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Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016)
Red Hood: Outlaw, Vol. 4: Unspoken Truths
It’s the end of the Outlaw era! Magic and metahumans are everywhere, but good and evil are easy to spot-right? Red Hood and the Outlaws are about to discover that the line between moral and immoral is very thin indeed. Red Hood, Artemis, and Bizarro have battled many threats together...but they’ve never faced a veritable army of the damned! Which is what is happening during the protests on the streets of Qurac as the Untitled prepare to strike at the heart of humanity! It’s a battle that will take the Outlaws literally to hell-but will they be able to find their way back?
Collects Red Hood: Outlaw #43-50.
Collects Red Hood: Outlaw #43-50.
207 pages, Paperback
First published March 9, 2021
About the author
Scott Lobdell
1,650 books235 followersScott 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
April 3, 2021
Oof. Scott Lobdell decided to go back to his Red Hood and the Outlaw roots bringing back the Untitled and All-Caste nonsense he started his New 52 run on. At least this time around he has Artemis and Bizarro along with him. Bizarro is the bright spot of this book. He's in full on Zangief mode and is both the heart and badass of this story. An issue before this story ends, you can actually hear the record scratch when you get to issue #48 and it's a Joker War crossover. Lobdell doesn't even bother to try to make this fit in chronologically. You're just left to guess when all these stories take place but my guess would be that issue #48 and #50 take place before #43-47, #49.
Paolo Pantalena handles most of the art. He has some weird character designs. It's like stepping back to Rob Liefeld era Image comics of the 90s. He loves to accessorize.
Paolo Pantalena handles most of the art. He has some weird character designs. It's like stepping back to Rob Liefeld era Image comics of the 90s. He loves to accessorize.
August 21, 2023
Jason is free from Scott Lobell let's celebrate that.
July 20, 2021
To big, to broad, to downright goofy to be any good. The story constantly skips between three or four different lines with neither rhyme nor reason (none of which are done well), The entire new cast of characters introduced in the last volume is shunted aside to less than cameo level (no big loss there, admittedly), and then 2/3s of an issue is wasted on a wrap-up of plots more typical for a series being cancelled.
March 5, 2021
Red Hood has managed to come to terms with a lot in his short life - but the Untitled and their effect on him remain hanging over him, no matter how much he'd like to shake them, and they're about to come back with a vengeance!
The final volume of Red Hood has a bit of an identity crisis going on; there's a LOT in here, and it's definitely a case of Scott Lobdell throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the plot to make sure he wraps it all up before issue 50 and the end of the road.
First there's a creepy interdimensional cult. Then there's Trigon, and the Chamber Of All, and the return of Essence, and the original Outlaws, the end of the current Outlaws, and oh no I've gone crosseyed. Plus, right in the middle of the story, we get a flash-sideways to the Joker War so that Red Hood can tie into that as well! Bloody hell.
It's not bad, per se, Not at all. It's just...a lot. I expect reading it all in one go will likely mitigate the scattershot storytelling approach, but reading it in monthlies was a pain in the butt, I can tell you. I also wasn't entirely satisfied with the way it all ended; it's not a complete put-all-your-toys-back-in-the-box type reset, but it's pretty close.
The vast majority of the artwork is handled by Paolo Pantelena, who is basically Kenneth Rocafort if Rocafort could do more than two issues in a row without a fill-in. Seriously, their artwork looks almost exactly the same, to the point I thought there was a misprint on the cover. Oh, and Brett Booth shows up for the Joker War crossover as well.
Red Hood's last adventures are a mish-mash of ideas, most of which overtake each other until we've got one big Katamari going on before the series ends. It's not a bad ending, and it's still miles better than the earlier Red Hood series were, but it's definitely not the kind of ending I expected given how great the Rebirth volume of this series has been up to this point.
The final volume of Red Hood has a bit of an identity crisis going on; there's a LOT in here, and it's definitely a case of Scott Lobdell throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the plot to make sure he wraps it all up before issue 50 and the end of the road.
First there's a creepy interdimensional cult. Then there's Trigon, and the Chamber Of All, and the return of Essence, and the original Outlaws, the end of the current Outlaws, and oh no I've gone crosseyed. Plus, right in the middle of the story, we get a flash-sideways to the Joker War so that Red Hood can tie into that as well! Bloody hell.
It's not bad, per se, Not at all. It's just...a lot. I expect reading it all in one go will likely mitigate the scattershot storytelling approach, but reading it in monthlies was a pain in the butt, I can tell you. I also wasn't entirely satisfied with the way it all ended; it's not a complete put-all-your-toys-back-in-the-box type reset, but it's pretty close.
The vast majority of the artwork is handled by Paolo Pantelena, who is basically Kenneth Rocafort if Rocafort could do more than two issues in a row without a fill-in. Seriously, their artwork looks almost exactly the same, to the point I thought there was a misprint on the cover. Oh, and Brett Booth shows up for the Joker War crossover as well.
Red Hood's last adventures are a mish-mash of ideas, most of which overtake each other until we've got one big Katamari going on before the series ends. It's not a bad ending, and it's still miles better than the earlier Red Hood series were, but it's definitely not the kind of ending I expected given how great the Rebirth volume of this series has been up to this point.
August 17, 2021
The end of the Outlaws era...I just don't know how to feel about this.
One of them definitely drew the short straw and that's messed up.
Seeing Jason grow was nice, though. We don't get to see that much in comics today. Character development that stuck around for a while...much appreciated.
One of them definitely drew the short straw and that's messed up.
Seeing Jason grow was nice, though. We don't get to see that much in comics today. Character development that stuck around for a while...much appreciated.
May 25, 2021
Red Hood: Outlaw: Unspoken Truths continues where the previous trade paperback left off collecting the next eight issues (Red Hood: Outlaw #43–50) of the 2016 on-going series and collects eight semi-interconnect one-issue storylines.
