Red Hood: The Lost Days #6(of 6)

Overall: This issue gets started with a flashback of Batman warning Jason Todd(back when he was Robin)about the danger of the Joker, and how Joker's unpredictability made Joker Batman's most dangerous foe. From there we head to a grown up Jason, who has managed to locate Joker and is in the process of eavesdropping on the Clown Prince of Crime. It seems Joker is keen on buying some chemical that when mixed with water and exposed to air bursts into flames. After watching a demonstration, Joker agrees to buy the chemical and sets up a meeting at the Port of Los Angeles. Now knowing where to find Joker, Jason heads out to the Port and sets up his trap. Phase one of Jason's plan works perfectly, as he distracts Joker's guards and gases Joker's men. Joker makes a break for it, but is shot in the leg by Jason, who goes to retrieve the fallen Joker. Before he can take Joker away for hours and hours of fun torture, Joker's men have donned gas masks of their own and are chasing Jason down. Not having the time he wanted, Jason carries Joker into an abandoned warehouse and sprays him with gasoline. Finally having Joker where he wants him, Jason pulls out a lighter and lights it, but is unable to throw the flame on Joker... Instead he leaves and Joker's men rescue him from his predicament. Later on, Jason meets up with Talia Al Ghul and explains that he couldn't kill Joker without Batman also being there. Without Batman there to witness the act, Joker's death, although satisfying would have been meaningless to Jason. Talia tells Jason that she doesn't want him to kill Batman(which Jason doesn't think he wants to do anymore anyway), and tells Jason to punish Batman for his offenses by taking away what was most important to Bats, Gotham City. From there Jason and Talia have a quick roll in the hay, and when Jason awakens, Talia is gone, although she has left him more money, as well as a message to meet up with a new player in Gotham by the name of Hush. Jason meets up with Hush and confirms what Hush had already suspected, that Batman was Bruce Wayne. From there, with Bruce's words ringing in his ears about how dangerous Joker was due to his lack of predictability, Jason prepares to play the role of the Red Hood for the first time.

This is easily one of the strongest mini-series I've read all year. I'd go so far as to say that it may very well be THE best mini of the year(definitely from DC). As dumb as it may sound, my biggest complaint with this particular issue(and the reason I couldn't give it a perfect score)was the fact that we all knew how it was going to end. The meeting with Joker, which was what the past two issues was leading to, HAD to end with Joker surviving, thereby making the whole meeting a moot point. Even still, Judd Winick(writer)did a very good job with the meeting between the two. I just can't help but be bothered by the fact that Jason DIDN'T kill Joker when he had the chance... Yeah, he wanted Bruce there when he did the deed, but there were still ways to have involved Bruce in Joker's death. Why not kill Joker, decapitate him and send Joker's head to Wayne Manor? That would have made the point as strongly as if Bruce himself had been there. But in the end it doesn't matter, since I loved the eventual meeting between Bruce, Jason and Joker from a couple of years back. As for Talia and Jason... That was interesting. Their bedroom escapades didn't bother me(Talia was mad at Bruce at the time, as was Jason)as it happened kind of naturally. Plus their tryst also opens up several doors to future storylines that could impact the Bat-family. So even with a few missteps here and there, overall this was a fantastic mini-series, and I'm BEGGING DC to either give us some kind of sequel, or better yet, a Red Hood ongoing. Come on DC, make this happen!

Score: 9 out of 10.So much for that famous Bat-family secrecy!

Red Hood: Lost Days #5(of 6)

Overall: This issue continues Jason Todd's tour of jolly old England. Last issue Jason discovered that the Russian mob was going to trick unwitting Arabs into blowing up in various spots throughout England(trust me, it's complicated)to get the heat off of their own illegal activities. This issue deals with Jason racing around England trying to get all of the bombs off the street before the timers are up. He cuts it close, but in the end manages to disarm all of the bombs. Upon returning to his apartment, Jason finds the Russian mob waiting for him. And as is the custom when the Russian mob is waiting for you in your apartment, Jason pulls out two guns and kills the lot of them, except for one mobster, who offers information on where the Joker was holed up in exchange for his life. Needless to say, that bit of info definitely interests Jason.

I was really enjoying this mini-series right up until this issue(and to a lesser extent, last issue). The first three issues dealt with Jason returning to life, and didn't follow a linear path, each issue took place some time after the one before it. I really liked that, as it gave us a glimpse of Jason growing up and slowly deciding on the type of man he'd become. And then came issues #4 and 5... I don't know how we went from Jason learning the ropes and trying to become better than Batman to Jason fighting the Russian mob in England, but that's what happened here. I'm not sure why Judd Winick decided to change the pacing of the story for these two issues, but I definitely wish he hadn't. Oh well, hopefully next issue will end with a bang as Jason confronts the man responsible for his “death” for the first time, the Joker.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.Kill, kill, kill!!!!!!

