Written by Mark Henely
Red Hood and the Outlaws #3 is a transition book, yet it is also the first book that shows what form this series will most likely hold. We get to see the new team take shape and we get the main plot line of the first story arc move towards its climax.
The Original Red Hood and the Outlaws consisted of Red Hood (of course) with Red Arrow (Arsenal) and Starfire. It was a collection of young heroes who had aged out of the Teen Heroes. It was a rag tag group of mid-twenties kids with troubled pasts. The New Red Hood and the Outlaws (as seen in this series) is going to consist of Red Hood, Amazon Warrior Artemis, and Bizarro. This team stands in stark contrast to DC’s flagship team the Trinity (Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman). The Outlaws are sort of a 2nd rate nightmare version of the Trinity, but it is this low status that could produce some cool stories moving forward. Readers will get to see the Outlaws strive to be as good as the Trinity and (mostly likely) fail. And that can be beautiful.
This comic itself is 50% Red Hood’s very physical battle to gain Bizarro’s respect and 50% Red Hood’s mental battle with Black Mask. While the Bizarro content is infinitely more interesting to me than the Black Mask content is, the Black Mask content starts to come to a head in a way suggests the next issue will be very exciting and that the Black Mask storyline will be coming to an end soon.
I believe the artwork in a book like Red Hood and the Outlaws needs to be built around the main characters looking badass. That sounds shallow, but I do believe there is a contingency of fans who are subconsciously attracted to this book because the characters look cool. The character that really takes home the badass award this issue is Artemis. She looks angry and imposing in every panel she appears in. Most of the time, she is in a cool action pose. I don’t think this should go uncommented on.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
