Task Force Z #4 – Matthew Rosenberg, Writer; Eddy Barrows/Eber Ferreira, Kieran McKeown/Dexter Vines, Artists; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: From the start, this book has seemed like a combination of concepts cobbled together into a book designed to match the zeitgeist. But now it’s coming together as a lot of things that didn’t quite make sense fall into place. Last issue revealed the ruthless ringleader of the Task Force, Crispin, was actually none other than Two-Face, working off the books for the government. Or rather, it’s Harvey Dent. He seems to have been able to repress his Two-Face side and is back to trying to atone for his criminal past by… corrupt government work. This actually matches up pretty well with his past as a corrupt DA, and his interactions with Jason Todd are easily the best part of the issue. The two have a thorny past, but while Jason is further along on his redemption arc, he’s more willing to backslide and Harvey views him as a liability. And that’s enough for Jason to try to head out on the road.
The second big twist of the issue is that Jason seems to have been working undercover for Batman this whole time, reporting back to him about the missing villains and the nature of the project. But it’s clear that even after the Urban Legends story where they sort of patched things up, Jason still resents Bruce and has no desire to follow his orders by dropping out. Is it a desire to save the villains he works with, or just stubbornness? And then there’s the mystery of Mr. Bloom, who reveals some of his cards this issue in a tense interrogation with Man-Bat. The action this issue is actually pretty light, and surprisingly last issue’s big twist with Bane is never mentioned. But the last act introduces a major new wrinkle in which a new team is apparently introduced. It’s very much still popcorn horror without too much substance, but I am enjoying what’s a pretty unconventional Jason Todd story.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
