Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2, Issue 28
Recap
In his search to discover what the secret organization Underlife is up to, Red Hood comes across the quaint town of Appleton, where not everything is as it seems.
Review
The issue opens to a hospital room, where we find the dirty cop Red Hood roughly interrogated the night before. A shadowy figure approaches the incapacitated officer and tells him to write down everything he told Red Hood. Once he gets what he wants, we see that the shadowy figure is really Wingman, a temporary alias Red Hood used.
Back in Appleton, Red Hood (as his civilian self Jason Todd) wanders the town during their yearly apple fair. Everything looks to be a simple mid-west town, proud of their main claim to fame: apples. Upon closer inspection though, Jason notices that the sweet couple he’s renting a bed and breakfast room from is about to shoot him in the back. Jason avoids the shot just in time and immediately gets involved in a hand-to-hand fight with the couple and a crowd bystander. He manages to take all three out, but when he turns around, he sees that the entire town is now prepared to take him out as well. Seeing his situation for what it is, he stands his ground and begins taking out as many townsfolk as he can.
Despite his skills, he is eventually taken out due to the sheer number of opponents. After being beaten with a baseball bat and sledge hammer, he is knocked unconscious. When he wakes it is dusk, and he is dressed in his new Red Hood uniforms. He finds that he can not move as he’s tied to a cross beside a local barn. Before him, looking menacingly at him, is what looks to be Solomon Grundy.
The Grundy figure begins torturing Red Hood, but Red Hood manages to fight back as best he can. He goads Grundy into breaking the cross he’s tied to, allowing Red Hood to maneuver to a better fighting position. Jason uses part of the wooden cross to stab Grundy in the chest, but this only angers the chalk white behemoth. Grabbing the stake still in Grundy’s chest, Red Hood further breaks it through it’s body until the body is ripped open. Inside, he finds purple and green tubing and circuitry. Feeling a tap on his back, Red Hood spins to see that Batwoman is now behind him. Remembering their last encounter, the two begin fighting. Jason tells her that she just missed Batman, and that he didn’t go back to Gotham with him, so he doesn’t plan to go back with her either. Just then, during their fight, they see a group of identical Solomon Grundy monsters charging their way.
Fin, for now.
Final Thoughts
Not too much happened during this issue. The town-wide brawl reminded me of the large church fight in the first Kingsman movie. Popcorn fun. It was interesting to see Batwoman show up, but we won't see why she's there until next issue. Also interesting is seeing that someone new has taken up Red Hood's old Wingman persona. More questions than answers, but still a fun read.
Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2, Issue 28 Jason Goes to Crazy Town
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 7/107/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 7/107/10