Red Hood and the Outlaws #42 Vol. 2

How do Jason and Artemis feel about each other?

SPOILERS AHEAD


For those unfamiliar with some of Scott Lobdell's Marvel work he was well known for his breather issues. The reason for this is pretty apparent if you read them. His focus on heartfelt moments with the characters really shines. Needless to say there's a lot to go over for someone like me who love such moments. Let's start with the location, New York not Gotham. This confused me a little but I think I get what Lobdell was going for (besides the X-Men nod.)

Originally I didn't understand why Ma Gunn was living in her home inside a bottle when Jason previously visited her home. I misunderstood and thought there were two houses. But thinking back that's when Jason found the note from Gunn that said she was busy with family, which Faye Jr. later confirmed. Bizarro shrank the house down later. It didn't regain it's normal size when Pup Pup freed Gunn but they transported it to New York. Which works perfectly for Jason as he doesn't seem interested in going back to Gotham anytime soon.

Ma Gunn doesn't tell Jason that she's his grandmother, much like Wingman didn't reveal himself as Willis. They do settle the matter of her guilt about the letters. The talk went better than she thought it would, although Gunn still sees him as a scared little boy in contrast to Pup Pup seeing him as tough. She thinks he's afraid of himself, which is a pretty insightful look into his character. Within the context of the scene it's even more intriguing.

Is he afraid of his anger towards her ? Previously Jason was a bit protective of her, although he still had no problem telling Faye Jr. what he thought of her grandmothers' life of crime. Is Jason worried what would happen if he lets himself trust in another person who hurt him in the past ? What back up would Pup Pup have given? Would he tell Jason how Bizarro imprisoned her? Is Gunn so unfazed by Pup Pup because of the comic she read? Where did that comic come from? How much does she know in general? Her talk with Willis implied that she was already aware of many odd happenings to the point things rarely surprised her.

Lobdell is making sure readers don't forget that the students are still super villains. The team has a quite managed to change your minds yet. Babe In Arms is particularly creepy as she sets her sights on Bizarro.

Artemis' comment on how an apple looks too perfect to eat, which Jason doesn't understand since the purpose of food is to eat it. While she claims that she just appreciates the simple things in life I naturally over thought the meaning beyond what she's saying. Symbolically I could see the apple having a few different meanings. It could represent Jason and perusing a relationship with him. She views it as something that she dares not mar while Jason sees it as a natural conclusion.

It also reminds me of the tales of Snow White and Adam and Eve. Both stories with the apple being a form of temptation that has a punishment for eating it (poison or banishment, etc.) In the case of the former a kiss awakens the woman. When they do kiss Artemis has a realization that makes her lie about her feelings for him. At least some of her reluctance probably stems from her supposedly ruining his life. She might believe she killed his father or at the very least he'd be disgusted by her past.

The exchange about her being mysterious and him being a "oft-clueless, man" adds a nice layer to their interaction. He's discovering new information about her all the time yet Jason himself isn't as clueless as Artemis believes. Hieve El Agua is something he knows about by deducing clues at the location and talking to a survivor. Yet he doesn't push her about it or her lying.

I was waiting for the Wally West issue to be brought up and not just because Lobdell is writing Flash Forward. I actually got into a semi-debate with someone who thought Jason should have gone after him. That never felt right to me because Jason would know the original Titans were close. He'd know that Wally would never intentionally harm his friends. I had trouble seeing Jason as someone wanting revenge against Wally for an accident. Maybe he'd do it if he didn't have all the information but he intentionally made sure he wasn't involved in catching the killer.

I do think he's sincere about not wanting to seek revenge but his "that sucks" attitude was far too causal. It tells Artemis that he's not handling his grief well, just avoiding it. She probes to makes sure he doesn't want revenge and something about that is just so perfect. I don't think she'd judge him if he felt that way, she usually has similar morals anyway. But she knows something is off about his behavior.

