Synopsis: The events of BATMAN ETERNAL have changed the world of Batman for months – jump on here to see the new world order! The third act begins with a bang, as Gotham City’s police have done the impossible – they’ve beaten Batman!
Batman:Eternal continues to pile up problems for the Dark Knight. Last week, Batman finally got face-to-face with Hush, ultimately taking his longtime friend/foe down but losing something big in the process: Wayne Enterprises.
Issue #35 picks up two weeks later, where things haven’t gotten better. The situation leads into a sort-of backstory on the setting of Arkham Manor (read DKN’s reviews here and here). Bruce has lost his home, his business and his money (cough The Dark Knight Rises cough). Does that stop the Dark Knight? As Marv said so bravely in the holiday classic Home Alone 2: “NEVER!”
We then jump into the now, where Commissioner Bard has Lucius Fox in his grips, taking down Batman. Fox knows all of the secrets, since Wayne Enterprises has provided the gear for the Dark Knight, so he can take him down if pushed hard enough… which he is.
Meanwhile, Vicki Vale is doing her thing in Detroit, getting a back story on Bard and how he became the man he is today. We get a juicy detail, then….END. Yep, a classic cliffhanger (with Batman, literally).
The team behind Eternal continue to build on their epic story. James Tynion IV took over scripting duties for this issue, and what a fine job he’s done. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with a story, in 20 pages, that can take it to another level and in such a fast pace. This issue flew through my hands! Of course for the issue to fully work, we need complementary art… which we get from Fernando Blanco. He created some clean imagery, set in a dark world that we’ve come to love and expect in Gotham. This is a good team right here.
Just like that, another issue of Eternal is over. Before we know it, #52 will wrap and we won’t know what to do week-after-week. At least up until the next round starts.
Rating: 8/10