[singlepic id=397 w=320 h=240 float=left]Batman & The Outsiders #4: “Land’s End”
Writer Dan DiDio, Philip Tan
Art Philip Tan, Ron Randall
Colors Pete Pantazis
[rating:1/5]
Synopsis
The split Outsiders teams are currently fighting each other in Markovia, while Batman heads to their location. Throughout the issue, Batman reflects on the history and various incarnations of The Outsiders. Upon arriving in Markovia, he tries to convince Geo-Force, now insisting that he is innocent and they should be chasing Veritas, that he could still be a part of the team. Geo-Force refuses and flees, so Batman gives everyone but Geo-Force a ride home, saying that when they next face Geo-Force it will likely be under “completely different circumstances”.
- Perhaps the least ominous statement ever.
Review
If you think the synopsis is a joke, I assure you it’s not. Batman literally reminisces about the team’s history for half the book, then shows up to give everyone a ride home except Geo-Force, and he probably gets everyone ice cream on the way home too, but he’s Batman so they’re only allowed to get vanilla because that’s the only flavor he wants since he was eating it with his mom the afternoon before they died.
DiDio’s run on Outsiders has definitely been a train wreck, which is a shame. This volume, which saw Batman retake control of the team and started off with a team of Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and Batgirl, quickly devolved into third stringers, even adding The Eradicator when DiDio took over and turning Geo-Force into a anti-hero/borderline villain, a turn which seems to have completed itself here.
The biggest problem is the stories have had no action that felt truly relevant to the plot. For this issue, there’s no action at all; it draws to a close with everyone talking to each other and Batman basically just being frumpy. If anything, at least the art is good; Tan and Randall do great jobs bringing renditions of the previous teams to life, ensuring that the book is at least easy on the eyes. But unfortunately, the issues spends too much time telling readers what’s going on, resulting in an Outsiders finale that, yet again, leaves a bad taste in our mouth.