By: Mark Henely
I’ve always thought of Red Hood as a character with a lot of potential. Jason Todd began his superhero career as Batman’s Robin and it did not go well. He was too impulsive and got himself killed because of it. Now he is alive again and he has taken on the role of Red Hood as well as the role of Batman’s estranged son. The son who struggles to live up to Batman’s legacy.
Red Hood’s backstory is something I really love, but I have always felt that a lot of Red Hood and the Outlaws comics were more about Red Hood being rude, shooting guns, and looking cool. The vulnerability rarely rarely seemed to take center stage. But, it does in this comic.
In this issue, Red Hood sees himself in Bizarro, the defective Superman clone. As a boy who was unable to fill the shoes of Dick Grayson, just as Bizarro will never be Superman. And just as Bizarro is trying his best to become the Superman that Black Mask and his captors want him to be, Red Hood is himself always trying to become a better vigilante and maybe even make Batman proud one day. It’s a really clever parallel and I’m incredibly impressed that Scott Lobdel saw it.
I wasn’t overly impressed with the previous issue (http://pop-break.com/2016/09/14/review-red-hood-outlaws-2/), but I am with this. The previous issue followed an ordinary format effectively. This issue is something new and unique altogether. I think the fact that this comic follows such a different format from the previous issue suggests that this will be a rewarding book to follow long term. I’m excited to follow it.8.8/10
