Red Hood/Arsenal, Volume 2: Dancing with the Devil's Daughter

Red Hood/Arsenal

by Scott Lobdell (Writer), Joe Bennett (Artist), Javier Fernández (Artist)

ATTACK FROM BELOW...AND FROM WITHIN!

Jason Todd and Roy Harper—Red Hood and Arsenal—are Bats for hire, rent-a-heroes hoping to save the day and make a little money while they’re at it. But the latest challenge they’ve taken on might just be their toughest yet, and they’re working for free! She calls herself Joker’s Daughter, and she’s a teenage psychopath that Red Hood is determined to save from herself.

But can Joker’s Daughter be saved...or trusted? To find out, Jason and Roy will have to follow her down to the Nethers, a subterranean section of Gotham where a power struggle is playing out with their teenage charge caught in the middle. And what happens in the Nethers might just swallow the entire city whole!

Can these would-be heroes make it out of the underground city alive...and finally find a paying gig? Only one thing is for certain: in Gotham, nothing stays buried for long—especially the past.

Writer Scott Lobdell (RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS) and artists Javier Fernández (DOOMED) and Dexter Soy (BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT—GENESIS) send Red Hood and Arsenal as low as they’ve ever gone...but will they be able to rise back up?

Collecting: Red Hood/Arsenal #7-13 and Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth #1.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Batman

170 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2016

About the author

Scott Lobdell (born 1960) is an American comic book writer.

He is mostly known for his work throughout the 1990s on Marvel Comics' X-Men-related titles specifically Uncanny X-Men, the main title itself, and the spin-off series that he conceived with artist Chris Bachalo, Generation X. Generation X focused on a number of young mutant students who attempted to become superheroes in their own right at a separate school with the guidance of veteran X-related characters Banshee and Emma Frost. He also had writing stints on Marvel's Fantastic Four, Alpha Flight, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix mini-series with artist Gene Ha. He wrote the script to Stan Lee's Mosaic and an upcoming film from POW Entertainment featuring Ringo Starr. He also participated in the Marvel Comics and Image Comics (from Jim Lee's WildStorm) crossover mini-series WildC.A.T.s/X-Men.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 2 out of 5]

(B-) 70% | Satisfactory
Notes: A spiritless slog, stabbing at sympathy: shortsighted, senseless, and sorely suspenseless, it suffers from story sterility.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main story revolves around Jason trying to rehabilitate Joker's Daughter. This is so asinine. She's a freaking psycho serial killer. You know the first sign she can't be rehabilitated? She's walking around wearing the Joker's goddamn skin as a mask.

As the pointless "B" story we have Arsenal dealing with a mercenary team he used to head up with the worst name ever, "The Iron Guard". They all get powers when Arsenal drops a bomb on them because they killed a whole village for some reason. Conveniently, they all seem to get powers related to their names. The guy named Stab gets a sword for a hand. The guy called Everest gets really strong, etc. It's all really terrible. You'd think Scott Lobdell had never written a comic before, but yeah, this is the guy who wrote the #1 selling comic for years, the X-Men.

The rebirth issue is really just a retelling of the Red Hood's origin. The art in the book is quite good. Now that Dexter Soy has put his magic markers away (see issues of Captain Marvel for what I'm talking about), he's really a pretty good artist.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Louis Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay. This was way too short. The series needed to be longer. I would have preferred a more fleshed out version of Arsenal and Red Hood's partnership.

Too much time is wasted introducing a new character, JD, who adds little to the story and takes away from the impact of the ending of the story. It felt like she was crowbarred in because the story was essentially about two guys and their bromance. We can't possibly have that, can we? Jeez. It's infuriating.

Otherwise, the plot was pretty solid, we got some good back story for the main characters and the art was absolutely gorgeous.

But like I said, we needed more of the story and less of the homosocialism that comics (and all entertainment) cowers behind.

