DC KO: Red Hood vs. the Joker #1 – Scott Snyder/Joshua Williamson, Writers; Dustin Nguyen, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Artists; Mark Morales, Inker; John Kalisz, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: All the DC KO spotlight fights have had some brilliant visuals in them, but none have had the emotional punch of this one – as Red Hood faces off against his killer one more time. Both of these blood-stained figures hail from Gotham, so it’s no surprise that this is the most brutal, intense issue of the series yet, with both looking for an excuse to not just defeat the other, but to hurt them. Jason has finally gotten to the point where he no longer fears the Joker, and is ready to inflict pain right back, while Joker is his usual deranged self. The first round goes into just why Joker is such a feared villain when he doesn’t seem to be that intimidating, and the fight quickly takes a bad turn for Jason that opens the door for Joker. But this is just the prelude, as the next round introduces the supernatural elements to this brawl – and Jason finds himself transported directly into his worst nightmare.
The idea of recreating the warehouse battle where Jason initially met his end is brilliant, because we’ve seen so many flashbacks to this scene. But this Jason isn’t the little boy seeking his mother anymore. He’s got years of rage built up, and the beat-down he delivers is one of the most satisfying moments of the entire event so far. And from there, we head into round three, as we delve a little more into the legacy of Red Hood and why Jason would pick that name. This was explored a little more in the recent Batman: Dark Patterns maxiseries. It all comes down to the most brutal fight of the entire games so far, with both sides not just wanting to win but to see the other dead, and it ends in a way that only this fight could – with both getting what they need out of the fight, but the future of the DC Universe looking a little darker as a result, with a cliffhanger that sets the stakes sky-high for this upcoming next act.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
