Red Hood

Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1

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Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1The Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual picks up the recent storyline as a mind-wiped Jason Todd returns home to the secluded island with Starfire and Arsenal only to begin investigating the past he worked so hard to forget. Yeah, nobody saw that coming. Sigh.

The annual gives us a pair of notable guest-stars first being Arsenal’s mentor Green Arrow (who is way too young to have trained someone Roy’s age, making for some incredibly awkward flashbacks). The second is far more interesting as Chesire is introduced as one of many assassins looking to cash in on the bounty on Jason Todd and his friends. Although she’s unsuccessful, she does pave the way for the next wave of killers who include Bronze Tiger. With the title going to such lengths to reintroduce old characters I have to wonder if this is the title where Catman might make his return.

A whiny blank slate Jason Todd is about as bland as it sounds, and although Chesire’s appearance works the issue has a hard time determining just how many powers this new version of the character actually has (she can phase, now?). Hit-and-Miss.

[DC, $4.99]

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #20

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #20Red Hood and the Outlaws #20 picks up with Starfire and Arsenal trying to convince the magic monk who has wiped Jason Todd‘s mind clean to return his friend’s lifetime of horrible memories, whether he wants them or not. The question of whether or not we are more than the sum of our memories and whether bad memories are better than none at all is debated as it appears the New 52 editorial staff have decided what’s best for Red Hood is a clean slate.

We get flashbacks into Roy Harper’s first meeting with Jason Todd as well as the revelation that Starfire’s short-memory has been largely exaggerated (which should quiet some of the critics for this version of the character). I don’t like the idea of taking such a drastic step with the character after the hard road to redemption Jason Todd earned.

Whether or not it’s good for the character, or for the New 52, we’ll have to wait and see, but my initial reaction is this is an easy choice for DC Comics to give the character a completely new direction while thumbing their noses a decades of history. Well, this is the New 52. Pass.

[DC, $2.99]

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Batman and Red Hood #20

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Batman and Red Hood #20How can a comic that starts off so well end in the kind of trainwreck that will damage two of DC’s Bat-books for months to come? The latest issue of Batman and… gives us a team-up of a more brutal Batman than we’ve seen in a while with Red Hood who has finally found some peace with his mentor after the fallout of mostly wretched Death of the Family.

The only good thing to come out of Death of the Family was bringing Jason Todd back into the fold. Well, that was short lived. When Batman tries to force Jason to face his death and resurrection, hoping for clues to do the same to Damian, the hard earned respect between the characters is thrown away in a handful of panels (perhaps for good).

Although I think Todd overreacts to Batman’s grief, the result is to push yet another member of the Bat-Family further from the Dark Knight Detective. Batman and Red Hood #20 also offers another appearance by Carrie Kelley looking for Damian, teasing that she’s not going away anytime soon. Pass.

[DC, $2.99]

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #19

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #19Jason Todd gets little more than a cameo here as the story focuses on Arsenal and Starfire tracking down their friend who, after surviving the Joker‘s final attack, left them and headed straight for the All-Caste. By the time the duo track him through the Himalayan mountains and discover the secret entrance to the home of the magical monks who continued to train Todd after he returned from the dead, Todd has already made a rash decision which will effect all three of their futures.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #19 is a mixed bag as we’re given a Red Hood wiped of nearly all his memories (at his own behest). If this was where the New 52 planned on taking the character I’m not sure why they didn’t just allow the Joker’s final attack to do the damage.

The issue also has an odd appearance by Essence who attempts to influence Arsenal through his dreams. The point of this subplot isn’t very clear (or interesting), but it’s arguably better than the beyond bland blank slate of Jason Todd we’re left with as the issue closes. The consequences to this issue might be interesting, but this issue is a mixed bag.

[DC, $2.99]

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #18

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #18After last month’s cliffhanger, Jason Todd struggles through a dream state after putting on the Red Hood mash which the the Joker lined with acid as his final joke on the Bat-Family.

It’s an odd issue with Alfred and Bruce Wayne at Jason’s bedside, whose conscious of them but trapped in a nightmare concerning his past mistakes, the Joker, and Ducra the former head of the All Caste who comes with a message concerning Jason’s failure to move on from the horrors of his past and a warning about what may happen to those he loves if he continues on his current path.

We’re told there will be no lasting physical damage from the Joker’s trap and it seems Todd’s mental state isn’t impaired either, so the entire episode feels a little pointless unless the goal is to use this experience to transform the Red Hood from anti-hero to hero and bring Jason back into the Bat-Family. One further note, Red Hood and the Outlaws #18 also brings Jason and Bruce a little closer (possibly foreshadowing his return as Robin?). For fans.

[DC, $2.99]

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