Picto-Review: Red Hood: Lost Days #4

Red Hood: Lost Days #4(of 6): Writer: Judd Winick. Artist: Jeremy Haun.


We start off with Jason Todd explaining to Talia Al Ghul that Jason had been learning skills from some of society's scumbags. Jason intended to take these skills back to Gotham with him to punish the guilty. Talia notes that several of Jason's “teachers” had ended up dead at Jason's hands, to which Jason explains that they had deserved it.


Before their meeting comes to an end, Talia reveals to Jason that Batman had replaced him with a new Robin, which needless to say hits Jason hard.


From there, Jason begins to learn about bomb-making from a Russian criminal. After secretly following the bomb-maker, Jason discovers that his “teacher” was planning on killing several hundred innocent civilians and pinning the act on Arab terrorists to help get the British Government off the back of the Russian mafia.


Jason decides to sabotage the bombs, but while in the act of disarming the devices is discovered by some of the bomb-maker's goons.


After a bit of a battle, Jason activates one of the bombs and hightails it out of the warehouse, letting the hapless goons blow up.


Before Jason can recover from the explosion, the head of the Russian mafia finds him and orders his men to deal with Jason... Permanently.


What I Thought: I've enjoyed every single issue of this mini-series so far, and this issue was no different. With the exception of Shadowland, this is probably(one of)the best minis I've read all year. I enjoyed the story, I loved Jason's shocked/devastated reaction to the fact that Batman had replaced him with a new Robin, and I continue to enjoy Jason's interactions with Talia. So yeah, I liked a lot here. I didn't really understand the cliffhanger ending though... We all KNOW that Jason isn't going to get killed here/CAN'T get killed here, so I'm not really sure why Judd decided to make this issue a cliffhanger. The other three issues before this were more or less self-contained, which makes sense since we all know how Jason's saga ends(with Crazy Grant Morrison butchering his character in Batman & Robin!). Besides the peculiar cliffhanger though, everything else here was highly enjoyable.

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Red Hood: The Lost Days #3

Red Hood: The Lost Days #3: Writer: Judd Winick. Artist: Jeremy Haun.

Review: In this issue we find Jason Todd being trained by a German killer who was teaching Jason the types of fighting moves that he never learned from the Batman. While Jason is spending his time being beaten up and learning how to be a deadlier combatant, Talia Al Ghul is still trying to figure out what to do about Jason, since she had hidden him from her father, and couldn't return him to Batman. Meanwhile, after doing some sleuthing, Jason learns that the killer he was learning from was also involved with a child slavery ring. Deciding he could not allow this to continue, Jason waits for the killer's men to begin to take the children away, before ambushing the truck and freeing the kids. From there Jason returns to the compound to confront the killer and decides to take him on in hand to hand combat. This goes about as well as can be expected, with the killer getting the upper hand on Jason, until Jason reveals that he had poisoned the killer's drink earlier in the night, which leads to the killer collapsing and dying. Jason then burns the entire compound to the ground to erase any traces that he was there, and heads off to meet with Talia. Jason explains what he did, and rationalizes the death of the killer, which causes Talia to smile, as she remarks that Jason was finally learning.

What I Thought: Man, this mini is one of the front runners for best mini-series of the year! I've enjoyed each issue, this one included. You can see how Jason is slowly transforming from the sad, rage-filled kid he was when he first came back, to the cold and calculating character he was when he first ran into Batman as the Red Hood. The only real downside with this comic is the fact that there's only three issues left! If only we could get a Red Hood ongoing series...

Score: 9 out of 10.I bet that isn't the first time somebody called Jason a "little bastard"!

Red Hood: The Lost Days #2(of 6)

Red Hood: The Lost Days #2: Writer: Judd Winick. Artist: Pablo Raimondi.

Review: We kick this issue off with Jason flipping out and destroying a hotel room like a rock star after learning from a newspaper that Joker was still alive. After beating the tar out of the guys running the hotel, Jason lays down and has a good, hysterical cry. From there the scene shifts back to the Al Ghul's, with Ra's yelling at his daughter Talia for allowing Jason to use the Lazarus Pit. Ra's explains that the Lazarus Pit probably drove Jason insane, but Talia doubts it. Ra's finishes his tirade by warning Talia that she has unleashed a pestilence on the world, and that she'll be sorry. Back with Jason, after a quick flashback to his brutal death at the hands of the Joker, he takes the money Talia gave him and heads to Gotham to avenge his death on the two people he felt were most responsible, Joker and Batman. After shaking the tail Talia put on him, Jason catches a ride to Gotham and plays the Batman like a fiddle, setting up a bogus gun sale with the Penguin, and allowing the information to be leaked to Batman. After watching Batman head to the gun sale sight, Jason sneaks up to the Batmobile and places a bomb underneath the fuel tank before leaving. From there Jason slinks back into the shadows and waits for Bats to get back in the car. After Bats leaves, Jason stands on a rooftop ready to push the button to set off the bomb, but at the last moment, he changes his mind. Later on Jason speaks to Talia and tells her about what he did, stating that he didn't blow Batman up because he wanted Bats to know that it was Jason who killed him. Upon hearing this, Talia realizes that her father was correct, and that by allowing Jason to use the Lazarus Pit, she did indeed unleash a pestilence on the world.

