The Story
Calvin manages to escape from the court, while at the same time Casey traps Sebastian and escapes with her daughter. While Calvin is trying to make it back to their safe house, he is intercepted by Batman. He manages to escape, but when he confronts Sebastian, the old man not only confirms that he was the one who selected Calvin to be the Talon, he is also working together with Bane. Bane grabs Calvin by the neck and snaps it with one hand.
The Review
The final reveal this issue would have been a lot more surprising had I not read Detective Comics last week. Then again, it also would have come straight out of nowhere. I’m a little disappointed that we’re going with Sebastian really being a traitor. It was expected and going the other way would have been a lot more surprising. But, I think this issue makes up for that by having Calvin apparently die at the end was a pretty decent cliffhanger.
Batman’s appearance this issue would feel like an attempt to save the book, but his appearance wasn’t really advertised that much. Ultimately his appearance felt a bit pointless, but it made sense enough that I don’t mind it too much. I appreciated the scene with Calvin escaping from Batman’s bonds. Yes it’s a bit Mary Sue-ish to have him outsmart the greatest crime fighter in the world. But to be fair, we didn’t see him out fight Batman. If he could take him in hand to hand combat I would be a bit miffed, but having one specific skill he is better at than Batman doesn’t automatically make him a Mary Sue. And I think Calvin has gotten enough cred over the past six to eight issues to deserve this small moment.
Overall this issue had a lot of events that were enjoyable, but not terribly surprising. Most everything that happened this issue I had already predicted. Though, I did appreciate Casey escaping from Sebastian. It’s nice to see her not take the role of the damsel in distress, and I wasn’t entirely expecting her to escape so easily, so that part was surprising. Would it hurt her to have tried to get in touch with Calvin after escaping? She had free reign of Sebastian’s compound for a bit, I think she could have pilfered a communicator.
I don’t believe that Calvin is actually dead. Granted, Bane makes a compelling argument for him actually being dead. But from here on out I see two options. One, Calvin manages to survive a broken neck…unlikely but this is comic books we’re talking about; two, and this one I would really like, he comes back reanimated like previous Talons. It would give us that little bit of tragedy to round off the series. While I do prefer happy endings, this is the Batman Universe we’re talking about. Endings are rarely truly happy. But, if I’m surprised by the actual ending I will be happier. Still, my money is on Calvin coming back as a undead Talon.
The Grade