Red Hood and the Outlaws #3:
What Happened: Red Hood and his gang(do two followers make a gang?) make their way into the secret chambers of the All-Caste to try and catch the Untitled who killed the All-Casters. Before entering the secret chambers, the Outlaws have to leave their best memories with some 4,000 year old boy... Uh-huh... Anyway, the Outlaws end up battling a giant monster in an effort to reach a clue that the Untitled left for Red Hood that would lead him to the Untitled. While the Outlaws are battling the monster, the 4,000 year old is looking through their prized memories. For the record, Starfire's was killing a guard who was watching her after she had been captured, Arsenal's was Killer Croc talking him out of suicide(WTF?!?) and Red Hood's was spending time with Bats back when he was still Robin. Anyway, the trio manage to defeat the monster and get the clue(a snowglobe of Colorado) and leave, getting their memories back, except for Jason, who didn't want his.
The Good: Since we got some action here, the painful dialogue was turned down a bit. Roy seemed like less of a tool here. The prized memories was a novel way to do an origin story.
The Bad: We still don't know anything about this Untitled nor much about the All-Caste. Who exactly was the 4,000 year old and why wasn't he killed by the Untitled? The prized memories were all pretty lame. The story here is just plain confusing...
The Verdict: Eh. That sums up my thoughts on this one in a nutshell. I mean it was kind of cool to see the Outlaws in their pasts, but the story here is still a major letdown. Don't get me wrong, I WANT to like a series that stars Jason Todd and Roy Harper. I really do. But thus far this series hasn't done it for me.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Really?
Am I the only one who thought "Batman take a day off patrolling, bullshit"?
ReplyDeleteI agree that this had some nice backstory, but am kind of tired of these DC comics going nowhere. They all seem so forgettable.
"Batman take a day off patrolling, bullshit"?" I'm so glad you said that, Jermox. Because I felt the SAME way. I've spoken to two big fans of this series about that scene and they both seemed to like it, but for me it just rang hollow. The only way to look at that scene without getting really annoyed is to simply think, "This ISN'T the Batman I know, it's some weird alternate Bats, so that's why he did it..." Because like you said, the Batman I know wouldn't be all, "Well, I know crime is rampant in Gotham, but instead of saving some lives I'll hang out with my sidekick/ward/adopted son/whatever Jason is to Bruce now."
ReplyDeleteAgreed again. That's why I'm having such an easy time dropping so many of these new DC books. Usually I'll agonize over dropping a title, even ones I really don't enjoy, but since I really have little attachment to these new characters, and the stories have been, for the most part, forgettable(as you pointed out) it's REALLY easy to walk into the comic shop and just drop something. I don't feel that I'll be missing anything important, whereas with Marvel, the opposite is true now.
I have some conflicted thoughts on this issue. I had the same response to seeing Jason asleep on Bruce's shoulder as I did in "Red Robin" #17 where Bruce hugs Tim. I want to believe that Bruce is capable of showing this sort of emotion. But, with so many authors handling him, and most of them portraying him as almost criminally negligent, it's hard to reconcile. I mean, Tomasi is basically portraying him as a monster in "Batman and Robin," which makes it all the more difficult to buy this scene. But, for me, since I'm that sort of sentimental idiot, I still felt a little surge in my heart when I saw Jason asleep on Bruce's shoulder. I mean, look, Bruce can't be THAT bad if people like Dick, Jason, and Tim so obviously crave his affection. At some point, he had to be the guy we see here and not just the guy we see in "Batman and Robin" if we're to believe he's worthy of the Robins' affections.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the Croc scene almost made me put down the book. Unbelievable. I get that the whole point of this issue was setting up the last page, but Lobdell has to put a little more work into making his characters outside Jason believable. Moreover, I have no idea what's actually happening with, you know, the plot. The Untitled? The All Caste? Whozit? Whatzit?
"with so many authors handling him, and most of them portraying him as almost criminally negligent" That actually made me laugh out loud because it's SO true! That fits Bruce perfectly! The only argument I'll make to why Dick, Jason and Tim seem to crave Bruce's affection is because they are, by and large, damaged characters who have lost people dear to them. So you have Bruce, who takes them in and then pretty much withholds affection from them(while they get it from Alfred). It's like a bizarre good cop/bad cop act or something.
ReplyDeleteJW... The Croc scene was simply unforgivable. It was all kinds of awful. Seriously, why Croc?!? Like Lobdell couldn't have used a Catman-type character where that scene would have made a lick of sense?! That was all sorts of terrible. And agreed with the plot. I haven't th foggiest what's happening here. If it wasn't for Jason and Roy, I'd have dropped this series at this issue. Hands down.
Excellent point about the attraction to Bruce being his withholding of affection. Since I am a sentimental idiot, I _want_ it to be because of scenes like the final page of this issue, but I think you're right that it's actually much more because they're damaged characters looking for some sort of affirmation. I feel like it's particularly true in Jason's case, because he was the most damaged.
ReplyDeleteCatman would've been perfect. I still just find myself thinking "CROC!" at random points in the day. No sense at all.
"Catman would've been perfect. I still just find myself thinking "CROC!" at random points in the day." Catman just seems like the perfect character to have picked up on Roy's antics. Not fully evil, but not fully good either. Croc doesn't exactly seem that smart as it is, and second of all, he's kind of a cannibal and all! And you randomly thinking and screaming Croc out during the day just makes me laugh... Don't worry, I'm sure all of us who have read this issue had those same thoughts! :D
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