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Detective Comics (2016)
Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 7: Batmen Eternal
Following the tragic death of one of their own, Batman’s team of vigilantes falls apart! With his squad completely shattered, Batman must confront Red Robin about the future of their partnership…if there even is one in Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 7: Batman Eternal.
Following her deadly actions in their last adventure, Batwoman faces scrutiny from Batman and Red Robin, but stands up for her actions. Will Batman allow her to continue bearing his symbol after everything she has done? And will the fallout put these cousins—Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane—at irreconcilable odds with each other?
From writer James Tynion IV (Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and a spectacular art team including Alvaro Martinez (Batman Eternal) comes the newest volume of Detective Comics! Collects Detective Comics #975-981.
Following her deadly actions in their last adventure, Batwoman faces scrutiny from Batman and Red Robin, but stands up for her actions. Will Batman allow her to continue bearing his symbol after everything she has done? And will the fallout put these cousins—Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane—at irreconcilable odds with each other?
From writer James Tynion IV (Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and a spectacular art team including Alvaro Martinez (Batman Eternal) comes the newest volume of Detective Comics! Collects Detective Comics #975-981.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 2018
39 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
James Tynion IV
1,665 books2,003 followersPrior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.
Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.
Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
November 9, 2018
A great ending to a great run. The story builds off previous volumes as the Gotham Knights must band together one more time to stop their future from happening. Ulysses Armstrong has gotten his hands on future Tim Drake's technology and activates Brother Eye There's a lot of great character moments here. I also look forward to the new directions Tynion sends the cast off on. The art is full of the regular rotation of outstanding artists, Javier Fernandez, Alvaro Martinez, Eddy Barrows.
September 20, 2018
This was a goodbye to James Tynion (as far as I know) for Detective comics. Does it wrap up well?
This, once more, deals with multiple character storylines. You have Tim dealing with his worrying-self, you have Bruce dealing with the fallout of Bat-woman, and you have Cass trying to find herself and understand what she's doing. This is the end of the Batmen (and women) but they won't go out with a whimper as the future comes to strike them!
Good: I really like character moments here. The highlights being Bruce and Tim, Bruce and the bat family, Cas and Barbara, and many more great character moments. I also thought the ending set up nice things to come.
Bad: I thought the plot was kind of all over the place, hard to grasp or understand, and almost aimless at times. I didn't really care about future stuff and what was happening to Tim was just...weird.
Overall this was still really fun and a good finish, especially last few pages. It didn't blow me away like the last two volumes but overall James's run on Detective should be read. It's great! Check it out. This is a 3.5 out of 5.
This, once more, deals with multiple character storylines. You have Tim dealing with his worrying-self, you have Bruce dealing with the fallout of Bat-woman, and you have Cass trying to find herself and understand what she's doing. This is the end of the Batmen (and women) but they won't go out with a whimper as the future comes to strike them!
Good: I really like character moments here. The highlights being Bruce and Tim, Bruce and the bat family, Cas and Barbara, and many more great character moments. I also thought the ending set up nice things to come.
Bad: I thought the plot was kind of all over the place, hard to grasp or understand, and almost aimless at times. I didn't really care about future stuff and what was happening to Tim was just...weird.
Overall this was still really fun and a good finish, especially last few pages. It didn't blow me away like the last two volumes but overall James's run on Detective should be read. It's great! Check it out. This is a 3.5 out of 5.
June 21, 2018
Wow that was good.
World: The art is solid, it’s dark and gritty which this series has been from the get go, there are instances where I found the facial expressions to be a bit wooden but overall this art fits the tone of the book. This is the end of the Tynion IV run and it makes sense that much like all authors nowadays that all the pieces that they created since their run all come back to play out in the finale. All the pieces from the Belfry to Future Tim to Brother Eye and Ulysses Armstrong are all here and it’s a pretty fantastic world. I will say one thing using Brother Eye and Omacs in Bat books is getting a bit old, I’ve had it in Infinite Crisis, I’ve had it in Futures End and now this and the origins is starting to get convoluted with it, add to that the future Tim sees is also not in line with Futures End and the current run of Batman Beyond so yeah, there are some continuity issues here but oh well, let’s forget about that and just let the story and world carry us away.
Story: Wow, what can I say, this really takes all the wonderful pieces that worked with Tynion IV’s run and brings it all together. There is no terrible Victim Syndicate, there is only the awesome pieces like Future Tim, Brother Eye, Dark Kate and Cassandra and oh my all the pieces. The pacing is slow at first and wordy as is Tynion IV’s way, there is a lot to read. I loved how they handled the fallout with Kate and how it ties into the main narrative and Tim and his future self, all the pieces click together and at the heart of this entertaining story are these two characters and their relationship with each other, and their ideas of the future. I also loved the play with Cassandra and Steph, that final two issues when we see the reveals made me tear up as I’ve read those books and they are so dear to my heart. The finale was a bit cliché with fighting within and breaking free of the control, we’ve seen that so many times, but it was still emotionally charged and done well, that final panel with Tim and Kate (you’ll know what I mean) was so beautiful. The end leaves a lot of hope for the future for this series and the Bat family and I hope moving towards 2000s Bat Family status quo will be something we get more of. I love where Cassandra ends up.
Characters: The characters are done well, that has always been the case with Tynion IV’s writing, you can’t fault his characters, they are flawed, they are raw and they act like what they should be. I love that Tim thinks and it leads to him overthinking it makes sense. I love the Kate is about emotion and rules and doing what needs to be done. I love Cassandra looking at Clayface and how they handled that relationship in regards to who she is and how that relates to how she perceives herself. I love Steph and what they did to her, there were some bumps here and there but the end made me happy. These characters are overall pretty well done.
A wonderful end to a run that was not perfect but brought a lot of characters back into the fold for Rebirth and though not perfect I appreciate it very much.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
World: The art is solid, it’s dark and gritty which this series has been from the get go, there are instances where I found the facial expressions to be a bit wooden but overall this art fits the tone of the book. This is the end of the Tynion IV run and it makes sense that much like all authors nowadays that all the pieces that they created since their run all come back to play out in the finale. All the pieces from the Belfry to Future Tim to Brother Eye and Ulysses Armstrong are all here and it’s a pretty fantastic world. I will say one thing using Brother Eye and Omacs in Bat books is getting a bit old, I’ve had it in Infinite Crisis, I’ve had it in Futures End and now this and the origins is starting to get convoluted with it, add to that the future Tim sees is also not in line with Futures End and the current run of Batman Beyond so yeah, there are some continuity issues here but oh well, let’s forget about that and just let the story and world carry us away.
Story: Wow, what can I say, this really takes all the wonderful pieces that worked with Tynion IV’s run and brings it all together. There is no terrible Victim Syndicate, there is only the awesome pieces like Future Tim, Brother Eye, Dark Kate and Cassandra and oh my all the pieces. The pacing is slow at first and wordy as is Tynion IV’s way, there is a lot to read. I loved how they handled the fallout with Kate and how it ties into the main narrative and Tim and his future self, all the pieces click together and at the heart of this entertaining story are these two characters and their relationship with each other, and their ideas of the future. I also loved the play with Cassandra and Steph, that final two issues when we see the reveals made me tear up as I’ve read those books and they are so dear to my heart. The finale was a bit cliché with fighting within and breaking free of the control, we’ve seen that so many times, but it was still emotionally charged and done well, that final panel with Tim and Kate (you’ll know what I mean) was so beautiful. The end leaves a lot of hope for the future for this series and the Bat family and I hope moving towards 2000s Bat Family status quo will be something we get more of. I love where Cassandra ends up.
Characters: The characters are done well, that has always been the case with Tynion IV’s writing, you can’t fault his characters, they are flawed, they are raw and they act like what they should be. I love that Tim thinks and it leads to him overthinking it makes sense. I love the Kate is about emotion and rules and doing what needs to be done. I love Cassandra looking at Clayface and how they handled that relationship in regards to who she is and how that relates to how she perceives herself. I love Steph and what they did to her, there were some bumps here and there but the end made me happy. These characters are overall pretty well done.
A wonderful end to a run that was not perfect but brought a lot of characters back into the fold for Rebirth and though not perfect I appreciate it very much.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
July 18, 2021
This was epic.
As Ulysses unleashes his final assault controlling the Colony and whatever he had planned with hacking into their systems and using Brother Eye and OMAC and the way he gets Tim into it..its the Gotham Knights vs these things for one final mission. Who will win? Who will lose?
Its a great volume and marks an end to one of the best runs in comics and I loved it for the most part. Good stuff. I like the ending even though they dismantled but they gave characters some great ending and new beginning points and its one of the best Tim stories there is and also established a family unit for Bruce and in the end he just goes on his way to fight crime knowing his family is there and safe because Batma-e-n is eternal. Ahh Great ending to a great run.
As Ulysses unleashes his final assault controlling the Colony and whatever he had planned with hacking into their systems and using Brother Eye and OMAC and the way he gets Tim into it..its the Gotham Knights vs these things for one final mission. Who will win? Who will lose?
Its a great volume and marks an end to one of the best runs in comics and I loved it for the most part. Good stuff. I like the ending even though they dismantled but they gave characters some great ending and new beginning points and its one of the best Tim stories there is and also established a family unit for Bruce and in the end he just goes on his way to fight crime knowing his family is there and safe because Batma-e-n is eternal. Ahh Great ending to a great run.
