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Red Tornado (2009-2010) #1-6
Red Tornado: Family Reunion
This miniseries shines a new light on the true origin of Red Tornado, the Justice League of America's resident android Super Hero! You'll not only discover a crew of characters new to the DC Universe, if Red Tornado has his way, you'll also uncover the hero's true android family! But will it cost him the love of his adopted human one?
Featuring the debuts of Red Tornado's long lost -- and potentially deadly -- siblings, Red Inferno, Red Volcano and Red Torpedo.
Featuring the debuts of Red Tornado's long lost -- and potentially deadly -- siblings, Red Inferno, Red Volcano and Red Torpedo.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 28, 2014
This is the first Red Tornado comic I’ve ever read and I understand that this little volume was put together to bring attention to the Young Justice TV series, but something went wrong here.
I enjoyed reading it because I like the character of Red Tornado (he’s a robot—there seriously aren’t enough emotional robots in comics people) and I especially liked him in the Young Justice series which this volume follows kind-of the same plot involving him having siblings that own different elemental abilities. I loved that he had a family and loved them like a normal person and it there were little droplets of feels when it came to him trying to understand his sister and brothers.
However much there was good, I almost didn’t give this book a chance for reasons hard to explain. It starts out with a narration in descriptive boxes like most comics, but though most comics do this, it must be done right. This is an example of it being done wrong. I don’t know what the writer was trying to do but the first half of the book’s panels are interrupted by these yellow narrative boxes that describe exactly what action is being committed. Why are you telling me what’s physically happening when I can see it myself in the beautiful art?! It drove me crazy! The disembodied yellow voice was smartly replaced with Red Tornado’s thoughts—and I wonder to God why they didn’t do that in the first place. It’s like have way through writing the darned thing the writer’s like, “Oh, maybe it should have been Red Tornado narrating instead of me,” and forgot to change the detail through the editing process. My first thought was that they had made this comic for little kids so they would know what’s going on—but that assumption was dismissed when the characters began to use mild language and people are shown burned alive. After finishing it and thinking about how to summarize it, I realized that the hasty plot and painful panel descriptions reminded me of the Bronze Age Green Lantern comics I own, realizing that this quick miniseries permitted to be published by DC was trying to hit the nostalgic notes that some would appreciate if they had read the original Red Tornado comics.
I’ve accepted that reason so I could give the comic a 4 star rating instead of 3. Overlooking that strange, unexplainable narrative flaw I really enjoyed the drama and peril that was put into this as well as how human Red Tornado really was—also his personal feud between Red Volcano and Red Tornado was deliciously conflicting. With a caring and imaginative writer this could have actually been as compelling a series as Young Justice.
I enjoyed reading it because I like the character of Red Tornado (he’s a robot—there seriously aren’t enough emotional robots in comics people) and I especially liked him in the Young Justice series which this volume follows kind-of the same plot involving him having siblings that own different elemental abilities. I loved that he had a family and loved them like a normal person and it there were little droplets of feels when it came to him trying to understand his sister and brothers.
However much there was good, I almost didn’t give this book a chance for reasons hard to explain. It starts out with a narration in descriptive boxes like most comics, but though most comics do this, it must be done right. This is an example of it being done wrong. I don’t know what the writer was trying to do but the first half of the book’s panels are interrupted by these yellow narrative boxes that describe exactly what action is being committed. Why are you telling me what’s physically happening when I can see it myself in the beautiful art?! It drove me crazy! The disembodied yellow voice was smartly replaced with Red Tornado’s thoughts—and I wonder to God why they didn’t do that in the first place. It’s like have way through writing the darned thing the writer’s like, “Oh, maybe it should have been Red Tornado narrating instead of me,” and forgot to change the detail through the editing process. My first thought was that they had made this comic for little kids so they would know what’s going on—but that assumption was dismissed when the characters began to use mild language and people are shown burned alive. After finishing it and thinking about how to summarize it, I realized that the hasty plot and painful panel descriptions reminded me of the Bronze Age Green Lantern comics I own, realizing that this quick miniseries permitted to be published by DC was trying to hit the nostalgic notes that some would appreciate if they had read the original Red Tornado comics.
