Batman: Eternal Omnibus

Batman Eternal #1-3

by Scott Snyder, Tim Seeley, James Tynion IV

Batman's world is turned upside down. In the wake of Forever Evil, the world looks at heroes in a different light, creating tension between Batman and his allies and the Gotham City Police Department.

COMMISSIONER GORDON ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE LAW!

Gotham is in chaos. Gang wars. Viral outbreaks. Riots. Hauntings. Terrorist strikes. Every one of Batman's allies is fighting to keep the city under control. Someone is orchestrating the pandemonium, but who?

Worst of all, Batman's greatest ally inside the city, police commissioner Jim Gordon, has been arrested and can't help. Until his name can be cleared, he'll be locked up alongside all the dangerous criminals he put in jail. Meanwhile, Batman, the Robins, Batgirl, Red Hood, Spoiler, and more will have to contend with not just the usual villains, but a corrupt police force as well!

This epic event from Scott Snyder (Dark Nights: Metal) and James Tynion IV (Justice League Dark) brings together a team of talented writers and artists including Jason Fabok, Dustin Nguyen, Tim Seeley, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins, John Layman, Fernando Blanco, Andy Clarke, Emanuel Simeoni, Alvaro Martinez, and more.

Presenting the yearlong weekly saga, all in one volume for the first time ever! Collects Batman Eternal #1-52 and Batman #28, with a new introduction from writer James Tynion IV and behind-the-scenes extras.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Comics Manga, Comic Book

1208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

Reviews

[Siona Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool story with lots of the Bat-Family, and even a new addition (who I really enjoy). Nothing super new really, but it was fun to read. Also liked where Catwoman’s character went in this story.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was huge and took me quite some time to read.

It starts off with Batman villains getting invitation enter Falcone and Batman facing against him and then things happen, more villains are involved particularly the A-Listers and we see the entrance of Spoiler and Bluebird and the framing of Gordon, the takedown of Alfred, enter Hush, Red hood and Batgirl in Brazil, Tim and Harper dealing with some "nanobot controlling" guy and so much more. Its one thing after another and seems like it will never end.

The mysterious villain Cluemaster behind all these attacks and even he is not it, when Bruce's old villains return Lincoln/Owlman and things are revealed, its gonna take everything from him to take them down with his family but even then will he come out on top or will he lose more people in the process?

I loved this story and the way its a sprawling saga with so many moving parts and I especially love the way how so many villains are involved especially Bruce's C-list villains and the big role that Cluemaster is given and this leads to the new origin of Spoiler and its perfect. Also great to see Batfam get some spotlights. The way the family comes together to fight and then the villains levelling up is just astonishingly good.

Its one of the best weekly series and the writing is consistent throughout and the pencils particularly by Fabok are so good and detailed. Also Bard was a fun addition. Its one of the best Batman stories ever and the omnibus read just reminded me when i was reading it in single issue a few years back. Just great, good stuff.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Batman Eternal Omnibus collects the entire year-long weekly epic, representing a massive undertaking of serialized storytelling in Gotham City. I really did like the first 1/3rd of this omnibus as it's where the series shines brightest.

The action starts immediately with high octain fights and a good "Oh shit" plot point. Jim Gordon is framed for mass murder and incarcerated, plunging the city into chaos and forcing Bruce Wayne to confront a sinister, unseen mastermind. This section features plenty of great character moments between Jim and Bruce, as the former cop navigates prison while the latter fights to clear his name. The solid pacing and laser focus on this core conflict made the opening issues feel fucking exciting and set a high bar for the entire event.

However, as the weekly format demanded more and more content, the narrative sadly lost the steam it had. This shift in quality became noticeable when James and Scott took the backseat to writing and just had the plot outline, letting other writers handle the actual dialogue and scripting. This resulted in key villains being badly used. Hush, initially positioned as a brilliant saboteur manipulating Wayne Enterprises and the GCPD, eventually becomes a monotonous villain whose scheme feels over-explained.

