Batman:Eternal Finale Review

by Ryan Lower
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Synopsis: This month in BATMAN ETERNAL: The epic Bat-story over a year in the making comes to a stunning end! Gotham City is in flames! Villains are running wild in the streets! Bat-tech has been corrupted! And the mastermind behind it all has put a knife in Batman’s ribs! How will the Dark Knight put an end to this nightmare…and how will it shape the face of Gotham City to come?

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Batman:Eternal comes to an end this week (for now). We were given a final-page twist in last week’s issue and pick up with a little explanation on how Cluemaster got involved with an owl, aka Thomas Wayne, Jr. It was a nice twist that I didn’t see coming, but don’t know how well he could work with this long story. He describes in a brutal fight with Bruce that he wanted to be the mastermind that nobody knows about, and that’s where Cluemaster failed. Their fight takes them through multiple spots in Gotham, ultimately ending up in the downtown part of the area. The bat signal then shines strong, proving to all doubters that a fully city is behind its Dark Knight.

Unfortunately, as with many stories these days, I find more excitement in the penultimate chapter than the actual conclusion. I loved “Court of Owls”, but wasn’t totally satisfied with the final issue and maybe that was because of Thomas Wayne, Jr. Eternal left me drooling for more last week in issue #51, and I was intrigued with what they could add to this new character’s story. Fast forward to #52, and we sort of get more of the same. Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable but almost too predictable and didn’t pose much of a threat to Batman.

The end of the issue however holds strong to the title Batman:Eternal. We get a new lesson on how Gothamites can bond together and help each other out, realizing it’s what their hero does every night. A pretty cool moment that doesn’t cross into cheesy. We are then taken into each sidekick’s post-story (ala Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), which I’m impartial to. The final page is what mattered most to me and I wasn’t disappointed. We got Gordon and the Dark Knight, perhaps the REAL dynamic duo.

I enjoyed Eternal and I hoped you did too. It was bold, entertaining and what an undertaking for the team! 52 issues in 52 weeks, and they were on time, no delays. That is impressive. Thank you Scott Snyder, Ray Fawkes, James Tynion IV, Kyle Higgins, Tim Seely, and the number of others that made this series possible.

It may seem like an easy task to just write your opinions on something, every week for an entire year, but it can be tiring. Some issues you can’t put down so you have too many words to write up. Others, you can’t wait to finish but come up short on your review. Lucky for me, I had Batman on my side. Writing for your passion somehow gets easier, yet you still struggle to find the right words to describe him. I love this character. Always have, always will. I guess you can say it’s eternal.

Issue Rating: 7.5/10

Series Rating: 8/10

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