I’ve accepted that reason so I could give the comic a 4 star rating instead of 3. Overlooking that strange, unexplainable narrative flaw I really enjoyed the drama and peril that was put into this as well as how human Red Tornado really was—also his personal feud between Red Volcano and Red Tornado was deliciously conflicting. With a caring and imaginative writer this could have actually been as compelling a series as Young Justice.
July 25, 2012
Though it was a very well written story, I'm not sure introducing an entire Red Tornado family was such a bright idea.
December 23, 2022
Red Tornado is massively underrated. It's great to read a whole story dedicated to him and his mythos.
November 16, 2022
Thanks to the now classic Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series, which just the other day celebrated its 10th anniversary, I became more familiar with the character of Red Tornado. I knew that he was an android and that he was created by the T.O. Morrow, an arch enemy of the Justice League. But I did not know that the character longed to be human and donned a human mask, taking the name John Smith, when not on active duty with the JLA. I also didn't know that he married a human woman and that adopted a child until I learned about that on the Cartoon Network team-up series. But when I did, that opened a ton of interest to me. Thus when I found this book at Ollie's, I snatched it up.
True, I sat on this book for a couple of years before finding going into a box of trades and graphic novels that was just begging to be sorted through and giving this volume a read. Looking back, I kinda see how the Red Tornado is a lot like the Avenger, Vision. While I believe that the Red Tornado came first, I don't think John Smith's relationship with a human female transpired until after Vision and Scarlet Witch became a couple. In some other ways, Red Tornado is a lot like the character of Data from the Star Trek Universe; always wanting to better understand the human condition. Maybe that's why I am fascinated by this Justice Leaguer. Also like Data, we learn that for an android, the Red Tornado sure has a lot of siblings!
An unexpected visitor to T.O. Morrow's cell at Belle Reve brings to light that the mad scientist created 3 other androids before crafting Red Tornado. Based on the 4 elements, one android is insane and super strong, another is carrying scars from being betrayed by Morrow, while the third is presumed missing. When the forgotten android manifests itself due to an episode of intense stress, Tornado has a chance to finally have a family. But the wind elemental must get to his little brother before psycho older sibling finds him. Yet in order to maintain that which he always longed for, the Red Tornado may have to sacrifice the human family he's earned.
I really wish I could say that I was a fan of this book. The parts where Red Tornado/John Smith interacts with his family are my favorite parts. They're also quite humorous. Get Red Tornado with his android siblings and I lose interest. These other elemental robots aren't really likeable. The female droid who was betrayed by her creator is perhaps the most sympathetic of the three. But she's so cold and cunning. Could it be that T.O. Morrow gifted the Red Tornado with a heart?
The artwork, by Jose Luis (Titans United), was really good. It's sleek and full of energy. Plus, the character design for the female member of Tornado's family was really well done. I also liked that writer Kevin Vanhook (Bloodshot) brings in another Justice Leaguer to offer some assistance to this story. However, I think I would've liked it if at least one or two more characters would have been peppered in.
The book looks like a Justice League title from the late 2000s. It reads like a Greek Tragedy. I'm not willing to give up on Red Tornado. Though in the future, I hope that my next encounter will focus more on the current home life of the character and not forgotten members of the Tornado family tree. Maybe something a little more like WandaVision and less like Oedipus Rex.
True, I sat on this book for a couple of years before finding going into a box of trades and graphic novels that was just begging to be sorted through and giving this volume a read. Looking back, I kinda see how the Red Tornado is a lot like the Avenger, Vision. While I believe that the Red Tornado came first, I don't think John Smith's relationship with a human female transpired until after Vision and Scarlet Witch became a couple. In some other ways, Red Tornado is a lot like the character of Data from the Star Trek Universe; always wanting to better understand the human condition. Maybe that's why I am fascinated by this Justice Leaguer. Also like Data, we learn that for an android, the Red Tornado sure has a lot of siblings!
An unexpected visitor to T.O. Morrow's cell at Belle Reve brings to light that the mad scientist created 3 other androids before crafting Red Tornado. Based on the 4 elements, one android is insane and super strong, another is carrying scars from being betrayed by Morrow, while the third is presumed missing. When the forgotten android manifests itself due to an episode of intense stress, Tornado has a chance to finally have a family. But the wind elemental must get to his little brother before psycho older sibling finds him. Yet in order to maintain that which he always longed for, the Red Tornado may have to sacrifice the human family he's earned.