[Dani Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This was never going to work out. Us. You have too much faith in people, and I don’t have any.”

consider my heart shattered.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

To paraphrase Mean Girls, Stop trying to make Joker's Daughter a Thing - it's not going to happen.
Especially with plots like this, where the character seems to go through psychotic shifts in personality (maybe it's intentional but if so it's not built up very well, and the resolution is terrible) and both Jason and Roy come off as idiots for even trying to 'reform' her. All of that is interspersed with a subplot about Roy's former Merc team, which managed to be just really stupid all around, from inception, to action, to resolution. And then we have 'Old City' another abandoned corner of Gotham with no reason not to be the equally pointless Gotham Underground, another take on live-stream executions that trades on Jason Todd's classic embarrassment without bringing anything particularly new to it, and some corporate busywork behind the mercenaries business that never lands either.
There are a lot of ideas in here, but the execution never works, and it ends up a muddled mess. Arsenal and Red Hood have had their brief good moments, but this series definitely isn't one of them.

[Melissa Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume for a few issues, mostly from enjoying Jason and Roy, and their rapport. But then things devolved into slapped-together plots and writing that was kind of all over the place. Some developments could have been interesting or effective if they had made sense in the context of an issue, or even within just the page or two that preceded them. Joker's Daughter is a one-note character who proved to be superfluous and just one more element in a whole ruined by a lack of cohesion in both plot and character development. Also, enough with the midriffs already. Whether you're a professional, a paramedic or a psychopath, if you're a woman I guess you have to look sexy while you're being endangered, murdered or otherwise engaged in dangerous plotlines. Ugh.

[Kenning JP Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best ending to my favorite ne'er do well duo but at least there was some closure to the second series of the New 52 run. Roy Harper is really at his best in this volume. Even as a dude in distress he is his own hero. Jaybird is all the punk kid he's ever been but maybe even more blunt and Joker's Daughter does her best to live up to her namesake.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This trade paperback picks up where the previous volume left off, collecting the last seven issues (7–13) of the 2015 on-going series.

Red Hood/Arsenal: Dancing with the Devil's Daughter opens up with the Robin War tie-in. Written by Scott Lobdell and penciled by Javier Fernández we have Jason Todd meeting up with Tim Drake to hear what's going on in Gotham City with all these Robins running around. As a tie-in for an event, it just tangentially touches what's going on, but doesn't push the plot forward. However, I do like the bonding moment between brothers. Fernández penciling is good – I usually like his work, however I have a pet peeve of putting a face on Red Hood's mask, which he did.

The rest of the on-going series focuses on the rehabilitation of the Duela Dent as the Joker's Daughter, while I enjoy the symbolism of the parallel between Red Hood and the Joker via Dent, the execution and the genesis of the story arc was poorly conceived and executed. The Joker's Daughter is a tad obscure character and it's just creepy that she's wearing the old face of the Joker. In the end, rehabilitation was just a ruse for her ultimate plan.

The secondary story, running parallel to the original and later merged, has Roy Harper dealing with his old mercenary team – The Iron Rule, which didn't end well for them to say the least. Harper dropped a bomb on them for killing an entire village for no real good reason. They end up getting superhuman powers and now out to get Arsenal and teamed-up with the Joker's Daughter.

With the idea which got Jason Todd as Robin killed in the late eighties is repeated in story, modernized, for Arsenal. He is captured and the Iron Rule let the people online decide his fate. Fortunately, Red Hood manages to rescue Arsenal, but later breaks up with him (kicks him out of the team), stating that Arsenal is too good to be an Outlaw that he has too much faith in people, while Jason Todd doesn't – Roy Harper is and was always meant to be a hero.

At the end, there is a five-page story with Jason Todd as Robin and Roy Harper as Speedy, to give homage to Darwyn Cooke, done in his style, and in memorial of him. It is a nice story of when they were young and innocent when they were sidekicks to their mentors and their futures were still bright, before they became Outlaws. It has the same nostalgia that Cooke was famous for given – a wonderful tribute to a great artist.

Lobdell writing, for the most part, was written well, albeit a tad convoluted with the story arc of rehabilitating the Joker's Daughter and the inclusion of having people online dealing with the fate of Arsenal was a terrible reminder of what happened to Jason Todd in the late eighties. The penciling was divided by three pencilers, Javier Fernández (Red Hood/Arsenal #7–9), Dexter Soy (Red Hood/Arsenal #10–11), and Joe Bennett (Red Hood/Arsenal #12–13), which I think Soy and Fernández excelled in their penciling styles and I quite enjoyed their depictions.

