Q: How do you describe a superhero?
A: Someone with an ability who uses it, but not for personal gain. Instead, he or she uses it to make a difference in the world.
That certainly might not be the case for one of my favorite superheroes, The Red Hood (Jason Todd). I see him as a realistic hero because he is very far from perfect. Scott Lobdell writes Todd’s characterization perfectly. He
writes Todd as a smartass, a troublemaker and a punk. Yes, he is the Shawn Hunter of DC Comics.
In 1988, DC Comics realized that Todd was very unpopular among their fans and they decided to kill him. The fans were given the opportunity to vote whether or not to kill him. The final verdict: 5,343 votes put Jason Todd in a casket. But thanks to Lobdell, the fans of the “New 52” are embracing Jason Todd and all the baggage that comes with him.
A: Someone with an ability who uses it, but not for personal gain. Instead, he or she uses it to make a difference in the world.
That certainly might not be the case for one of my favorite superheroes, The Red Hood (Jason Todd). I see him as a realistic hero because he is very far from perfect. Scott Lobdell writes Todd’s characterization perfectly. He
writes Todd as a smartass, a troublemaker and a punk. Yes, he is the Shawn Hunter of DC Comics.
In 1988, DC Comics realized that Todd was very unpopular among their fans and they decided to kill him. The fans were given the opportunity to vote whether or not to kill him. The final verdict: 5,343 votes put Jason Todd in a casket. But thanks to Lobdell, the fans of the “New 52” are embracing Jason Todd and all the baggage that comes with him.
Let’s discuss issue three of the series. It might be my favorite so far. We have character development, interesting art and tease of their past. The bulk of this issue is Jason, Roy and Starfire looking for the main villain of the story arc (Btw, the reader really has no idea who the villain is. We only know its name). To get closer to finding the main baddie, the trio enters “The Chamber of All”. But that comes with some consequences. They must give up their most cherished memory. The scenes in which we get to examine their most cherished memories are a lot fun. Let’s start with Starfire. There is this tremendous scene in which Starfire as a young child blows up her prison guard. Starfire is a badass and I can’t wait to see what happens next with her. If some readers are still upset with Lobdell’s characterization of Starfire, it's time to get over it! Sorry! In the Roy memory scene, we get an opportunity to watch Killer Croc beat the hell out of Roy.
Lobdell not only makes Roy pathetic, but the reader actually feels bad for him. Roy has nothing to live for and since he didn’t have the balls to kill himself, he attempted to die in battle. By the end of the issue, the gang of three does not find their villain, which was kind of lame. Even though I was disappointed in that, the last scene does a great job capturing the human side of Jason Todd. After the last scene, I think every reader will finally understand why Jason Todd hates Bruce Wayne. If your father let your murderer get away, you would feel betrayed too. His most cherished memory was staying home sick from patrol. Bruce surprisingly decided not to go on patrol and watch TV with the young Jason Todd. This was a rare moment in Bruce and Jason’s relationship. At the end of the issue, Todd didn’t ask for his memory back. This issue was a gem.
I only have two problems with this issue; the art and the villain. Who the hell is the villain or villains? We know they are called “The Untitled” but it’s simply not enough. I would have enjoyed a nice teaser of the villain. For example, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee teased us with a side and back portrait of Darkseid in this week’s Justice League. Even though I do enjoy the art, it seemed a little sloppy when certain scenes were placed in the background of the panel.
I give Red Hood and the Outlaws #3, 8.5 out of 10.
Great review, and i agree with almost everything( i am a fan of stylize art),really this issue took me aback quite frankly, i at first i took it just as a fun story with lost of humor, but for some estrange reason it forces me to give it more reads, and the more i read the more things i discover and analyze estrange indeed.
ReplyDeleteYeah, lovely review. I enjoyed having some of the scenes acted out at a smaller scale, I felt it gave a sense of how small the heroes were in this strange world.
ReplyDeleteHopefully we'll see the villain soon, but I'm OK for now as is is such a fun ride!
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Hood-the-Outlaws/115273201894401
argghh!! Scott Lobdell is one of the reasons I have dumped almost all my DC books.
ReplyDeleteMind you, I am an old cranky fan. New 52 has had me shouting with clenched fists. I want to see the stories that were shelved, prior to Flashpoint, continued… but alas, that is not going to happen. So I resign myself to buying only a few DC books. [Pretty much the Geoff Johns stuff].
And I am a die-hard, lifelong fan of the Titans, Dick Grayson is my all-time fav comic character and I have followed each team of Titans since the mid-70′s. Marv & George’s 80′s run remains my fav and defined the characters personalities for me. When I read Scott Lobdell’s characterization.. it feels all wrong. I know it is a New Universe and these characters are being re-defined – but, for me, they were perfect as they were. I used to love Roy, Kory and now they are unrecognizable from the OLD DCU versions. And other characters – Gar, Raven, Donna, Wally – seem to have been erased.{sigh}
a character like Roy Harper – whom I’ve read since way back when he was portrayed as kid [GA/GL Neal Adams-Denny O'Neil run] – Roy had gone from a brash young teen, to a leader. From a single guy flirting with pretty women, to a single dad in his mid-20′s raising his daughter – to mourning her loss when his apartment building blew up. Through all these years of character development – one thing about Roy that remained consistent was his ability to focus and think quickly – it is the basis of his “great” friendship with Dick Grayson, as neither of them had superpowers to fall back on, like their peers. That Roy was smart, if at times over-confident during his youth. This Roy, comes off like Ashton Kutcher with a bow and arrow, LOL.