Posted in: Comics, Review | Tagged: Batman, black lightning, Ra's al Ghul, signal

Batman and the Outsiders #12 Review: A Mournful Mix of Misfits

Published Sun, 10 May 2020 13:30:33 -0500

The dark knight detective has teamed up with a mournful mix of costumed misfits and Lady Shiva (commonly known as the world's deadliest assassin and best fighter) to chase down Ra's Al Ghul, immortal terrorist, and a weapon from space that Ra's has acquired. In tow, you'll find pretty much everybody is struggling with some kind of emotional turmoil. Signal has new powers and no idea how to bring his parents back from madness. Orphan is struggling with the presence of her mother, the aforementioned world's deadliest assassin, who's along for the ride for whatever reasons she keeps close to the vest. Katana wrestles with the affections of Black Lighting, who himself struggles with the idea of even being on this crazy team. Even Batman himself wrestles with the passing of Alfred in a recent crossover, admitting his weaknesses to Black Lightning in a refreshing moment of vulnerability.

The cover of Batman and the Outsiders publishers by DC Comics with a creative team of Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini, and Clayton Cowles.

The character work here is excellent, and the pre-mission exchange of dialogue between Katana and Black Lighting is worthy of being a clip on a late-night TV show or found in a trailer. Likewise, the threat Ra's Al Ghul brings to bear is worthy of a Michael Bay budget. The elements are all there, but the pacing is not suitable for the periodical framework here.

The singular nature of Ra's Al Ghul gives him a kind of antagonistic simplicity, similar to the goal that drove Thanos for so long. It's played with some nuance here, which is nice, but far the heights from even middling efforts the villain has made in the past. In its own context, it was presented with the bare minimum of visual spectacle, which is again strange given the impressive nature of this threat.

Fiona Apple might have the best characterization for the events of this issue: "slow like honey, heavy with mood." There's nothing that could say this was a bad book, but there were a number of appreciable ways that it could have been better. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Batman and the Outsiders #12
(W) Bryan Hill (A) Dexter Soy (CA) Tyler Kirkham
Batman goes over the edge! With everything that's happened in Gotham City and Ra's al Ghul's personal attacks on the Dark Knight and his team of Outsiders, Batman lashes out and uses his all his anger and skills to take down Ra's and his new League of Assassins on his own. Will the Outsiders be able to pull him back from his rage-or will they find themselves on the receiving end of it?

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