Jason Todd as Red Hood and his Outlaws Artemis and Bizarro are reunited and encounter more of the Untitled – a demonic group that Todd fought after his resurrection as part of the All Caste, and venture to a mystic dimension to stop them and also to stop Trigon – after a fashion (Red Hood: Outlaw #43–47) and cumulates in a team-up of the two Outlaw teams (Red Hood/Artemis/Bizarro and Red Hood/Starfire/Arsenal) in one large battle (Red Hood: Outlaw #49).
The two outlier stories deals with the Joker War tie-in (Red Hood: Outlaw #48) that has Jason Todd as Red Hood facing against the Joker, Punchline, and a mind-controlled Nightwing with a guest star of the Joker's Daughter. Red Hood: Outlaw #50 is a nice epilogue for this particular run of the series.
Scott Lobdell penned the trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Lobdell tries to ties some of Red Hood and the Outlaws earliest stories that were left in the open to close satisfactory well in this last trade paperback of this particular series. There is an appropriate a final Outlaws story as anything with Lobdell parlays the Joker's Daughter into the Joker War event, which ties up some threads from the Red Hood/Arsenal series.
Paolo Pantalena (Red Hood: Outlaw #44–47, 49–50), ChrisCross (Red Hood: Outlaw #43), John Livesay (Red Hood: Outlaw #46), and Brett Booth (Red Hood: Outlaw #47) penciled the trade paperback. The penciling styles of each artist are rather distinct and make the artistic flow of the trade paperback rather chaotic. Pantalena – the chief penciler of the trade paperback is a tad too cartoonish for my taste, but adds a certain charm nevertheless.
Overall, this particular Red Hood series is written rather well, despite the many name changes the series had to endure from Red Hood and the Outlaws to Red Hood: Outlaw and finally Red Hood. Lobdell has chiefly written this series and has reinvented Jason Todd rather nicely to give him more back story and more depth than just an anti-hero or villain with a gun. Unfortunately, it seems like the last two issues of the series won't be added in any future trade releases.
All in all, Red Hood: Outlaw: Unspoken Truths is a satisfactory conclusion to a good, albeit a tad uneven series.
Jason Todd as Red Hood and his Outlaws Artemis and Bizarro are reunited and encounter more of the Untitled – a demonic group that Todd fought after his resurrection as part of the All Caste, and venture to a mystic dimension to stop them and also to stop Trigon – after a fashion (Red Hood: Outlaw #43–47) and cumulates in a team-up of the two Outlaw teams (Red Hood/Artemis/Bizarro and Red Hood/Starfire/Arsenal) in one large battle (Red Hood: Outlaw #49).
The two outlier stories deals with the Joker War tie-in (Red Hood: Outlaw #48) that has Jason Todd as Red Hood facing against the Joker, Punchline, and a mind-controlled Nightwing with a guest star of the Joker's Daughter. Red Hood: Outlaw #50 is a nice epilogue for this particular run of the series.
Scott Lobdell penned the trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Lobdell tries to ties some of Red Hood and the Outlaws earliest stories that were left in the open to close satisfactory well in this last trade paperback of this particular series. There is an appropriate a final Outlaws story as anything with Lobdell parlays the Joker's Daughter into the Joker War event, which ties up some threads from the Red Hood/Arsenal series.
Paolo Pantalena (Red Hood: Outlaw #44–47, 49–50), ChrisCross (Red Hood: Outlaw #43), John Livesay (Red Hood: Outlaw #46), and Brett Booth (Red Hood: Outlaw #47) penciled the trade paperback. The penciling styles of each artist are rather distinct and make the artistic flow of the trade paperback rather chaotic. Pantalena – the chief penciler of the trade paperback is a tad too cartoonish for my taste, but adds a certain charm nevertheless.
Overall, this particular Red Hood series is written rather well, despite the many name changes the series had to endure from Red Hood and the Outlaws to Red Hood: Outlaw and finally Red Hood. Lobdell has chiefly written this series and has reinvented Jason Todd rather nicely to give him more back story and more depth than just an anti-hero or villain with a gun. Unfortunately, it seems like the last two issues of the series won't be added in any future trade releases.
All in all, Red Hood: Outlaw: Unspoken Truths is a satisfactory conclusion to a good, albeit a tad uneven series.
January 7, 2026
The Outlaws arc has officially come to an end and my what a journey it has been.
Our arc mainly centers around the All-Caste and Untitled's final rivalry for control over the earth and all of mankind.
We begin with Susie Su having been killed by multiple blades but she isn't dead because??? I guess the Lazarus pit magic but that is never explained. In any case the Blood-Blade in the safe has been stolen by the Untitled and arrives at Isabel's townhouse building and when she reaches to touch it she then becomes Essences.
Meanwhile, Red Hood, Bizzaro, & Artimis are following an anonymous tip leading then to train and in the process they all fight two girls who happened to he implanted by demonic hosts known as the Untitled. Artimis & Bizzaro handle it with Red Hood delivering the final blow before they enter the train to find their source. An old man in spandex stands there in front of them calling himself General Glory and claims shows then an Oblix that has become their center of U.S. Government interest in Qauc. Red Hood and the Outlaws to merge missions temporarily to check out what is happening but make no further promises.
