Batman: Eternal #50 Review

Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Alvaro Martinez
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 18, 2015

Get a Clue

I can see the finish line, guys.  The ribbon is stretched across the road just waiting for all of us Batman: Eternal fans to break through, collect our trophies and go get a sandwich or something.  I still haven't wrapped my head around what I think about this series as a whole...how could I?  With only a couple of issues left, there are still so many loose ends dangling that things can become great or awful at the drop of a dime.  I will tell you, however, that the last month has been fun.  Seeing some of Batman's greatest villains beating the crap out of the Bat Family (and vice versa) has been a blast, it just hasn't pushed the story forward much.  Well, we get another creative team change (Tynion and Martinez this issue), but the issue continues the trend of fun times with little story...until the end.  That's right, this issue ends with the villain reveal we've been waiting for for almost a year. Was it worth the wait or is it a bit of be careful what you wish for?  Let's find out...

If you've been waiting for a week to see how the Bane vs Batman in a fighter jet ends, you'll love the opening.  Bane's one tough son of a bitch , but Batman always end up on top.  Or does he?

I've had a lot of problems with Eternal, but one of the things I've really loved is watching Batman struggle.  He's struggled throughout this whole series and it's really getting to him.  He looks downright ragged in this issue.

Someone else who has struggled is James Gordon. His problem started this whole story and even though the writers seemed to lose track of him mid-series, the former Commissioner has come back with a vengeance.  He's finally getting out of Blackgate, but so is his recent enemy the Penguin.  I'm not sure what happened between issues with these two, but I'll let it go since we have so little time left.

The bulk of the issue then deals with Batman lending a helping hand to his young proteges in the continuing fight against the Gotham villains.  Again, it really doesn't do much for the overall story, but seeing Batman riding on Scarecrow's remote drones or electrocuting Mr. Freeze is always fun.

You know who isn't having fun?  The citizens of Gotham, that's who.  The whole damn city is on fire and while it burns, Batman gets an invitation to meet the Big Bad of the whole thing.  It's more of a reunion because it's someone who we've seen a bunch of times already.  I don't want to spoil it, but if you're like me, you won't be very pleased.  Maybe this is another red herring (which would also piss me off), but at this point, I think it's the real deal.  The writing team better work overtime in the next two issues to make this whole thing worth while.

I liked this issue for the fun times and watching Batman struggle, then kick ass.  I didn't like the end reveal at all.  I will keep an open mind and see what happens the final two issues, but right now, color me unimpressed.

I did like Alvaro Martinez's art a lot.  Everything looks really good and has the bonus of meshing well with the recent issues.  That may not sound like a big thing, but to me. it is.

Bits and Pieces:

Batman: Eternal #50 was a fun, action packed issue that ends with the series biggest reveal...the main villain.  I've been yelling for answers so it feels wrong to bad mouth the biggest one, but I didn't like it.  Maybe the last two issues will change my mind, but right now, I'm lukewarm.

8.0/10