Batman Eternal #41 Review

 

Hey, Tim... Tim... uh, you got a little something on your face...

 

A bird of blue debuts, nanomachines imbue, the Bat-Family looks screwed, and Steph gets out-kung-fu'd in this forty-first entry in DC's ongoing weekly Batman parade. We finally see what that final push that makes Harper Batman's newest partner is. We get the inclusion of yet another Batman rogue (who I should have seen coming), the comradarie and contentions both between Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon, and Jason Todd, and Harper's fateful decision. What we don't see, however, is Batman! Eh, it's all right, we've seen a lot of him lately.

 

"So is this gang bang gonna happen, or what?" "Damn it, Jason, for the last time, later!" 

 

As I mentioned some time ago when I did an article about her, I really enjoy Harper Row, despite some intitial misgivings. I don't really like random children just joining Batman's quest, and introducing a new one out of the blue(bird) in Court of Owls as if Batman already knew her, but we didn't, was a little weird. At the time I was still iffy on Damian Wayne (still don't like his general concept), never was a big fan of Stephanie Brown, but hell, I think Harper Row has earned her keep better than either of those two ever did. For one, she's not just some trendy alt-kid, despite some of her superficial elements. We see in her back story her love for her brother, her problem with her father, her fascination with Batman and desire to assist him. And we saw in Snyder's flash-forward issue that Bluebird is a different kind of partner than the Robins or Batgirl. She admires Batman but doesn't necessarily defer to him like the others.

 

Bondage Girl Begins

 

The physical transformation into Bluebird is a bit much, though. Look at that hair and the little straps attached to the mask. She's probably overdoing it. Those piercings aren't going to be much help during a fight, either. But hey, it can't be any less obstructive than, say, a giant cape. I guess she's trying to take the secret identity thing seriously.

 

"You might call me a power top." "Uh..." "What?" "Dude, that's..." "That's a sex thing, isn't it. Damn it, I always do this!"

 

So we get another member of Batman's rogue's gallery, Mad Hatter, who's been hijacking the nanomachines with a big radio tuner thing so he can control people into loving him. That's, uh, pretty damn desperate, going through all that trouble for his ego. Apparently Dr. Falsario stole his technology to use on Gordon, but where they both working for the mastermind, and toward what goal? This nanomachine thing has been going on long before the Arkham Asylum destruction, before the supernatural things started really happening, so has Hatter been on the loose all this time, hacking into these nanomachines that the guy Bruce trained with? I think they introduced more questions than they answered.

 

"By the way, are these shoes making me look taller? I don't know anymore."

 

Things aren't looking great for Spoiler, taken down by a low-rent hired goon. Who even is that guy? But luckily for Steph, whoever hired him to take her in wants her protected. It seems likely it's Selina, since she's interested in what she knows, but then again, perhaps not. At this point, though, as much as I enjoy Spoiler getting cracked in the face, it's starting to get a bit tiresome. Can't anyone just tie her up or something? Give the girl a break.

 

Still gonna post it, though.

 

But at least she mixed it up with the goon for a few panels. Maybe she and Harper can team up later on. Get Cassie into the New 52 and they can be a team. With New 52 Carrie Kelley.

 

Art was decent, story's shaping up. The comic is recovering from a period of being dragged out.

 

Next: Batman and Bluebird!

 

- Penguin Truth
(2015)

 

Story: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV
Script: Kyle Higgins
Consulting Writers: Ray Fawkes & Tim Seeley
Art: Joe Quinones
Colors: Kelsey Shannon
Lettering: Steve Wands
Cover By: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, & Rod Reis
Editor: Chris Conroy
Asst. Editor: Dave Wielgosz
Group Editor: Mark Doyle
Batman Created By Bob K--AHAHAHAHA, NO. Batman Created By Bill Finger

 


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