Similarly, characters like Poison Ivy are deployed in strangely isolated subplots that feel forgettable. While Jason Bard, Bruce, and Jim all got a lot of good, meaty moments throughout the various crises, sometimes the Jim plotline, which was easily the best part of the entire book, felt forgotten for long stretches as the narrative chased new arcs, such as the introduction of Stephanie Brown (Spoiler) and the descent of Gotham into a gang war.

Overall, the omnibus is good and a fun read most of the time. It successfully delivers a sweeping, high-stakes tour of Gotham's criminal landscape, but the series’ internal flaws are magnified when read as a single volume. You can see the fall from great to just good by the end, a predictable outcome for such a heavily plotted, collaboratively-written endeavor.

The inconsistent quality and the drag pace in the final chapters prevent it from achieving classic status, which is why I'll settle on a 3 out of 5 instead of 4 out of 5. It’s a worthwhile, if flawed, journey through a chaotic year in the life of the Dark Knight.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd seen some mixed to negative things about this, but I quite enjoyed it. First time reading it, I read it as part of my mega Scott Snyder Bat readathon. I think it worked out better reading it that way because it follows on from some threads from other bat books.

[Michael Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weekly series comprising of 52 issues, spearheaded by Scott Snyder and James Tyrion IV, with the help of other co-writers. The story starts at the end, with Batman hung up on the Bat signal, defeated. But who could have masterminded this stunning defeat?

The series then goes and shows Batman’s greatest ally in the city, Jim Gordon, being framed for the murder of countless individuals. Someone is pulling all the strings but who? That is the central mystery throughout, and red herrings galore are present. It’s cool to see the New 52 introducing all of the villains and heroes that have been absent from the beginning, but it also gets tedious around the mid section.

Some of the issues barely advance the plot and feel very much like filler. The art is also very hit and very miss. It starts off with with the incredible Jason Fabok (a personal favourite Batman artist) sets the bar off in the stratosphere. A lot of the art (as with the plot) feels very filler in the middle, with some absolutely rushed looking art or panels of characters just standing around doing nothing but exposition/talk. It feels like padding in order to get this series to the 52 issue mark they wanted to hit. There is a solid 35-40 issues within this that could’ve made this the greatest story arc of all time, but it’s weighed down by all the issues that feel pointless. If they could’ve maintained Fabok, and other solid artists throughout, and kept the best issues and storylines, then this would be an easy 5 star rating. Due to it dragging and feeling a bit over bloated, it gets only 4 stars.

Still a well done story arc/event, that set up numerous plot lines in later Bat books! I quite enjoyed the New 52 era of Batman (despite its flaws) and would still highly recommend reading Batman Eternal, as a mid point during Snyder’s run.

[Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could barely finish this book, so in that case it barely gets 2 stars. And those 2 stars are for the exciting "main" plot and Jason Fabok's art in those issues. But when 80% of a book feels out of place, we have a problem.

Batman Eternal is a massive, MASSIVE, collection of disparate sub-plots, written and drawn by several creators, of random characters just doing things. They'll travel to places to investigate stuff, punch some bad guys, then that's kinda it. The hindrance is that these sub-plots don't lead anywhere noteworthy or add anything to the main story.

The main storyline gets so little attention that any time there is a "twist" or "reveal" it falls flat due to the slog you have to trek through to get there. There are plot elements that could have made this an instant classic, but the lack of focus makes this a jarring mess. I'm sure Snyder and Tynion planned and plotted everything out very well, but the execution of this book just doesn't gel together. A big reason for that is the sheer number of cooks in the kitchen. We have several writers, with several artists handling different stories and none of them manage to tie their threads back together. And where the hell is Batman!? We see him like 5 times.

It started off so strongly, with the initial issue being written by Snyder and Tynion, then the next 1000 pages are a boring mess with brief moments of greatness, mainly when focusing on Jim Gordon or Alfred. Some "twists" I could either see coming a mile off, or I just didn't find that surprising. By page 600 I was skimming through the rest. This just lacked imagination and any kind of uniqueness.

