Batman #20: King takes us down memory lane here, as Bruce's mother (yes) narrates the developments of the last 19 issues for us and him. According to Martha, Gotham and Gotham Girl offered him hope, opening the door to the possibility they could take over his role as defender of Gotham after he inevitably fell. In other words, it all wouldn't end in flames when someone eventually defeated him. But, Gotham (the city) got to them first, and now he's just trying to hang in there long enough to save Claire; she'll be the one to save him. This "conversation" happens in Bruce's head as he starts to die from the beating he receives from Bane. But, Bruce doesn't get a happy ending, living with his parents in a painless existence in the afterworld. Bruce tells his mother he simply saved Claire because she needed saving; he's essentially beyond hoping for things like a secured legacy. I buy that, but I have to say the dead-mother narration was a weird way of getting us there. Moreover, Bruce delivers this position by way of a typical comic-book save: he leaves his mother in the afterworld as he magically summons enough energy to defeat Bane, despite Bane having clearly overpowered him for most of the fight. Combined, these two choice make the issue feel off-kilter, like it can't decide if it's an exploration of Bruce's motivations or a slugfest with his greatest opponent. It unfortunately doesn't work as both.
Nightwing #18: Seeley initially seems to give us a happy ending here, as Dollotron Robin inspires Dick and Damian to (wordlessly) accept how important the other one is to him and go after Shawn. They travel to Pyg's studio in Paris, where they confront him as he's ready to cut out Shawn's supposed baby. Seeley thankfully allows Shawn to escape from her fate as another victim of "Women in Refrigerators" syndrome as Damian frees her and she engages in ass-kicking of her own. After defeating Pyg, Damian chases down Dollotron Robin, who he believes stole the Batmobile; instead, he finds himself enraged when he discovers Deathwing did it and killed Dollotron Robin. Before we can reflect on Damian actually feeling something akin to grief for a child poorly treated at the hands of adults, Seeley kicks the story up a notch. Actually, it's like 12 notches: Pyg is revealed to be working for Dr. Simon Hurt, who engineered this entire ordeal so that Robin can die at dawn and Dick can realize his "true potential." Color me impressed. I thought our biggest concern in this arc was whether Shawn would lose the baby she was carrying. But, Seeley has put a lot more on the table by resurrecting Hurt, possibly the Devil himself, in the DCnU. Who knows where we go from here?
Pathfinder: Worldscape #6: I admit Mona lost me a little at the end here. We learn that Fantomah has been planning for decades to lure Kulan Gath into the jungle and that she held the real Scepter all along. (The one Gath took from Camilla's dead body at the end of last issue was a dupe, though we're not told exactly how or when Fantomah made the switch.) But, Mona never really tells us why Fantomah was plotting against Gath. If he and Camilla never actually had the Scepter, why would she care? Allegedly Gath severed portions of the jungle from Fantomah and turned it against itself and her, but we never really saw that. As a result, it feels like a ex post justification. I only really remember Gath in Shareen or at the Pillars. Why would he use the jungle to make an enemy of Fantomah? Mona makes matters worse by using her as the deus ex machina to bring this series to a close. With her controlling the Crown and the Scepter, most people opt to simply go home, and the Worldscape is left to deal with itself. With Fantomah in charge of the Crown and Scepter, it seems like she could send home most people, leaving behind only a willing contingent to guard the indigenous fauna and flora from new invaders. But, again, Mona doesn't get into that. Everyone just has some mead (and, in Sonja and Valeros' case, some sexin') and goes home. For an arc that spent so much time carefully spelling out everyone's history and relationships, it's a surprisingly abrupt send-off.
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