Unlike every time that Roy's death came up with Jason it really feels like Artemis gets to the heart of the matter. Sure, Jason reacted with shock and anger when he first heard about it from Bruce. But for the most part he doesn't talk about how he's feeling even when Bruce says it's okay to let his emotions out. Jason shuts down, he removes himself from potential investigation to avoid dealing with Bruce and his grief. At most he hugs Bruce but that's the only comfort he allows himself to have then. His call to Roys' phone sounds like he's in denial. A lot of his solo time had Jason lashing out in anger like when he took on an entire town.

We never hear about any of the other bat kids calling Jason. He assumed Damian turned up to offer his condolences or at least inform him of the death, but that wasn't the reason for Damian meeting him. Kate apologized for bringing the Outlaws to Waller and said she's sorry to hear about his friend. Both of which Jason accepts without much of a reaction. Since he's not exactly close to her the discussion doesn't go any further.

Jason seems in control of himself when he visited Roy's grave but he also had Bunker and Wingman with him. Neither of them are trusted as much as the Outlaws he previously worked with. Miguel was shut out when it came to the Copplepot plan and Wingman didn't know the actual plan until the very end.

Isabel and him talk about Roy when she notices his tribute to Roys' sobriety test. Yet Jason still seems somewhat distant about the whole thing. While Jason admits he misses Roy and Isabel says that's natural since they were best friends...he's still holding back. This is the tough street kid that doesn't want to show weakness otherwise he knows he'll get hurt. Something that actually happens when Bruce and Damian used Roy's death and Jasons' grief against him as "evidence" that he's Leviathan.

Jason didn't want to talk about missing Artemis with Roy yet Roy saw through the act. Now Artemis sees that he's clearly not dealing with it right. She knows what a big deal Roy's death is and doesn't buy Jason's "I'm fine" act.

I've seen plenty of complaints about Paolo Pantalena's art since the cover was released. I have a few issues as well with some of his design choices. I do think too many are being far too harsh on his work. The facial expressions and body language, especially when Jason is being comforted, are outstanding. You can tell a hell of a lot from that page. Artemis and Jason are very similar in regards to how they try to hide their pain. Just as he was there for her during Akilas' return and shows his belief in her recovering Mistress Artemis is there for him. Notice how she chose to approach Jason ?

Hugging him from behind, this provides him with enough privacy if/when he breaks down. As the panels progress it's a fight for Jason to maintain his façade. Not only do we see his pain, we see her empathizing with him. At the end when he starts to surrender to his grief her arms tighten around him. At a distance no one would know what was going on. The intimacy between them is clear to see through out their interactions.

When Jason reassures her after she confesses she lost Mistress he touches her face. Lifting up her chin when her head drops down and pretty much caressing her cheek. Those aren't "strictly friends, totally platonic" type of gestures. The fact that he does it and she allows it says a hell of a lot about their relationship. This is a guy that has trouble opening up and rarely allows physical contact. When he does only a select bunch of people are allowed to get so close. Artemis was the one that previously said she didn't like men thinking they could touch her and got offended when Jason grabbed her hand to discuss battle strategy.

Artemis decides to be direct and brings up their kiss and they kiss again to see how they feel. Both lie about their feelings and Jason let's it go for the moment. Now I have to address the elephant in the room that's really bothering me: what about Isabel? What is Jason's relationship with her like? Are they dating exclusively? Sure things with Artemis didn't progress further here but it still bugs me. Does Artemis know he's dating someone? Technically speaking, if we're counting what Tynion wrote, Isabel kind of did the same thing. Jason was gone for awhile, Isabel started dating someone else, went out with Jason to see where they stood then dumped him after she had closure. Although the other guy was aware of her having a guy that she needed to see again in order to move on.

Solicits indicate Jason will be in an uncomfortable situation with Isabel, Artemis and Essence around at the same time. Things are about to be extremely awkward. I've seen discussions on whether this title will end/be relaunched after #50 and if Lobdell will still be writing it. Admittedly that is a concern, as far as the pairings coming into play it could be messy. More so with the fate of characters like the students, Artemis and Bizarro being unclear. If the title is ending or the writer is being replaced it puts Lobdell into an odd position. Would you want to put two characters together at the potential end of a run if the next writer can quickly undo it?

