Batman Eternal #24 Review - That's My Girl :) (WARNING - SPOILERS)
So, in addition to not buying anything related to Future's End, with the exception of the Batgirl issue, I've also not been buying Batman Eternal. However, in this case, it's less of a disinterest with the story and more of a simple matter of IT'S A YEAR-LONG WEEKLY COMIC! What, am I made of money? lol However, at this time, I currently have two issues of Batman Eternal in my possession: #3, which was the New 52 debut of Stephanie Brown (not counting Batman #28), and this week's issue. Why this week? Because the primary focus of the plot is on Steph and her activities now that she has become Spoiler. So, with that said, let's take a look at what happens, and...well, for the lack of a better term, spoilers ahead. :P
So Stephanie is spying on her dad, the Cluemaster, as he's explaining to Hush how a group of C and D-List villains are using their own unique talents to upset the natural order of Gotham in a slow, methodical fashion, so that when the time is right, Gotham's citizens will be ready to riot. Hush is pleased at how the plan's progressing for now, but tells Cluemaster that he needs to kill Stephanie before she can get in touch with Batman and spoil everything that's going on. Meanwhile, Batman is dealing with a situation at the Gotham Gallery of Modern Art, where Simon Ecks, AKA Doctor X, is causing trouble, and finally realizes that the situation Batwing was looking into at Arkham Asylum may not be going as swimmingly as he was led to believe. Stephanie gets attacked by her dad, who knew she'd come looking for him eventually. After a motorcycle chase on the highway, Steph escapes Cluemaster, leaving him to be caught by the cops. However, whereas he'd be able to get free if this was the GCPD, Steph had led him past the city limits, and now he's dealing with the state police. The only thing missing here, upon seeing Cluemaster get outfoxed like this, is the Price Is Right fail sound. lol
Anyway, this issue was pretty good. If I have any complaint to it, it's that this rebooted Stephanie Brown seems to be a bit too good for someone who just put on the mask and is fighting crime with no previous training. I mean, it's POSSIBLE she's acquired these skills she's using prior, but we haven't really seen any indication of this. She beats her dad all too easily, although I doubt we've seen the last of him, and he's just a small part of a much bigger problem. Also, I don't know if I'm forgetting something, since I'm mostly just reading about stuff that happens in the series as opposed to picking it up at the shop, but it feels like the situation with Batman at the art gallery fighting Doctor X comes right the frak outta nowhere. Last I checked, he was dealing with the Architect, a villain from Batman Gates of Gotham, who had triggered a small earthquake that leveled several buildings, though not quite as bad as the one from No Man's Land, and dear God, I feel like I'm gonna set off the Continuity Alarm any second now.
But yeah, other than those problems, this was still an enjoyable read, and hell, I can't complain too much about a book that focuses on my favourite superheroine BEING my favourite superheroine. If I COULD, I would give it 3.5 stars, but I can't, so I'm unfortunately forced to give it a 3. So, not winning any awards or anything, but still a good issue nonetheless.