January 4, 2026
Reread 01/04/2026
This has a lot more focus on Tim Drake than I remembered. That’s probably part of why I enjoyed this reread less than I expected. There’s references to the much better timeline when Cass was a Wayne and Steph was Batgirl. It’s meant to say “they’re just as awesome in this timeline”, but the whole Rebirth take on them was regressive. For Cass more so than anyone else save maybe Babs.
It also reminded me of how ridiculous it is that we’ll never get a writer that has Cass and Damian spend more time together. Their backstories are crazy similar, but writers don’t seem interested in exploring that. Bummer.
Anyway, JT wrote a storyline with a beginning, middle, an end and it was mostly enjoyable for me. This series is still a recommend for me. Especially if you actually like Tim Drake.
Original review:
This started out very strong.
I've read some mixed reception on Twitter over Kate's storyline. I'll admit, I'd only read one other book starring her before I read this one. In accordance with Tynion's view of Kate, I think her actions in vol. 6 made sense. Kate has always been willing to make the hard choices if she thinks there's no other viable alternative. This book did a pretty good job of going over how Kate dealt with her guilt. She's sorry for the pain she caused Cass but she doesn't regret it. I liked that we got Kate talking once more about how much she cares about Cass.
Unfortunately, it went downhill for me past this point.
The most interesting parts of this arc for me were watching Kate, Azrael and Batwing go over merging the Colony's ideals with their owns. I wanted SO much more of that. I'm interested in seeing more of Lucas and Jean Paul's perspectives. We got a tiny bit of them explaining why they sided with Kate and I wanted a lot more of them following through on those beliefs. I wanted a lot more of them period. It bummed me out that I got glimpses of them before we skipped ahead.
I greatly enjoyed seeing that Bruce finally followed others' advice and got Cass to see a therapist. It broke my heart to see that Cass questioned whether the batfam would one day kill her, too. You have a version where she was never adopted by Bruce, never taken under Babs' wing, never bonded with Dick or Stephanie so of course, this version of Cass thinks the others capable of killing her.
I liked seeing Bruce struggle with the aftermath. He wants to be loyal to his family but he also sees the damage Kate caused. Again, Rebirth Batsy seems determined not to make the same mistakes the old Batsy made and he consults the entire family before making a call. I liked the panel of him seeing the damage that was caused to Cass, as well.
Listen, if you know my feelings on the Batfamily, you won't be surprised to find where this book started to go downhill for me. In all honestly, it was the plot that didn't work for me. I didn't like this concept to begin and bringing back the "Bat!Tim saves the future" storyline didn't help. The whole thing is just stupid. Ulysses showed Tim a version of the future and he decided to kill Kate to avoid it. 1) Why didn't Tim doubt this because of who showed it to him? 2) Shouldn't Tim know better than to think it's okay to attack someone preemptively? 3) The "I know the future and it torments me" plot is so overdone.
It was just boring and annoying. Then Tim was taken over by the Cybermen or whatever and Bruce goes to Steph to bring him back. *sighs*. The only aspect of that that I liked was the part where Steph and Cass see their superior timelines. The pre New 52 world where they were both batgirls and felt secure in their place in the batfamily. I want that life back.
Also, I feel as though the ending revealing Basil's survival cheapens everything with Kate. It would have been a lot more significant if her actions had consequences. Remember when Dick Grayson killed the Joker? And then that was erased afterwards? Doing that erases the need to hold someone accountable for their actions. When Dick killed Joker, he thought it would be permanent. When Kate killed Basil, she thought it would be permanent. The intention was still there.
Why bring Basil back?
But alas, I enjoyed parts of this. I loved everything with Kate. I just wish the Cybermen/Colony storyline didn't keep creeping back in.
This has a lot more focus on Tim Drake than I remembered. That’s probably part of why I enjoyed this reread less than I expected. There’s references to the much better timeline when Cass was a Wayne and Steph was Batgirl. It’s meant to say “they’re just as awesome in this timeline”, but the whole Rebirth take on them was regressive. For Cass more so than anyone else save maybe Babs.
It also reminded me of how ridiculous it is that we’ll never get a writer that has Cass and Damian spend more time together. Their backstories are crazy similar, but writers don’t seem interested in exploring that. Bummer.
Anyway, JT wrote a storyline with a beginning, middle, an end and it was mostly enjoyable for me. This series is still a recommend for me. Especially if you actually like Tim Drake.
Original review:
This started out very strong.
I've read some mixed reception on Twitter over Kate's storyline. I'll admit, I'd only read one other book starring her before I read this one. In accordance with Tynion's view of Kate, I think her actions in vol. 6 made sense. Kate has always been willing to make the hard choices if she thinks there's no other viable alternative. This book did a pretty good job of going over how Kate dealt with her guilt. She's sorry for the pain she caused Cass but she doesn't regret it. I liked that we got Kate talking once more about how much she cares about Cass.
Unfortunately, it went downhill for me past this point.
The most interesting parts of this arc for me were watching Kate, Azrael and Batwing go over merging the Colony's ideals with their owns. I wanted SO much more of that. I'm interested in seeing more of Lucas and Jean Paul's perspectives. We got a tiny bit of them explaining why they sided with Kate and I wanted a lot more of them following through on those beliefs. I wanted a lot more of them period. It bummed me out that I got glimpses of them before we skipped ahead.
I greatly enjoyed seeing that Bruce finally followed others' advice and got Cass to see a therapist. It broke my heart to see that Cass questioned whether the batfam would one day kill her, too. You have a version where she was never adopted by Bruce, never taken under Babs' wing, never bonded with Dick or Stephanie so of course, this version of Cass thinks the others capable of killing her.
I liked seeing Bruce struggle with the aftermath. He wants to be loyal to his family but he also sees the damage Kate caused. Again, Rebirth Batsy seems determined not to make the same mistakes the old Batsy made and he consults the entire family before making a call. I liked the panel of him seeing the damage that was caused to Cass, as well.
Listen, if you know my feelings on the Batfamily, you won't be surprised to find where this book started to go downhill for me. In all honestly, it was the plot that didn't work for me. I didn't like this concept to begin and bringing back the "Bat!Tim saves the future" storyline didn't help. The whole thing is just stupid. Ulysses showed Tim a version of the future and he decided to kill Kate to avoid it. 1) Why didn't Tim doubt this because of who showed it to him? 2) Shouldn't Tim know better than to think it's okay to attack someone preemptively? 3) The "I know the future and it torments me" plot is so overdone.
It was just boring and annoying. Then Tim was taken over by the Cybermen or whatever and Bruce goes to Steph to bring him back. *sighs*. The only aspect of that that I liked was the part where Steph and Cass see their superior timelines. The pre New 52 world where they were both batgirls and felt secure in their place in the batfamily. I want that life back.
Also, I feel as though the ending revealing Basil's survival cheapens everything with Kate. It would have been a lot more significant if her actions had consequences. Remember when Dick Grayson killed the Joker? And then that was erased afterwards? Doing that erases the need to hold someone accountable for their actions. When Dick killed Joker, he thought it would be permanent. When Kate killed Basil, she thought it would be permanent. The intention was still there.
Why bring Basil back?
But alas, I enjoyed parts of this. I loved everything with Kate. I just wish the Cybermen/Colony storyline didn't keep creeping back in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2021
I like this volume more than I think I would! Nice job Mr. Tynion IV! But it is the last book he wrote for the Detective Comics series!?
Premise: Batwoman's action from the previous volume cracked open a large gap among the Gotham Knights, whilst Tim Drake tried his hardest to avoid the grim future he had seen for himself and his friends, but would their efforts be enough to save everyone?
I honestly am not a huge fan of this 'saving the future' thingy although I like the 'A Lonely Place of Living' a great deal, but Mr. Tynion IV really did work everything out nicely and he also has a few meaningful messages to deliver!
I like how the BatFam dealt with the aftermath of Batwoman's action . I like how Batwoman and Co. co-worked with her father, I also like how Cass and Stephanie overcame their doubts and anger and Stephanie acknowledged her self worth as Spoiler even though .
However, I just don't like the villain in this volume all that much (he is getting tiresome) and Tim got , although this plot twist has a satisfying outcome as well in the end.
As for Batman himself, I like his interactions with Batwoman and his confession of not .
Anyway, future can still wait and so , all old-fashioned style. XD
Premise: Batwoman's action from the previous volume cracked open a large gap among the Gotham Knights, whilst Tim Drake tried his hardest to avoid the grim future he had seen for himself and his friends, but would their efforts be enough to save everyone?
I honestly am not a huge fan of this 'saving the future' thingy although I like the 'A Lonely Place of Living' a great deal, but Mr. Tynion IV really did work everything out nicely and he also has a few meaningful messages to deliver!
I like how the BatFam dealt with the aftermath of Batwoman's action . I like how Batwoman and Co. co-worked with her father, I also like how Cass and Stephanie overcame their doubts and anger and Stephanie acknowledged her self worth as Spoiler even though .
However, I just don't like the villain in this volume all that much (he is getting tiresome) and Tim got , although this plot twist has a satisfying outcome as well in the end.