Once in Qauc Bizzaro & Red Hood open a fast food trailer while Artimis in a black wig disguise shows off her strength to the president of Qauc to enlist her skills as a body guard. The dictator agrees since his people are rioting/peacefully protesting against his reign. Bizzaro & Red Hood join the crowds when Jason reflects upon how Durca once took him to London and taught him how to spot evil in the hearts of human hosts that sheltered the Untitled. Red Hood in the present then taps into that skill then finds that he and Bizzaro are surrounded by the Untitled. Artimis agrees to he the body guard to the president when they are suddenly ambushed by a hoard of Untitled monsters. As they make a run for it Artimis encounters Essences and the two begin dueling. Essences defending that she is there to stop Jason from unleashing the Untitled/betraying the All-Caste. Artimis defends Red Hood's character but is slashed by the Blood-Blade drawing blood from Artimis to reveal he to be of sin. As Essences draws her weapon for a second slash an Amazonian Goddess appears and when Artimis asks who it is the woman reveals herself to be Mistress.
Meanwhile, General Glory, Red Hood, & Bizzaro try to keep the hoarde at bay while saving the innocent people who were not encapsulate by monsters (apparently they feed on both fear & hope) when the oblix begin uniting their energy and shake the ground. Bizzaro & Red Hood make a run for the external part of the circle as the oblix reveals a labyrinth below to he the "Chamber of All". Red Hood uses the All-Blade to slash General Glory killing the Untitled within him but leaves him unharmed as the group make their way through the maze.
Suddenly, Artimis, Mistress, & Essences are teleported back to New York where they find a shadowed figure saying "savior". Essences derobes the figure to reveal S'aru who then transports the group into the Chamber of All reuniting them with Bizzaro, Red Hood, & General Glory. Essences apologies to Jason upon realizing that the betrayal came from S'aru who failed to protect the 'Chamber of All' instead of Jason who she believed was trying to summon it. Red Hood accepts the apology and the group continues to travel throughout the Chamber when random eyes begin appearing. S'aru notes that the eyes are that of Trigon who is attempting to escape the Labyrinth. Artimis grows tired of Essences & Red Hood arguing what to do and instead decides to team up with Mistress who in the blink of an eye transformed into her Axe. Artimis raises her weapon and begins destroying an oblix which first off sets the energy but appears to be a great plan until it causes a rip in enegy offsetting our heroes. S'aru then transports everyone to more solid ground and show then an open passage that is the only way for Trigon to enter and must be closed. Bizzaro makes the brave sacrifice to enter the golden caverns to stop Trigon. Artimis & Red Hood wish him luck by thanking him for his sacrifice before returning to work as a team to shut the Chamber.
Suddenly the hoard of the Untitled attempt to overpower our heroes when the Outlaws (Red Hood, Arsenal, & Starfire) arrive on the scene to stop them. Jason is shocked to see his younger self but surmise that is due to the "Chamber of All" that they entered in the Himalayans. The coverage give Artimis, Essences, Red Hood, & General Glory the strength they need to push forward to close it more. Older Red Hood asks Starfire to check to see how Bizzaro is doing and she doesn't see him when she is then struck but caught by Arsenal. Red Hood thoughtful recounts how he was happy to see his best friend so in love and alive. As Red Hood is nearly caught off guard Essences strikes but loses control revealing Isabel. Both Red Hoods are confused but Isabel explains then sacrifices herself once more to be Essences for the greater good of the mission.
Inside the golden chamber Bizzaro is ambushed by the large devil creature Trigon but uses his freeze breath to break his hand and manages to overpower his enemy by punching him in the heart killing Trigon. The Untitled demons cheer and invite Bizzaro to be their King but he refuses and tries to get back to his friends when the hoard follows to get to earth but Bizzaro freezes them in the nick of time. Above Red Hood, Artimis, General Glory, & Essences keep pushing and have nearly closed the door when Bizzaro appears claiming that he has made his decision to rule over the Untitled demons to prevent them from coming to earth. The three unit in a final hug and Bizzaro returns. Artimis then uses all of her might to seal the door shut to honor her friend's sacrifice.
The battle is over and the Outlaws have won but the energy sequence above within the oblix becomes unbalanced threatening to lock the Outlaws inside if they don't escape. S'aru helps them all escape by first leading Red Hood, Arsenal, & Starfire to their respective door to bring them back to the Himalayans. Older Jason takes a moment with Arsenal to return the hat to Roy and Arsenal replies that he'll see him around with a bright smile before leaving. Our heroes then rise to the top and are freed before the ground engulfed them.
We then cut back to our side plot about one month post all that has occured with the All-Caste. This minor arc focuses on Faye Gunn aka MA Gunn who has been looking for a new worthy mentor to teach operation Next Generation Outlaw. Jason & Artimis both awaken after having spent the night together with Jason admitting that he feels torn apart now that he has lost his team of Outlaws. Starfire has focused her carrer in space, Roy is deceased, and Bizzaro ruling over hell itself. Artimis relates and empathize with Red Hood when suddenly a loud yell draws their attention. We pan over to the field to see Mallah giving orders to Next Generation Outlaw when Red Hood & Artimis appear to put a stop to it. Faye protests arguing that Red Hood abandoned the group and that she had to find replacements to better prepare the children aka Brain & Mallah. She implores Red Hood to either walk away or take the team with him to which he leaves.
Our arc continues in Gotham with a brief tie in to Joker War. Red Hood travels to Ma Gunn's first criminal establishment that was once first hideout for the Outlaw (Bizzaro & Artimis) and prepares to torch the place but takes a moment to reminic on his first encounter with his sponsor Bruce Wayne. As Red Hood prepares the bombs he is ambushed by Joker's followed by screams and the distinct sound of crowbar hitting flesh. Red Hood runs to see Joker's Daughter be struck by Punchline. He begins to initiate an attack but is ambushed by a brainwashed Dick Grayson aka Dickie boy who does the Joker's bidding. As the time runs out the bombs begin to explode and Red Hood is pushed back from the explosion when he returns he searches and finds the dead body of Joker's Daughter.
