Written by: Ray Faukes
Art by: Dustin Nguyen
Publisher: DC
After last week’s stellar issue of Batman Eternal, issue #15 is a perfect example of how inconsistent the series can be. It’s not a bad issue, but the quality fluctuates significantly from the previous issue. There issue does have a lot going for it, but parts make no sense at times, and there are not enough of the best parts of this book for them to carry it completely.
The issue drops the reader right into Arkham Asylum, as The Specter and Batwing enter to find out the truth about what’s going on at the Asylum. This specific plot line is one of the most interesting, and really, there isn’t enough of it in this issue. What we do get is entertaining enough, and this plot line is actually making me start to like Batwing. His dialogue is exceptionally well written, and he’s the most interesting character in this plot line. The only real issue with this is that, while it’s the strongest plot line in the issue, there’s also not enough of it. In fact, we only briefly see Joker’s Daughter (who’s role is still unclear) and Scarecrow is just referenced, so there isn’t much continuity from the previous issue.
Then, there’s Harper and Tim. Oh, Harper and Tim… how is this arc not the best thing about the book? Like in the last issue, Tim is characterized in such a way that makes him seem hypocritical and, frankly, annoying. Harper Row, on the other hand, is fine, but nothing more than that. She’s actually starting to seem like Damian Wayne, in that no writer really knows what to do with her or how to write her except for her creator. Considering that Batman Eternal survives on the dynamic shared between characters, and the dynamic between Tim and Harper is pretty bland, this story consistently falls flat for me, and it doesn’t really feel like it’s going anywhere. Rather, it’s just retracing Batman’s footsteps from earlier issues of the series.
Next up is the only story in which Batman himself actually takes on an important role. In fact, this is the only time he shows up in this issue, but when he does, he also seems out of character. After making such a big deal bout not wanting to work with Bard, he seemed awfully willing to just reverse his decision, which is out of character for him, especially considering there doesn’t seem to be a reason to do so. Perhaps there is, and it will be revealed later, but for now, it just seems like an out of character move, made with the sole purpose of accelerating the plot.
Finally, we check in with Batgirl, for the first time in what seems like a long while. The last time we saw her, she was still trying to find evidence that would help her father, and she had linked up with Red Hood. Now, this is undoubtedly an odd dynamic, but man, does it have the potential to be awesome. And now that Batwoman has entered the picture, I don’t doubt that we’ll begin to see a great dynamic being built around these three characters. The hints of it are already there, and hopefully it gets developed a little bit more. There’s also some solid plot progression for this story, so it’s good that it seems to be going somewhere.
Batman Eternal #15, then, was another jam-packed issue of the series. It isn’t as good as the previous issue, and it’s still plagued by inconsistency. There’s a lot going on in this book, and this seems to mess with the writers being able to establish a parity of quality between each of the individual arcs. In short, this issue is good. It’s just not great, and it definitely isn’t one of the standout issues of the series.