As for Batman himself, I like his interactions with Batwoman and his confession of not .
Anyway, future can still wait and so , all old-fashioned style. XD
October 8, 2018
Well, ok. This is the definition of a "mixed bag."
I want to give it four stars for the character moments, I want to give it two stars for the abandonment of logic and unsatisfying resolution. For as much as I've enjoyed Tynion's run and its fast but patient storytelling, this volume seemed to hurry to the end and left me feeling a little robbed of a conclusion befitting of the previous six volumes.
I hope Tynion returns to Detective Comics one day, because I don't want this to be the way he goes out. It's fine, but really a goes out on a whimper compared to the rest of the run.
3/5 (raised a full star for solid character interactions and growth).
I want to give it four stars for the character moments, I want to give it two stars for the abandonment of logic and unsatisfying resolution. For as much as I've enjoyed Tynion's run and its fast but patient storytelling, this volume seemed to hurry to the end and left me feeling a little robbed of a conclusion befitting of the previous six volumes.
I hope Tynion returns to Detective Comics one day, because I don't want this to be the way he goes out. It's fine, but really a goes out on a whimper compared to the rest of the run.
3/5 (raised a full star for solid character interactions and growth).
August 8, 2018
[Read as single issues]
All good things must come to an end, and James Tynion IV’s Detective Comics run is no different. But before he goes, he’s going to tear down everything he’s built as the Gotham Knights face one final battle together, as Ulysses Armstrong goes rogue and targets Tim Drake for extermination. And to make matters worse, Armstrong has help in the form of Brother Eye – and where he goes, OMACs are sure to follow!
After Fall Of The Batmen, you’d think there wouldn’t be any lower for Batman’s team to fall. How wrong you’d be. Tynion’s Detective Comics began with a Tim Drake story, and it’s fitting for it to end that way as well. This final arc drills down into the Tim/Ulysses rivalry and pulls the rest of the newly christened Gotham Knights back into the fray along the way. This builds on the stories told in Rise Of The Batmen and A Lonely Place Of Living to bring Tim’s journey to a satisfying, if unexpected, close.
Tim may be firmly in the spotlight, but the rest of the team aren’t laying down as Gotham burns around them. Batwoman and Batman continue their tete-a-tete after the previous arc, and it’s only begrudging respect between the two that helps them win the day together. Meanwhile Orphan continues to mourn Clayface, while Azrael and Batwing continue to question their roles in the team which leads to their next steps on their journey after this series. Even supporting character Doctor October gets some kind of resolution, which is almost as unexpected as Tim’s.
The Trial Of Batwoman issue that opens the volume is also a rare chance for Tynion IV to write characters like Red Hood and Batgirl, and their arguments are well presented – an issue that could have basically just been characters talking around a table for 20 pages is elevated to something superb due to his hand on the characters.
Batmen Eternal draws on the talents of Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez, who have been series mainstays, while Javier Fernandez of Nightwing fame also pops up for two issues, while Phil Briones and Scot Eaton hit some of the issues in the middle. I’m glad Barrows was able to come back for the final issue, since he opened the series with Tynion IV and I love it when things come full circle.
James Tynion IV’s Detective Comics run has been one of, if not the most consistently impressive books in the Rebirth stable. The character work is top notch, the stories have all built organically until everything has reached this tipping point, and we’ve still found time to have some fun along the way. The fact that we’ve had basically a four year run in less than two thanks to Rebirth’s double shipping just makes it even better, because the stories are unrelenting, and we’ve covered a lot of ground with these characters in a comparatively short amount of time. It’s just a shame that it means it’s over so soon. Whoever sits in Tynion IV’s writer’s chair next has a lot to live up to.
All good things must come to an end, and James Tynion IV’s Detective Comics run is no different. But before he goes, he’s going to tear down everything he’s built as the Gotham Knights face one final battle together, as Ulysses Armstrong goes rogue and targets Tim Drake for extermination. And to make matters worse, Armstrong has help in the form of Brother Eye – and where he goes, OMACs are sure to follow!
After Fall Of The Batmen, you’d think there wouldn’t be any lower for Batman’s team to fall. How wrong you’d be. Tynion’s Detective Comics began with a Tim Drake story, and it’s fitting for it to end that way as well. This final arc drills down into the Tim/Ulysses rivalry and pulls the rest of the newly christened Gotham Knights back into the fray along the way. This builds on the stories told in Rise Of The Batmen and A Lonely Place Of Living to bring Tim’s journey to a satisfying, if unexpected, close.
Tim may be firmly in the spotlight, but the rest of the team aren’t laying down as Gotham burns around them. Batwoman and Batman continue their tete-a-tete after the previous arc, and it’s only begrudging respect between the two that helps them win the day together. Meanwhile Orphan continues to mourn Clayface, while Azrael and Batwing continue to question their roles in the team which leads to their next steps on their journey after this series. Even supporting character Doctor October gets some kind of resolution, which is almost as unexpected as Tim’s.
The Trial Of Batwoman issue that opens the volume is also a rare chance for Tynion IV to write characters like Red Hood and Batgirl, and their arguments are well presented – an issue that could have basically just been characters talking around a table for 20 pages is elevated to something superb due to his hand on the characters.
Batmen Eternal draws on the talents of Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez, who have been series mainstays, while Javier Fernandez of Nightwing fame also pops up for two issues, while Phil Briones and Scot Eaton hit some of the issues in the middle. I’m glad Barrows was able to come back for the final issue, since he opened the series with Tynion IV and I love it when things come full circle.
James Tynion IV’s Detective Comics run has been one of, if not the most consistently impressive books in the Rebirth stable. The character work is top notch, the stories have all built organically until everything has reached this tipping point, and we’ve still found time to have some fun along the way. The fact that we’ve had basically a four year run in less than two thanks to Rebirth’s double shipping just makes it even better, because the stories are unrelenting, and we’ve covered a lot of ground with these characters in a comparatively short amount of time. It’s just a shame that it means it’s over so soon. Whoever sits in Tynion IV’s writer’s chair next has a lot to live up to.
January 10, 2022
Tim Drake has always been my favorite Robin. Where Dick seems like an idea of a sidekick more than a person, and Jason Todd is more of a reflection of the 80's and 90's (dark and extreme!), Tim has always seemed the most real to me. He's just a super smart dude that wants to try and be good and do his best. And lately, as James Tynion explores the "Knights" team of this book, he has kind of taken on more of a leadership role. Which is why it was striking to see him, almost as a villain in this book.
He's not the classic villain type per se. He is more of a person who let his grand idea get the better of him. After the events of the last few volumes, Batman wants to dismantle the team and kind of pick up the pieces. However Robin see's this as his life being almost thrown away. It was his ideas that got the team as far as it did. So when someone shows him a possible future that might happen if he doesn't act, it all goes way too far, and breaks the team permanently.
I think Tynion's exploration of not just Tim, but all the characters on this book have been great. He really had a great handle on each member individually, but also as a collective. By the end of this volume, they have so much history and such a connection to each other, that just seeing them react to what just happened was entertaining in itself. I'm gonna miss Tynion on the book, as it was a great read for pretty much his entire run.
Hopefully the next team can live up to the high water mark that Tynion has laid down. If you haven't been keeping up with this, start from the beginning of his run and enjoy.
He's not the classic villain type per se. He is more of a person who let his grand idea get the better of him. After the events of the last few volumes, Batman wants to dismantle the team and kind of pick up the pieces. However Robin see's this as his life being almost thrown away. It was his ideas that got the team as far as it did. So when someone shows him a possible future that might happen if he doesn't act, it all goes way too far, and breaks the team permanently.
I think Tynion's exploration of not just Tim, but all the characters on this book have been great. He really had a great handle on each member individually, but also as a collective. By the end of this volume, they have so much history and such a connection to each other, that just seeing them react to what just happened was entertaining in itself. I'm gonna miss Tynion on the book, as it was a great read for pretty much his entire run.
Hopefully the next team can live up to the high water mark that Tynion has laid down. If you haven't been keeping up with this, start from the beginning of his run and enjoy.
March 13, 2019
This book has seven issues.
The first issue is the Trial of Batwoman and it deals with the aftermath of the last story and what the Batfamily is going to do about Batwoman's killing in the last volume. The idea of the trial that Batman wants to hear from his "family," the people he trusts is a great idea and each brings an interesting perspective that I can totally believe, although its Batgirl who really has the most important insight. (As an aside, it's a shame that Batgirl's not being written this well in her own comic.)
Then, we have the Fall of the Batmen story which finds Tim Drake being approached by a former tech for the colony about avoiding becoming the future Batman. This was a decent storyline, though not perfect. It does feel a tad padded and to me it felt like there was too much about future Tim Drake, who has loomed over the last three volumes. Still, I think it managed to tie things up nicely. Not only did Tynion come full circle to take care of issues that had been raised for the first issue, Tynion deserves credit for his character work. Several characters, in particular Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain had been pushed aside by the new 52. He gave them a new start in DC Rebirth and left them with some experiences and set things up so other creators can easily utilize them and reintroduce them. These characters have a future Tynion really set the stage for that. So job well done.
