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We’re close to the finish line, folks. Normally, this is the part of the story where all the disparate elements are brought together cohesively, and everything begins to make sense. Unfortunately, each issue of the Hill (featuring the Red Hood when they remember he’s supposed to be here) has focused on different elements each month, making it a rather disjointed read. Can the creative team pull their socks up and get their ducks (or bats, I guess) in a row?
Actually, Let’s Talk About the Cover For A Bit
So, there is a trope called Flanderization that shows up in writing. The simplest way of describing it is that in a long-running series, there’s a tendency for a well-developed three-dimensional character with a few traits or quirks to eventually only be defined by those quirks as time passes. The name comes from Ned Flanders of the Simpsons, who started out as a well-meaning neighbor who happened to be a Christian to a bible-thumping zealot in the present day.
Comics, as a form of long-running media with decades of stories, are especially prone to flanderization. It is not always possible for writers to remember the traits of certain characters, leading to them only using surface level traits. Like – I’m pretty sure you know where I’m going with this – Jason Todd having a history with a crowbar.
The cover depicts Jason walking away from the reader, sheathing his crowbar into its place after having used it to presumably beat the people lying on the ground into submission, while the cover proclaims, ‘Raising the Bar!’ Now, I do like a good pun, but it’s really difficult for me to ignore the fact that this whole thing with the crowbar started when the Joker used it to beat Jason to a bloody pulp.
Now, why did I spend so much time talking about flanderization and Jason Todd? Well, Jason is barely in this comic, appearing in only about five pages — including the cover!!! Look, I’m not the biggest Red Hood fan, but I would be slightly miffed if a comic used him as a selling point only to have him relegated to the background.
Ok, You’ve Stalled Long Enough. What’s Happening in the Comic?
Well, Dana seems to think throwing temper tantrums at Korlee Jr will stop him, which should tell you all about how badly her characterization has regressed. The Watch has vanished from the comic entirely, and the last time we see Jason, he’s in the middle of an ambush. My fear that Batman would take over since #3 gets justified here as Bruce confronts Korlee and his right-hand woman, Lenora, at the Godmode gala. Bruce also becomes the World’s Greatest Exposition Dumper as he narrates Lenora’s history and theorizes that she is the real mastermind behind Korlee’s operations…which she all but implies is the case. Meanwhile, Korlee has put on a traditional African tribal mask and attacks the Batmobile with a gang of goons wearing similar masks (…). But the biggest moment of “HUH?!?” in the comic comes from the Jack-in-the-Box Batman robot that pops out of the Batmobile to fight them.
Recommended If
You want to see this story end.
You like reading about the adventures of Bruce Wayne, Exposition Man.
I don’t know – the reveal of Batbot is mildly amusing, I guess?
Overall
This is a mess. What should be the culmination of all the story elements presented so far resembles a tangled collection of threads. I’m trying really hard to find something to praise besides the art, which remains satisfactory but is nothing too remarkable. Hopefully, it all comes together in the end, but I remain doubtful.
Score: 3.5/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
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