In the next section of this arc we learn that Punchline switched the bodies and that the Joker's Daughter was not actually dead but replaced by a dead homeless woman. Red Hood rescues her and bring her back to the Iceberg lounge to recover. The two become close through shared trauma and Jason even shows her his old grave to remind her to make better choices than him. Later that night Joker's Daughter tries to escape from Ma Gunn's home but is stopped by PuP-PuP. The two talk and Deula Dent realizes that she has a family that she could go back to. The two then fall asleep and when Red Hood surveys the grounds in the morning leaves them with his jacket to rest.
That night Red Hood, Artimis, Joker's Daughter & PuP-PuP are in Gotham to take out Joker's goons. Suddenly mid battle Delua gets an epiphany that she doesn't want to live this life anymore. Red Hood asks her what she wants while shielding her from bullets/attacks and she retortes with returning home. We then see Red Hood & Artimis drive Delua to her childhood home. Delua claims that they must think of her as weak or silly for walking away but Artimis retorts that it takes a lot of courage to pursue the life one wants to live. PuP-PuP is assigned to live with her to keep an eye on Delua as the two walk up and into the door.
Red Hood & Artimis then take a long drive into the dessert together. Once they hit their destination Artimis gets off and tells Jason to leave. Jason is shocked and asks why to which Artimis replies that he no longer needs her and that she proud of how much he has grown as an Outlaw before departing wirh the promise to see him around. Red Hood then reflects on his life as a sidekick, a crime boss, an All-Caste chosen leader, and one hell of an Outlaw before driving his motorcycle back to Gotham to return home.
Wow, this was an epic conclusion and all encompassing story arc to mark the end of an era. The ending to the All-Caste arc is climatic and satisfying. It was also extremely heartbreaking and sentimental to see the Outlaws break up their team. It is a journey that you are sad to see end but one that you were glad to have partake in. 10/10 🌟 for an epic conclusion and beautiful resolution for Artimis, Bizzaro, & Red Hood ❤️.
Our arc mainly centers around the All-Caste and Untitled's final rivalry for control over the earth and all of mankind.
We begin with Susie Su having been killed by multiple blades but she isn't dead because??? I guess the Lazarus pit magic but that is never explained. In any case the Blood-Blade in the safe has been stolen by the Untitled and arrives at Isabel's townhouse building and when she reaches to touch it she then becomes Essences.
Meanwhile, Red Hood, Bizzaro, & Artimis are following an anonymous tip leading then to train and in the process they all fight two girls who happened to he implanted by demonic hosts known as the Untitled. Artimis & Bizzaro handle it with Red Hood delivering the final blow before they enter the train to find their source. An old man in spandex stands there in front of them calling himself General Glory and claims shows then an Oblix that has become their center of U.S. Government interest in Qauc. Red Hood and the Outlaws to merge missions temporarily to check out what is happening but make no further promises.
Once in Qauc Bizzaro & Red Hood open a fast food trailer while Artimis in a black wig disguise shows off her strength to the president of Qauc to enlist her skills as a body guard. The dictator agrees since his people are rioting/peacefully protesting against his reign. Bizzaro & Red Hood join the crowds when Jason reflects upon how Durca once took him to London and taught him how to spot evil in the hearts of human hosts that sheltered the Untitled. Red Hood in the present then taps into that skill then finds that he and Bizzaro are surrounded by the Untitled. Artimis agrees to he the body guard to the president when they are suddenly ambushed by a hoard of Untitled monsters. As they make a run for it Artimis encounters Essences and the two begin dueling. Essences defending that she is there to stop Jason from unleashing the Untitled/betraying the All-Caste. Artimis defends Red Hood's character but is slashed by the Blood-Blade drawing blood from Artimis to reveal he to be of sin. As Essences draws her weapon for a second slash an Amazonian Goddess appears and when Artimis asks who it is the woman reveals herself to be Mistress.
Meanwhile, General Glory, Red Hood, & Bizzaro try to keep the hoarde at bay while saving the innocent people who were not encapsulate by monsters (apparently they feed on both fear & hope) when the oblix begin uniting their energy and shake the ground. Bizzaro & Red Hood make a run for the external part of the circle as the oblix reveals a labyrinth below to he the "Chamber of All". Red Hood uses the All-Blade to slash General Glory killing the Untitled within him but leaves him unharmed as the group make their way through the maze.
Suddenly, Artimis, Mistress, & Essences are teleported back to New York where they find a shadowed figure saying "savior". Essences derobes the figure to reveal S'aru who then transports the group into the Chamber of All reuniting them with Bizzaro, Red Hood, & General Glory. Essences apologies to Jason upon realizing that the betrayal came from S'aru who failed to protect the 'Chamber of All' instead of Jason who she believed was trying to summon it. Red Hood accepts the apology and the group continues to travel throughout the Chamber when random eyes begin appearing. S'aru notes that the eyes are that of Trigon who is attempting to escape the Labyrinth. Artimis grows tired of Essences & Red Hood arguing what to do and instead decides to team up with Mistress who in the blink of an eye transformed into her Axe. Artimis raises her weapon and begins destroying an oblix which first off sets the energy but appears to be a great plan until it causes a rip in enegy offsetting our heroes. S'aru then transports everyone to more solid ground and show then an open passage that is the only way for Trigon to enter and must be closed. Bizzaro makes the brave sacrifice to enter the golden caverns to stop Trigon. Artimis & Red Hood wish him luck by thanking him for his sacrifice before returning to work as a team to shut the Chamber.
Suddenly the hoard of the Untitled attempt to overpower our heroes when the Outlaws (Red Hood, Arsenal, & Starfire) arrive on the scene to stop them. Jason is shocked to see his younger self but surmise that is due to the "Chamber of All" that they entered in the Himalayans. The coverage give Artimis, Essences, Red Hood, & General Glory the strength they need to push forward to close it more. Older Red Hood asks Starfire to check to see how Bizzaro is doing and she doesn't see him when she is then struck but caught by Arsenal. Red Hood thoughtful recounts how he was happy to see his best friend so in love and alive. As Red Hood is nearly caught off guard Essences strikes but loses control revealing Isabel. Both Red Hoods are confused but Isabel explains then sacrifices herself once more to be Essences for the greater good of the mission.
