Jason Tood taking part in a Batman crossover? Will he put aside his hatred for Batman in order to answer Alfred's call to arms?
The Good
Each issue makes me a bigger fan of the series. Jason Todd, Roy Harper and Kori aren't your typical teammates. Seeing the way they interact and work together keeps me coming back for more each month. Scott Lobdell throws in his typical zany dialogue and situations while Kenneth Rocafort's art makes everything look so beautiful.
If you've read the solicit for this issue, you know that Mr. Freeze is one of the many that has been targeted by the Court of Owls. That means Batman or one of his allies needs to save Freeze. That's where Red Hood comes in. We get to see Jason struggle with his feelings towards Batman and Gotham as he finds himself face to face with a reanimated assassin.
This is a moment we've been waiting for. Seeing Jason's reactions says a lot about who he is in the "New 52." To make it even better, we get to see a little encounter between Jason and another member of the Bat-Family.
The Bad
Once again, as with the other tie-in issues, there's not much of a battle involving the Talon featured here. There's also the question of whether or not Mr. Freeze would actually need any saving. That's something he brings up but with the connection between the Talons and the cold, you would think Freeze could easily dispatch the Talon.
When Jason is giving chase to the Talon, there's an old Haly's Circus billboard. Immediately Jason notices and begins making a connection between the Talons and the Circus. This just felt like too much. Sure Jason would have some detective skills from hanging out with Batman but he started putting it all together much too quickly. Just because someone has acrobatic abilities, why would the first assumption be they were involved with a circus? This is also something noted in last week's BATGIRL.
The Verdict
Taking part in the BATMAN event lets us find out more about Jason and where he stands with Batman and Gotham City. The best part is seeing how our three main characters continue to find their place with each other. They've never officially thought of themselves as a team. They didn't all need to be there in Gotham but Roy and Kori chose to stick by his side. Lobdell is creating a little niche for these characters and it's a great place to visit each month. The battle, which was meant to be the main focus of the issue, went by pretty quickly. But perhaps the outcome serves to separate it a little from the other tie in issues. Lobdell and Rocafort continue to make this a fun, exciting and gorgeous title.
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