- Written by Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV
- Pencils by Tony Salvador Daniel
- Inks by Tony Salvador Daniel & Sandu Florea
- Coloured by Tomeu Morey
- Cover by Tony Salvador Daniel, Sandu Florea & Tomeu Morey
Five years ago, Batman and Robin worked the most disturbing case of their crimefighting careers-bringing down the organization of the ultimate human trafficker, the mysterious woman known only as Mother. At the time, Dick Grayson never quite understood the scope of that case, but now its darkest secrets are coming back to haunt him and everyone else who ever worked with Batman! With Bruce Wayne now lost to them, Dick and all his allies are out in the cold! Who can they trust? Is someone among them not who they say they are? And who is the deadly, silent young woman in black who’s come to Gotham City looking for Batman?
Pickup your copy of ‘Batman & Robin Eternal #1’ at Comixology now!
After an incredibly successful run last year the ‘Eternal’ franchise is back this year and has added an ‘& Robin’ to its title. I was both a massive fan and a critic of the previous run of ‘Eternal’ which ran for a full 52 issues centring on Jim Gordon being locked up for mass murder and a heavy plot to destroy the city of Gotham by a gang of mostly forgotten about villains.
This year ‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ has been shorted to a six month run but remains a weekly release during that period. This year we’re focussing on the story of Dick Grayson and the sidekicks whilst Bruce is sidelined with no memory (see ‘Batman’ comics for more on that!).
The scene has been set for ‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ through Dick’s return to Gotham in ‘Grayson’ #12 (reviewed here) and his interactions with each of the Bat-family members with whom he had previous relationships.
‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ #1 uses a mix of present day and flashback scenes in order to set the tone and story for the series, opening with a ‘several years ago’ look at the lives of Batman and Robin early in their careers are a duo and then moving on to bring new readers up to speed on the status quo of present day Gotham.
Each of the supporting players is given an introductory moment: Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Harper Row are all going to be vitally important to the story given how much time is spent on introducing them here.
The issue almost plays out like an episode of ‘Arrow’ with the flashbacks complimenting and mirroring the story that plays out in the present day. Flashbacks of Batman & Robin setup a confrontation with Scarecrow which is echoed in Dick Grayson’s present day experiences. It’s a nice touch and feels very organic within the issue itself rather than a plot device to ensure any casual readers understand what is going on.
There’s elements of the mainstream ‘Batman’ comics as well as influences from the ‘Grayson’ series which is a must given how successful his spy adventures have been.
We’re also able to name the unseen villain lurking over our present troubles… Mother and introduced to her slightly Bane-esque henchman Orphan. But most excitingly is the reintroduction of Cassandra Cain to the franchise.
Many long time readers, or anybody with the ability to Google, will know her as one of the many Batgirls of the past. The mute daughter of an assassin her time as Batgirl began around the time of the ‘No Mans Land’ arc which happens to be my favourite Batman story of all time.
‘Batman Eternal’ was criticised by meandering during the middle of its run which is why I believe this new series has been shortened to six months. Thankfully, at least with issue #1 here, there’s clear plot, character and a mystery to be solved.
The artwork steps away from the high drama of ‘Grayson’ and the murkiness of ‘Batman’ to become something a little more middle of the road. Fine detail is there and environments are deep and well laid out. I have no complaints about how this series looks because right now it needs to be substance over style until ‘Batman & Robin Eternal’ has established itself.
A solid start.
3 stars