The first issue is the Trial of Batwoman and it deals with the aftermath of the last story and what the Batfamily is going to do about Batwoman's killing in the last volume. The idea of the trial that Batman wants to hear from his "family," the people he trusts is a great idea and each brings an interesting perspective that I can totally believe, although its Batgirl who really has the most important insight. (As an aside, it's a shame that Batgirl's not being written this well in her own comic.)
Then, we have the Fall of the Batmen story which finds Tim Drake being approached by a former tech for the colony about avoiding becoming the future Batman. This was a decent storyline, though not perfect. It does feel a tad padded and to me it felt like there was too much about future Tim Drake, who has loomed over the last three volumes. Still, I think it managed to tie things up nicely. Not only did Tynion come full circle to take care of issues that had been raised for the first issue, Tynion deserves credit for his character work. Several characters, in particular Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain had been pushed aside by the new 52. He gave them a new start in DC Rebirth and left them with some experiences and set things up so other creators can easily utilize them and reintroduce them. These characters have a future Tynion really set the stage for that. So job well done.
September 2, 2018
[ Review of volumes 1-7 ]
It deserves to be shouted from rooftops: James Tynion IV's run on Detective Comics is AMAZING.
The whole storyline is wonderfully compelling (with more than a few outstanding issues), the art is steadily great, and I really enjoy how the characters are written, analysed, explored, paired with one another and pitted against each other.
More than being just a superhero/sci-fi title, Detective Comics is a study in relationships and the effort they take, and I love it to pieces.
It deserves to be shouted from rooftops: James Tynion IV's run on Detective Comics is AMAZING.
The whole storyline is wonderfully compelling (with more than a few outstanding issues), the art is steadily great, and I really enjoy how the characters are written, analysed, explored, paired with one another and pitted against each other.
More than being just a superhero/sci-fi title, Detective Comics is a study in relationships and the effort they take, and I love it to pieces.
November 10, 2018
Not nearly enough Batman for a Batman title.
February 14, 2019
I just didnt find the ending all that amazing. It was buidling very well and then it just didnt hit any highs. Was still enjoyable.
October 2, 2021
This series lost its way which is quite evident in the seventh installment.
MY GRADE: C.
MY GRADE: C.
August 30, 2019
Spoiler/Stephanie: "You wanted to hurt me by showing me what another version of myself pulled off? Are you kidding me? Everything I've gone through in the last year... But to know that somewhere out there... I was good enough to be Robin? To be Batgirl? The only thing you just told me is that no matter what timeline I'm in, I'm freaking amazing." - Stephanie Brown, spitting truths
Why is it that all of the best Rebirth comics are the ones that I didn't buy? I ordered the first volume of this series in at one library, and found this one at another. I need to read the volumes in between SO badly, but from this volume it's fairly easy to work out what happened in between: Stephanie and Bruce have had a fight, Azrael and Batwing have been recruited, Batwoman has killed Clayface to protect Orphan, traumatising her in the process, and Tim has returned with his pre-flashpoint backstory. All caught up? Good, because I have many, many opinions to throw at you.
So.
We open after Kate has killed Clayface. Cass is struggling. Kate killed him to protect her, but what she's taken from that is that the Bats may one day kill her too since she's an ex-assassin. Cass thinks of herself as a bad person, which is utterly tragic because she just got unlucky in the parent department - you know, like all of the other Bats except for Barbara? - and she tries so hard. Anyway. Bruce has summoned his inner circle to discuss the issue of Kate breaking his unbreakable rule. Said inner circle is made up of the four male Robins (yes, including the murderer and the thirteen year old ex-assassin) and Batgirl (yes, Batgirl singular - isn't Rebirth depressing?). Two people at this table have been heavily involved with Batwoman as part of the Gotham Knights. The other four are completely unqualified to be here. Barbara, at least, has done her research. She rocks up ready to psycho-analyse Bruce, having spoken extensively with Stephanie, who, you know, was actually around for some of this drama. I get that Bruce and Steph are on the outs, but Cass was also around and is currently at the manor. And they still did not invite her to the meeting!
*Takes a deep breath*
Anyway. We need to talk about Tim, who apparently based the Belfrey and the Gotham Knights off ideas he had back when he was stalking Batman as a child. Apparently when he found his old backstory, he also found his idealism. I don't think I've seen that in anything set after Robin: Reborn! By the time he appears in Steph's Batgirl series, he's basically this guy.
[image error]
A plan from when he was, what, eight? Ten? Twelve, at most. I thought Tim was supposed to be smarter than this. Granted, his future self is an idiot who fails to understand basic time travel tropes, but present-Tim is supposed to be better than that! We'll give him a pass for stress and emotional trauma... And the fact that Ulysses puts him through the wringer in this volume. Poor kid gets mind-hacked.
Which brings us to what I really want to talk about, Steph, Cass, and the awesomeness that is issue #980.
With Tim hacked, Bruce has no choice but to turn to Steph for help. This is a gift of a scene. Bruce rocks up with Cass and Steph basically tells him to beg. What follows is an entire issue of Steph and Cass validating the hell out of each other. The latter half of the issue manages to be a love letter to the pre-flashpoint versions of both characters, without denigrating the current versions. I haven't been reading comics all that long - the first ones I read were set in the Rebirth universe - but I've read enough to know that the pre-flashpoint universe is my favourite, and it's no secret that Batgirl: Stephanie Brown is my favourite series, so this was an absolute gift of an issue!
I think Cass put it best: "I am... a bat. This is where I should be."
Why is it that all of the best Rebirth comics are the ones that I didn't buy? I ordered the first volume of this series in at one library, and found this one at another. I need to read the volumes in between SO badly, but from this volume it's fairly easy to work out what happened in between: Stephanie and Bruce have had a fight, Azrael and Batwing have been recruited, Batwoman has killed Clayface to protect Orphan, traumatising her in the process, and Tim has returned with his pre-flashpoint backstory. All caught up? Good, because I have many, many opinions to throw at you.
So.
We open after Kate has killed Clayface. Cass is struggling. Kate killed him to protect her, but what she's taken from that is that the Bats may one day kill her too since she's an ex-assassin. Cass thinks of herself as a bad person, which is utterly tragic because she just got unlucky in the parent department - you know, like all of the other Bats except for Barbara? - and she tries so hard. Anyway. Bruce has summoned his inner circle to discuss the issue of Kate breaking his unbreakable rule. Said inner circle is made up of the four male Robins (yes, including the murderer and the thirteen year old ex-assassin) and Batgirl (yes, Batgirl singular - isn't Rebirth depressing?). Two people at this table have been heavily involved with Batwoman as part of the Gotham Knights. The other four are completely unqualified to be here. Barbara, at least, has done her research. She rocks up ready to psycho-analyse Bruce, having spoken extensively with Stephanie, who, you know, was actually around for some of this drama. I get that Bruce and Steph are on the outs, but Cass was also around and is currently at the manor. And they still did not invite her to the meeting!
*Takes a deep breath*
Anyway. We need to talk about Tim, who apparently based the Belfrey and the Gotham Knights off ideas he had back when he was stalking Batman as a child. Apparently when he found his old backstory, he also found his idealism. I don't think I've seen that in anything set after Robin: Reborn! By the time he appears in Steph's Batgirl series, he's basically this guy.
[image error]
A plan from when he was, what, eight? Ten? Twelve, at most. I thought Tim was supposed to be smarter than this. Granted, his future self is an idiot who fails to understand basic time travel tropes, but present-Tim is supposed to be better than that! We'll give him a pass for stress and emotional trauma... And the fact that Ulysses puts him through the wringer in this volume. Poor kid gets mind-hacked.
Which brings us to what I really want to talk about, Steph, Cass, and the awesomeness that is issue #980.
With Tim hacked, Bruce has no choice but to turn to Steph for help. This is a gift of a scene. Bruce rocks up with Cass and Steph basically tells him to beg. What follows is an entire issue of Steph and Cass validating the hell out of each other. The latter half of the issue manages to be a love letter to the pre-flashpoint versions of both characters, without denigrating the current versions. I haven't been reading comics all that long - the first ones I read were set in the Rebirth universe - but I've read enough to know that the pre-flashpoint universe is my favourite, and it's no secret that Batgirl: Stephanie Brown is my favourite series, so this was an absolute gift of an issue!
I think Cass put it best: "I am... a bat. This is where I should be."
July 9, 2018
Basic Plot: The aftermath of future Tim Drake's trip to the present culminates in the activation of Brother Eye and some major revelations and changes for the bat family.
The culmination of this arc was very satisfying and tied together several previous arcs very nicely. Future Detective Comics books are going to look very different as a result of these events. I have really enjoyed this overall run of the book. The art in this volume was really taken up a notch in my estimation. High quality, with some very interesting page layouts. As for characters, their growth and changes made sense. There was even a nice, final surprise at the end that made me happy.
The culmination of this arc was very satisfying and tied together several previous arcs very nicely. Future Detective Comics books are going to look very different as a result of these events. I have really enjoyed this overall run of the book. The art in this volume was really taken up a notch in my estimation. High quality, with some very interesting page layouts. As for characters, their growth and changes made sense. There was even a nice, final surprise at the end that made me happy.
September 18, 2023
A fairly generous three stars. I understand that it's difficult to publish a bi-weekly comic, but if this is the best they can do, DC should stick to a monthly schedule on all their titles. The art is pretty consistently bad over the six issues, and the dialogue is uniformly grammatically awkward and littered with syntactical errors and typos. I also don't appreciate most of Tynion's creative decisions. The Brother Eye/OMAC plot device is a tired old rehash of a rehash.