I really wish I could say that I was a fan of this book. The parts where Red Tornado/John Smith interacts with his family are my favorite parts. They're also quite humorous. Get Red Tornado with his android siblings and I lose interest. These other elemental robots aren't really likeable. The female droid who was betrayed by her creator is perhaps the most sympathetic of the three. But she's so cold and cunning. Could it be that T.O. Morrow gifted the Red Tornado with a heart?
The artwork, by Jose Luis (Titans United), was really good. It's sleek and full of energy. Plus, the character design for the female member of Tornado's family was really well done. I also liked that writer Kevin Vanhook (Bloodshot) brings in another Justice Leaguer to offer some assistance to this story. However, I think I would've liked it if at least one or two more characters would have been peppered in.
The book looks like a Justice League title from the late 2000s. It reads like a Greek Tragedy. I'm not willing to give up on Red Tornado. Though in the future, I hope that my next encounter will focus more on the current home life of the character and not forgotten members of the Tornado family tree. Maybe something a little more like WandaVision and less like Oedipus Rex.
November 20, 2018
Here's the thing about Red Tornado...no one cares about him. He looks cool and has been involved in a couple good stories in a couple decades. Lots of writers have tried to change that and no one really has. Kevin VanHook does his best with some familial backstory and antagonists but its pretty cookie cutter. The additions to his family are visually awesome (great job Jose Luis) but they are by the numbers and their origins are nonsense. Overall, this is a very basic story that fits a formula. The art is beautiful and takes it up a notch though.
December 28, 2023
Really gets down to the android roots of red tornado. Very interesting to see some more of the creations that encompass the red family and absolutely horrifying the manipulation Red Volcano used against Inferno as this was my first introduction to these characters. But overall I enjoyed this classic hero story and would hope to see these characters at another point in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2015
This is why I hate DC Comics--for this shit! This shallow, uninspired collected pages of shit!
Lemme back up for a second & give a little background as to why I hate DC--promise to make it quick:
I have never liked the main character gallery of DC superheroes (except for Batman) because they are all just that: Superheroes. Marvel's Heroes are "broken" & the only A-List DC character who could fit seamlessly into the Marvel Universe is Batman! DC Characters are too "do-gooder" & have the cheesiest costumes, names, stories and the multiple earths crap doesn't help it either. But, ironically, I did read a lot of DC titles: Sgt. Rock, G.I. Combat, Weird War, Vigilante, Plop!, Ragman, House of Mystery, just to name a few. I guess you could say I liked their B-List/C-List titles. One of my best friends & I are huge fans of Kirby's Kamandi which was a title by DC, so I'm not a complete hater.
I just fucking hate Superman so much! So lame is he! Wonder Woman blows! The Flash is... okay (but it is a weak "ok"). The Atom is a fucking joke! Aquaman is just perplexing in it's horrible execution of stories because there is so much potential with such a awful character. & the villains!--don't get me started.
But to be fair, knowing I had read other DC comics, I thought I'd give the major publisher a second chance, avoid their A-List Meta-Humans & go trawling for the B, C & D-Listers who populate the multiple earths--maybe there's something cool lurking around in there.
& this is how I discovered Red Tornado.
I have never liked Marvel's Avengers character, The Vision. I hated the fact he was an android & could phase through solid objects; qualifying him as a "superhero". Superhero my ass. The dude is a machine! So why do I love DC's Red Tornado so much!? Everything I despise about The Vision could totally apply to Red Tornado but, regardless, this is not the case. Red Tornado's background is totally cheesy--cheesier than The Vision's--but for some reason I really like it. I even like his weird appearance--the red, yellow & blue costume, the cape, the yellow arrow on his forehead, the tornado powers, his being part of the element of air, etc. He is just so much more appealing that I am willing to overlook the fact he is an android.
With his somewhat cliched background story, Red Tornado could easily rise above it based on the powers he possesses, his android aspects & the potential for good plotlines to cause his character to evolve beyond the yolk of the DC Universe.
I know that sounds grandiose but as a semi-pro creator of underground comix, I truly see the possibilities of where Red Tornado could go within structure of the DC Universe. This book is not where Red Tornado should go.
In an attempt to expand Red Tornado's world & his place within it, writer Van Hook takes a page from the Captain Marvel Family & goes with it--creating Red Volcano (villain), Red Torpedo & Red Inferno. It's so obvious that I really don't have to explain it but I will for the uninitiated:
Red Tornado = Captain Marvel.
