- Written by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV
- Pencils & Inks by Roge Antonio & Geraldo Borges
- Colours by Allan Passalaqua
- Cover by Romulo Fajardo, Jr., Carlo Pagulayan & Jason Paz
What wicked force could get Red Robin and Red Hood to ally with BANE? In the past, Mother closes in on all of Batman’s greatest secrets and fears…
Pickup your copy of ‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ #10 at Comixology now!
Things are really starting to heat up in ‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ with issue #10. The separate storylines which have lurked in the background for several weeks have come to the fore with issues #9 (reviewed here) and #10.
The Mother storyline is now diversifying in such a way that the individual stories are beginning to feel much more compelling. In all my recent reviews of this series I’ve talked about how the writers have successfully bumped each story along, albeit in small movements, each week without fail well now we’re beginning to see those movements grow and define themselves into a true ensemble event.
Issue #10 takes place mainly in the St. Dumas facility on Santa Prisca island where Bane is in the middle of a standoff with Red Robin and Red Hood when they are interrupted by the first appearance of Azrael though there is still time to checkin with Batman and Robin to see a rockier patch in their friendship and to end the issue we switch back to the Grayson, Harper story.
The ensemble is written a little less clearly in this issue, instead of interweaving the three stories the scenes of Batman and Robin only are intercut with the unfolding events in Santa Prisca which then gives way to Grayson. It’s a little clunkier than previous issues but does serve to tie up some of the Santa Prisca storyline, moving Red Robin and Red Hood onwards whilst leaving some intrigue with Jean-Paul Valley and allowing Grayson to take the fore once more as he and Harper move on from Prague to British Columbia.
Valley has been noticeably absent from the DC universe throughout the New 52 era and is an unexpected addition to the cast in this series. His costume will irk some fans as he’s coloured like a Robin but it will be interesting to see if this weaves him in to continuity in a way reminiscent to the ‘Knightfall’ saga.
The Batman and Robin scenes are beginning to feel like a setup for misdirection. We’re seeing typical behaviour from the young Robin but Batman is acting in ways that fans will not expect. In some ways it is angering but in other ways it’s extremely intriguing. His actions in this short flashback sequence really only serve to arouse much more suspicion about his actions. Could Batman really have taken one of the Robins under his wing after training by Mother?!
The Grayson/Row scenes in issue #10 are pure setup for next week by introducing a new player called The Sculptor. There’s little value added to the issue other than to ensure readers are ready for what comes next.
3 stars