Then we have the rumored controversial Three Jokers scene between Jason and Barbara that might be damaging to the characters. If it's sexual like many assume it will probably be awkward to deal with it if it has to be crammed into canon. The pairing never made sense to me and it seems to disrupt any story RHATO is trying to tell. I've always assumed Tynion broke Jason and Isabel up for the plot point in B.E. The current creative team might not want to deal with the baggage and raise questions of who he's with. Timing is everything after all. Regardless I loved this issue and hope things turn out for the best.







Questions Raised?: Where are Devour and Cloud 9? Is Caden/Vessel at the school or back with Shay?

Why did Jason leave the sword containing Essence at the Iceberg?

Is the breaking of the Bow canon? It's a little vague and Artemis never mentions the also.



Did You Notice?: I don't like some panels with Ma Gunn (wearing what appears to be a fantasy gown) and Jason in randomly in a suit before quickly changing between panels. Something about it is just so distracting when we've seen Gunn wearing a normal nightgown. Her old period piece look (the school marm get up) was a design to hide her true nature by playing up the stereotype. What is the fantasy style supposed to be for? I've also come to realize I miss her tough personality. Yes, I love that she's getting more development but I'd love to see her being badass again.

As for Jason...for some reason he doesn't look right in a suit in this art. I'm also not sure why he goes out in the Red Hood uniform sans mask to hang out in public with a causally dressed Artemis.

Artemis' hair does look like it's growing in.

Artemis jacket, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be Jason's (the cut still shows off her mid-section) but she does roll up the sleeves like he does. I always assumed the red arm coverings were a nod to her.

The issue begins in the day and ends at night. While there are many, many meaning behind the sun and the moon (such as the connection with Artemis herself) I have my own view. Everyone is open and honest in the daylight. Doomed and DNA let themselves be taught yoga by Bizarro. Artemis tells Jason how her hair is magical, they talk about Roy, mourn and how discuss her axe. At night Babe in Arms plays up her cuteness to get a sample from Bizarro. Artemis and Jason lie about their feelings.



Say What?: Artemis has enchanted hair and it's usually near Rapunzel length because it grows quickly? I know this is just to quickly explain her returning to her old hair style (as well as how she's able to fight when it's long) but why is it enchanted? Do all Bana Amazons have magical hair? If not why does Artemis? Also, why did she assume Jason would just know that? He decides to accept this as fact without questioning it.

At first Jason called Artemis princess as an insult after she called him fragile. It became more of a teasing nickname she recently seemed to accept although she points out that she's not actually a princess. Jason replies, "says you." The strongest women Jason has met (Wonder Woman, Starfire) are princesses so it's actually a good compliment. It's also a cute parallel to Jason himself being nicknamed the prince of Gotham by his dad.

Jason saying that Artemis doesn't know how to fail and it being her one flaw? Yeah, he sounds REALLY smitten, and I think it worries Artemis some. Because everyone has flaws and for Jason to be so oblivious to hers will make it all the worse when the truth comes out. While Jason is supportive of his friends (reassuring Bizarro, telling Roy that he's a hero, etc.) this is him practically gushing about how incredible she is to him.

Jason asking what she thinks is a direct call back to him asking her that after they kissed for the first time.

I guess Jason means Duke when he says he has four brothers. I haven't read many other bat titles so I never knew what their relationship was. No one I asked has ever been able to give me an answer when I wanted to know if he was adopted, etc. It's cool although I don't know if Cass is considered family yet. Also I'm a little surprised Jason is mentioning his brothers so warmly. Damian used him as a scapegoat twice and apparently none of them have been there for him for months. His first meeting with all the Su sisters hinted at him not getting how a healthy family functioned since he assumed the sisters wouldn't support their black sheep. Which implies Jason doesn't get any support from his brothers.

Ride or die has a few meanings. I think it was originally a phrase connected to driving a motorcycle, meaning that if you can't ride you rather die. It later became a slang term for being extremely loyal to someone or that you will ride out any problem out with a lover or die trying. So the term has some romantic connection.