A real shame. I was excited to read this.

[Highland G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this run. One of the best bat family books and really explores Batman’s history without over complicating it. I love BlueBird.
Its does have the usual big two issues, too many artists and too many writers. At one point both Catwoman and Steph’s eyes both change colour about 3 times in the same issue smh!
Anyway, highly recommend checking this out.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel a little bad giving this 3 stars because at its best, this run was really good! Overall the art was amazing (albeit a bit jarring when artists with very different styles jumped in mid-arc) and the plot kept putting protagonists in worse and worse situations that they always overcame in satisfying ways. But it felt a little long and dragged in a few places. Unlike the Snyder omnibuses which were very focused and uniform (thanks to a primary author and artist throughout) Batman Eternal would start to lose me before pulling me back again. Fortunately it ended very well!

[Thezachespinoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aggressively average, mostly for collector's. You're not missing out on anything groundbreaking.

[Andrew Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting experiment at the time: a new issue each week for a year. With multiple writers and artists working to to achieve the goal, it succeeded in telling a cohesive story, drawn out the same way the story stretched over months; however, it lacked a cohesive look and voice. And while the penultimate reveal was actually clever and strong, the final reveal immediately undermined it. Interesting, but not an essential bat-story.

[Joakim Ax · Rating 4 out of 5]

A for me, must read in order to build up time in between story arcs of the Scott Snyder batman-run inbetween: A death of the family and Endgame

[Chris Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman Eternal is a 52 issue epic that goes on too long but is mostly remarkably consistent. The series has a very strong start with a lot of promise but the constant introduction of a new villain to the story revealed as the actual big bad only then a few issues later to be revealed as just another bluff with an invitation gets tiring. The book also struggles with its huge cast, with some of the subplots moving at a snail’s pace like Arkham and the infection. There are definitely narrative flaws but it is a good read and it is particularly remarkable how coherent it is given the numbers of writers and length of it.

Batman Eternal’s relationship with existing continuity is a weird one. Having recently re-read all of the main New 52 Batman titles, I was impressed with how tied in with the continuity of those books it was. Particularly at the start, references to other stories in dialogue and appearances of minor characters like officer Nancy Strode give the New 52 Bat-verse a coherency it rarely felt like it had. Batman Eternal genuinely feels like the culmination of all the New 52 Batman plotlines, particularly drawing the Bat-family back together after the break up in Death of the Family.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Batman though, the creative team are determined to bring in references to Batman’s greatest stories pre-Flashpoint. The new continuity rarely has room for them as they were though so what follows is a weird reminder of things we lost in Flashpoint. It’s a tribute to stories like Batman Year One that also erases them.

A focus of the saga that I greatly enjoyed was an emphasis on the relationship between Batman and Commissioner Gordon. They understand Gordon’s character as the good man of Gotham perfectly and seeing him suffer through Blackgate to prove the system works is heartbreaking and inspiring. The fall of Gordon might have meant more if the New 52 hadn’t compressed the timeline to 5 years and de-aged him, and particularly Gordon’s references to getting older would have made more sense, but the fall of Gordon still hits hard. It also fantastically showcases how much everything falls apart without Jim and the immediate impact his loss has on not just Batman but the whole Batfamily and Gotham itself. The story opens and closes on Batman and Gordon’s partnership and its a joy to actually see the two friends work together so well.

The fall of Gordon enables the rise of Jason Bard which is interesting to watch. Forbes returns from David Finch’s Dark Knight run but now rather than Internal Affairs who genuinely hates Batman and is going after Gordon, he’s simply another corrupt cop, ripping away a lot of his potential. Serving his purpose in the story, Forbes only fills the role of Commissioner until Bard is established enough as Gotham’s hero cop to take over.

