Detective Comics #981: This issue is so good. Tynion has everything completely and totally collapse. That alone is a surprise in comics, but he goes one better by making everyone the better for it.
The end comes as Stephanie shows Tim the future that Brother Eye edited -- where Kate kills Bruce not because she's working for the President but because he had terminal cancer and killing him allowed her to pass Amanda Waller's psi-scans. It's then a quick road to Tim reasserting control over himself. The Belfry collapses, and the dream is dead.
But, Tynion makes it clear it should be dead. Both Kate and Tim are shaken by the revelations about their future, mostly because they realize they both spent so much time worried about their futures that they've neglected their presents. The team ends so everyone can take time to assess where they are. The President pardons Jacob on the promise he dissolve the Colony, so he helps Kate as she becomes an independent Batwoman again. Cass goes to live with Leslie, and Babs has agreed to tutor her. Clayface (in human form) watches her happy ending from the shadows with a tear in his eye before leaving Gotham with Victoria. Tim and Bruce embrace the fiction of Tim going to Ivy University as, instead, he and Stephanie head into the sunset (literally). (Tim tells her he doesn't want to take the lonely path his future self took.) Jean-Paul is left searching for his own truth while Luke dedicates himself to studying Brother Eye so something like it can never happen again. In other words, none of them is in the place to be part of a superteam right now.
Tynion does a great job of showing of how each development is connected to each character's experience over the course of his run; they're not just left somewhere DC needed them to be because of some upcoming event. Interestingly, it's Bruce who's possibly the most changed. He's still smarting from Babs' analysis of his relationship with Kate, and, in typical Bruce fashion, he sees it as a problem (Bruce = bad at relationships) to solve. (Tim even comments on how odd it is to see him smile.) In other words, Bruce's lesson is the value of trusting his family and saying he's sorry.
It takes someone of Tynion's talent to leave everyone so broken but thus better, but he totally does that here. This entire long arc has been one of the strongest Batman stories ever told, incorporating a supporting cast in a more profound way than we've previously seen. I can't wait to see where we go from here.
Hunt for Wolverine #1: I wasn't going to read this event, because, OMFG, I'm over events. Also, Marvel is engaged in a cash grab of almost unprecedented proportions with four mini-series spawning from this issue. But, when I saw one of the mini-series involved getting the New Avengers together, well, I just couldn't pass up the chance to see the old band again. The goods news is Soule is as good as he usually is here. He wisely chooses the Reavers to be the villains who go after Logan's corpse. First, their motive is pretty clear: their last few jobs haven't gone well (a nod to the general incompetence of villains), and they need money for repairs and upgrades. But, they're also formidable enemies even in their weakened condition (a nod to their illustrious past of ass-kicking). Along the way, we learn their attempt to extract Wolverine from the statue was always doomed to fail, because Kitty had phased his body from the adamantium months ago. I've wondered why she hadn't done so numerous times since Wolverine "died," so it's good to see Marvel going with this approach here. It also makes sense: they wanted to keep it a secret so he could have a legitimate resting place. Soule also wisely uses a framing device of Kitty telling Logan this story at his grave, not just because it's lovely, but also because it sets up her discovering he's not there. The second story has Kitty recruiting help from all the corners of Logan's life, setting up the four (!) mini-series. Soule is successful here because he spends a lot of time focused on the characters' voices and personalities; everyone sounds and acts like s/he should. If the authors of the mini-series keep that attention to detail, it could be a good time, even if it is a cash grab.
Infinity Countdown: Darkhawk #1: I have two main questions after reading this issue, and I'm afraid only one is going to get answered. The one I expect to get answered is how the Raptors are now able to survive without their link to the Tree of Shadows. But, the question I don't think I'll get answered is how the Fraternity of Raptors went from a somewhat feared group to the hot mess it is here. The Raptors are apparently mad at the Fraternity for stealing from them, but I'm not entirely clear what they stole. In Chris Powell's case, he switched places physically with the Darkhawk armor. If the Fraternity only opened a portal into the Nullspace for the first time in this issue, how did they get their hands on Raptor suits in the first place? If I remember correctly, they're actually using knock-off Raptor suits but, if that's the case, what did they steal from the Raptors to make them so angry? Moreover, why did Robbie wait until now to actually open the portal to the Nullspace with the Nega-Bands? Shouldn't they have jumped on that opportunity previously? It seems like they've maybe been waiting to collect the Power Stone and their failure to do so left them with no choice, but I'm not sure. I guess I had more questions than I thought...
Star Wars #48: I'm not really sure what Urtya's plan is here. I get the idea that he wanted to be the one to broadcast the king's dying message to his people; as he himself said to Leia, it wasn't Leia's responsibility to do so. In fact, Gillen does a pretty good job of showing Leia as too forceful here. Urtya's right: she's endangering the lives of his people, and she's not the one to get to make that call. But, Leia's also right that his decision to broadcast the piece to his people almost immediately is absurd, since they're nowhere near prepared to rebel. Why hold Leia and her allies at gun point to retrieve the video instead of working with her and her considerable resources to free Mon Cala from the Empire's rule? I'm assuming Gillen has an ace up his sleeve, because this sort of loose end is unusual for him. That said, Threepio's star turn is hilarious, as he and the Clawdite deliver an impromptu three-hour play after the Shu-Torun opera concludes to buy Leia and her team more time. A big break indeed.
Star Wars Annual #4: This issue is sort of fun, mostly for the fanwank moment where Darth Vader is impressed with Luke's ability to fly a podracer but then damages the racer to keep his legend (as Anakin Skywalker) for being the only human able to do so in tact. But, despite Bunn having 30 pages, I still have a lot of questions here. I don't get why Vader wordlessly destroys one of Darth Astrius' lightsaber. I mean, assuming he somehow knows Luke destroyed its twin (though I'm not sure how), did it really not have any value on its own? Also, was I supposed to recognize the items Sana swiped to fence? It seems like I am, but I don't. It's not a terrible issue, but I feel like Bunn skipped some steps here.
Also Read: Falcon #8; Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Advantage #1; Old Man Hawkeye #5; Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #20; X-Men: Gold #28
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