RHATO Interviews

I have a few I've gone over now.



Some information on Artemis and her friction with Jason here.

“Jason Todd,” Lobdell told Inverse, “wasn’t brought up being told he’d take over as Dark Knight. Bruce wasn’t like, ‘okay buddy, you’re gonna grow up and be another Batman,’ so then he had this tragedy, and now he’s Red Hood,” Lobdell said. “Artemis was raised in the Egyptian country of Amazons, and she was told, ‘you’re smart and you’re pretty and one day you’re going to lead us,’ but when her small fractions of the Amazons was integrated with the rest, she was just another really good warrior in a group of women raised to be the same thing. She always kind of saw herself as a Wonder Woman, and then she was told, ‘Nah, no thanks, we already have one of those.’”

So Artemis sort of has her old backstory although no mention of her exile yet.

“Not only will there be friction before things settle, but there will be friction as the series goes. Jason thinks he’s the toughest guy on the block, trained by Batman himself, and Artemis sees him as a three-year-old who’s going to hurt himself with the weapon he’s holding. She believes she’s forgotten more than Jason could ever know about war or conflict. The art of war, that’s something Jason read in a book, but Artemis has been alive for a very, very long time.”

The conflict is clear in Lobdell’s first Rebirth issue, which introduces Artemis as a frustration to Jason Todd. “He’s going to react to a gorgeous Amazonion calling him out all the time,” Lobdell laughs, recalling the final panel in his Rebirth comic.

Interesting, this changes up her background. Her people--the Bana-Mighdall--were Amazons that were mortal. Taking that away does get rid of that whole buying sex slaves to make babies problem her people had. Now she's an immortal, at least she doesn't age. If anyone would act like this it would be Artemis and while Jason's usually mature (despite what some say) I think it would get on his nerves after a while. I remember Lobdell saying he wanted to build up Kori, Roy and Jason's relationship more in interviews before the first series came out. They were going to go their separate ways when Jason took off in the first issue. If Artemis is older than him then seeing him as a child makes so much sense. This sounds like she's going to win their fight next month.

Another interview here.

DKN: Red Hood and the Outlaws has embraced what Rebirth is all about: It’s taking classic concepts and bringing them into the modern era. Why did you decide to reintegrate the classic Post-Crisis origin of Jason Todd into modern continuity, along with Ma Gunn? I have to admit the latter brought a smile to my face.

Scott Lobdell: There’s nothing in The New 52 that precluded Ma Gunn. It was just part of the origin that wasn’t touched on whenever I was touching on his earlier days. Similarly, if people go back and see The New 52, there were elements that if readers wanted to add in the origin of him knocking over the Batmobile, that could still exist. I don’t think I used Rebirth to go back on his more recent origin as much as it fleshed it out more. I read a review where someone complained that it doesn’t make sense that Bruce would give Jason more burgers and then take him to the mansion and say, “You’re Robin.” That’s not how it happened.

As the series progresses, we’re going to be filling in more gaps. We’re going to realize that Ma Gunn has always been a part of Jason’s origin and what got him to where he is now. This marm version of her is a cover for using all that money she’s made to kind of live the high life. I would love to have her show up more and be an Alfred for the team.

I can see the burger thing being confused. It's easy to make assumptions since it's the first issue and usually the origin is all in one issue. That's not always the case we're just used to it. I'm beyond thrilled that more of Jasons' past will be revealed and more of Ma Gunn is possible. I didn't copy the section about the Outlaws or Geoff Johns coming up with the idea for the other two joining in. I agree with the first and I'm intrigued by the second.

DKN: With Black Mask being the introductory villain and Jason going deep cover, do you see your book as giving a look into the Gotham underworld in a way that isn’t being explored in other Bat books at the moment?

SL: Yes, I think like even in the first Rebirth [one-shot] that thug comes up to Jason and presents a Black Mask card. I think it’s a glimpse into the fact that even henchmen have a role to play in the underground. Usually, it seems to me that when we see Penguin, most of the time he is at his desk. You don’t really know what happens to him between here and there. Joker is a perfect example of a character who is horrific, but he is horrific because we don’t know much about him. We don’t see him go home and make himself a bagel or get one of his henchmen to do it.

And with Red Hood, even within the first episode, he decides he wants in. Could we cut all the research away? Could we cut the notion of Jason trying to figure out his way in? We could have, sure. We could have even opened up with the scene of Red Hood attacking Black Mask’s limo. But I think it’s important to show how he finds his past and his kind of oddball concern for Ma Gunn and studying Black Mask and how it brings back memories of his internship under Batman. [It] all helps bring it to a point that when he starts to get involved with Black Mask, Black Mask realizes why it’s such a treacherous territory for him. Batman is concerned why he’s giving Jason enough rope, he’s hoping that he doesn’t trip himself up in it. I just finished scripting the third issue and that’s when we really get a look at Roman’s home and why it’s important for Roman to find himself involved with Jason.

I always like when henchmen get bigger roles and it's interesting because Jason's dad was originally a henchman. Sort of, what he did was never clear just that he worked for Two Face. I liked all the detail we got before the limo attack, there was a lot of emotional build up I wouldn't trade for the world. Black Mask being interested in Jason has me interested and worried. (Not copied but) I like that he is so positive with fans and that he has met people that love the series. Online can be pretty negative.

Another interview here.

Scott Lobdell: In the first series, it was about him having been comfortable with Roy [Harper] and Kori [Starfire] from the first page of the series. It was kind of an about-face from "Jason was an angry loner," which he had been prior to Red Hood and the Outlaws [Volume 1]. With Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth #1, we find that Jason is a little more skittish. He's tried friendships and it turns out he's probably not very good at it. Just as he's into that realization, he winds up meeting Artemis and Bizarro. Meeting Artemis and Bizarro under any circumstance is going to be a little odd, but the fact that these two ultimately start to challenge him in terms of even the way he views friendships and teammates is going to give us yet another new take on Jason and how he relates to other people.

It's interesting to me that there was Red Hood and the Outlaws, then there wasRed Hood/Arsenal, and now there's a new Red Hood and the Outlaws. While the membership and the pairing has changed over time, the truth is that even if the series had been an ongoing one for the last five years or six years, it would be my inclination to change up the dynamics as a matter of course. We're treating this as a Rebirth but also the third volume in the story of Jason and how he relates to the people around him who aren't Bats or Bat-family members. I think it's been really fun to write and exciting to see him grow as a character.

It sounds like Jason is a little traumatized by the loss of his friends which is sad. He didn't do anything wrong and doesn't see it that way. I hope that Roy and Kori show up at some point and have a positive relationship with him.

(I didn't copy some other bits but here's some thought on what's said.) I'm glad we didn't get the other characters for the Outlaws. I don't know how that would have worked.

I'm looking forward to more flashbacks.

You never know, Batman might turn up at some point. I do love the image of Jason and him going to Starbucks in their uniforms.

Their relationship is arguable the most complex of the whole Bat family, It's definitely the one that hits me the hardest. The trust issue is an ongoing problem that's fascinating. I think Batman trust Jason with his life and missions. To let him go into darker situations? Not so much. Also the idea of Jason having a son of his own is great, I don't think anyone has ever written a happy future for him much less one with a kid.

Looking forward to Bizarro being different.