Is it Deacon Blackfire that they’re summoning, or someone else?
The smart money is on Blackfire, but we already saw his apparition floating around Arkham. Are they bringing him back in earnest? Do they need to? What is compelling the prisoners to do so?
If he’s already commanding those under Arkham to do his bidding (like causing Doctor Phosphorous to try and blow up the Batmobile), what does he stand to gain by taking human form again? And how does he fit in with Carmine Falcone’s gang uprising, if at all?
3. Will Jim Corrigan make things awkward at the Gotham City Police Department?
Corrigan was an integral character in “Gotham Central”, a book that we’ve been pushing everyone to check out, but also name-checking whenever the GCPD sequences occur in “Batman Eternal.” Beyond that, he’s already been identified as a GCPD officer in the ‘New 52’ as part of the “Phantom Stranger” series. That makes him a natural inclusion in the story, despite his supernatural nature. With the way the GCPD has shut down under the thumb of corrupt leadership, does Jim Corrigan play any part in leading the charge for the duty and justice of a precinct who has their hands tied?
I’m not holding my breath that the two will actually intersect in a meaningful way, but the possibility is there, given Corrigan’s history.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – This is the first issue where it finally felt like they piled on just a little too high. I like that all the different aspects of Gotham’s villainy are revealing themselves, but this issue felt like it was occurring at a different time altogether. Incorporating the Spectre was fun and finding a place for Batman’s extended cast continues to make “Batman” a less lonely, self-obsessed character to be reading.
The Series So Far: 7.5 – Buy. The writing team keeps stacking the plates higher and higher. While it looks like the stack might be a little wobbly, there’s something in here for every type of Batman fan, and nothing in here so far that would make any particular Batman fan upset. It is all buildup at this point, but it’s buildup worth investing in.