What I Thought: I LOVED this story!!! If I thought it had any chance of succeeding I'd start an on-line petition to get Judd back as the writer of the Batman books instead of Grant “The Butcher” Morrison. Whereas Grant nearly ruined the Jason Todd character in Batman and Robin, Judd shows that he has an EXCELLENT feel for Jason. Not only that, but it now seems that most of Jason's evil actions are due to his exposure to the Lazarus Pit, which is something I hadn't thought about before. As Ra's said, the insanity from the Pit could either come immediately, or gradually, and it seems that his time in the Pit has drawn out more of Jason's darker instincts. What more needs to be said? I'll definitely be looking forward to next month's installment of this mini.

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.Now THAT'S a temper tantrum!

Red Hood: The Lost Days #1(of 6)

Red Hood: The Lost Days #1: Writer: Judd Winick. Artist: Pablo Raimondi.

Review: This story begins a few years ago with Ra's Al Ghul informing his daughter Talia that the second Robin(Jason Todd)had been murdered by the Joker. Talia is taken aback, and asks her father how the object of her affections, Batman, was holding up. Ra's figures Bats would be grieving, but would move on, while Talia feels that Jason's death would be something Bats could never recover from. Eventually Ra's tires of the conversation, and tells Talia to watch Gotham if she chooses, but he orders her not to reach out to Bats in any way. Time passes, and Talia keeps tabs on Bats from afar, and hears that he has been acting more reckless and violent, which leads to Talia having more and more of her father's men stationed around Gotham to continue to watch Bats for her. The years roll on and Talia gets word from one of her men that a drunk swears he was beaten up by the second Robin(since he was beaten up by Jason years prior). Talia does some investigating, and locates the young man in question in a sanitarium, and has him brought to one of her father's safehouses, where she has him battle a bunch of Ra's ninjas. The young man trounces the ninjas when they attack him(using Robin-like moves), but upon the end of the battle, he reverts back to his near comatose state. Ra's interest is now suitably piqued, and he has his scientists study the young man, who they confirm IS Jason Todd. Ra's begins to obsess over how Jason was able to beat death, and sends Talia and his men out to gather every scrap of information they can find on Jason and where he came from after his death at the hands of the Joker. Talia is unable to find anything that could explain Jason's sudden reappearance, while Jason's mental state doesn't seem to improve in the least. Months pass, and Ra's loses his patience with the whole situation, since the only thing he was ever interested in was how Jason escaped death, since Ra's could have possibly used that knowledge for his own benefit. Talia begs her father to give her more time, but Ra's tells her no, telling Talia that all of her work with Jason was for naught, and that even if she was able to restore Jason's mental capacity and return the boy to Batman, Batman would never love her, which was what Talia was after all along. Ra's then tells Talia that Jason would be sent away the following day to a place where he would be taken care of, but that Ra's was finished having time and resources spent on a project that could bear no fruit. With that Ra's enters his Lazarus Pit to restore his strength, while Talia heads to Jason. After some thought, Talia takes Jason, sneaks him into the room with Ra's Lazarus Pit and tosses the boy inside, with the hope that this act would restore his memories, ending this issue.

What I Thought: Well it's a well known fact that I am and always have been a Jason Todd fan, so I pretty much knew that I'd enjoy this comic, it was just a matter of how much. Now, I was a bit disappointed that Jason had no speaking parts, and that most of this story was told in Batman Annual #25, but that didn't really diminish this comic for me. I've always liked Talia(especially when Grant Morrison isn't writing her), as well as Ra's, and I enjoyed their dynamic here. They each had a reason for wanting Jason around and restored, Ra's to learn the secret of Jason's return to life, and Talia to return Jason to Batman in order to gain his love, and each reason made perfect sense. Hell, you could even make the argument that in the beginning Talia was only interested in Jason for Batman's benefit, but there were some scenes later on in this comic(after Talia had been caring for Jason for a while)that gave me the impression that maybe Talia was beginning to gain a different kind of interest in Jason... This was a great prologue issue to tell us how Jason's mind was restored, and I'd have to figure that the next issue should be EVEN better, as we see how Jason reacts to the changes that took place in his world after his death.

Score: 9 out of 10.I could bust out all of those moves if I really wanted to! Really!!