Inside the golden chamber Bizzaro is ambushed by the large devil creature Trigon but uses his freeze breath to break his hand and manages to overpower his enemy by punching him in the heart killing Trigon. The Untitled demons cheer and invite Bizzaro to be their King but he refuses and tries to get back to his friends when the hoard follows to get to earth but Bizzaro freezes them in the nick of time. Above Red Hood, Artimis, General Glory, & Essences keep pushing and have nearly closed the door when Bizzaro appears claiming that he has made his decision to rule over the Untitled demons to prevent them from coming to earth. The three unit in a final hug and Bizzaro returns. Artimis then uses all of her might to seal the door shut to honor her friend's sacrifice.
The battle is over and the Outlaws have won but the energy sequence above within the oblix becomes unbalanced threatening to lock the Outlaws inside if they don't escape. S'aru helps them all escape by first leading Red Hood, Arsenal, & Starfire to their respective door to bring them back to the Himalayans. Older Jason takes a moment with Arsenal to return the hat to Roy and Arsenal replies that he'll see him around with a bright smile before leaving. Our heroes then rise to the top and are freed before the ground engulfed them.
We then cut back to our side plot about one month post all that has occured with the All-Caste. This minor arc focuses on Faye Gunn aka MA Gunn who has been looking for a new worthy mentor to teach operation Next Generation Outlaw. Jason & Artimis both awaken after having spent the night together with Jason admitting that he feels torn apart now that he has lost his team of Outlaws. Starfire has focused her carrer in space, Roy is deceased, and Bizzaro ruling over hell itself. Artimis relates and empathize with Red Hood when suddenly a loud yell draws their attention. We pan over to the field to see Mallah giving orders to Next Generation Outlaw when Red Hood & Artimis appear to put a stop to it. Faye protests arguing that Red Hood abandoned the group and that she had to find replacements to better prepare the children aka Brain & Mallah. She implores Red Hood to either walk away or take the team with him to which he leaves.
Our arc continues in Gotham with a brief tie in to Joker War. Red Hood travels to Ma Gunn's first criminal establishment that was once first hideout for the Outlaw (Bizzaro & Artimis) and prepares to torch the place but takes a moment to reminic on his first encounter with his sponsor Bruce Wayne. As Red Hood prepares the bombs he is ambushed by Joker's followed by screams and the distinct sound of crowbar hitting flesh. Red Hood runs to see Joker's Daughter be struck by Punchline. He begins to initiate an attack but is ambushed by a brainwashed Dick Grayson aka Dickie boy who does the Joker's bidding. As the time runs out the bombs begin to explode and Red Hood is pushed back from the explosion when he returns he searches and finds the dead body of Joker's Daughter.
In the next section of this arc we learn that Punchline switched the bodies and that the Joker's Daughter was not actually dead but replaced by a dead homeless woman. Red Hood rescues her and bring her back to the Iceberg lounge to recover. The two become close through shared trauma and Jason even shows her his old grave to remind her to make better choices than him. Later that night Joker's Daughter tries to escape from Ma Gunn's home but is stopped by PuP-PuP. The two talk and Deula Dent realizes that she has a family that she could go back to. The two then fall asleep and when Red Hood surveys the grounds in the morning leaves them with his jacket to rest.
That night Red Hood, Artimis, Joker's Daughter & PuP-PuP are in Gotham to take out Joker's goons. Suddenly mid battle Delua gets an epiphany that she doesn't want to live this life anymore. Red Hood asks her what she wants while shielding her from bullets/attacks and she retortes with returning home. We then see Red Hood & Artimis drive Delua to her childhood home. Delua claims that they must think of her as weak or silly for walking away but Artimis retorts that it takes a lot of courage to pursue the life one wants to live. PuP-PuP is assigned to live with her to keep an eye on Delua as the two walk up and into the door.
Red Hood & Artimis then take a long drive into the dessert together. Once they hit their destination Artimis gets off and tells Jason to leave. Jason is shocked and asks why to which Artimis replies that he no longer needs her and that she proud of how much he has grown as an Outlaw before departing wirh the promise to see him around. Red Hood then reflects on his life as a sidekick, a crime boss, an All-Caste chosen leader, and one hell of an Outlaw before driving his motorcycle back to Gotham to return home.
Wow, this was an epic conclusion and all encompassing story arc to mark the end of an era. The ending to the All-Caste arc is climatic and satisfying. It was also extremely heartbreaking and sentimental to see the Outlaws break up their team. It is a journey that you are sad to see end but one that you were glad to have partake in. 10/10 🌟 for an epic conclusion and beautiful resolution for Artimis, Bizzaro, & Red Hood ❤️.
June 9, 2025
“If I ever needed anyone, it would have been you, princess.”
i’m a child of divorce
i’m a child of divorce
May 12, 2022
So much happens and yet so little ACTUALLY happens. I really dislike the ending, which isn’t helped by the fact that all preceding issues are throwing plot lines at you left and right. Forget character based writing. The Outlaws split up because… contrived shit. I guess it isn’t truly awful but it’s so far from being good.
September 21, 2022
It would take a better writer than Lobdell to make me give a shit about this All-Caste nonsense. Artemis feels like a different character now, there's no thematic follow through (there's no themes at all), I read seven volumes of this all at once because I don't know how to make good life decisions and I am just very done with all of it.
Overall:
Jason is a completely different character depending on whether he's on his own or in an ensemble. Lobdell has absolutely no sense of consistency for him; he simply slips into whatever archetype needs to be filled at the moment. The interpersonal relationships largely feel unearned. Bruce and Jason's relationship feels especially flat which is pretty bad because that's a major motivating factor for a lot of the issues.