August 20, 2019
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
With this story arc, writer James Tynion IV says goodbye to the series that he has been leading from the beginning of the Rebirth era of DC Comics. Parallelly to writer Tom King’s canonical Batman series, James Tynion IV completed some great stories for fans to indulge, focusing mostly on building a team of heroes and in bringing the series to focus on multiple characters and their dynamic together. With countless mysteries at the center of each story, he gave this series a unique feel that distinguished it from other runs and attempted to establish certain characters in ways that have never been done before. To close out this chapter, he turns the weaknesses of every hero and shows us why they deserve to wear the Bat symbol proudly in their hearts.
What is Batman: Detective Comics: Batmen Eternal about? Collecting Detective Comics issues #975-981, the story picks up right where it left off with the tragic death of one of the members of the Bat Family. The actions of Batwoman thus leads the team to fall apart, creating two camps who perceive their vigilantism with completely different sets of eyes. While Batwoman walks on a very thin line, Tim Drake (Red Robin) also sees himself at odds with Bruce Wayne as his plans to create a Knights Protocol (a team-up system that would allow the future to be perfectly handled by vigilantes, in synchronization with the police) are thrown aside following their recent loss. However, a threat from the past brings these heroes to withhold their contempt towards one another to save one of them from succumbing to evil forces.
Introducing a new supervillain as well as an interesting technology, while bringing back a story arc around Future-Tim Drake back into play, James Tynion IV tilts the spotlight back onto this beloved character who takes center-stage in the confrontation that ensues. While the volume starts off on the right foot, with a fascinating trial for Batwoman where Batgirl shined in her in-depth analysis of Batman and his mommy issues, the story tripped its way to an ending that was uncalled for, with the return of a character that never should have been brought back. Throughout the story there were also a lot of sequences that were inexplicably fast-forwarded while other parts of the story took shortcuts that made no sense.
The artwork continues to be a mixed bag with countless artists working on this story arc again. While some of them are decent and are easy to identify as a style that fits with this series, others seemed odd, accentuating some of the puzzling mood swings in some characters, notably Red Robin. Watching him go on a tantrum and then reconciling himself with Batman, who even cracks a smile, were some of the oddest scenes in the story that continued to highlight James Tynion IV’s tendency to sometime work against the current and make some of his characters do things that aren’t usually associated to them. I did enjoy when the artwork would test new panel structures and orientations, à la Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, where the comic book would need to be flipped vertically to be read. Otherwise, the artwork remained standard in its compilation of various styles and excellent colouring.
Batman: Detective Comics: Batmen Eternal is James Tynion IV’s farewell to his run as he wraps up his character’s story in a bittersweet fashion while returning the crew to an unwarranted status quo.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
November 9, 2025
What does it mean to be part of the bat-family?
I really liked the wrap-up to Tynion's Detective Comics run, even though I found most of it to be lacking. This arc starts off with the batclan discussing whether or not Kate should be able to wear the bat-symbol after killing Clayface, and it's a question that doesn't really have a solid answer. I liked that we see Kate herself really struggling with her own feelings on it - and if it is setting her on a path to become more dangerous.
The whole conversation is put on pause when Jacob Kane's militia soldiers apparently start gunning down people - right after Kate agrees to work with the Colony group. Ulysses (Jacob's old weapons designer) has become obsessed with the future timeline future-Tim was from and wants to ensure it happens. He allows a program from the future called Brother Eye to take over the Colony suits, and even Tim himself, to speed up the process and take over Gotham. Silly as always, especially when Tim's brain is basically forced into speedrunning trauma to turn him into future-Tim. Him and Batwoman fight before Spoiler breaks into the Brother Eye code and returns Tim to his normal self.
Everyone learns not to be so caught up in the future and controlling every possible scenario, but the Belfry team is disbanded. They all go their separate ways to find new purposes in life - Bruce decides to give "permission" to Kate to be Batwoman because she still does believe in the mission overall and is not about to start killing people whenever it suits her. Tim goes off into the unknown with Stephanie to find themselves. Azreal and Luke go off on their own journeys but idc. Cass (she's here too! don't forget) moves into the Clinic with Barbara to try and be more of a regular girl.
It's kind of a pointless ending, especially with Kate being back at square one, but it does feel hopeful for them all anyway. Not sure what the other volumes have in store for them, but I liked the consequences of the last volume and how the characters deal with that.
I really liked the wrap-up to Tynion's Detective Comics run, even though I found most of it to be lacking. This arc starts off with the batclan discussing whether or not Kate should be able to wear the bat-symbol after killing Clayface, and it's a question that doesn't really have a solid answer. I liked that we see Kate herself really struggling with her own feelings on it - and if it is setting her on a path to become more dangerous.
The whole conversation is put on pause when Jacob Kane's militia soldiers apparently start gunning down people - right after Kate agrees to work with the Colony group. Ulysses (Jacob's old weapons designer) has become obsessed with the future timeline future-Tim was from and wants to ensure it happens. He allows a program from the future called Brother Eye to take over the Colony suits, and even Tim himself, to speed up the process and take over Gotham. Silly as always, especially when Tim's brain is basically forced into speedrunning trauma to turn him into future-Tim. Him and Batwoman fight before Spoiler breaks into the Brother Eye code and returns Tim to his normal self.
Everyone learns not to be so caught up in the future and controlling every possible scenario, but the Belfry team is disbanded. They all go their separate ways to find new purposes in life - Bruce decides to give "permission" to Kate to be Batwoman because she still does believe in the mission overall and is not about to start killing people whenever it suits her. Tim goes off into the unknown with Stephanie to find themselves. Azreal and Luke go off on their own journeys but idc. Cass (she's here too! don't forget) moves into the Clinic with Barbara to try and be more of a regular girl.
It's kind of a pointless ending, especially with Kate being back at square one, but it does feel hopeful for them all anyway. Not sure what the other volumes have in store for them, but I liked the consequences of the last volume and how the characters deal with that.
January 4, 2026
Volume 7 was AMAZING, action, emotion all at once. The fear I felt that Tim would become Batman, would Batwoman survive? The entire comic kept us in suspense and wouldn't let up. Ulysses as FINALLY a more important villain is also great. I'm truly enchanted. All the doubts and moral conundrums. There's also a question I asked myself after this comic: is it time for Batman to retire? To be free from Batman, for everyone in his family to live, but to leave him alone. In my opinion, YES, it's time for Batman to retire, forever and ever. Nobody lasts forever. The whole series was fire. I'm not really a DC fan, but what James gave us was incredible. Thank you. This volume gets 5 stars for the amount of emotions it evoked in me and the action. I hope Cass and Claceface meet again, haha.
pl
7 tom był NIESAMOWITY, akcja, emocje wszystko na raz. Strach który odczuwałem że Tim stanie się Batmanem, czy Batwoman przeżyje? Cały komiks trzyma nas w napięciu i nie odpuszcza. Ulysses jako WRESZCIE ważniejszy złoczyńca też jest super. Jestem naprawdę oczarowany. Wszystkie wątpliwości i zagadki moralne. Jest też pytanie które sobie zadałem po tym komiksie, czy już czas żeby Batman odszedł? Żeby uwolnić się od Batmana, żeby każdy z jego rodziny żył ale żeby mu dać już spokój. Moim zdaniem TAK pora żeby Batman przeszedł na emeryturę, na zawsze i jeszcze dłużej. Nikt przecież nie jest wieczny. Cała seria to był ogień, raczej nie jestem fanem DC, ale to co zaserwował nam James było niesamowite. Dziękuje. Ten tom przez ilość emocji które we mnie wywołał i akcją dostaje 5 gwiazdek. Mam nadzieję że Cass i Claceface jeszcze się spotkają haha.
pl
7 tom był NIESAMOWITY, akcja, emocje wszystko na raz. Strach który odczuwałem że Tim stanie się Batmanem, czy Batwoman przeżyje? Cały komiks trzyma nas w napięciu i nie odpuszcza. Ulysses jako WRESZCIE ważniejszy złoczyńca też jest super. Jestem naprawdę oczarowany. Wszystkie wątpliwości i zagadki moralne. Jest też pytanie które sobie zadałem po tym komiksie, czy już czas żeby Batman odszedł? Żeby uwolnić się od Batmana, żeby każdy z jego rodziny żył ale żeby mu dać już spokój. Moim zdaniem TAK pora żeby Batman przeszedł na emeryturę, na zawsze i jeszcze dłużej. Nikt przecież nie jest wieczny. Cała seria to był ogień, raczej nie jestem fanem DC, ale to co zaserwował nam James było niesamowite. Dziękuje. Ten tom przez ilość emocji które we mnie wywołał i akcją dostaje 5 gwiazdek. Mam nadzieję że Cass i Claceface jeszcze się spotkają haha.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2018
Action packed, and good art. Theplot explodes pretty much here. I'm not sure how it's goanna continue, but it should be interesting!
January 2, 2019
I have really enjoyed the Tynion run on this series.
October 24, 2024
Alfredwas an epic conclusion to the Detective Comics Rebirth run 😄🙌❤️🦇!!!
The main premise of the plot involves the fallout from Vol 6, which essentially places Batwoman on trial by the Batfamily, including Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, Red Robin, and Robin. Orphan is excluded from the highly emotional charge of all that she's witnessed and spends time with Alfred, while Spoiler has been corresponding with Batgirl but is not invited to the meeting. This is by far one of the best scenes, and Barbara's keen reasoning for why Bruce initiated the meeting is superb writing that gets down to the root of Bruce's issues surrounding the potential of the Kane family 😄🙌💯. We also get a touching scene between Kate and her mother as she goes to visit her grave and weighs her options on whether to continue with the Batfamily or work for her father with the Colony. Kate reveals that the most potent string of guilt was the look in Cassandra's eyes as her world was shattered. Kate then meets up with her father and tells him that she agrees to lead the Colony task force along with her recruits Batwing & Azrael.
The plot then diverged to center around Red Robin as he met with Ulysses in his separate base post a fight with Batman involving Belfry 2.0 design. Ulysses offers to show Tim a dark and powerful future course involving Kate with the Colony killing Bruce when the president orders lethal force used against Batman for the development of the brother eye.
Meanwhile, Cassandra confronts her demons as she reflects on one of her past missions with Clayface involving a drug trafficking ring in a session with Dr. Leslie Thompkins. Leslie then confronts Bruce on his neglect involving the grief that Cassandra is enduring and how he needs to be a more attentive father-figure role model in her life. Bruce agrees but states that he has more pressing matters to attend to as of now but promises to resolve them later.
Red Robin then teams back up with Batman to go after a group of mobsters staked out in a bar. Red Robin offers an olive branch by admitting that all that's occurred, including seeing his future self, has plagued him, and begins by asking Batman for help and how he could help his mentor on that night's case. Batman is pleased by Tim's gesture, but before he can respond, 2 colony soldiers burst in and kill a total of 18 mobsters.
In the cave, it is determined that the colony soldiers have been taken over by nano-tech, resulting in a shoot-out with a mobster ring. Batman observes that the 2 soldiers attempted to resist the programming, resulting in significant self-injuries, then took off to follow his lead on the case. Red Robin is then entrusted to run a full workup on the Colony soldiers and look for a solid M.O. to free them.
Ulysses continues to monitor Batman while he follows the trail to Kane Manor to find both Batwoman and Jacob Kane. Jacob further explains how his father, Roderick Kane, would instill the value of their family mantra, "we stand together," and how his sister Martha opposed said saying with the belief that family had to be earned. The conversation then diverges into the Colony and who could be at the center of the act of treason commitment. Meanwhile, Red Robin continues to research his subjects. Orphan appears, having been observing from the rafters of the cave, when Tim gets the revelation that the Colony soldiers were linked to a different network, revealing Ulysses to have been behind these strategic attacks. Ulysses strikes the command for Brother Eye to attack, resulting in a complete network takeover and ambush of Red Robin, the Colony headquarters, and an aerial attack on Kane Manor.
Red Robin is once more mentally imprisoned and is force-fed the various mental images of his friends' deaths by Brother Eye and Ulysses while Cass fights off the Colony soldiers and makes a desperate attempt to free Tim from the A.I. takeover. Batman, Batwoman, and Jacob are then forced to fight the ambush of Robotic Colony soldiers who have advanced access and training mirroring that of our heroes until Batwing and Azreal charge in using an ultrasonic frequency disturbance to wipe out the programming. The team then regroups, and all possibilities seem to point to an unhinged Red Robin. Ulysses then strikes the final nail in the coffin as he takes over Tim Drake's mind with Brother Eye, forcing him to both mentally and physically become a robotic version of Batman.
The army of Colony robot soldiers flees to Gotham from Kane Manor, where they begin constructing the Belfry 2.0. Jacob suggests that there may be FailSafe but that it requires the death of the host. Batman and Batman form a united front against lethal actions. Batman then returns to the cave, where he finds Cassandra under a pile of rubble. Batman then asks where Cassandra has been retreating to in the middle of the night and to take him there, which is revealed to be Stephanie's apartment. Batman then requests the aid of Spoiler for the sake of Tim, and she begrudgingly agrees.
The future seems bleak as Robo Batman's Belfry 2.0 has been established along with the massive destruction of G.C.P.D. to take over the police force, turning the cops into colony robots. Batwoman then bursts through to take down Robo Batman at the very last second, which saves Detective Renee's life. All targets have now been diverted to Batwoman as she flees the G.C.P.D. headquarters via rooftop with Robo Batman hot on her trail.
Batman, along with Spoiler and Orphan, infiltrates the Belfry base with the protection of Stephine's drone, shielding the team from attacks via Brother Eye. Robo Batman Tim and Kate then have a brief fight, resulting in Tim's insistence that the only way to rectify the timeline is to kill Kate as he seeks to show her all that he's learned. Meanwhile, Spoiler continues her work to override the Brother Eye system with the protection of Orphan while Batman begins fighting the cyber-created version of Brother Eye's hand-to-hand combat style.
Brother Eye then begins to show Orphan and Spoiler the diverging timeline and who they were meant to become as Batgirls in an attempt to psychologically weaken their defenses. Spoiler persists and manages to override the system, allowing her full access to the future timeline, revealing the true events to come. Robo Batman Tim then shows Batwoman the future as he's been shown and how Kate will eventually strike an attack on Bruce in Wayne Manor with the Colony soldiers and why she must be stopped Brother Eye's systems are then corroded by Stephanie, allowing her a backdoor into the internal network to free Tim, who has been controlled by Ulysses. Spoiler then shows both Tim and Kate the true future, which involves the voluntary death of Batman/Bruce, who was set to die from cancer he obtained by building the satellite for Brother Eye. In Bruce's last moments, he reveals how the Bat was always meant to die with him so his children could live on to become whoever they wanted to be. With that, we see Kate sorrowfully pull the trigger, thereby ending Bruce's life.
The question remains whether Tim will choose to follow the path Ulysses and Brother Eye have set forth by killing Kate or if he will renounce it by allowing her to live. Stephanie removes all mind control and A.I. systems implanted in Tim to allow him full free will, and with that, Robo Batman is no more. Stephanie delivers the final blow to Ulysses and further makes her position known to Batman by claiming that she doesn't need to be accepted by him to be a part of the Bat-family.
The Belfry then crumbles to bits, and the future dystopia that Tim envisioned begins to fall to ruin as he collapses in his caring aunt's arms, at a loss for words on how to recover. Batwoman offers solid advice that they must both take life one step at a time.
Our plot then begins to wrap up as we see Bruce and Kate enjoying a dinner out at a restaurant her parents both used to meet at before her father took his term in the military. Bruce reveals that he's heard Jacob Kane's court martial has been resolved and that he has been reinstated as Colonel by the president under the conditions that the Colony program be disbanded. Kate agrees and then discusses how Luke Fox seeks to analyze and destroy all Brother Eye tech so that future events never have the chance to occur in our world. While Jean-Paul has sought out a higher power and has spoken to Cyborg to fulfill his destiny. Bruce then asks what Kate plans to do with her time, to which she responds by taking a moment to find herself without the directives of others. Bruce then offers caring words of support to Kate by stating that they may not always see eye to eye but that he wants to continue to have Kate in his life and will support her as family. Kate agrees to Bruce's pleasant terms, and as she leaves, the restaurant gets a call from her father, who tells her that he is on a mission for Batwoman to take down a cult religion.
Our focus shifts to Cassandra, who decided to move in with Dr. Leslie Thompkins and Harper Row in Thompkin's free clinic to continue to help those in need. Dr. Leslie then excitedly reveals that she is pleased to have the kind girl under her roof and that she has set up tutoring with Barbara Gordon to help Cassandra in her educational journey with the hopes of enrolling her in high school to complete her education. Barbara Gordon is pleased to be taking on a mentorship role and begins sharing her syllabus with Cassandra, who then proclaims a passage of the Temptress Act V, exciting Barbara to advance her lessons and beginning a wonderful relationship as friends.
We then cut to one final scene where we see Tim packing up for Ivy University with the help of Bruce, who sports a proud smile and offers encouraging words of strength that he will be proud of whatever his adoptive son chooses to do with his life. Tim then gets, into the car, revealing Stephanie to be his passenger, and offers for the two to leave outside of Gotham to find the mysteries of the diverging timelines.
This was handsdown one of the best DC Detective Comics series I've ever read 📚 ❤️ 👏!! It's a masterpiece from begining to end and the conclusion offers the perfect amount of closure. What a wonderful ride and triumphant arc by Jame Tynion IV 💯❤️🦇!! 10/10 🌟!!!
The main premise of the plot involves the fallout from Vol 6, which essentially places Batwoman on trial by the Batfamily, including Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, Red Robin, and Robin. Orphan is excluded from the highly emotional charge of all that she's witnessed and spends time with Alfred, while Spoiler has been corresponding with Batgirl but is not invited to the meeting. This is by far one of the best scenes, and Barbara's keen reasoning for why Bruce initiated the meeting is superb writing that gets down to the root of Bruce's issues surrounding the potential of the Kane family 😄🙌💯. We also get a touching scene between Kate and her mother as she goes to visit her grave and weighs her options on whether to continue with the Batfamily or work for her father with the Colony. Kate reveals that the most potent string of guilt was the look in Cassandra's eyes as her world was shattered. Kate then meets up with her father and tells him that she agrees to lead the Colony task force along with her recruits Batwing & Azrael.