Jason Bard here is basically a new original character and probably should have been named as such. His rise from new arrival in Gotham to commissioner is ludicrously fast but the twists and turns of his story are well done and add to the broader narrative well.

The other character most affected by Gordon’s arrest is of course his daughter Barbara. As Batgirl, Barbara spends most of the story angrily seeking proof of her father’s innocence and is accompanied in this quest by Red Hood. An out of nowhere crush from Jason on Barbara is introduced and romance between the two is teased. I’ve never been a fan of Jason-Barbara and it all starts here. It’s through this that Dick Grayson’s absence is most keenly felt.

The absence of two of the biggest figures in Bat-mythology at this time, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne, does hurt this story, particularly in feeling like the big Bat-family 75th anniversary story. Damian is dead at this point though DC was in the process of resurrecting him. Dick is a more unforgivable exclusion as he was only pretending to be dead while playing super-spy in the Grayson series so could have been folded into the narrative somehow.

It is nice to actually see Tim Drake get to be part of the Bat-family and interact with the others, something we rarely saw in the New 52. He is annoyingly partnered with Harper Row for most of it and his plot takes forever to go anywhere, but it’s still nice to see him. He’s still so lacking though due to his new 52 characterisation and Rebirth can’t come quick enough.

As for the afore-mentioned Harper Row, her story that has slowly been unfolding in Scott Snyder’s Batman is picked up here as training with Tim completes her transformation into Gotham’s newest hero Bluebird. I hate Harper Row and how much she overshadows Stephanie Brown in her long awaited return to continuity doesn’t help.

Spoiler is finally reintroduced here with a new origin. I love the new costume. I love that she’s back. Her role as daughter of Cluemaster spoiling his plans is adapted nicely. But while she is introduced in issue 3, hers is another plot that moves far too slowly and we have to wait until issue 42 for her to actually get involved in the plot or interact with any other characters. None of her pre-crisis relationships are reintroduced and instead the only relationship she gets is with Harper to show how perfect Harper is like usual. The fact the ending of Steph’s arc is her deciding to leave Gotham while Harper stays only to be inspired to stay and become a hero by Harper’s example just makes me so angry.

The other introduction/re-introduction of note is Alfred’s secret daughter Julia Pennyworth. I loved her relationship with Bruce and Alfred as she took on the role of Penny-Two and wished we saw much more of her after this.

It was also nice to see Vicki Vale finally play a notable role in a big story. Vicki’s plot has nice commentary on journalism and truth and Vicki, while a bit of a poor man’s Lois Lane, does very well out of the story.

There’s a never ending queue of villains in the story, some making more impact than others. The fact they used the same “I’m waiting to beat you at your best” excuse for both Riddler and Ra’s al Ghul is just lazy. There is no Joker or Two-Face as the two main exclusions. As Batman faces this gauntlet of never-ending foes, his world being torn apart around him as he’s worn down before facing the final battle with the true mastermind, it becomes clear this story is actually a modern Knightfall, and far better at it than the mess of Tom King’s run.

Catwoman goes through significant change in the series and the New 52 version of the character really needed a fresh start. Despite some misdirection involving Falcone, clever given the pre-Flashpoint continuity, Selina’s father is revealed to be Rex Calabrese, The Lion, the king of crime in Gotham before Falcone. While the book actually handles and shows her relationship with Batman very well, this sets her on a path at odds with him as she becomes the new premier crime boss in Gotham. It’s a bold and interesting new direction I really enjoyed here.

Killer Croc also gets a significant amount of development. His role as protector of the underground and his people has been an interesting one and it’s cool to see him end up working with Batman for a bit. It’s also very satisfying to see him finally beat Bane (after both his recent defeat in Arkham War and historic defeat in Knightfall). Croc ends up as Selina’s henchman by the end which is framed as a step up for him but actually feels like a step back. Boss Croc’s time will surely come again one day.

