Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Batman Prelude to the Wedding: Part 4 Red Hood vs. Anarky

I hoping for more of a fun time with this one.

SPOILERS AHEAD


I don't recall last issue having any Nightwing sex appeal praise which was a plus since Seeley and King seem to have a difficult time not bringing it up when Dick is in an issue. The most ridiculous being Duke claiming the Robins called Nightwing "tight ass" in Robin War. (*1) I think it's an extremely over played bit by now and it's gotten to the point I roll my eye every time I read a character swoon over him. I don't like repetitive bits especially when it's only purpose is fan service.

Selina's friend Pamela Sweigeld gives her an "inflatable" Nightwing that thankfully is just a small balloon. It's still creepy since the woman knows Nightwing is connected to Batman. Although I'm not sure how risque a tiny cartoon balloon of Nightwing with a stick shoved up the groin is but to each their own. At least it doesn't change between artists. Pamela claims Nightwing is the hottest of the bat boys despite never getting a good view of the others. I can only imagine Selina is laughing over this awkward situation to move on otherwise we're back to creepy.

Jason's reaction to this feels a bit off. We've seen back with Isabel that Jason was honestly shocked that she was attracted to him. At one point he thought she must be nearsighted because she wanted to date him. The only reason he gets annoyed in the RHATO vol 2 annual #1is because Artemis is focused on Dick. He wasn't upset about anything to do with looks just how it appeared that Artemis was paying more attention to his brother. Jason has a low self esteem. At least the art makes it look like he's more hurt than arrogant.

Why the hell would Jason make a joke about Selina making out with her friends? Selina actually had a thing with Eiko. Without even knowing that it seems like a weird thing to say, as is Alfred's "probably" response. Do they know that history or do they think women make out when their partying?

Jason charging Bruce a bill doesn't fit. This isn't something I could see even him joking about. Lobdell made it clear that Jason made his own money in this canon instead of taking Talia's money. Jason didn't like charging people in Red Hood/Arsenal. He's trying to prove himself to Bruce in his own title and would do this favor for free. Jason scoffed at Ollie trying to foot bills and made a comment about rich guys always trying to settle things with money. The money brought up two more times in this which seems to be suggesting it's played straight especially since Bizarro comments on it.

Anarky is just...I'm going to simplify this with the first word that came to mind when reading this: Cringe. I can say the same thing for Jason's unneeded speech about who Red Hood is ending with his origin but also claiming he's "crazier" and "meaner." It's not, in my opinion, a smooth transition to use to scare them with.

I haven't read about Anarky in awhile, he was in some Tim Drake books I've read like Red Robin. Since my memory is a little sketchy on him I might not have all the facts right. Still I'm pretty sure this interpretation is very off. The speech he gives at the end tying him to Jason also feels extremely very heavy handed. I'm not sure why Jason can just walk pass Gordon, or even be in the building with no problem. He is an Outlaw right?

The continuity of these issues (in regards to each other) is excellent since you could easily place them in a timeline. I still don't see why Bruce couldn't do something with all his sons and let someone else (a JL member perhaps) guard Selina. Seeley also manages to at least research the RHATO canon which is more than I can say for other writers. He uses some of the creations of Bizarro to good effect. I like the parallel between Selina and Jason having rough lives although I would have preferred it if the two of them interacted instead of seeing it with the friends Selina is with. The fight was nice if short and uses Jason's tazer well.

Calling Batman out for thinking he should enforce rules instead of allowing individual methods is interesting but this really should have been Tim. Anarky and him have a history making it more apparent that Tim is missing out. The characterization for Jason is better than other Eternal writers but it's still not quite right.

Personally I feel like these issues are squandering their potential. This should have been about all of Bruce's kids (I don't know if Cass is one in this canon) and had them interact with Selina. Showing their past with her and them trying to bond with her before she becomes part of the family. These issues strained to find connections with villains, who their fighting and how it links with the wedding.



