Batman Eternal #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

[Sigh.]

To be fair, this issue doesn't include the gross mis-characterizations that last issue did.  Catwoman makes the mistake of hitting the Falcone empire a little too often, allowing Carmine to set a trap for her.  In Hong Kong, Batman joins with the Batman of Japan to look into the gang war that Falcone previously fought there, hoping to get some insight into his current motivations.  Unfortunately, he discovers that Falcone simply abandoned the war for "urgent business" in Gotham.

Given that Batman doesn't learn anything helpful on his trip to Hong Kong, it's pretty clear that the trip was merely a MacGuffin to introduce Julia Pennyworth, Alfred's long-lost daughter whose existence, Wikipedia tells me, was undone as a result of "Crisis on Infinite Earths." (I had thought that it was Cassandra Cain at the end of last issue, particularly given the assembly of the girl Robins that this series seems to be convening.)

I don't have an issue, in and of itself, with Snyder and Tynion (re-)introducing this character.  However, I do have an issue with just how many issues we have.  We're way past due to resolve some mysteries, not introduce new ones.  Looking over the events of the last few issues, it's hard to understand why Snyder and Tynion would send Bruce to Hong Kong now, even if it was only a one-issue diversion.  After all, he knows that Commissioner Forbes isn't an ally, he's got nothing close to a lead on Jim Gordon's case (and refuses help from the Bat-Family), he's got to be aware that Professor Pyg is furious given his retaliation against Rhodes, and it's clear that Penguin is going to escalate his war with Falcone after the sinking of the Iceberg Casino.  Moreover, at some point, Batwing will report on the results of his investigations with Jim Corrigan, and Tim will let Batman know that some sort of nanobot virus is spreading through the children of Gotham.  In other words, a lot seems to be happening in Gotham.  Why not just send the Batman of Japan to look into the gang war for you, particularly if Snyder and Tynion knew that it won't result in anything?  Why not introduce Julia later?  Take some of the pending issues off the table, and then add a new one.

One of the difficulties with series that lose their way is that, after a few poorly written issues, it starts getting tough to see the good aspects of the series.  It's like when you finally see the image in a 3-D picture and can't un-see it.  You start seeing the failings more readily, and it gets harder and harder to see the positives.  Every time Batman uncharacteristically takes his eye off the ball, it gets harder to take this series seriously.  Every new mystery added without solving an existing one, it gets harder to remember the story that the authors are telling.  With each issue making me wonder if I'm reading some sort of "Year One" version of a mistake-prone Batman, I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be here for issue #52.

** (two of five stars)