The gang war between Falcone and Penguin is the backdrop for a large portion of the story, with Falcone as our first fake-out big bad for the story. Carmine Falcone’s return to Gotham is a very effective reveal for those who know the character. None of his pre-Flashpoint story can exist anymore now Year One and The Long Halloween have been overwritten by Zero Year and The Big Burn so Falcone is actually a clean slate for this new continuity. I enjoyed him though I must admit I was rooting for Penguin.

It’s worth noting Penguin basically wins the gang war and if Bard hadn’t arrested both just in time, Cobblepot would have single-handedly murdered Carmine as well as all his top men. I really enjoyed Penguin’s characterisation here and wanted more in the second half than we got. Probably the most interesting idea in the whole story is Penguin believes he saved Gotham, not Batman. Penguin sees his war with Falcone as a war fir the heart of Gotham - Cobblepot unified the gangs, stopping regular street warfare with children caught in the crossfire. That’s a story I want to see developed more.

Hush is the other main return, villains-wise, and the longest bluff for big bad, presented as the man behind the curtain for most of the second act. Hush’s origin remains in tact although whether the story Hush happened anymore is left unanswered. The focus of the character has shifted though to an obsession with being like Bruce since childhood. I enjoyed him as much as I ever enjoy Hush.

Since Batman Eternal is a mystery, a lot rests on whether the solution is satisfying. What’s bizarre though is that it is but then immediately isn’t. Cluemaster and a bunch of other c-list villains it’s nice to see again like Signalman have been doing a lot of shady stuff in the background including working with Hush. The penultimate issue though reveals this was all Cluemaster’s plan.

Arthur Brown had been present throughout the whole story but overlooked as a nobody while Batman searched for a big bad behind it all. He’d planned all the chaos simply to keep Batman distracted so the little guys like him could get away with anything, and then at the end he’s ready to kill Batman to make a name for himself. It is the perfect solution and a brilliant resolution.

And then that issue ends with Owlman popping up out of nowhere, killing Cluemaster and revealing he was actually behind it all. Utterly ridiculous.

There have been a couple of owl-based hints in the story to misdirect you towards the court of owls but Lincoln March has not appeared before this point in any of the preceding 51 issues and his motivation is the standard just wanting to kill Batman. It’s poor storytelling for a mystery and the sort of thing comics regularly pull sadly. It’s not a satisfying solution, it’s pulling another character out of your rear end at the last second. Can you imagine if an Agatha Christie’s Poirot revealed in the last chapter the murderer was actually a murderer from one of the other books who had not been mentioned even once in the book you were reading? No because it would be stupid. This isn’t anymore acceptable.

52 issues was definitely too long by a while but I’d still have given 5 stars despite some of the missteps and pacing issues if it had stopped just one issue earlier and landed the ending.

[Nolan Gutenschwager · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was overall solid and enjoyable. At its best, it was an excellent story with some of the greatest art (Jason Fabok). But there were many times it felt like this was dragging on, probably because it was a weekly series and they were trying to hit 52 issues. Many different artists in here as well, so the quality varied, though was usually good. The big positives of this were the story heavily featuring many different characters in the broader bat-family (or Gotham in general) and the many surprising twists.

Jim Gordon ends up gunning down an unarmed criminal and is sent to Blackgate. That is just the beginning of a long series of events that tear down Bruce's world, as Bruce constantly has to trace who is responsible, only to keep finding out another villain was just another pawn in a grand scheme. It was enjoyable to see the progression of who Bruce thought was pulling the strings. There is the corrupt Mayor Hady, who is being influenced by a returning Carmine Falcone (although Year One and Long Halloween are not canon here). This leads to a gang war and Penguin is also involved. Then a new GCPD hire Jason Bard, who appears to be the next coming of Jim Gordon, ends up being the new commissioner with Gordon in prison. But Bard turns out to be corrupt in a big shock. But turns out he is controlled by Hush. There are some good Hush moments, and he takes down Alfred. But the mystery continues to unravel, and maybe it is the Riddler, then maybe it is Ra's. Ultimately it is the last person Batman would expect, which is Cluemaster. I like the idea of a minor villain orchestrating all of this and Batman completely overlooking him. Cluemaster basically has Batman defeated, and actually unmaks him, but right before he kills him, Lincoln March (Owlman / the man who claims to be Thomas Wayne Jr.) kills Cluemaster. Batman and Lincoln fight and Lincoln escapes, only to eventually be captured by the Court of Owls as they get their revenge on him (for having killed Court members in the Snyder Batman run).