Questions Asked?: Did Jason really donate money to all these causes? Biz implies Jason would use the money to do this meaning it wasn't a joke. Jason wouldn't have known about donating the money in advance so he did want it for himself? Did Seeley forget Jason has his own money? Jason is a feminist too which makes it weird that he'd donate to the other cause when Biz could have traced the masks and taken them out himself.

If Jason wanted to be hidden why didn't he wear a disguise?

Why did Selina assume Jason was protecting her? She had to if she told Bruce, right? But Jason was a good distance away.


*1 Nope I'm not letting that one go. No one refers to their sibling like that.

6 comments:

  1. 1.the we are robin group called dick tight ass and Damian called dick tight ass cause he didn't want to give away his identity to riko.

    Now bruce gave jason a job to spy on selina this wasn't a criminal or illegal activity, this was a job. granted i'm surprise bruce paid jason cause the smirk on jason face told me it was a joke.

    jason rant to oliver about footing roy hospital bill was not about money. it was about how he feel like bruce and oliver throw money around and expect them to be happy cause their fathers provided for them in their time of need. yet don't show interest other wise basically he was projecting his bruce issues on to oliver. which at the time was really warranted.

    now last one jason was hidden don't forget the fire works in the sky butcher block usually doesn't have those kind of scenes and the message that redhood left would be talked about with a whisper.

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    1. It's a better explanation but it's still creepy to me.

      Bruce employs his kids now? Tim worked for WE but this is different. He's asking Jason to spy on Selina which they both know she'd be against since Bruce tells Jason the deal is off since she saw him. That's supposed to be a favor, Jason knows this since he later calls it a wedding gift but it's mentioned too much to be a joke.

      The smirk doesn't mean much to me since that seems like the default mode for Jason when most writers use him. Jason the "bad boy" which even artists have portrayed by smirking most of the time. Jason could be smirking because he knows he'll get the money since Bruce wants it done.

      I got that, I'm saying that Jason won't put himself into a position like that. He has his own ethics and wouldn't ask for payment just to do something. He looks down his nose at "rich folks" that throw money around to get what they want then asks for it? If it was a joke it should have been phrased better.

      Are you talking about how people knew? Because I got the impression Bruce was told by Selina almost instantly and it looked like she was looking at Jason. How did she know he was there to protect her?

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  2. Since when Jason is a feminist? Someone who treats women well or cares about them doesn't make them feminist. I'm not one for doing that and Jason never declare it either.

    And why Tim has to be the one here just because of Anarchy? Should Batman be the one fighting penguin in RHATO because he is his vilian?

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    1. There are a number of essays on the subject but it goes back to his Robin run and in Lobdells' run. Being a feminist, as it originally was defined, was about supporting equality of the sexes. Jason is a big supporter of women and has gotten peeved when others treat them as lesser people. Being a feminist isn't a bad term even if some seem to think it is.

      Because Tim has more of a history with him making it more interesting. I rather have that history than have what we got. It makes it more glaring that Tim isn't present. Jason could have fought Two-Face, it doesn't matter. The fact Tim isn't here does matter to me.

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    2. He never declared himself as feminist nor he go around screaming around for Women rights. Like I said, caring about Women doesn't make him a feminist.

      Going by this logic then Jason facing penguin or any of the rouge gallery is glaring since they have more of history with Batman. Red Hood is chosen over Tim because he is more popular and relevant than him and Seeley successfully managed to connect him to Anarchy so I don't see it as weird or anything.

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    3. You don't agree fine. You seem to have your own idea what being feminist entails. I'm not talking politics stuff I'm talking about core beliefs.

      I think you misunderstand what I'm saying. I don't care who Jason fought. I wanted Tim to appear and it's glaring that he wasn't there because of Anarky. Seeley could have ditched the Harley Quinn or Batgirl issue or tried to add another issue. If this is a celebration of the wedding it should have included all of Bruce's sons.

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