Batman & Robin Eternal #6 Review

That awkward moment you realize you're going to land in the wrong direction to pose on a ledge.

 

 

Dick gets tricked, Mother makes wives perfect, and the girls take a trip in this sixth issue in DC's weekly Grayson supplmental... I mean, Batman weekly. This issue is 95 percent flashback, though maybe "flashback" isn't exactly accurate, because Dick can't possibly know all the things that Batman was experiencing and thinking when he wasn't around. Whatever the case, the present mystery of Mother and the Orphan seems to point towards Prague, and after consulting Jason, Dick decides to bring Harper and Cass there with him, and that should be amusing for me and frustrating for Cass/Steph team-up fans, because Harper is Cass' closest ally now.

 

"And by the smell, where they pooped."



I know I say this every week now, but I would very much appreciate if DC put out a monthly book of Batman stories that take place between the end of Zero Year and the current period (Court of Owls and Born to Kill until just now). Early stories of Batman and his Robins, how Batgirl first came into the picture, first encounters with Joker (as Joker), Two-Face, Bane, etc, and fill in the gaps in the continuity created by the 2011 reboot and the new "six years a hero" thing. Now and then we get a story or two like that. I'm reminded of a flashback to Dick's first days as Robin in a Batman and Robin annual, for instance. Then there was that Secret Origins book a while back. But looking at Batman and Robin continue their initial clash with Scarecrow, I want to see more like that, to see where the Bat family began to gain its legs.
 

Psh. Jonathan Crane is your typical troll. Always with the Strawman.

 

 

I always imagined Dick would be a bit more sure of himself, but he probably still has some of the fear toxin in his system that's pushing his hidden insecurity button. He's still new to all this and already feels Batman's shadow. Even if there's no previous Robin to live up to, trying to meet Batman's expectations is stressful enough. For his part, Batman doesn't seem to be adding any real pressure, but maybe he's not assuring Dick enough. Bruce can have blinders on when he's approaching a problem, blocking out anything else around him, so it's possible somebody as observant as him is ignoring what's going on behind him as he heads forward in the case.

We get one of those stock "Dumbass Wealthy Gothamite" characters in this issue that somehow knows Bruce, talks about how awesome he is, gets caught up in some seedy business, and things end terribly for him, but it becomes a clue or lead on an active case. In this case it's a guy named Maxwell Dossey, who corners Bruce in a party. He confides to our favorite silver spoon savior that he paid for what is essentially a designer wife. A woman from a foreign country was given surgery, educated, and given a fake background all to be his bride. The woman behind this is the same Mother that in the present has been targeting certain people in Gotham, mostly Robins and potential Robins. But what is this all about? Whatever Dossey knew, he isn't telling, because Mother's organization sends Orphan to silence him and the woman.

 


"Dude, are you implying I'm fucking the kid?" "You aren't?"

 

It's possible that a man at Bruce's party, who actually looks a lot like Bruce but with a slightly different chin and different colored eyes, may be Orphan. Speculation is that Orphan is this continuity's version of Jean-Paul Valley or David Cain, but it's possibly somebody else entirely, and there's no guarantee this man is even Orphan, but it's possible.

 

"Just how many clones do I have out there?"



I'm enjoying the continuing mystery of Mother and Orphan, which will take us overseas in the next issue. I just hope the artwork keeps up, because this issue was pretty good in the looks deparment, thanks to Tony Daniel's pencils. The double-page where Bruce is staring out the window at Dossey's mansion with the rain on the window and the reflection of a lightning bolt. Great image. I also like that panel of Harper wondering what Cass is looking at.

 

 

Next: TO THE BONE CAVE!

- Penguin Truth
(2015)

Story: James Tynion IV & Scott Snyder
Script: James Tynion IV
Pencils: Tony S. Daniel
Inks: Sandu Florea and Mark Morales, Tony S. Daniel
Colors: Tomeu Morey
Lettering By: Corlos M. Mangual
Cover: Tony S. Daniel & Sandu Florea
Editor: Chris Conroy
Asst. Editor: Dave Wielgosz
Group Editor: Mark Doyle
Batman Created By Bob K--wait...



Still too little credit for Finger.


 

 

 

 

 


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