As if the progression of who the mastermind was is not enough, there is so much other stuff going on. Batwing and Jim Corrigan are investigating some supernatural disturbances at Arkham (and Jim does turn into Spectre at one point). There is a lot of Harper Row (Bluebird) stepping up to fight crime and figure out what is going on with her brother Cullen being infested with some nanobots. She also ends up paired with Red Robin for a while. Julia Pennyworth ends up in Gotham after not seeing her father Alfred in ages. She initially is upset and disappointed with him being a butler since she is in some elite British military group, but she learns his secret and ends up taking over Alfred's role since he is incapacitated most of the time after he was injected with a toxin. So, Julia was pretty cool in this. Barbara Gordon is obviously eager to prove Jim Gordon's innocence and gets a little violent, and Batman sends Red Hood of all people to keep her in check. It is hinted several times there could be a romance brewing between those two, but it never materializes. This whole thing is also the N52 origin of Stephanie Brown as Spoiler, and I think it is well done. There are the adventures of Jim Gordon in Blackgate. Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Poison Ivy, Clayface, Scarecrow, etc. are all featured a good amount. Selina Kyle ends up taking over as the main crime boss and she teeters on being good vs bad. Jason Bard after being increasingly awful eventually becomes good again at the very end and resigns as commissioner.

There is just so much going on which makes for an interesting read, and yet it still feels dragged out. If this had been trimmed a bit and more cohesive, this would have been truly great. As it stands, it was still a very fun read.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great omnibus that I very much enjoyed. The artwork is brilliant, particularly Jason Fabok’s pencils, and it’s written extremely well by Snyder and Tynion! The book starts off incredibly well, hooking me straight away with the plot. The idea of Jim Gordon being under scrutiny for a potentially terrible mistake that led to innocent people dying is a fantastic concept, but the mystery of whether or not it was that straight forward was also very exciting to uncover. It did feel like at times they kind of forgot about Gordon, but would eventually go back to it.
I also liked the range of characters. Seeing Hush again in a really strong story was exciting for me, and some of the supporting characters were also great such as The Spoiler and her villain father, Cluemaster.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the really supernatural stuff or the issues involving Batwing in the secret tunnels beneath Arkham, but they weren’t too bad. I just preferred the more realistic storyline.
About 2/3 of the way through the book, it goes onto other things like a villain team up (Bane, Scarecrow, Clayface, Firefly etc.), Mad Hatter controlling people to build a machine, Batman hunting Riddler and the birth of the new hero Bluebird, but I was kind of getting fed up with it at times and wanted it to go back to Gordon and Commissioner Bard.
The last few stories were pretty good and the revelation of who was behind it all was sort of unexpected but at the same time underwhelming.
In this finale, I did hope we would see a big reveal to Gotham of Gordon’s innocence and see his reputation restored, but we never did which was a bit disappointing.
The book build is very good, however it is probably the worst quality paper inside of an Omnibus that I have seen, but not too bad. The blacks just aren’t black enough and I prefer glossy/shiny/smooth paper inside.
Overall, I think the entire story/omnibus deserves 4 stars but it wasn’t perfect and a lot of the arcs were probably more of a 3 star rating, but I think collectively deserve more.
Would recommend!