Artemis and Bizarro both can be compelling; I find them most interesting together. Jason is a weird emotional third wheel and I thought it took them being sucked into a parallel universe for either character to really cohere. That said, the bond between the three of them feels completely unearned. The sexual relationship between Jason and Artemis feels extra weird, especially because Jason seems to already have a (much more compelling imo) relationship with Isabel.
Jason's internality is nearly nonexistent. He accepts a brutal beating from Bruce, seems to blame himself for it, is revealed a few issues later to not even have done the thing he got the shit kicked out of him for, and I just fundamentally do not understand why he does any of it. This is a comic; half of the text is Jason's inner dialogue and none of it adds up to anything that makes sense.
Plot lines are picked up and dropped with astounding speed; it would be insufferable if I weren't so grateful to not be stuck with various contrivances. Lobdell's writing is best when he's sticking to single characters or maybe a duo; the more characters the exponentially worse the writing gets.
The art is uneven. I think Soy is the best artist of the bunch. I know other people like Rocafort's art but I find it tortured and unpleasant to look at. Most of the action sequences are fun enough, so if you're in it for that these will probably be fine.
Overall just an immensely frustrating and unpleasant experience. I know people generally only rec the first 4 volumes of this run and I get why, but I don't actually think they're drastically better than the latter 4. I'd love to see someone other than Lobdell get a shot at writing a Jason book; I don't know why the guy's had a monopoly on the character for 10 years, because I really, really don't think he's very good. Again, though, I'm sure at least a little of it is a taste thing, though I think Lobdell's greatest issue is less that and more his massive inconsistency.
Overall:
Jason is a completely different character depending on whether he's on his own or in an ensemble. Lobdell has absolutely no sense of consistency for him; he simply slips into whatever archetype needs to be filled at the moment. The interpersonal relationships largely feel unearned. Bruce and Jason's relationship feels especially flat which is pretty bad because that's a major motivating factor for a lot of the issues.
Artemis and Bizarro both can be compelling; I find them most interesting together. Jason is a weird emotional third wheel and I thought it took them being sucked into a parallel universe for either character to really cohere. That said, the bond between the three of them feels completely unearned. The sexual relationship between Jason and Artemis feels extra weird, especially because Jason seems to already have a (much more compelling imo) relationship with Isabel.
Jason's internality is nearly nonexistent. He accepts a brutal beating from Bruce, seems to blame himself for it, is revealed a few issues later to not even have done the thing he got the shit kicked out of him for, and I just fundamentally do not understand why he does any of it. This is a comic; half of the text is Jason's inner dialogue and none of it adds up to anything that makes sense.
Plot lines are picked up and dropped with astounding speed; it would be insufferable if I weren't so grateful to not be stuck with various contrivances. Lobdell's writing is best when he's sticking to single characters or maybe a duo; the more characters the exponentially worse the writing gets.
The art is uneven. I think Soy is the best artist of the bunch. I know other people like Rocafort's art but I find it tortured and unpleasant to look at. Most of the action sequences are fun enough, so if you're in it for that these will probably be fine.
Overall just an immensely frustrating and unpleasant experience. I know people generally only rec the first 4 volumes of this run and I get why, but I don't actually think they're drastically better than the latter 4. I'd love to see someone other than Lobdell get a shot at writing a Jason book; I don't know why the guy's had a monopoly on the character for 10 years, because I really, really don't think he's very good. Again, though, I'm sure at least a little of it is a taste thing, though I think Lobdell's greatest issue is less that and more his massive inconsistency.
August 7, 2024
End of the road, and this one's a doozy. And not in a good way, unfortunately. (Remember how excited I was about the beginning of this run? We've come so far.)
Most of these issues deal with Jason's relationship with the All-Caste, and he, Artemis, Bizarro, and General Glory (an older hero who was brought out of retirement) work together to battle against a veritable army of Untitled. The Untitled, working with a traitorous member of the All-Caste, are trying to open to the door to the Chamber of All so they can release Trigon on the world.
Frankly, this whole story was a nightmare for me to read, and gave me a headache. It felt like Lobdell thought he was writing on Constantine or Doctor Strange or some other heavy magic-based series, and forgot that he was writing about a Batman character. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it makes any sense to give Jason such a nonsensical magic-heavy story lines. It doesn't work with his character or his history. I feel like if I wanted that sort of story, I'd just read Doctor Strange.
And speaking of characters doing things that don't actually make any sense for them to do... Bizarro is now the ruler of hell. For... some reason?
(Idk, I think Lobdell was just told to get rid of Jason's friends and that was the best he could come up with in the moment.)
There are parts of this collection that I thought were fun, though. Ma Gunn is now the caretaker of the mini-villains that Jason was supposed to be teaching, and she's now enlisted the Brain and Monsieur Mallah to help her. We also get to see Jason trying to take care of Duela Dent "the Joker's Daughter" after the "Joker War" is over, which I thought was rushed but sweet.
(I would love to have seen a miniseries of just Jason and the Sisters Su taking care of Duela. I just think that would have been fun.)
I dunno, I just feel like the stories in here were extremely rushed. And again, the All-Caste stuff tends to leave me with a headache and feeling frustrated. Even the run was written all the way through by one writer, it feels like the title changed hands several times over. I really, really liked how the beginning of this run was presented, but the ending is so different and feels so far removed, it feels like I'm reading a completely different comic series. Again, maybe that's just me.
(Also if Scott Lobdell wants to explain to me how "shoe" and "shoo" are pronounced differently, I'd love to hear it. Like, my good dude, how are you pronouncing those words that they sound different?? Explain yourself, sir!)