I am saddened that the series came to a quick conclusion, but I wasn't surprised. While branded under a different name, it is essentially just a continuation of Red Hood and the Outlaws, which some thought should have ended sooner. Even without the upcoming DC Rebirth event, I have a feeling that Red Hood/Arsenal wasn't long for cancellation or a big shakeup in the series.

All in all, Red Hood/Arsenal: Dancing with the Devil's Daughter is a somewhat good conclusion for the series – it got started on the wrong foot and it never really found its rhythm, but it was a nice ride regardless. I look forward to see what happens to these two in the future.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of volume 1 and volume 2: First of all, what I liked:
(1) Red Hood and Arsenal's bromance. I love their banter with each other and their attitudes with others. These are two people who have better hearts than either want to admit (especially Red Hood) and who, even if they may not always do good things, they do, at least, have good motives. I love those shades of gray and watching these two characters grow within them.
(2) The humor. Red Hood and Arsenal have great quips. No doubt about that.
(3) The action. If there's no action with these two characters, then you're doing something wrong. And this comic definitely did the action right.
(4) Jason's introspection. I love how his past his never far from his characterization, but also how that is both an agent for steps forward and steps back. (Though the steps forward--the moments when Jason becomes "better"--are the best ones, of course. And I know that more of those are coming in Rebirth--at least in what I've read so far).
(5) The callback to the whole "poll to kill Robin" thing. That was written in a very smart way.And it was kind of a strange commentary on human nature too, with SO MANY people voting for Arsenal to die. (And considering that this paralleled a real world poll... well, just think on that for a minute.)
(6) Jason meeting amnesiac Bruce Wayne. That was a nice moment, and showed Jason's softer side.
(7) Seeing Joker's Daughter. This was my first time meeting her, so it was interesting to learn about this character.
What I didn't like:
(1) Joker's Daughter. I just didn't like her. She felt like... an attempt to making something new, but all we got was... something not all that different. She just felt like an attempt to cash in on the Joker's popularity. But... we already have Harley. Let's just leave it at that; give us something unique with her and Joker, rather than trying to give us another "crazy."
(2) The underground city. Just not my favorite concept. I didn't hate it; I just felt rather "meh" about it.
(3) Robo-Batman. That was just stupid. All the way around.
And as a last thought--the "Rent-a-Bat" idea made me really chuckle. I can't say I loved the plot point, but I did love what they did with it: the humor, plus the introspection of these characters trying to go "legit."
And that's about it. If you like these characters, you'll have fun with this graphic. It might not be your favorite, but it will definitely be worth reading.

[Odd Hero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.4/5

Red Hood/Arsenal Vol. 2: Dancing with the Devil's Daughter offers a solid continuation of the duo’s adventures, with an entertaining blend of action and humor. The plot is engaging, though it doesn’t break new ground in terms of complexity. It’s fun, but the storyline feels fairly standard for a Red Hood and Arsenal team-up.

The character development is better this time around, giving more depth to both Jason Todd and Roy Harper. Their banter remains a highlight, but the dialogue occasionally feels forced. The artwork is vibrant and dynamic, with well-executed action scenes that keep the story visually exciting.

The pacing is steady, maintaining momentum throughout, making it a quick and enjoyable read. However, in terms of creativity, the series sticks closely to familiar territory, missing opportunities to push boundaries or explore new angles for these characters.

Overall, Dancing with the Devil's Daughter is a fun ride for fans of the Red Hood and Arsenal pairing, though it doesn’t quite reach its full potential in terms of originality.

[Chris Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half of Red Hood / Arsenal is not an improvement on the first half.

Jason is trying to redeem Joker’s Daughter because she reminds him of himself. Lobdell actually makes that awful character briefly more likeable and readable (though does remind us that dreadful Catwoman story happened). Then he reveals this redemption of the character is the obvious bluff we all suspected and feared it was and she goes back to her previous characterisation.

The characterisation of Roy is atrocious throughout and there’s a rubbish subplot about a team he led briefly before this that are now evil. He ends up tied to a chair and almost murdered for the end of the series. What a great send off from Lobdell.

There was a very loose tie in to Robin War too and you can see Lobdell’s favourite Jason-Tim bromance again briefly.

This is a train crash of a series that should have been put down earlier.

