Red Hood and the Outlaws #34

Technically this is the last issue I'll get before the five years later one shots. Well I'll be getting one more comic this month but it won't be affected by the time jump.

SPOILERS AHEAD


Kori wants information from the alien that was dumb enough to come at her last issue. He's reluctant to talk since it will mean his death and Kori gets persuasive in a "how would you like to die" way. She's working straight from raw emotions not even pausing to explain things to the guys which was a part of her character from the last verse. I think it's just overlooked that Starfire still has the same core because of the writer. I get why readers were mad I just think what's going on in the book isn't really examined because of the first issue. When Kori is hurting few things can stand in her way.

I got to the pages with the boys and I had to drop the book for a moment as I groaned out loud. I know I talked about this before and I don't know who's to blame here. The writer, the artist or the editor. It's something that should be addressed outside this book as well since it keeps happening. Jason Todd should NOT have his face revealed while wearing his uniform. I don't care if Bruce Wayne isn't as well known in this DCU it can still be traced back! It wasn't that long ago that he was Robin which means someone will be able to figure out he's the supposedly dead adopted son of Bruce Wayne, the guy that linked to. Batman INC. and the unmasked Nightwing! If the editors made such a big effort to put on a domino mask on him when Joker captured him then why can't they be consistent! This includes people knowing his name too. Not to mention these are Shade people who may not be that trustworthy!

*Ahem*

Roy and Jason tell off the tech guys at Shade for their dumbass assumption that Kori was selling slaves. The techies wave that off not realizing how lucky they are that Kori didn't hear them calling her a slaver. They aren't able to track her when Roy does his thing instantly finding her. This impresses Kirk who now wants to offer him a job although Roy just wants to find his girlfriend. Shade still act like idiots wanting to bring Kori in but the guys get them to wait an hour. If they don't bring her back their all be considered hostiles. I'm guessing that happens because there's no way this will be wrapped up by then given the solicits.

Somewhere a baby cries and is comforted by the grandfather. He looks up at his monitors to see a pissed off Kori waiting for him leaving his grand kid to see his visitor. In appearances he seems to be civil welcoming her in, saying his family is there and offering her a drink. Kori isn't there for pleasant talk and plainly states she's there to kill him. This guy is actually an alien that was the keeper of the slaves when she was a child. He was known for having a heart of stone, which is proven as we see him kick tiny Kori in the face. As fate would have it he escaped when Kori and her crew took over the Starfire ship making it to Earth before she did. A human found him and instead of killing her the compassion she showed affected him. They married, adopted a kid who recently had a baby girl.

Having held his grandchild for the first time he realized the horrors he had committed and the people he had hurt. He apologizes for what he did which means nothing to Kori. All he asks is that they do this confrontation away from his family which she agrees to. Only guess who shows up just as she's about to kill him? Yep the boys who apparently heard everything but won't let her take revenge? What? I can kind of see this and can't. For Roy to say this? Fine, he may kill in self defense but doesn't really want revenge on anyone. Jason? Uh he still wants to kill Joker and would if he could. Maybe not so much in revenge as it would have been before as protecting others from him but it's still personal. It's like the weird morals he had when Kori wanted to kill Crux and he said no because killing aliens isn't illegal, it doesn't make sense. I mean I could see him thinking Kori should be beyond him but I still think he'd leave it up to her.

I will give Lobdell this, he has the most interesting and heartfelt version of this "you're better than this" arguments I've seen. They admit they don't care about the guy and how far they three of them have come together. Doing wrong in the past but trying to become better people. Kori doesn't want them to ask her to leave the guy alive. Interestingly she addresses Jason directly as he knows above everyone else why she has to do it. This likely means because of his own vendetta against Joker but I think it's more than that. She might have told him everything just like he told her about his life. Jason is the only person she's only known as a friend, implying he's likely the closest friend she ever had. He gets it in a way Roy never will. Kori says she won't do it if he asks her not to but won't forgive either of them. Jason's phrasing is intriguing:

Jason Todd: He ruled your life when you were a kid, Kori. Don't give him anything else.

Doesn't it sound like he's talking from experience? (Which is also weird considering his code name.) They wait for her to make her move and she takes off. But it was still kind of a wasted effort because the guy realizes she was right and uses one of Roy's arrows to blow his own head off.

Kori returns home and opens a safe filled with vials taking one and then lying on the beach. The implications that she just took some drug.

Overall: I don't mind the text boxes when they act as thought boxes but having it explained who she is and what's going on? It's not needed although I suppose it's still nice for new comers. This was the best issue I've read in awhile and I was at the edge of my seat at one point. I not only sympathized with Kori but kind of felt for the former slaver too. Which was a feat in it's self although it would have been nice to get more background on him in flashbacks before seeing how he changed. The inclusion of his granddaughter definitely helped humanize him as well as his willingness to die.

The confrontation between the trio along with Kori/the slaver were the best parts. I could never buy Tynions' reasons for there being tension and it never felt right. You can feel Koris' fury and heartbreak that her friends won't allow her to get revenge. The appearance of the drugs raises questions as no one's acted under the influence recently. Well unless some past issues were a drug induced dream. I still dread seeing why they were there and how this will affection everyone.

Question Raised?: Was the escape pod the same one that crashed into Cruxs' family car? I guess not but that would have been ironic.

What did the dead aliens have to do with the former slaver? Did they trigger a memory that made her need to kill him?

Why do they have that safe? Is it supposed to be Jason's? The solicits suggest Kori and Jason both are abusing drugs in 35. Did Kori know he was using and keep quiet? Was she abusing as her scan print seems to imply? Were they both using just not telling Roy? If Jason was using how come none of the bats noticed? ...Well they are crappy at noticing when he's hurting. I'm hoping there's a good reason for it, like Jason getting forced injected with it and needing to ease his way off. I have a feeling Jason will be blamed for this based on how pissed Roy seems on next months' cover.

How many years was the slaver guy on earth and how old was his adopted kid if he's a grandfather now?

Did You Notice?: Jason's eyes are showing through the helmet?! Why is this now a thing?