Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Batman and the Outsiders #14
DC Comics
Written by Bryan Hill
Art by Dexter Soy
Colors by Veronica Gandini
Letters by Clayton Cowles
The Rundown: Batman helps Jefferson control and enhance his powers are Shiva takes the youngest members of the team on a mission to flush out Ras Al Ghul.
The team is fractured into two factions and that might just be exactly what Batman wants. Shiva has given Signal and Orphan a choice about which mission they want to continue and the young heroes have sided with Shiva. They set off to find a banker with a connection to the League of Assassins and Shiva wants answers.
While the kids are on their mission with Shiva, Batman and Black Lightning are working on focusing his new enhanced powers. Jefferson doesn’t believe that reaching out Ras’ machine will work, but he tries. Batman decides that the next step is to show Ras Al Ghul that he is just as vulnerable as the world he is holding hostage and that vulnerability comes in the form of a Lazarus Pit. After sending a message to the Demon’s Head, it will be up to Jefferson to locate the device before Ras uses it on another city.
The Story: Bryan Hill continues to weave a tight, suspenseful story that makes the characters around Batman interesting and layered. The complexity of the characters and their inner struggles comes through in the dialogue. The power imbalance within the team continues to be a source of drama worth exploring, but its lack of resolution is becoming a problem as a reader. The in-fighting and division is fine at times, but it is so consistent in this team that sometimes you wonder why they are working together in the first place. It will be interesting to see what this team can become once it determines what it wants to be and it will be even more interesting to see if that can happen without Batman in the lead.
The Art: Dexter Soy delivers some beautiful visuals throughout this issue. Not only does his style perfectly match the tone and themes of Hill’s story, but it also visually stunning in various moments including Jefferson using his powers as well as a subtle conversation between Shiva and Katana.
Batman and the Outsiders #14
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