Red Volcano = Black Adam.
Red Torpedo = Mary Marvel.
Red Inferno = Captain Marvel, Jr.
There it is in a nutshell. Throw in their creator, mad scientist, T.O. Morrow, & you've got your Dr. Savana.
Is it worth talking about the story? Not really. But to sum up: Red T wonders if there are others like him; finds out there are; fights with his siblings; teams up with two of siblings to fight the main "black sheep" of the family; "black sheep" defeated but not vanquished--setting up for open-ended story to garner a sequel mini-series.
It is really bad writing mixed with some above average sequential art. I gave it my rating because I love Red Tornado but he deserves better than this shit parading around as quality comics.
Lemme back up for a second & give a little background as to why I hate DC--promise to make it quick:
I have never liked the main character gallery of DC superheroes (except for Batman) because they are all just that: Superheroes. Marvel's Heroes are "broken" & the only A-List DC character who could fit seamlessly into the Marvel Universe is Batman! DC Characters are too "do-gooder" & have the cheesiest costumes, names, stories and the multiple earths crap doesn't help it either. But, ironically, I did read a lot of DC titles: Sgt. Rock, G.I. Combat, Weird War, Vigilante, Plop!, Ragman, House of Mystery, just to name a few. I guess you could say I liked their B-List/C-List titles. One of my best friends & I are huge fans of Kirby's Kamandi which was a title by DC, so I'm not a complete hater.
I just fucking hate Superman so much! So lame is he! Wonder Woman blows! The Flash is... okay (but it is a weak "ok"). The Atom is a fucking joke! Aquaman is just perplexing in it's horrible execution of stories because there is so much potential with such a awful character. & the villains!--don't get me started.
But to be fair, knowing I had read other DC comics, I thought I'd give the major publisher a second chance, avoid their A-List Meta-Humans & go trawling for the B, C & D-Listers who populate the multiple earths--maybe there's something cool lurking around in there.
& this is how I discovered Red Tornado.
I have never liked Marvel's Avengers character, The Vision. I hated the fact he was an android & could phase through solid objects; qualifying him as a "superhero". Superhero my ass. The dude is a machine! So why do I love DC's Red Tornado so much!? Everything I despise about The Vision could totally apply to Red Tornado but, regardless, this is not the case. Red Tornado's background is totally cheesy--cheesier than The Vision's--but for some reason I really like it. I even like his weird appearance--the red, yellow & blue costume, the cape, the yellow arrow on his forehead, the tornado powers, his being part of the element of air, etc. He is just so much more appealing that I am willing to overlook the fact he is an android.
With his somewhat cliched background story, Red Tornado could easily rise above it based on the powers he possesses, his android aspects & the potential for good plotlines to cause his character to evolve beyond the yolk of the DC Universe.
I know that sounds grandiose but as a semi-pro creator of underground comix, I truly see the possibilities of where Red Tornado could go within structure of the DC Universe. This book is not where Red Tornado should go.
In an attempt to expand Red Tornado's world & his place within it, writer Van Hook takes a page from the Captain Marvel Family & goes with it--creating Red Volcano (villain), Red Torpedo & Red Inferno. It's so obvious that I really don't have to explain it but I will for the uninitiated:
Red Tornado = Captain Marvel.
Red Volcano = Black Adam.
Red Torpedo = Mary Marvel.
Red Inferno = Captain Marvel, Jr.
There it is in a nutshell. Throw in their creator, mad scientist, T.O. Morrow, & you've got your Dr. Savana.
Is it worth talking about the story? Not really. But to sum up: Red T wonders if there are others like him; finds out there are; fights with his siblings; teams up with two of siblings to fight the main "black sheep" of the family; "black sheep" defeated but not vanquished--setting up for open-ended story to garner a sequel mini-series.
It is really bad writing mixed with some above average sequential art. I gave it my rating because I love Red Tornado but he deserves better than this shit parading around as quality comics.
November 29, 2012
Quite enjoyed this. Not exceptional, but very well written and well drawn. It does a good job of trying to flesh out the world of Red Tornado, giving him both a new 'family' and a new nemesis. Some of his uniqueness is now gone, but the writer needed a hook, and picked a pretty good one. Worth picking up.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews