Batman Eternal #52 Review

script: James Tynion IV / artist: Various / DC Comics I’ll be upfront right off the top. I’ve been convinced for some time that any year-long event DC puts out is destined to be a letdown. 52 left me wounded like a jilted lover. A compelling year long saga without the Trinity and it all amounted to…well, I’m still unsure about what happened at the end. The point is I’m more skeptical when something has more buildup than usual. So part of me was ready for Batman Eternal to let me down. This final volume has been so ridiculously spot on, truly capturing the scope of the mystery menace that has been looming over Gotham all this time, it felt like the big finish would have no choice but to fall short of its own aspirations. However, I am pleased to report that any such fears can be erased now. The lion’s share of the book is dedicated to the final showdown between Batman and the real power that took the leashes off of Gotham’s meanest. It really does invoke a great deal of the themes that Scott Snyder has established since the beginning of his tenure working on the Bat-verse. James Tynion IV delivers a script that sings of hometown pride and what Batman’s legacy means to the people of Gotham. Meanwhile, things wrapped up surprisingly neat with the rest of the Bat-family, Selina Kyle and even the super shaky “redemption of Jason Bard” plotline. This issue and, really, the series as a whole did a great job of telling Batman stories in a light we haven’t seen much of in a while. I…