Who died and how does it fit?

I nearly completed my review for issue #22 when I realized there was a lot things I wanted to talk about. I decided to split some of it up.

In RHATO we learned some information about Artemis and see Solitary appear more. What does he want to happen? And who died in the flashback?

SPOILERS AHEAD

What Solitary wants from the team is unknown at present. He claims he put the team of Red Hood, Artemis and Bizarro together. When Bizarro was increasing his intelligence Solitary revealed himself to him to get him to stop. The results were that Bizarro was defeated and he apparently never told his team about the encounter. I had a theory that the "Pup Pup" that Bizarro saw talking to him was Solitary trying to get Bizarro to quit taking kryptonite. If that's the case I assume that it finally worked since Bizarro suddenly quit using it in #22.

We see Solitary around the leads and them not appearing to notice him even when he's speaking to them:

• He sits in Lex Luthors' waiting room telling Artemis to "Knock 'em dead, girl" when she's about to speak to Luthor. (The panels of Artemis getting up and him appearing are confusing to me because of the item placements. I can't tell if he's suppose to be sitting where she was or not.) Does he want her to talk to Luthor or is he rubbing salt in her previous memory of killing so many people?
• When Bizarro is staring at his base thinking about what he'll miss Solitary appears on the street but says nothing to him.
• When Bizarro calls Solitary sits behind Jason asking "who can that be?" Can he possess people or something else? He appears rather quickly at three different locations.

The only thing I can get from his appearances (besides his interest in the Outlaws) is that: he wants Bizarro to have reduced intelligence and there's something about the Luthor connection that intrigues him. The former we already know about since he already told Bizarro that he was ruining his plans. Why does Artemis' link to Luthor matter? Because of Luthor himself or being able to manipulate her because of the past?  Something else?

iIn the flashback Artemis is in Herve El Agua working for Lex Luthor. This location was previously mentioned by the Creeper (Jack Ryder) when he confronted Artemis in the Outlaws headquarters. He yelled at her that she was the only one to leave Herve El Agua alive. In her memory we learn that Luthor wanted to make a point by killing off those that would use his tech for their own means. The prison in Herve El Agua was apparently using it's inmates as lab rats with the property of Luthor. Which the prisoner we see Artemis with claims he signed on with to get time off to be with his son.

Who is the prisoner? It's not said in the book and we don't actually know if it's important at this point or just a way of showing Artemis' past mistakes. If he is important we are given some potential hints. The man said he was a bad father and husband. His wife died and he's desperate to return to his son as he's the only family he has left. At the moment I can only think of three possibilities--if it is in fact a character we previously saw.

The Creeper/Jack Ryder: I think this one is probably the least likely of the bunch. Ryder has had different variations of his origin over the years. The prisoner does have a couple of possible links as the Creeper mini series I reviewed did have Ryder used as a test subject and he was killed/resurrected. But he wasn't a prisoner that volunteered for an illegal experiment and he didn't have the family connection. Unless DC/Lobdell plan on really changing Ryder it seems unlikely. All things considered Creeper acted tamer than he should act if Artemis' actions kept him from a son. His "as I sort of live and breathe" comment could refer to his previous death but Creeper jokes a lot so it's sometimes hard to tell when it has a grain of truth.

If he's not the prisoner where is Ryder in the flashback? Well he never said he was there just that Artemis was the only one who left alive and doesn't seem aware of Luthor's involvement. He's a reporter and could have learned of her assignment later on. I'd love it if Creeper appeared more in the series but he might just have been someone in the know that was setting up this plot. If it is Ryder it seems weird that he'd drop the subject and her past has less emotional weight if he's not around to point out her mistakes.

Solitary: We don't know anything about him and assuming he's not a character we should know (his comment to Bizarro about his identity was odd) this could be a good origin story. It'd show his motivation, how he could have gained his power and what his connection to Luthor is. It doesn't clear up any of his current goals for the team. We don't know why he needs them or why he'd involve Jason when he's the only one in the trio that's not really connected to Luthor.

Willis Todd: What little we learned from the letters Ma Gunn read seems to fit with the regretful dad. Willis could have been transferred out of Gotham for illegal experiments to be preformed on himself. Having Artemis unknowingly kill Jason's father would be a huge shake up. There could also be red herrings as the covers for #23 indicate that Penguin is somehow involved with Willis' death.

Normally I'd think it'd be too cliché if Willis' narrative just happened to fit in with the teammate Jason has. Except for Solitary claiming he brought them together. If that's the case then it makes all the sense in the world. The Penguin connection has me wavering on this one but let's assume the prisoner is Willis Todd. Okay, what does that do for the story narrative. It links different stories together like Lex Luthor and Artemis. If Willis is alive it makes the story potential even more explosive.

Jason would be the emotional lynch pin as he realizes his dad did regret the past. There would be conflict with Luthor for arranging the whole thing (linking Lex to all of the Outlaws) and a sense of betrayal with Artemis. It would take A LOT of effort to ever salvage their relationship but it could be done especially if Willis is alive.