First Look: Batman Eternal

***SPOILERS FOR BATMAN #28 AND BATMAN ETERNAL #1-4***

75 years is a long time.  And for a thing to endure for 75 years…  That’s a big deal.  So, it’s no surprise that DC Comics wanted to celebrate Batman’s 75^th Anniversary on a grand scale.  Many, many (MANY) events will take place this year to mark this occasion, one of which is Batman Eternal.  I’m doing something a little different for this entry.  Typically I look at a completed story (a comic, a television show, a movie, etc.), but this time I want to look at an ongoing series.  In the comics world, books are typically published and released on a monthly schedule.  Each book comes out a particular week each month on Wednesdays (known as New Comic Book Day).  Sometimes, a book will “double ship”, meaning a new issue is released every two weeks.  Marvel tends to do this quite a bit.  As part of the 75^th Anniversary celebration, DC Comics launched Batman Eternal, a weekly series.  This new ongoing series will see a new issue each and every Wednesday for the next year (or possible longer).

 

#Batman75

Before I delve into Eternal, let’s back up a little bit and meet Harper Row.  Ms. Row is a young resident of Gotham City.  She’s got purpley-blue hair, facial piercings, a gay brother whom she protects from bullies, and a dad in prison.  Long story short, she meets Batman and wants to help him, he declines, she tries anyway.  First appearing in Batman #7 (March 2012), she has popped up a few times after that.  Remember her, she’ll be back later.

 

Harper Row and Batman

The Batman #28 "Spoiler Issue"

Serving as a prelude of sorts to Eternal, an issue of the self-titled Batman series (the 28^th, to be exact) was released in February of this year.  Named a “spoiler issue” by writer Scott Snyder, who also serves as head writer of Batman Eternal, Batman #28 flashes forward to give readers a glimpse of what about six months to a year in the future has to hold for the Dark Knight.  The issue begins with Harper walking through Gotham, which is now nearly a police state, with a nightly curfew enforced by the Gotham City Police Department.  Harper journeys to The Egyptian, the last operational nightclub in the city.  Her goal is to meet with the new “Kingpin” of the Gotham underworld to secure a cure from him for her brother for some epidemic that has been ravaging the city.  When she is able to enter the club, she reveals that it was a ruse to gain access.  With the aid of a shadowy figure working back in the Batcave, the power to the building is cut.  When the lights come back on, Harper (now in costume) has a friend with her.

 

New Dynamic Duo

Batman and Bluebird (Harper’s codename) clear the room of thugs before the Kingpin of Gotham reveals himself herself: Selina Kyle AKA Catwoman.  The audience learns that Selina has risen to power as the “Queen of Gotham” and that she and Batman had an apparent falling out when he left her to die (her words, not mine).

Catwoman: Queen of Gotham?

Remember, this is a flash forward, so lots of stuff will be out of context in this issue (NOTE: Scott Snyder has stated that Batman #28 could be considered to be issue #39.5 of Batman Eternal).  Batman convinces Selina to allow him to retrieve something from her safe help him save Gotham from its new status quo.  In the safe, the item Batman is seeking is revealed to be Stephanie Brown also known as Spoiler (her codename is a pun, how cute).

 

Stephanie Brown alert

When Batman Eternal launched about four weeks ago, needless to say, I was pretty excited.  Not necessarily because I would get a new Batman comic every week as opposed to every month, but more so because Batman Eternal is a book about Gotham City and its residents more than it is just the Caped Crusader himself.  In just the first four issues alone, Commissioner Gordon, the Gotham City Police Department, Stephanie Brown, and Batgirl have gotten more screen time (page time?) than Batman.

 

Covers for (clockwise) Batman Eternal #1 through #4

So far, the action and surprises haven’t been lacking.  The first issue begins with a look at the end of the series: Gotham literally and figuratively ablaze and an unmasked Batman with a bat-symbol carved into his chest essentially crucified to the Bat-signal.  That same issue ends with Commissioner Gordon being held responsible for a massive subway accident that kills 150+ people.  He is, as a result, removed from his position on the police force and arrested.  Carmine “The Roman” Falcone returns to Gotham from a five year exile still sporting his trademark scars on his cheek (remember those?).  Mayor Hady, who is in the pocket of Falcone, names corrupt police officer Jack Forbes as the new commissioner.  Stephanie Brown stumbles in on her father and his pals having a meeting, which doesn’t exactly bode well for her as her father and his pals are all secretly super-villains.  It really just kinda jumps right in there.

 

Meeting in your garage?  Must be the Legion of Dumb.

The writing team for Eternal consists of Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman (who will be replaced with Kyle Higgins after issue #17), Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley on writing duties and Jason Fabok, Dustin Nguyen, and a host of others on artwork.  Each writer has been tasked to take on not only different elements of Gotham and those who live in that not-so-fine city, but also different genres of writing as well.  Tynion will focus on the former Robin, Tim Drake as well as Stephanie Brown. Seeley will write espionage-based stories with Batgirl.  Fawkes will show us the supernatural side of Gotham (featuring The Spectre, who I highlighted in a previous post).  Finally, Layman is in charge of “the colorful aspects of Gotham”, a concept that his replacement (Higgins) will continue. 

 

The Spectre in his human guise of Jim Corrigan

I usually wrap-up with a summation of the work I’m reviewing, but since this is an ongoing series, I’ll simply say that I am very, very (VERY) excited for the continuation of this.  Three character transformations (Stephanie Brown from high school student to “Spoiler”, Harper Row’s into Bluebird, and Selina Kyle from Batman-loving Catwoman to Batman-hating Queen of Gotham’s Underworld) and the reveal of who the shadowy person in the Batcave is exactly are just two things I'm looking forward to.  And what’s the deal with the epidemic in Gotham that Harper mentioned?  Lots of questions.


60 issues (the amount for which Batman Eternal is scheduled) is a lot, but after seeing part of the end of the series (in Eternal #1), the middle (in Batman #28), and the beginning (in Eternal #1-4), I can already say that it will be worth it.

In the spirit of spoilers, here’s a little one of my own:

Thanks for reading!

-Josh

Sources: excerpts from primary source interviews; Wikipedia

Batman, related characters, and images in this blog are owned and trademarked by DC Comics, a division or Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.