Most of these issues deal with Jason's relationship with the All-Caste, and he, Artemis, Bizarro, and General Glory (an older hero who was brought out of retirement) work together to battle against a veritable army of Untitled. The Untitled, working with a traitorous member of the All-Caste, are trying to open to the door to the Chamber of All so they can release Trigon on the world.
Frankly, this whole story was a nightmare for me to read, and gave me a headache. It felt like Lobdell thought he was writing on Constantine or Doctor Strange or some other heavy magic-based series, and forgot that he was writing about a Batman character. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it makes any sense to give Jason such a nonsensical magic-heavy story lines. It doesn't work with his character or his history. I feel like if I wanted that sort of story, I'd just read Doctor Strange.
And speaking of characters doing things that don't actually make any sense for them to do... Bizarro is now the ruler of hell. For... some reason?
(Idk, I think Lobdell was just told to get rid of Jason's friends and that was the best he could come up with in the moment.)
There are parts of this collection that I thought were fun, though. Ma Gunn is now the caretaker of the mini-villains that Jason was supposed to be teaching, and she's now enlisted the Brain and Monsieur Mallah to help her. We also get to see Jason trying to take care of Duela Dent "the Joker's Daughter" after the "Joker War" is over, which I thought was rushed but sweet.
(I would love to have seen a miniseries of just Jason and the Sisters Su taking care of Duela. I just think that would have been fun.)
I dunno, I just feel like the stories in here were extremely rushed. And again, the All-Caste stuff tends to leave me with a headache and feeling frustrated. Even the run was written all the way through by one writer, it feels like the title changed hands several times over. I really, really liked how the beginning of this run was presented, but the ending is so different and feels so far removed, it feels like I'm reading a completely different comic series. Again, maybe that's just me.
(Also if Scott Lobdell wants to explain to me how "shoe" and "shoo" are pronounced differently, I'd love to hear it. Like, my good dude, how are you pronouncing those words that they sound different?? Explain yourself, sir!)
April 14, 2021
For the last Volume of this run, we get the same action packed flow of the rest of the series, and while ultimately there is plenty to be covered here, I'm just going to hit the highlights briefly.
- The Untitled are back and have a two fold mission: 1) Open the Chamber of All, and 2) Use that to free Trigon from his hellish prison so he can use the Untitled as his army and take over reality.
- Isabel, Jason's girlfriend, gets a hold of the Blood Blade and releases Essence from her sword prison. As Essence, she then joins the fight against the Untitled.
- Artemis is reunited with her powerful axe, Mistress.
- Bizarro takes on Trigon single handed to allow the others to close the doors to the Chamber. After defeating Trigon, he takes the throne in Hell to rule, leaving the Outlaws.
- During the scene of closing the chamber, the power of the Chamber of All, existing in all times, allows them to interact with the original team (Jason, Starfire, and Arsenal). Much respect for Jason not revealing that Arsenal would soon be dying.
- Everyone basically goes their separate ways, leading Jason to head back to Gotham.
- There is also a connection issue in the middle that matches up to Joker War (which I will be reading very soon)
Overall, I've enjoyed the Red Hood series. Nice anti-hero with comedy, and tons of action.
Recommend.
Wonder what's next for Jason Todd?
- The Untitled are back and have a two fold mission: 1) Open the Chamber of All, and 2) Use that to free Trigon from his hellish prison so he can use the Untitled as his army and take over reality.
- Isabel, Jason's girlfriend, gets a hold of the Blood Blade and releases Essence from her sword prison. As Essence, she then joins the fight against the Untitled.
- Artemis is reunited with her powerful axe, Mistress.
- Bizarro takes on Trigon single handed to allow the others to close the doors to the Chamber. After defeating Trigon, he takes the throne in Hell to rule, leaving the Outlaws.
- During the scene of closing the chamber, the power of the Chamber of All, existing in all times, allows them to interact with the original team (Jason, Starfire, and Arsenal). Much respect for Jason not revealing that Arsenal would soon be dying.
- Everyone basically goes their separate ways, leading Jason to head back to Gotham.
- There is also a connection issue in the middle that matches up to Joker War (which I will be reading very soon)
Overall, I've enjoyed the Red Hood series. Nice anti-hero with comedy, and tons of action.
Recommend.
Wonder what's next for Jason Todd?
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December 28, 2024Idk how to rate this because there were some issues in this bind up where I was ok with the story (the ones at the end which kind of came back to the real world so to speak) but the All-Caste stuff has thrown me ever since it was introduced in the last volume. It just isn’t my jam.
I’m happy overall with the series in the way that it kept my attention to bulldoze through all the trade volumes in a week, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just kind of meh with the end. These last few have made me realize why so many readers are so “Ugh” about this author (I lived in ignorance, new to comics)
Also the art was horrendous. I was so annoyed to see the artist that did the art for basically all the issues in this volume.
I’m happy overall with the series in the way that it kept my attention to bulldoze through all the trade volumes in a week, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just kind of meh with the end. These last few have made me realize why so many readers are so “Ugh” about this author (I lived in ignorance, new to comics)
Also the art was horrendous. I was so annoyed to see the artist that did the art for basically all the issues in this volume.
April 17, 2021
Ah the end of an era! Finishing this series is bittersweet I must say. I know a lot don't like how sexualized the characters were drawn and in this volume I definitely got annoyed at how they were drawn. It was like overkill and not in a good way. The storyline on the other hand was epic. I'm bummed it's over. The last comic felt rushed like it was trying to close all loose ends in one go which was kinda odd, but I get it.
I love Jason Todd. That said, read it. Give these comics a chance. Are they drawn badly sometimes? Yeah. Are the women in the comics given too little clothes and ridiculous poses? Yes. But the heart of the story. Found family! Is great!
I love Jason Todd. That said, read it. Give these comics a chance. Are they drawn badly sometimes? Yeah. Are the women in the comics given too little clothes and ridiculous poses? Yes. But the heart of the story. Found family! Is great!
September 7, 2025
This run was just...great characters with some interesting directions, but bonkers plot that didn't linger long enough to leave an impact. I'm too big of a fan of Red Hood to swear off this series run as a whole, but I can admit it was shaky. Jason worked with Artemis and Bizarro better than he did with anyone, but most of this run is him by himself or interacting with the strangest E-list characters, none of which justified their presence--from the kids of Luthor's villain school to how much we pushed Ma Gunn or tried and then abandoned Jason's birth dad plotline..? This 'Outlaw' run was throwing plots at the wall to see which one works and none did.
March 26, 2021
While I was not the biggest fan of issues 28 through 42, I did like how it was concluded. The resolution with Essence was nice as well as the concluding bit with Duela Dent. I’m going to miss Artemis and Bizarro, but I hope we get to see them again. I also liked the mission where they went back in time. I still hate that he was killed off in Heroes in Crisis, but I appreciated that Jason got to see Roy alive one last time.
The only really strange but was Bizarro taking over for Trigon. I suppose I get why, but the fact he took over Trigon’s followers was a bit of an oddity.
The only really strange but was Bizarro taking over for Trigon. I suppose I get why, but the fact he took over Trigon’s followers was a bit of an oddity.
May 31, 2025
A wild mashed up conclusion from Lobdell. This wraps up an extreme amount of Lobdell's work with DC, touching on older plots like all caste and jokers daughter. Lobdell goes so crazy with wrap ups hes even wrapping up plots from other titles like Titans. This is pretty all over the place, but I can't say after reading all seventeen volumes since new 52 the emotional moments didn't make me feel at all.
October 22, 2025
I am STRUGGLING to not give this 2 stars, TBH [Edit: my baser impulses won out.]. This art style has gotten really funky, and the conclusion arc was quite strange, not to mention that random Joker War thing dropped in the middle there. I also loved how emotionless and cold Jason (Isabel and Dog, anyone?) seemed through it all, and of course I HATED that ending for Bizarro. I'm excited to read whatever Artemis does next, at least?????
January 12, 2022
That last issue alone was more than enough to give this book four stars. Lobdell is a… mixed writer, but regardless on how I feel about him overall, this is certainly an end of an era of him writing Jason (I hope) and deserves respect for it. I can’t wait to see where Jason goes from here and I look forward to other creators continuing Jason’s story.
June 21, 2022
I have given the first couple of volumes of this story 4 or 5 stars for the most part. The art isn’t that great but the story is so fun and captivating that it makes up for the visuals. I’m this volume, it seems Lobdell is bored and running out of ideas for Jason. This is honestly where the title starts falling downhill and it doesn’t get much better from here.
December 23, 2022
I would have liked this way more if they didn’t have made the Joker War crossover, but I guess it’s cool that they actually showed the aftermath in the city and the civilians. also I couldn’t care less about that last storyline of the white boy making sneakers, Gudda and Killer Croc. I just think the ending of issue #50 was the perfect closure for Jason’s arc and the beginning of his new path.
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April 28, 2021BIZARRO!
Also, though, like... I'm not sure this illustrator knows how to draw an older person? It kind of seems like they just assumed adding more lines on the face = older. Or maybe I'm just really picky. Generally the art was great, I just had some issues with the faces.
Also, though, like... I'm not sure this illustrator knows how to draw an older person? It kind of seems like they just assumed adding more lines on the face = older. Or maybe I'm just really picky. Generally the art was great, I just had some issues with the faces.
May 23, 2021
Oh man, this is it. The ending of The Outlaws. Bizarro fights Trigon and becomes one of the kings of Hell. Artemis just moves on. Jason is left to his own devices.
Loved this, and am sad, but am very interested in what comes next for Jason Todd.
Loved this, and am sad, but am very interested in what comes next for Jason Todd.
November 10, 2021
Not sure if it because I missed two volumes after I read volume one to this some but the story seems to have gone too far away for my interest from where it started. Artemis Grace and Bizzaro are not interesting characters for my taste to add in.
June 6, 2022
DUELA DENT DUELA DENT DUELA DENT OMGOFNFKBSJDNS
ALTHOUGH I WOULD HAVE DESIGNED HER DIFFERENTLY (and also not drawn her with a 25-year-olds body when she’s supposed to be like 16…), I STILL LOVE THIS. JASON TODD TAKING IN DUELA DENTTTTTNDJJFDJFNDN
ALTHOUGH I WOULD HAVE DESIGNED HER DIFFERENTLY (and also not drawn her with a 25-year-olds body when she’s supposed to be like 16…), I STILL LOVE THIS. JASON TODD TAKING IN DUELA DENTTTTTNDJJFDJFNDN
July 27, 2022
The end of the Outlaw road. This skipped around, mainly because Lobdell had to do a Joker War tie-in in the middle of his main arc, but I kinda was good with the overall story. I'm tired right now otherwise I would write a better review.
February 17, 2023
This book is all over the place especially with the Joker War stuff but I do appreciate that it was given time to wrap up loose ends. Now we need a Red Hood book written by anyone other than Lobdell.
December 6, 2023
i was really sad bc i knew artemis and jason weren’t endgame, but that was the cutest “goodbye” ever 😭 found family break ups are literally the saddest thing ever though.
let’s be real for a sec, the series wasn’t even the best (to me at least) but i did it for jason 😌
let’s be real for a sec, the series wasn’t even the best (to me at least) but i did it for jason 😌
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2021
I'm just here for Bizarro. He's my current favorite DC character. DC Comics needs to give him his own series!
May 16, 2021
It is rare to find a comic so inconsistent in tone and direction. I't like they switched writers every couple of pages.
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