Red Hood and the Outlaws #15 Vol. 2

I have to admit I'm not looking forward to where the solicits has this arc going which made me more reluctant to read my current favorite series. This review wasn't written while I was reading the comic like I normally do.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I'll talk about the upcoming issues I'm less interested in later. For now I'll focus on the DET team. I've made no secret that I never liked how Tynion handles established characters among other traits I don't enjoy in his writing. I've been told that he hasn't handled certain things well. That he rushed the Tim/Steph relationship as they just met in this canon. That Clayface trying to get redemption was sudden and felt forced. That Cass is off (this one wasn't explained to me in great detail) and Kate wasn't given a good reason to be part of the team. I've heard more but this is the stuff based on the current members featured in this issue.

I don't know if any of this has changed in the DET title. I do know how Kate was written prior to DET by Tynion. Anyone recall how she treated her cousin Bette ? So I'm reading this based on what I have read not what Tynion has written. The same goes for the other characters but Kate is the one I've read a more recent portrayal of. Anyway let's get back to Kate's characterization. This is what was written about her by one of her creators in his last arc and said by someone in the DEO Psych Ops.

Agent Asaf: Yes, it's clear this Batwoman hates authority figures, yet needs to be one herself. She doesn't see the contradiction, but knows she must be in control at all times.

So yeah, I can see Kate thinking she needs to be the one telling the Outlaws what to do despite Jason having a more personal connection to Bruce. Especially if it looks like their being lured in. I can't say anything for sure about her comment on Luke's ego since I don't know how their being written elsewhere. He doesn't come off like he has one here.

Kate saying "estranged friends of the family" in regards to the Outlaws just gave me so many thoughts and questions. Does she realize Jason IS family? Do the DET team consider themselves a family? I wouldn't consider Artemis and Bizarro part of the bat clan. If we did wouldn't that mean we'd have to count all the teams with bat members on them like JL or TT? Even if she's only really saying this in regards to Jason I still find this weird. Yes the bat family in general is big but when I think of the inner circle, those Bruce cares about most...I don't see Kate being part of it despite being related by blood. Those people are far closer to Jason than she is even with some strained relationships. She knows who Jason is but doesn't get why Bruce isn't doing anything? She seems to be out of the loop.

At the same time this seems to give credence to what Jason previously said about not being a family in a meaningful way since others see the estrangement. He's also being treated like crap here. Then again Kate is kind of arrogant which I don't really think is that out of character given what I mentioned. Here Bizarro purposely pushes all of Kate's buttons by telling her their doing a better job than her and acting like he's the one in control. Kate herself doesn't treat Jason with respect and despite him usually being seen as the leader of the Outlaws, she doesn't see him as one in this issue.

I agree with Jason on Luke's outfit, it's not one of the better designed costumes/armors.

I'm very intrigued by the Ma Gunn/Willis Todd letters plot. I love that she's nosey but also concerned by the letters since she knows it's important to Jason. Gunn herself is shocked by what she reads. Lobdell has been building up who Willis Todd is for a while so the teases we get are always fascinating.

Willis' letter: Miss her more than...

The "her" being mentioned is pretty fascinating given DITF and the whole birth mother plot. It could be referring to Catherine, in most canon she'd be dead by the time Willis wrote the letter. That makes this apparent regret sound pretty genuine. The "her" isn't named which could mean it's someone else. In the "Who is Artemis" arc Jason does mention his birth mother. Shelia Haywood? A different woman? Is the "one hope at redemption" the big deal that gets that stunned reaction from Gunn? Is his idea of redemption something that led to bad things?

The letter has hints that Willis loved Jason more than Jason's narrative suggested. I'm honestly more excited about this plot than the main one.

Bizarro's choice of words are interesting as he views Gunn being invested in the letters as a problem for Jason which makes it his problem. There's a thin line between being protective and being obsessive. He's doing questionable methods to achieve his goals in the limited time span he has. Both Jason and Lobdell have commented on Bizarro having the same heart as before. So I think he's doing all of this for the Outlaws/Jason's benefit.

I do love Jason making up random things to prove Artemis isn't listening to him. Their dynamics continues to be fun and it's neat to see Jason being the more positive one. I've seen comments on last issue about Jason not being in character based on not suspecting something is up with Bizarro. I don't agree. Jason does have a history of ignoring bad signs when he wants something bad enough. He did it in DITF when he wanted a mom. Shelia was revealed to be blackmailed by Joker for past and present crimes. Jason knew something was off with JD but kept giving her chances because he needed to believe she could be redeemed. I can totally buy Jason being in denial over Bizarro because he's so proud of him and relates so much to him.

I would have liked Cass doing more but am I upset that she didn't take out Artemis? Uh no. I love Cass and I do believe she's one of the better fighters in the bat family. But Artemis rivals Diana so no, Cass shouldn't win. This Artemis has superior strength too. Would I like more of a fight? Sure but there was too many characters to showcase it. At least Cass didn't get punted like a football like Jason did by Artemis.

I really want to see Bruce or Dick screaming at Kate for her behavior here. Everyone else I can excuse for just going with the flow. I've read Kate being an ass to others before, she's acted like one to Bruce when they fought over territory. It's a character flaw that does piss me off here. If Tim was present this would never have happened and Bizarro played her like a fiddle. Sure Bizarro wasn't any better than Kate for egging this on but we don't know his reasoning yet. We know Kate decided to take this matter into her own hands instead of asking those that would know. She never got any real answers and because they pissed her off she's sending them to Waller.

I do question Kate doing this as she was under the thumb of the DEO but as stated above she probably wouldn't see the contradiction. Having the Outlaws in the Suicide Squad honestly pisses me off. More on that next issue but just think about it: they will inject bombs into their bodies. I seriously want Bruce to flip out overver Kate deciding injecting Jason and the others with bombs to be in Waller's control was better than calling him. It's not a bad issue per se yet it still makes me angry. DET team has no common sense and their lack of respect for Jason/Outlaws leads to this outcome.





Questions Raised?: If Luke and the team have concerns why didn't they go to Batman about them? Especially if they realize their being lead with breadcrumbs.

Does Gunn visit them often? Bizarro instantly got suspicious of her because she of this?

Artemis asks if what Bizarro has been doing bothers Jason but didn't it last issue? He wasn't as bothered as her but Jason questioned the doorway.

How does Jason who has a tazer build into his armor get taken out by a tazer? His suit doesn't protect him from that?

Did Kate's pill do anything or is Bizarro faking it for his plan to work?

Does Bruce or Dick bother to explain anything to anyone?  Or was Kate just being an ass that knew but did this because Bizarro taunted her?





Say what?: Clayface asks if Cass is reading lines with him. I don't think she can currently read and know her past self couldn't. But I think this is just a turn of phrase.

I heard that Cass was deaged and that still annoys me when I read it here. She's supposed to be older than Jason although many forget Jason isn't much older than Tim.

This is the DET team being "nice"?

As you wish? Is this a Princess Bride reference?

You know you never really see characters being mindful of the ages of clones. I like that despite Bizarro currently being a genius inventor Jason still sees him as a baby.

Yeah "he started it" is immature and makes this a frustrating read at the end. At least Luke was starting to realize Jason and Artemis didn't know what was going on.  That point gets taken away since he still shoots Jason when his back is turned.




Did you notice?: The newspapers on the steps. Does Faye not have anyone besides the Outlaws to pick those up?

The state of Gunn's place. How did she get approval to run the place if it's in that state?

What happened to Artemis' lasso?