It's been a long wait for this issue. Not just the wait between #22 and #23, but this plot has been teased a while back. We finally get to see what's in Willis Todd's letters.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Jason gets interrupted by Pengiuns' men who he easily defeats.
Interesting that Jason choses to read the contents of the letters at Ma Gunns' place. Based on what Faye said (Faye Jr. that is) he probably figured he needed the privacy since it'd likely be personal. She mentions the possibility of trying to protect him, did she care about him back them? Even she doesn't seem sure.
We finally have confirmation that there are a total of six letters Willis sent. I like the change in style when Jason switches to Willis letter. The narrative boxes change to lined paper. This marks the first "official" time we've seen Willis "talk" since the flashbacks were done in Jason's perspective. Willis owns up to his mistakes and not being a good father. They didn't seem to talk a lot which works with what we've seen as his attention was usually elsewhere.
Willis is writing because he doesn't want Jason to end up in prison either. He doesn't want to lie about who he is and confesses the past. How he was a drug dealer and met Jason's mother. We get the first confirmation that Willis sold her drugs getting Catherine started on her addiction. The first letter doesn't tell us anything new except Willis' regret. The second letter starts off with Willis meeting her parents who weren't thrilled with their daughter dating a (ex) drug dealer. She chose Willis though.
The third letter has Willis talking about the pregnancy and how it was something that him scared. The fourth letter Willis explains how they tried (and failed) to be better people. Unlike the other tellings (where Jason narrated) Jason was born at home in a bath tub not a hospital. Taking his newborn baby to the roof Willis shows his son Gotham promising Jason will be everything his dad wasn't and he'd be a dad Jason could be proud of. They both know how that turned out.
The fifth letter has new information as Willis talks about medical cost. Jason had problems with his health leading to Willis being desperate enough to enter crime again. It turns out Willis was a henchman for a lot of big names and considered becoming a super villain himself. He just wasn't too thrilled with the idea of taking Batman's punches. The bat scar is shown again but not in the same manner it used to be. Willis claims he paid for the circus even though Jason said he stole the tickets in the Annual. Penguin used Willis as a fall guy which sent him to prison. He wrote the letter the day he heard about his wife's death.
The last letter is written right after Willis agrees to be a test subject. Digging up his father's grave reveals that Willis isn't in the coffin. No one is. Jason doesn't know what to feel and tries to tell himself that he doesn't care. Penguin decides not to kill Red Hood because he's suffering and wants him to suffer.
Overall: I'm being 100% honest when I say I always am more excited about Lobdell's Red Hood than any other book (with the possible exception of a Jurgens written Booster Gold.) A lot of times it's mixed with an anxious feeling because I never know what to expect. While the letters weren't as shocking as I expected it was still a touching issue.
The part with Willis being a drug dealer and meeting Jason's mom was previously shown in RHATO #0 Vol.1. I could have done with her being a red head especially since she looks like Artemis since she has a ponytail. I do like how it's framed with Willis knowing he shouldn't have gotten involved with her but wanting to be happy. How they were just kids before they became terrible parents. I think that's the first time Catherine was even referred to as a bad parent. Jason loved her but we never saw anything positive that she did as a mom.
It's funny but I can see a lot of Jason in how Willis writes about Catherine being better off without him. It reminds me of Jason with Isabel.
I wondered how much of the past telling of Jason's life in #0 (his parents meeting, etc.) was true since it was told from his POV. His birth was more intimate with Willis actually being there to deliver his son himself and was all the more sad because of the way it was done. There's a lot of ways characters like to present their kids in Batman books over the years. William Cobb kidnapped his son and gave him to Haly with the title of the "Gray Son." Ra's climbed a mountain to reenact the Lion King with Talia. She put Damian in a pool then had him in swim in blood. I truly like how Willis shows Gotham to Jason and dubs him the Prince of Gotham. Given Jason's love of the city and how Alfred echoed that title in #18 of vol.1 it's an especially nice touch.
It really hurts at the fifth letter where we learn the Todds could have been a happy family but Jason was really sick. I don't think for a second Willis' "bad genes" were to blame. I had hoped Catherine had stopped using drugs during her pregnancy but she didn't. If you ever took a health class in school there's A LOT of ways alcohol or drugs could harm a baby. If it's his respiratory system that's iconic given his death. But it makes me angrier at Catherine and feeling more sympathetic towards Willis for doing all he could to save his kid's life.
Before Catherine seemed like she started using drugs because of Willis. From him being away all the time, supposedly cheating (Jason's POV) and just the state of her life. This is darker and I'm left wondering what was wrong with Jason when he was little.
There were a lot of emotional scenes, which Scott Lobdell excels at, but I think the moment that got me was Willis' last letter and talk with the guard. Where Willis tells Jason that when he has a son he'll know what it's like to do whatever you can for them. Love isn't enough though since the Todds couldn't get by that alone. It's a statement that fits yet seems at odds with Jason himself. Because Jason wants love but never really gets it (that he's aware of.)
Then the cruel irony of Willis admitting he just wanted Jason to know he was loved. Well done.
I'll write more about Willis elsewhere but for now it's sinking in that we have to wait another month.
Questions Raised?: How old are Jason's parents supposed to be? They were teens in the other telling but it's vague here.
Catherine came from money? Her place looks like a mansion. Willis calls it the 'burbs (suburbs) but it looked fancier.
Penguin had Gunn's place watched? Why? Does he know who Red Hood is?
Say What?: Willis calls Catherine a stubborn lady. This amused me because stubborn is a phrase often used to describe Jason.
Willis named his son Jason after his grandfather? His dad or hers? Because his dad was implied to be an abusive ass. Willis claims no one ever chose him before and if he's the prisoner with Artemis he claimed his son had no other family. I think we can guess that her parents wouldn't lift a finger for Jason but if Willis' big family actually exists beyond Jason's imagination that's curious.
Willis worked at a car wash.
Something about Willis telling Jason Gotham was his home felt familiar. That's pretty much what Jason tells Bizarro when he calms him down.
Willis calling Jason the damned Prince of Gotham.
Did You Notice?: Nice detail with Willis thinking his luck would change when the coin is showing the bad side.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment