Man, I'm excited about where we're going.
Despite the fact that I hated how "Court of Owls" and "Death of the Family" ended, I'm cautiously optimistic that "Zero Year" may end in a way that doesn't leave me disappointed. It's slowly but surely restored my faith in Scott Snyder, putting me in exactly the right sort of mindset for the hint at the next phase of Snyder's Batman that we see here.
I generally try to limit how much I read about comic books before I read the issues involved, because I find that it's almost impossible to avoid spoilers. For example, I found out the conclusion of "Uncanny Avengers" #17 because I happened to click on its cover image in my comic-book database program, which included a difficult-to-avoid synopsis. I've managed to keep my knowledge of "Batman Eternal" limited to knowing that it's going to be a weekly, year-long series. Now, I can also say that I'm a lot less worried about that sort of gimmick after reading this issue.
First, Snyder makes it clear that something catastrophic will happen when we return to the present after "Zero Year." It seems like some sort of plague, given the references to the dying and the sick and the hints that a cure may exist. But, the cause is immaterial, at least in this issue. Snyder and Tynion go for the shock value instead, revealing that the plague has caused Gotham to morph into "New Gotham," a police state (or, probably more accurately, mafia state) with an 8:00 pm curfew. It's unclear if all of Gotham falls in "New Gotham" or if Gotham has cut off the areas with the highest concentrations of infected citizens, like amputating a compromised limb. But, all we need to know now is that that the Gotham that we're going to encounter after "Zero Year" is drastically different than the present one that we left at the end of "Death of the Family."
To emphasize that point, Snyder and Tynion "introduce" two "new" costumed heroes: Bluebird (Harper Row) and Spoiler (Stephanie Brown). The activation, if you will, of Harper as Batman's sidekick is obviously huge news. With Bruce's relationship with the Bat-family still unclear, the revelation that he's working with a new partner serves as an excellent reminder of that new status quo waiting for us after "Zero Year." Surprisingly, it's not overshadowed by the return of Stephanie Brown as Spoiler; in fact, it seems to bolster it. After all, Spoiler isn't re-introduced simply for quantity. Catwoman reveals that she's holding her hostage because she's the "only one in this city who knows how to stop what's coming next." She's clearly going to play an integral role in the resolution of this story. Moreover, we're left wondering who the mysterious figure running the Batcave is. Given that it seems possible that it's Carrie Kelly, Snyder and Tynion underline just how different this new Gotham is by replacing the legion of dark-haired boys with a trio of self-motivated girls. It's a whole new world.
Let's talk about Catwoman, shall we? It's hard to reconcile this Selina with the one that I just saw in "Forever Evil" #5. She has taken over the criminal underworld (and, probably, the police department), telling Batman that she's no longer Catwoman because he left Catwoman out there to die. I'm not sure if I'm missing a development in either her series or "Forever Evil," but that's actually part of my problem. Bruce's relationship to Selina has been unclear to me throughout the "New 52," so her sudden appearance here as essentially a different character isn't as shocking as it probably should be. But, by being so different, it might actually solve that problem, since everyone will have to adjust to this new Selina.
In sum, I'm actually excited about the main Bat-title again. I can't wait to see how Snyder wraps up "Zero Year" and knowing that we've got "Batman Eternal" on its heels just heightens that anticipation. Great stuff.
**** (four of five stars)
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