[Langston Lardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it a solid 4.5/5 really. A solid Batman/bat fam story, that takes bats through dang near his entire rogues gallery and even some more obscure characters. What I really enjoy about the book is how it’s really one big mystery/detective story right up to the end, every time you think you’ve found the big bad it takes another turn, this gives the story a chance to incorporate so many of Batman’s foes. The bat family is also done pretty well here, not sure about the red hood/batgirl thing and it sucks no Grayson or Damian, but the characters we do have here are done well and seeing a different path for Gordon for most of the book was interesting. The way it all culminates to an epic event was really awesome and the bat signals was a badass touch, it made me wish we could get a bat film that culminates to something like this one day. Overall an interesting read that had fun twists and turns and some absolutely beautiful artwork and kickass character moments. A nice addition to the collection and addition to the new 52 Batman lore. Definitely recommend.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very longwinded way of imparting a fairly simple idea. I won't go into details except to say that the "Eternal" subtitle was not an accident.

Anyway, Batman Eternal started strong but went on significantly longer than I think it needed to. Some plot threads, like the Arkham Asylum investigation and the nanovirus, ultimately felt superfluous as the story struggled to give all of its many arcs proper developments.

It's worth reading as a Batfam story, and significantly develops Harper and Stephanie as characters, so if you like those two and want a solid background on how they got the way they currently are in the canon, it's got that going for it.

[Zachary Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun run for such a daunting assignment. Releasing a weak comic for a year comes with challenges especially with art. There is a bullpen writers and the need to constantly rotate artists to keep up with the schedule. This can lead to jump in art styles being jarring between issues. The story includes the entire bat family, the gcpd, and many of the classic villains that had not been seen or featured much in the new 52. A fun story that has it ups and downs but worth a read for the bat fan of the new 52.

[Jamie Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one has it all and the story kept getting bigger and bigger. Multiple stories combining into one large piece was a sight to see and it never became confusing. The final act (4-5 issues) took it to neigh heights.

I almost gave this a four star for just one reason. The mystery of who’s behind it all kept teasing us for too long. It was repetitive in fooling you one too many time.

But… the overall story compelled me into five total stars. Would highly recommend.

[No_One · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually pretty good, even if it’s a little too long.

Too long how? About one sub-plot could have been omitted. Personally, that means the nanobot business in the Narrows with Bluebird. You take the out and it would have been more focused, because it only served to bloat the overall story.

Lot of fun, lot of great art, and a nice little surprise at the end. Overall, glad I read it.

[Ronny Trøjborg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forventningerne var skruet i bund, da rygterne om denne har været meget blandet.. Nogle af side historierne haltede lidt, men hoved historien var super gribende størstedelen af tiden. Og mysteriet holder en godt faet i store dele af bogen..

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off with a great premise but it got too convoluted with different storylines scattered throughout the book. Second half wasnt very enjoyable because of it. Did like the last few issues though, wrapped up nicely!

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A single extended Batman story told in 52 weekly installments is a very ambitious undertaking that could easily go wrong on multiple fronts, but this managed to be thoroughly enjoyable the whole way through.

[Harley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk about this one. Some of it was brilliant and some of it was ????? But so much Steph and Harper and I'm not mad at that

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a lot of fun. It starts to get out of steam by the second half, but overall is pretty enjoyable.

[TheMadReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this was really good, some of this was really bad. Especially the subplots. (Brazil…really?) It really drags in the beginning, perhaps one third of the book and then gradually picks up.

However, somehow it all ties in together at the end. Does it masterfully tie in together? No but, recommended for any Batman fan. Just to say that you’ve read it and are familiar with the new 52 run.

I recommend reading this right after Batman Snyder/Capullo’s volume 1 and right before Snyder/Capullo’s volume 2 omni as Eternal takes place after Zero Year and right before Endgame.

[Minki Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

+ Very cool story from start to end

- Confusing elements/plot with some of the side characters (Blackfire/Spectre) that adds nothing to the story

[Mal · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was ok! dragged on for way too long though. happy to have so much bat fam and selina though.