BATMAN ETERNAL Megathread: Grand Finale (49-52)

[Chickfighter]

Heh, sounds like this issue is going to make me dislike Harper Rowe even more if Steph Brown is being used to sell Harper more than ever. Pretty sad for a series they got me to pick up because Steph was returning in it. I may have to make the 80 minute drive to pick up a copy tomorrow rather than waiting for next week's mail just to see for myself.

I suspect those who think Steph will probably come back and save Harper in some way in the final issue are probably right. If so we'll know they're really wanting to sell a Harper/Steph friendship. Sunofdarkchild is correct however that Steph and Harper have none of the chemistry Steph once had with Cass and Tim.

Having Steph come back and save the day for Batman would make me happy but those odds are similar to my odds of winning the lottery.

Maybe the two Convergence issues will be fun.

[Comicazzi]

STUPID!!! I've spent a year and $150 to see the most lazy writing EVER come to pass. Bruce is chained CHAINED to the signal. He slips a blade out of his sleeve. A Blade!?! And THEN he just breaks the chain link that's not even CLOSE to the wrist. The FURTHEST link from the wrist in fact. Meanwhile the other side is broken loose too. All while he's too weak to throw strong punches. This took me out of the story and ruined this already lame blah storyline for me. Stupid. Just stupid. EFFING STUPID!

[Vil_Dee]

I'm getting shades of Lost.


"They're in Limbo, right?"

"Uh-uh-uh. . . No, of course not! How silly! J-j-just stay tuned it will all be explained. Yep, you will never be able to guess the ending. . ."

"See! we told you! It was the flash sideways that was limbo, not the island, got ya!"

"But you never explained all the weird crap that happened on the island. It doesn't make sense."

"Oh that's not important, the story wasn't about that, it was about the characters."

[nepenthes]

Well I mean, now that we know everything Joker's Daughter has done has been Joker-scheme, and that she's been a patsy, I kind of dig it. He's still haunting the thing and having an impact, but all while staying in disguise.

I must have missed this bit somewhere....where was this revealed?

[JasonTodd428]

I'm caught between loving some parts of this iss and feeling meh about other parts, which strangely enough accurately sums up my thoughts on Eternal as a whole.

[TheNewFiftyForum]

I'm surprised with how ok I am with the mastermind and the final boss being different people, the former being someone who hasn't had a single on-panel appearance or has even been name-dropped until this moment. Probably because his inability to beat Cluemaster in a fist-fight proves that Bruce can't possibly have an all-out fight with March, which means that their confrontation has to take a different form.

Agreed. We'll see how things wrap up in the next issue, but as of now I'm surprised with how much I feel that I would have been OK with Cluemaster being the lone the über villain behind it all, and the fight on Beacon Tower the final confrontation. The things he said and how those pages played out up until the very end tied back beautifully to the general themes of Eternal while still working as a solution to a mega mystery in a much more satisfying way than the nearest comparisons, namely "Hush" and "The Long Halloween." I'm still curious to see what they'll do with Lincoln March this time around though, lots of untapped potential there.

As said, we'll see how things play out, and I really liked this issue, but as of now I can't help but feeling a bit dissatisfied over Batman's inability to even consider March as the person behind it all. As of now, it seems like there has to have been a conversation like this somewhere between the panels:

Batman: "Someone is behind this. Someone is pulling the strings of this whole damn thing, targeting me and the city."

Robin: "Holy showdown, Batman! Who do you think it is?"

Batman (thought bubble)" "Well, among others, there is that insane yet extremely capable Lincoln March-guy, who said we'd meet again and vowed to destroy me just before going up in smoke about two years ago... But nah. In fact, I'm not even going to mention his name."

Batman: "..."

[Nick Miller]

So who will reread the whole thing anytime soon?

Man CLuemaster got his throat slit, thats going pretty far in a Bat comic.

Batman has to put March away for life.

[Nick Miller]

Also any rumors about Eternal 2?

I heard that it would focus heavily on the Robins

[Sans Simian]

So who will reread the whole thing anytime soon?

Man CLuemaster got his throat slit, thats going pretty far in a Bat comic.

Batman has to put March away for life.

1. Probably in the next couple of months, during the Convergence hiatus.

2. I am sorta hoping he pulls out of it?

3. I don't know, but I hope that it's epic next week.

[Nero]

Well, I wasn't really blown away about any of the developments in this issue.

I'm not hating on it, I'm just saying that nothing surprised me. I wasn't left heavily anticipating the grand finale that's scheduled to take place in the next issue. I don't see how the switch between the Cluemaster and Lincoln March ameliorated anything considering how painstakingly obvious March getting involved was. The angle with the Cluemaster was a complete waste of time because he still was treated as an afterthought, so there was no point in teasing otherwise. I still believe they should have gone with a relatively obscure yet efficacious villain (Hugo Strange, Dr. Moon, Black Spider, etc) that would have better exemplified a surprising twist as opposed to IMO the most predictable outcome (being that of Lincoln March).

[K. Jones]

Well, I wasn't really blown away about any of the developments in this issue.

