Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 REVIEW

We dig deeper into the mind of Jason Todd with the first issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws after his well done Rebirth one shot issue. In this story the mystery centered around the plans of Roman Sionis AKA The Black Mask deepen and the Red Hood, whom Sionis has been searching for to recruit has put himself in position to get to the bottom of Sionis' plan, whatever it may be. 

I don't want to keep saying that this book is structured like Nightwing but the whole omniscient bit with him narrating is what really makes the two books feel similar, but at the same time we are dealing with two very different characters here and it is clear that Jason, while morally entrenched to do the right thing is still on a number of levels fighting the urge to do the wrong thing, not in terms of becoming a criminal but in terms of taking lives, particularly those of criminals he fights. 

Take Black Mask for example. Jason's impulse after an ill-timed explosion at a boarding is to kill Black Mask on sight, but his agreement and promise to Batman forbids it. This while he is in the midst of other killing being done around him and he is not in a position to act on the victims' behalf. It's tough for him but he will obey Batman's wishes for the most part, especially considering the reflection he is prone to do in the midst of the book back on his younger years of training from Bruce Wayne while Jason was still Robin. 

This series looks to have a good storyline with a great amount of intrigue to it and at the same time doesn't appear to be one that drags at all each issue. Solid artwork and great framing make this one of the stronger Rebirth titles for sure so far. 

5 out of 5 - DC REBIRTH - Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 

Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #1 - REVIEW

It wasn't that long ago that my first major exposure to Jason Todd's Red Hood character was when I watched the animated movie Batman: Under the Red Hood for the first time. Until then, my only knowledge of the Red Hood came from The Killing Joke. I hadn't even read Death in the Family, the book in which The Joker kills Jason Todd.  

So for someone like me that has never read any of the Red Hood comics, this DC Rebirth one shot is very helpful. Similar to the Nightwing Rebirth series, the story is narrated by Jason Todd, who takes us through a brief yet informative history of his life as a common street thug, to becoming Robin, to getting killed by The Joker and then finally resurrected via Lazarus Pit to become Red Hood, a vigilante that crosses the criminal line in a way that Batman never can.  

It is this freedom that Jason has to cross this line that makes him a valuable crime fighter and you can tell Jason knows it in his tone. He will always be indebted to Batman and what he did for him, but similar to Dick Grayson he has gone on his own path and uses his perception as criminal muscle to get what he needs to take them down. In this issue, an attempt on the mayor's life by Red Hood catches the attention of someone who works for Black Mask and approaches Jason with the possibility of work.  

Naturally this falls into Jason's plan as it turns out he didn't fatally shoot the major, but in fact injected him with a techno virus antidote to counteract the fact that the mayor had been "bio-hacked." Batman knows this, while the rest of Gotham City and its underworld are convinced that the Red Hood just tried to kill the mayor. 

And therein lies the crux of this story arc: Jason has determined that Black Mask is planning something big and now has a way to infiltrate the operation as a criminal. Batman reluctantly agrees to let him do it, with the understanding that if he goes over the edge just once, it's over.  

This is yet another really solid DC Rebirth one shot that does a fantastic job of setting the stage for newcomers and hitting the reset button of sorts on Red Hood's current story, while also getting you ready for the arc to come in the next issues.  Just like Nightwing, Red Hood is a reflective narrative where Jason spends time talking to the audience about his past and reflecting on his experience as a crime fighter in hopes of helping him to become a better one on his own, but as where Dick Grayson struggles at times to stay out of the dark completely, Jason Todd struggles to stay in the light completely almost as an antithesis. In many ways Nightwing and Red Hood are very much "Sliding Robins," each story showing just what kind of path they could be set on based on what had happened to them. 

Like most of the Rebirth books so far, I can't wait to find out. 

5 out of 5 - DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH - Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth #1