Broken Frontier

Batman, Robin and Nightwing have been traveling the world to retrain. Could Batman have an ulterior motive though? Meanwhile, Batwoman hits Gotham’s mean streets.

As 52 keeps up its frenetic pace, Week 30 gives readers a rather Batman-centric issue. In between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later, Batman became a rather different hero. How and why? The answers to those questions begin (but do not end) here. The writing quartet also continues their return to the character of Batwoman. After languishing for many weeks, this latest addition to the Bat-Family finally starts getting some attention.

Robin and Nightwing find themselves Batman-less somewhere near the edge of the desert. As Nightwing muses on all the trials and tribulations that led Bruce to his breakdown, he and Robin take out some weapons smugglers for Intergang. Realizing that Batman has left them for reasons of his own, Nightwing decides it’s time to go back to protecting Gotham. For his part, Robin sets off to track down Bruce Wayne. Out in the desert wastes, though, Bruce is on a quest to find the Ten-Eyed Men of the Ten-Eyed Tribe. There is something they can do for him... provided he can survive the trial. Is what he wants, though, really the thing he needs? Back in Gotham, Kate Kane offers shelter and medical attention to Charlie and Montoya but Batwoman has duties on the streets. Intergang is still out to kill her and if she doesn’t find Mannheim first they might just succeed.

For the most part, writers Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka, and Grant Morrison have been keeping quiet on who has been responsible for which story parts. Breaking with that tradition, though, writer Grant Morrison has been public about the fact that he was responsible for writing the Batman story. Even had he not been public, readers of Morrison’s current run on Batman would probably be able to detect some tell-tale, familiar notes. The fact that he is able to weave 60 plus years of Batman history and continuity into something that feels like an organic whole is a major feat in and of itself. Where he takes the character from there, however, is perhaps a little bit of an abrupt left turn. What the men of the Ten-Eyed Tribe can do and where that will lead Bruce Wayne are very open questions. This story is such that one really has to reserve judgment on it until it is seen where it ends up.

The often-underrated Joe Bennett provides the art for this issue. While Bennett handles the quieter moments fine, where he really stands out is with his action sequences. The fight between Batwoman and some of Intergang’s animal men thugs is choreography of violence and feels like it should be on film. It should be noted, as well, how wonderfully Bennett gives Bruce Wayne a cape and cowl even outside of his Batman costume.

Before closing out, it should be mentioned that the backup feature for this issue is the History of the Metal Men with art by Duncan Rouleau. Fans of the characters will be relieved to see that, indeed, many of the more recent and controversial changes to the characters have now been wiped away. Rouleau’s somewhat cartoony art style makes Magnus and the Metal Men look charmingly adorable and it is a look and feel for the characters that works surprisingly well.

52 has been compared to a three-act play. As Week 30 passes, the second act begins to draw to a close and several of the storylines begin to converge. At the same time, the seeds of what are seen One Year Later are starting to be sown as well. Like a reverse mystery story, readers know how things turn out but we have no idea how we will be getting there. In the end, the success or failure of many of the plots, including the developments with Batman, will depend on how well things tie in at the end. The clocks tick, the Earth spins on its axis, days pass and turn into weeks... the world of 52.