I'm not hating on it, I'm just saying that nothing surprised me. I wasn't left heavily anticipating the grand finale that's scheduled to take place in the next issue. I don't see how the switch between the Cluemaster and Lincoln March ameliorated anything considering how painstakingly obvious March getting involved was. The angle with the Cluemaster was a complete waste of time because he still was treated as an afterthought, so there was no point in teasing otherwise. I still believe they should have gone with a relatively obscure yet efficacious villain (Hugo Strange, Dr. Moon, Black Spider, etc) that would have better exemplified a surprising twist as opposed to IMO the most predictable outcome (being that of Lincoln March).

The trouble with it being Hugo would've been that virtually the same story happened, using Hugo, with the same ending, in Arkham City. True though.

But honestly, I mean, at this point I'm not even sure if we can call Lincoln a "predictable" outcome. More like "inevitable the second they revealed the focus on the Beacon Tower". Because who debuts in the very same first few pages of Snyder/Capullo's first issue where Bruce is showing the plans for Beacon Tower? Lincoln March, and Harper Row (Gordon's there too!)

[K. Jones]

I must have missed this bit somewhere....where was this revealed?

Ah, um, I'm not really sure how to break that news. Certain revelations in Endgame, combined with the Joker's Daughter one-shot, and a few mysterious conversations within Eternal.

[Nero]

The trouble with it being Hugo would've been that virtually the same story happened, using Hugo, with the same ending, in Arkham City. True though.

But honestly, I mean, at this point I'm not even sure if we can call Lincoln a "predictable" outcome. More like "inevitable the second they revealed the focus on the Beacon Tower". Because who debuts in the very same first few pages of Snyder/Capullo's first issue where Bruce is showing the plans for Beacon Tower? Lincoln March, and Harper Row (Gordon's there too!)

I'm aware of Hugo's puppeteer like role in Arkham City but instances akin to that example are few and far in between. The point that I was making in regards to him was that he is underused per average enough to where if he were used it would be somewhat surprising.

I'll be honest, I don't particularly care for Lincoln March. There's nothing about him that makes him unique or distinctive, he comes across as rather generic and one dimensional in comparison to other major Batman villains. Yes, it could be said that March making an appearance in the end was inevitable but it also goes coincides with predictability to a degree.

[sicsexsix]

Glad to finally be able to actually talk about this now. It's certainly true that the clues have been there all along. They sure as hell haven't been sublime.

I've been going back & forth between March, Hurt, or March AND Hurt for months, and cracked a smile when he showed up. And this was after I found myself accepting the possibility that Cluemaster could have been THE big bad all along after all. Some of the exposition he offered was almost identical to some of the theories that popped up here after last week's issue hit, which I got a major kick out of. Some of that same exposition might as well have been an indictment against US as well as Bruce. We're just as guilty as he is of overlooking a D-level stooge like that. Cluemaster might have been the idea man, but the question that's been popping up since last week, "where's he been getting the financial support?" guaranteed us another main participant. March raided the Owl's piggy bank before he poisoned them. And I can't imagine the others forgiving or forgetting that. Maybe they'll play a part in the climax to get their comeuppance? Possibly brought in by Riddler?

And what about that other less than subtle hint they've thrown out there? Is there yet another twist still to come? Unless all the mention of El Penitente was just as a red herring (always possible), I still wouldn't be surprised if he rears his head next week to reveal that the "forgotten Waynes" have forged an alliance after he took in a half-dead Lincoln following Night of the Owls. As March convalesced, they realized they were both the bastard black sheep of the Wayne family, and together, would do what they both failed at separately. In fact, I would geek out to see a Lincoln March/Dr. Hurt team up.

As for the scene with Harper & Steph, Dark Knight Rises immediately came to mind. Or "that's a classic 'we haven't heard the last of him!' if I ever saw one". Aside from it being a possible DKR homage, I'm guessing it's purpose is twofold: 1) She makes a "surprise" heroic return next issue, might not save the day, but will probably save Bruce's ass at a crucial moment, and 2) To further illustrate the divide between her & Harper. Suburbanite vs City Gal. Underprivileged vs Severely Underprivileged. Girly Girl vs Tough Girl. Because then when they become friends, it's an even bigger deal. Those differences will define their pending camaraderie. Harper can't stand her face right now, but watch, they'll be all Bat-BFF before you know it.

Hard to believe it's been a whole year. Not the greatest mega-Bat epic ever, but it certainly has been lots of fun & I'm game to do it all over again for Eternal 2.

[The Lucky One]

2. I am sorta hoping he pulls out of it?

I don't think you really even need to hope, you just need to remember you're reading a comic book. Dead villains are even easier to bring back than dead heroes, because we don't really expect even a token "here's how s/he survived" the way we sort of, kind of demand with heroes.

The Joker casually killed Mr. Freeze back in the second Robin miniseries, and I don't think they ever explained how he resurrected. Hell, Keith Giffen killed Cluemaster himself back in Suicide Squad (v3) #1, and they brought him back for War Drums with no explanation except "Hey look, he has facial scars now!" I'm certain there are roughly one billion other examples in Batman comics. I mean, Cluemaster's dead, yes... but he's only dead until another writer wants to use him.