Red Hood: Outlaw #41 – Scott Lobdell, Writer; David Messina, Artist; Rex Lokus, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 7/10
Ray: The odd “Generation Outlaw” arc of Red Hood: Outlaw seems to come to an end with Red Hood: Outlaw #41, an issue that features almost every member of the team since it began eight years ago (sans the missing Starfire, who has long gone on to the big leagues).
After a brief flashback to Jason’s friendship with the non-deceased Roy Harper (where he drops several references to Jason missing him one day), we head back to the present where Jason’s team of rookie antiheroes has found themselves in trouble. Not only have they discovered the volatile Vessel (the boy kicked out of the program in the Annual), but Artemis and Bizarro have returned from another world with a dramatic personality shift. With the kids scattered around Dr. Veritas’ base, it’s a mad scramble to escape their attackers and mobilize as a team, which gives the individual kids a little more development as characters and lets them show off their powers.
Cloud 9, the flighty girl with wind powers, is probably the most likable member of the team and the one Jason seems to be bonding with the most. DNA and Doomed, however, remain odd sore spots in the book and DNA is bizarrely unlikable – giving Doomed speech briefly then letting it fade away almost casually.
Babe in Arms is an absurd character, obviously, but there’s some funny scenes this issue as the baby figures out things while everyone else is running around like nuts.
I don’t think any of these characters will become long-running DC mainstays, but seeing Jason work with them has brought out some nice protective elements of his character. I feel like Lobdell, despite some plotting missteps in this book, has managed to develop a strong characterization for Jason and the title is looking up now that the full gang is back together. For all his protests, Jason is his father’s son.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