The plot then diverged to center around Red Robin as he met with Ulysses in his separate base post a fight with Batman involving Belfry 2.0 design. Ulysses offers to show Tim a dark and powerful future course involving Kate with the Colony killing Bruce when the president orders lethal force used against Batman for the development of the brother eye.
Meanwhile, Cassandra confronts her demons as she reflects on one of her past missions with Clayface involving a drug trafficking ring in a session with Dr. Leslie Thompkins. Leslie then confronts Bruce on his neglect involving the grief that Cassandra is enduring and how he needs to be a more attentive father-figure role model in her life. Bruce agrees but states that he has more pressing matters to attend to as of now but promises to resolve them later.
Red Robin then teams back up with Batman to go after a group of mobsters staked out in a bar. Red Robin offers an olive branch by admitting that all that's occurred, including seeing his future self, has plagued him, and begins by asking Batman for help and how he could help his mentor on that night's case. Batman is pleased by Tim's gesture, but before he can respond, 2 colony soldiers burst in and kill a total of 18 mobsters.
In the cave, it is determined that the colony soldiers have been taken over by nano-tech, resulting in a shoot-out with a mobster ring. Batman observes that the 2 soldiers attempted to resist the programming, resulting in significant self-injuries, then took off to follow his lead on the case. Red Robin is then entrusted to run a full workup on the Colony soldiers and look for a solid M.O. to free them.
Ulysses continues to monitor Batman while he follows the trail to Kane Manor to find both Batwoman and Jacob Kane. Jacob further explains how his father, Roderick Kane, would instill the value of their family mantra, "we stand together," and how his sister Martha opposed said saying with the belief that family had to be earned. The conversation then diverges into the Colony and who could be at the center of the act of treason commitment. Meanwhile, Red Robin continues to research his subjects. Orphan appears, having been observing from the rafters of the cave, when Tim gets the revelation that the Colony soldiers were linked to a different network, revealing Ulysses to have been behind these strategic attacks. Ulysses strikes the command for Brother Eye to attack, resulting in a complete network takeover and ambush of Red Robin, the Colony headquarters, and an aerial attack on Kane Manor.
Red Robin is once more mentally imprisoned and is force-fed the various mental images of his friends' deaths by Brother Eye and Ulysses while Cass fights off the Colony soldiers and makes a desperate attempt to free Tim from the A.I. takeover. Batman, Batwoman, and Jacob are then forced to fight the ambush of Robotic Colony soldiers who have advanced access and training mirroring that of our heroes until Batwing and Azreal charge in using an ultrasonic frequency disturbance to wipe out the programming. The team then regroups, and all possibilities seem to point to an unhinged Red Robin. Ulysses then strikes the final nail in the coffin as he takes over Tim Drake's mind with Brother Eye, forcing him to both mentally and physically become a robotic version of Batman.
The army of Colony robot soldiers flees to Gotham from Kane Manor, where they begin constructing the Belfry 2.0. Jacob suggests that there may be FailSafe but that it requires the death of the host. Batman and Batman form a united front against lethal actions. Batman then returns to the cave, where he finds Cassandra under a pile of rubble. Batman then asks where Cassandra has been retreating to in the middle of the night and to take him there, which is revealed to be Stephanie's apartment. Batman then requests the aid of Spoiler for the sake of Tim, and she begrudgingly agrees.
The future seems bleak as Robo Batman's Belfry 2.0 has been established along with the massive destruction of G.C.P.D. to take over the police force, turning the cops into colony robots. Batwoman then bursts through to take down Robo Batman at the very last second, which saves Detective Renee's life. All targets have now been diverted to Batwoman as she flees the G.C.P.D. headquarters via rooftop with Robo Batman hot on her trail.
Batman, along with Spoiler and Orphan, infiltrates the Belfry base with the protection of Stephine's drone, shielding the team from attacks via Brother Eye. Robo Batman Tim and Kate then have a brief fight, resulting in Tim's insistence that the only way to rectify the timeline is to kill Kate as he seeks to show her all that he's learned. Meanwhile, Spoiler continues her work to override the Brother Eye system with the protection of Orphan while Batman begins fighting the cyber-created version of Brother Eye's hand-to-hand combat style.
Brother Eye then begins to show Orphan and Spoiler the diverging timeline and who they were meant to become as Batgirls in an attempt to psychologically weaken their defenses. Spoiler persists and manages to override the system, allowing her full access to the future timeline, revealing the true events to come. Robo Batman Tim then shows Batwoman the future as he's been shown and how Kate will eventually strike an attack on Bruce in Wayne Manor with the Colony soldiers and why she must be stopped Brother Eye's systems are then corroded by Stephanie, allowing her a backdoor into the internal network to free Tim, who has been controlled by Ulysses. Spoiler then shows both Tim and Kate the true future, which involves the voluntary death of Batman/Bruce, who was set to die from cancer he obtained by building the satellite for Brother Eye. In Bruce's last moments, he reveals how the Bat was always meant to die with him so his children could live on to become whoever they wanted to be. With that, we see Kate sorrowfully pull the trigger, thereby ending Bruce's life.
The question remains whether Tim will choose to follow the path Ulysses and Brother Eye have set forth by killing Kate or if he will renounce it by allowing her to live. Stephanie removes all mind control and A.I. systems implanted in Tim to allow him full free will, and with that, Robo Batman is no more. Stephanie delivers the final blow to Ulysses and further makes her position known to Batman by claiming that she doesn't need to be accepted by him to be a part of the Bat-family.
The Belfry then crumbles to bits, and the future dystopia that Tim envisioned begins to fall to ruin as he collapses in his caring aunt's arms, at a loss for words on how to recover. Batwoman offers solid advice that they must both take life one step at a time.
Our plot then begins to wrap up as we see Bruce and Kate enjoying a dinner out at a restaurant her parents both used to meet at before her father took his term in the military. Bruce reveals that he's heard Jacob Kane's court martial has been resolved and that he has been reinstated as Colonel by the president under the conditions that the Colony program be disbanded. Kate agrees and then discusses how Luke Fox seeks to analyze and destroy all Brother Eye tech so that future events never have the chance to occur in our world. While Jean-Paul has sought out a higher power and has spoken to Cyborg to fulfill his destiny. Bruce then asks what Kate plans to do with her time, to which she responds by taking a moment to find herself without the directives of others. Bruce then offers caring words of support to Kate by stating that they may not always see eye to eye but that he wants to continue to have Kate in his life and will support her as family. Kate agrees to Bruce's pleasant terms, and as she leaves, the restaurant gets a call from her father, who tells her that he is on a mission for Batwoman to take down a cult religion.
Our focus shifts to Cassandra, who decided to move in with Dr. Leslie Thompkins and Harper Row in Thompkin's free clinic to continue to help those in need. Dr. Leslie then excitedly reveals that she is pleased to have the kind girl under her roof and that she has set up tutoring with Barbara Gordon to help Cassandra in her educational journey with the hopes of enrolling her in high school to complete her education. Barbara Gordon is pleased to be taking on a mentorship role and begins sharing her syllabus with Cassandra, who then proclaims a passage of the Temptress Act V, exciting Barbara to advance her lessons and beginning a wonderful relationship as friends.
We then cut to one final scene where we see Tim packing up for Ivy University with the help of Bruce, who sports a proud smile and offers encouraging words of strength that he will be proud of whatever his adoptive son chooses to do with his life. Tim then gets, into the car, revealing Stephanie to be his passenger, and offers for the two to leave outside of Gotham to find the mysteries of the diverging timelines.
This was handsdown one of the best DC Detective Comics series I've ever read 📚 ❤️ 👏!! It's a masterpiece from begining to end and the conclusion offers the perfect amount of closure. What a wonderful ride and triumphant arc by Jame Tynion IV 💯❤️🦇!! 10/10 🌟!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
I took a break from Detective Batman but this volume reminded me why I enjoy it. There's a good balance of internal and external conflict, I love the character growth and moments in this one, and the arts solid. Also loved the cameos from Dick, Jason, Damian and Barbara. It's the last in the James Tynion run and wraps up well, but I'll miss him in the future Detective Batman comics!
I took a break from Detective Batman but this volume reminded me why I enjoy it. There's a good balance of internal and external conflict, I love the character growth and moments in this one, and the arts solid. Also loved the cameos from Dick, Jason, Damian and Barbara. It's the last in the James Tynion run and wraps up well, but I'll miss him in the future Detective Batman comics!
