Batman Eternal #51

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS A BLOCKED SPOILER ABOUT LAST ISSUE

The Good

The conclusion to BATMAN ETERNAL is just around the bend, and things have not only come to a head, but are overflowing as the mastermind behind one of the most complex conspiracies in the history of a city KNOWN for complex conspiracies.The Cluemaster pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes and, in doing so, has Batman at his mercy. But, in spite of the writing team’s ability to make this a more psychologically realistic take on the Bat-Family, what’s a supervillain without some good old fashioned monologuing. And while the trope of the villain who just can’t get it done for want of speechifying, in this case it actually feels earned. This is a character who WOULD absolutely want to lord it over Bats that he got the better of him. And if there’s one thing that Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins and Tim Seeley have been consistently great at for the last 51 (FIFTY ONE!) issues, it’s been crafting characters that feel, if not real, at the very least like they’re doing what they’re doing because of consistent internal motives.

Alvaro Martinez’s pencils on this issue handily takes care of one of its most consistent problems: artistic detail. Clearly with a weekly title allowances must be made and sometimes speed can be prized over quality, but in the case of Martinez we get some deep, detailed characters with some amazing attention to facial features especially. This is another action-light issue, so the emotional beats and impact need to carry the dramatic weight, and Martinez’s pencils do that extremely well. Adding to the impact and weight of every panel of this are the inks of Raul Fernandez and, again, in a mainstream superhero issue that’s light on action, it’s never more important to have fine, sharp details stand out as much as possible. June Chung’s colors breathe life into a city ablaze, contrasting the darkness of night (and the failing power grid) with the brightness of the fire that threatens to consume everything that the Bat-Family has worked to defend.

The Bad

Stephanie Brown takes an odd character turn in this, and it’s one of the few times in this entire series where it feels completely unearned. It’s clear where that turn is going to lead her, but only because of narrative convention, not because of any on-panel indication.

There’s a tremendous twist at the end of the issue, and while the twist is great, the character revealed has a tweaked design that is not as effective nor evocative as the last one the character was seen in.

The Verdict

To reiterate: the twist at the end of this issue is a phenomenal one that pays off longtime readers of recent Batman stories, but even people who jumped on with ETERNAL can appreciate it on a visceral, basic level which is one of the hallmarks of a truly great twist. Another great hallmark is that it’s a wonderful payoff that makes total narrative sense, especially in the long-term. The occasional speed bump cannot derail a story this powerful and this effective, and this issue continues the consistency of the overall title.

Okay...I'm glad I jumped back in time for the last few issues. While the reveal last week for Clue Master wasn't that big to me, the twist we got today got me off my seat.

I haven't read this yet and won't be able to get to a store for some time, can someone spoil it for me?

I knew he would show up in this story. I just expected him to be the mastermind.

So the guy everybody thought was behind this, was behind this after all?

Cluemaster is dead...Yay!!! Riddler reigns supreme. Plus bruce's demented little brother has come back to roost. Hopefully, the little brother gets killed off as well. Too many dirty secrets and evil relatives in the Wayne family. Need to trim the fat.

I would have preferred it if Cluemaster really was behind it all. Would have been a true surprise. But I realized last issue that if the book would sinc with the first issue, Cluemaster would have to find out Bruce's identity. After that I knew he had to die, because what motive would he have to keep it secret? Having it be Bruce's brother was necessary for the plot I guess, but it's extremely predictable. I was guessing that all along until the Cluemaster thing threw me off.

I knew it! Back in the first issue of Endgame, Bruce is seen in a recently-acquired Talon hideout, and Endgame takes place after the events of Eternal. I know a Talon bunker wasn't a part of this issue, and might not even be part of the next one, but ever since I saw that I had a hunch that Thomas was the true villain of this series. I'm a little bummed that Thomas and Bruce will only get an issue to duke out 52 issues worth of a fight though. Hopefully Thomas will get his own Batman arc soon so he can be the star villain rather than the puppeteer

Not surprised. The biggest tell was stephine saying bruce Wayne was seeing talking to her father. It makes sense. Kinda would have liked hush being the big bad instead. Oh well.

Once again Snyder builds up a story nicely just to blow the ending. This twist was so obvious it just killed my interest in this story.

I get Snyder created the court of Owls but they have been shoehorned into everything in DC and they simply are not interested enough to warrant the attention.

Agreed. It's almost like he's self-promoting.

Prefer this ending cluemaster is lame

Excellent issue! And I loved the reveal at the end!

It was clear that Cluemaster wasn't the bad guy behind everything. The revelation at the end was also clear since like issue 40. I think Eternal was great untill Batman defeated Hush. We have spent 17 numbers of Batman and his friends going in circles anda taking his regular foes very easily over and over again. But at least this last issues had been fun. Hope the ending is satisfying

Thomas Wayne (Jr) is the big bad. He shows up and slits Cluemaster's neck as CM is monologuing to Bruce/getting punched in the face by Bruce.

Why does everyone keep calling him Thomas Wayne Jr? He claimed that back in the Court of Owls storyline, but it was never established that he definitively is Bruce's brother. I, myself, do not believe he is. I'll just assume he is Lincoln March until it's proven beyond doubt that he's Thomas Wayne Jr.

Also, I don't think Snyder did anything wrong by having Lincoln March be the big bad at the end. It's his first appearance since the end of the Court of Owls storyline. What do you want - for him to never be used again? He had to reappear at some point, and this was a perfect time. Although I understand the reason they waited till the end to reveal him, I wish we had seen more of him throughout the 52 issues.