[Monita Roy Mohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason and Roy are so amazing together and the only chapter in this book to do justice to their relationship is the last one - that too, for one page only. The rest of it inserts way too much homosocialism it makes me want to break something. It’s called Red Hood and Arsenal, yet every scene featuring either or both characters has a token hot woman in it so that the two characters’ attention is diverted to someone else. It’s like the author was too scared of Jason and Roy’s male friendship. This wasn’t a buddy comedy like it should have been and hence not as fun or entertaining. Whatever they were trying to achieve with this series... well, they didn’t succeed. Jason and Roy were just a gimmick. It’s easy to fall for it, but we shouldn’t have.

[Roman Colombo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think throwing Joker's Daughter into the mix would work. It did. It actually developed Red Hood and Arsenal's friendship even more, and brought them to a place they had to go. They might be best friends, but they are so different that they had to eventually reach a point where they couldn't compromise with the other. But for Rebirth, it puts them in very interesting places.

[Justice · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 This one was nowhere near as compelling as the first. It hit some good notes, like the last issue and Jason leaving Roy because of Roy's idealism vs Jason's cynicism but I feel like it could have been focused on more. A lot of the book was unnecessary. Plus, it wasn't as funny as the first.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lobdell's Roy and Jason are terrible and this book is pretty close to the same. This story was more about Joker's Daughter, trying to seem relevant but the book fails. The plot is abysmal and its unfortunate given the writer's past successes. The only thing keeping the book from a one star rating is the art, from multiple artists. Overall, this is not a series to be remembered.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This run didn't last long at all if they are including Rebirth in this issue. Most of what I said in my review of Volume 1 still applies. Except that I'll add that I just don't understand the Joker's Daughter. I don't know where she came from or why she was there.

[Diana Ramos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh...what a hell?? The ending of this was kinda rushed and super messy. I get that they were preparing us for the new outlaws but...guys.....

Oh and I definitely hate Joker's Daughter #byefelicia

[Jus · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Flashback to before the Rebirth Red Hood series when Jason and Roy were partners. At one point they team up with Joker’s Daughter. There’s some good stuff in this one. I enjoyed it.

[Andy · Rating 1 out of 5]

jason shoots a sixteen year old bc she’s mentally ill and apparently unfixable like haha so funny right

[Ela · Rating 5 out of 5]

ESE FINAL NAO ME HIZO LLORAR Y EL FLASHBACK? ATENTA CONTRA MI ESTABILIDAD I JUST LOVE JAYROY

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good. Im really confused why i dnf'd it before

[Alexis Meuche · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volume one was good. Volume two was terrible. I blame rebirth. But also like, no one cares about Joker’s Daughter. Bleh.

[Anokina · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE LOVE Jason and Roy
time to go read some fanfics about these two AAHHH

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

They are in love your honor

[Taylor Haas · Rating 3 out of 5]

breaking up the second they reach peak hotness is so cruel

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red goes back to original look, team goes underneath Gotham. Joker daughter doesn’t work out; red hood saves arsenal and they split. Kinda sad ending. Like the rebirth issue- goes into past all over

[Zac · Rating 3 out of 5]

5.8/10
The Good: Again with volume 1, Roy and Jason continue to have a fun family dynamic to watch, this time adding a new sister in Joker's Daughter. The personal issues they face, namely Jason trying to redeem her, and Arsenal finding his place in the world, are what pull the comic together between fights.

Teh Meh: Telegraphing JD's betrayal wasn't the best move. All hints of her actually being evil should have been saved until the playground scene. That said, the playground scene and Jason being brutal was enjoyable.

The Bad: Crossovers, hate em in collected editions like this. Early New 52 did well with including all relevant issues in crossovers. The first issue in this volume is a tie in with robin war, which is confusing if you havent been following that side of the universe.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the "1-800-RED-ARSE saga" as I am calling it (LOL still love that joke from Vol 1), kind of fizzled out. The war in the Nethers continues, involving a previous gang Arsenal made called "The Iron Rule", the back and forth treachery of Joker's Daughter, and the current ruler of Gotham's Underground, Charon. The action is good, but the art steadily deteriorates, and the loss of Starfire is very obvious in this whole run.
Ultimately, Jason and Roy are just fundamentally different people, and they split at the end. But what will come after the Rebirth? Red Hood and the Outlaws is a new title again...
Kind of recommend, both Volume and series run.