June 19, 2021
This was a pretty great conclusion to the the Batmen Army Arc. With Tim losing himself into his obsession with the colony and preventing his future as Batman from coming to light, Stephanie Brown is called in to help. She really gets a chance to shine in this issue as the only one able to rewire the Colony to save Tim and the rest of Gotham. She also contently acknowledges the fact that she doesn't have a place carved out for her in the Bat team and that she's okay with that. It's just a really healthy view of not living up to someone else's expectations that is unique to Steph and I love her for it. Her positive attitude is also demonstrated when she's shown her alternate life as Batgirl and instead of being disappointed in who she is not, she's proud of herself for who her alternate version became. I just love Steph. Aside from Barbara, she's probably the member of the extended batfam that is the least weighed down by a need to prove herself to Bruce. There are also a couple scenes of her with Cassandra (that reference their times as Batgirls) that are sweet. Steph points out that Batman doesn't have faith in her abilities as a coder and Cassandra replies that she believes in Steph. Super cute. Need more of this. Batman also shows growth in this volume. He took on the role of fighting off the colony agents as Steph recoded them and Cass protected her, but when he realized he was getting pverpowered he actually calls out to Cass for help. I love seeing Batman recognize his own limitations and believing in the power of his team. He also recognizes that the concept of Batman and the need to fill the role may be holding his children (who he actually refers to as his children) back, and that he wants them to pursue their own passions and talents, even if that means abandoning his crusade. Bruce being an actual good father is another thing I love to see.
We also finally get a resolution between Tim and Kate. All this time I thought the act that Kate comitted to shatter the batfamily was killing Clayface, but it turned out to be
We also finally get a resolution between Tim and Kate. All this time I thought the act that Kate comitted to shatter the batfamily was killing Clayface, but it turned out to be
November 16, 2019
Detective Comics: Batmen Eternal picks up where the previous volume left off and collecting the next seven issues (Detective Comics #975–981) of the 2016 on-going series and covers two stories: "The Trail of Batwoman" and "Batmen Eternal".
"The Trail of Batwoman" is a one-issue storyline (Detective Comics #975) has the Bruce Wayne as Batman gathering the Bat Family to decide the fate of Katherine Kane as Batwoman and her membership within the Bat Family. Barbara Gordon as Batgirl reveals, through her investigation, that Batman used Tim Drake as Red Robin’s dream to steer Batwoman away from The Colony when her mother was killed.
"Batmen Eternal" is a six-issue storyline (Detective Comics #976–981) that has Bruce Wayne as Batman and the remaining Gotham Knights teaming up against Ulysses Armstrong as General as he unleashes the OMAC epidemic. Meanwhile, Katherine Kane as Batwoman creates her own team – The Colony with Jean-Paul Valley as Azrael and Lucas Fox as Batwing to do the same.
James Tynion IV penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written rather well, the aftereffects of the disbandment of the Gotham Knights were done quite well, albeit brief. A new team is created – a militaristic one in The Colony as they go against the reintroduction of Ulysses Armstrong as the General as he unleashes the OMAC epidemic that threatens to destroy Gotham City and beyond.
Javier Fernandez (Detective Comics #976–978), Eddy Barrows (Detective Comics #977 and 981), Álvaro Martínez (Detective Comics #975), Eber Ferreira (Detective Comics #977), Philippe Briones (Detective Comics #979), and Scot Eaton (Detective Comics #980) penciled the trade paperback. For the most part, their penciling styles are rather distinct and somewhat meshed well with each other, making the artistic flow rather rough.
All in all, Detective Comics: Batmen Eternal is a good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
"The Trail of Batwoman" is a one-issue storyline (Detective Comics #975) has the Bruce Wayne as Batman gathering the Bat Family to decide the fate of Katherine Kane as Batwoman and her membership within the Bat Family. Barbara Gordon as Batgirl reveals, through her investigation, that Batman used Tim Drake as Red Robin’s dream to steer Batwoman away from The Colony when her mother was killed.
"Batmen Eternal" is a six-issue storyline (Detective Comics #976–981) that has Bruce Wayne as Batman and the remaining Gotham Knights teaming up against Ulysses Armstrong as General as he unleashes the OMAC epidemic. Meanwhile, Katherine Kane as Batwoman creates her own team – The Colony with Jean-Paul Valley as Azrael and Lucas Fox as Batwing to do the same.
James Tynion IV penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written rather well, the aftereffects of the disbandment of the Gotham Knights were done quite well, albeit brief. A new team is created – a militaristic one in The Colony as they go against the reintroduction of Ulysses Armstrong as the General as he unleashes the OMAC epidemic that threatens to destroy Gotham City and beyond.
Javier Fernandez (Detective Comics #976–978), Eddy Barrows (Detective Comics #977 and 981), Álvaro Martínez (Detective Comics #975), Eber Ferreira (Detective Comics #977), Philippe Briones (Detective Comics #979), and Scot Eaton (Detective Comics #980) penciled the trade paperback. For the most part, their penciling styles are rather distinct and somewhat meshed well with each other, making the artistic flow rather rough.
All in all, Detective Comics: Batmen Eternal is a good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.
May 26, 2019
[Read as Single Issues]
The end of the James Tynion IV's Detective Comics run and it ties up every bit of storyline that Tynion did during this run .
The culmination of the story provides us with reasoning for why characters have done things in this Tynion run , From Batman making a new team , to Future Tim's and present Tim's decisions and actions . Assisted by decent to smart art work , this volume really did justice to it's characters , and If you hold just this volume as an isolated book , you may get much to nit pick , but when you use a bit of hindsight and take all of Tynion's issue as one story , it comes up as a very well written book .
But as I said , taken isolated , this has issues. I don't think the book did enough to help Kate Kane's case , I ended this book , hating Kate and wondering , well what the hell was the whole Colony story line from the beginning , how did it go from being wrong during the first 2 volume and okay in this volume .
Meanwhile , what the hell was the purpose of Azarael and Batwing (and I'm not asking this for their whole character career ) and what happened in that last panel in regards to clayface . And I STILL HATE KATE KANE . And she got away scot-free .
Loose ends man .
The end of the James Tynion IV's Detective Comics run and it ties up every bit of storyline that Tynion did during this run .
The culmination of the story provides us with reasoning for why characters have done things in this Tynion run , From Batman making a new team , to Future Tim's and present Tim's decisions and actions . Assisted by decent to smart art work , this volume really did justice to it's characters , and If you hold just this volume as an isolated book , you may get much to nit pick , but when you use a bit of hindsight and take all of Tynion's issue as one story , it comes up as a very well written book .
But as I said , taken isolated , this has issues. I don't think the book did enough to help Kate Kane's case , I ended this book , hating Kate and wondering , well what the hell was the whole Colony story line from the beginning , how did it go from being wrong during the first 2 volume and okay in this volume .
Meanwhile , what the hell was the purpose of Azarael and Batwing (and I'm not asking this for their whole character career ) and what happened in that last panel in regards to clayface . And I STILL HATE KATE KANE . And she got away scot-free .
Loose ends man .
June 13, 2019
With Crisis story lines and DC rebooting series with new origin stories and character relationships it is hard to keep up. I understand that comics need to evolve and more importantly for the publishers they need to have good jumping on points for new readers. However, there have been so much history, wonderful story lines, and character versions left behind that could be revisited. Luckily, that is what writer James Tynion has touched upon with this book.
When Batman created the OMACs in a previous story arc (or according to this book a different dimension) he was obsessed with protecting Gotham city on a larger scale. In this timeline Tim Drake is obsessed with expanding the protection of the Batmen organization using OMACs. Both versions are disastrous with the bat family having to fix it.
Author James Tynion also teases the reader with glimpses of Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, which I really enjoyed her previous runs as that character. Too bad he did not expand on it.
The art is a mixed bag. Ranging from pretty good to below average.
When Batman created the OMACs in a previous story arc (or according to this book a different dimension) he was obsessed with protecting Gotham city on a larger scale. In this timeline Tim Drake is obsessed with expanding the protection of the Batmen organization using OMACs. Both versions are disastrous with the bat family having to fix it.
Author James Tynion also teases the reader with glimpses of Stephanie Brown as Batgirl, which I really enjoyed her previous runs as that character. Too bad he did not expand on it.
The art is a mixed bag. Ranging from pretty good to below average.
October 3, 2020
*I’ve read A LOT and not reviewed in a long time, so to catch up: Three sentence reviews! (More or less.)*
While I'm glad Clayface isn't really dead (and I understand why the Bat-Family forgave her), I'm still not a fan of Batwoman. (She can be a bit too militaristic for my taste--which is understandable considering she is a former soldier, but... if I'm listing my favorite members of the Bat Family, she won't make it on there.) All of that said, some of the Brother Eye stuff (especially when he took control of Tim Drake) was a little far-fetched, but I also liked how it was used as a catalyst for Tim to really take a look at himself and figure out what it is he wants as a person and as a hero. There was also some nice character development between Batman and Batwoman as family members--and within each of them as individuals. The same is true of Cassandra Cain. All in all, a really solid turning point in the Detective Comics series; I'm excited to see what's coming next.
While I'm glad Clayface isn't really dead (and I understand why the Bat-Family forgave her), I'm still not a fan of Batwoman. (She can be a bit too militaristic for my taste--which is understandable considering she is a former soldier, but... if I'm listing my favorite members of the Bat Family, she won't make it on there.) All of that said, some of the Brother Eye stuff (especially when he took control of Tim Drake) was a little far-fetched, but I also liked how it was used as a catalyst for Tim to really take a look at himself and figure out what it is he wants as a person and as a hero. There was also some nice character development between Batman and Batwoman as family members--and within each of them as individuals. The same is true of Cassandra Cain. All in all, a really solid turning point in the Detective Comics series; I'm excited to see what's coming next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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