Teen Titans #16
Son of a bitch.
I don’t care, much, for an introduction at this point. I’m exhausted, and this is ridiculous. Scott Lobdell actually, in real life, with a computer or pen or whatever else, found a way to write a comic book that was markedly worse than the Red Hood & The Outlaws issue that preceded it. He found a way to take what was already the oral herpes on the face of Death of The Family, and turn into some sort of flesh-eating rash. It’s embarrassing, it’s frustrating, and honestly it’s kind of marvelous. If nothing else, Lobdell did exactly what I believed wasn’t possible, and I’ll give him credit for that.
And just to get this out of the way, with what Lobdell gives in the issue, the Joker should be dead. Because he gave Jason Todd a gun, and no reason not to kill the Joker, but more on that later in the review.
I’ll start with the monologue with which Red Robin opens the book. He muses about whatever bullshit people stereotypically muse about when they’re kidnapped by a maniac, and proceeds to realize that with him is the Red Hood. Cool, I guess. Then he says that there is nobody else he’d rather be with in this situation. I don’t really think I have to tell anyone that knows anything about comics this, but just to be clear: that’s not true. There are assloads of people Tim Drake would rather be with in that situation: Batman, Superman, Superboy, Supergirl any of the Green Lanterns, The Flash, Kid Flash, honestly pretty much anyone that was actually a metahuman or not named Damian Wayne. The point is, it’s a ridiculous assertion. Tim has barely even spoken to him since he’s come back from the dead, and Red Hood will never be a particularly good ally for anyone with an aversion to bullets flying around.
Then the reader gets a very good example of how not to write a tie-in issue, as Lobdell appears to be trying to set-up his next arc for Teen Titans, but it distracts immensely from the heart of the story and is poorly explained anyhow. He made it pretty clear he didn’t know how to keep the issue focused on its title while tying in to someone elses story with the last Red Hood issue and a week does not make a world of difference.
But the most ridiculous, insanely careless oversight is that the Joker should be dead anyway. For whatever reason, he doesn’t take Todd’s gun. This is made clear when Jason puts the gun to Red Robin’s head. And there’s no question at all that Jason Todd would have shot the Joker in the face until his gun ran out of bullets, and then he would have reloaded and done it again. And maybe a third time, too. Because this isn’t “Under the Red Hood” where Jason is trying to prove a point to Batman. This is a scenario where these two need to save their lives. It’s just piss-poor writing to hand him the gun. Especially because all you need is one box of monologue where Jason realizes he no longer has his gun and it all goes away.
On top of that, the Joker replacing his body with a gas bomb is gimmicky, and with how personal Snyder’s joker has been, he would have incapacitated them in a different way, I think.
Also, the scene where Red Hood and Red Robin fight each other is just plain stupid.
I’ve got nothing else to say. This was a terrible issue. That’s all there is.
I don’t care, much, for an introduction at this point. I’m exhausted, and this is ridiculous. Scott Lobdell actually, in real life, with a computer or pen or whatever else, found a way to write a comic book that was markedly worse than the Red Hood & The Outlaws issue that preceded it. He found a way to take what was already the oral herpes on the face of Death of The Family, and turn into some sort of flesh-eating rash. It’s embarrassing, it’s frustrating, and honestly it’s kind of marvelous. If nothing else, Lobdell did exactly what I believed wasn’t possible, and I’ll give him credit for that.
And just to get this out of the way, with what Lobdell gives in the issue, the Joker should be dead. Because he gave Jason Todd a gun, and no reason not to kill the Joker, but more on that later in the review.
I’ll start with the monologue with which Red Robin opens the book. He muses about whatever bullshit people stereotypically muse about when they’re kidnapped by a maniac, and proceeds to realize that with him is the Red Hood. Cool, I guess. Then he says that there is nobody else he’d rather be with in this situation. I don’t really think I have to tell anyone that knows anything about comics this, but just to be clear: that’s not true. There are assloads of people Tim Drake would rather be with in that situation: Batman, Superman, Superboy, Supergirl any of the Green Lanterns, The Flash, Kid Flash, honestly pretty much anyone that was actually a metahuman or not named Damian Wayne. The point is, it’s a ridiculous assertion. Tim has barely even spoken to him since he’s come back from the dead, and Red Hood will never be a particularly good ally for anyone with an aversion to bullets flying around.
Then the reader gets a very good example of how not to write a tie-in issue, as Lobdell appears to be trying to set-up his next arc for Teen Titans, but it distracts immensely from the heart of the story and is poorly explained anyhow. He made it pretty clear he didn’t know how to keep the issue focused on its title while tying in to someone elses story with the last Red Hood issue and a week does not make a world of difference.
But the most ridiculous, insanely careless oversight is that the Joker should be dead anyway. For whatever reason, he doesn’t take Todd’s gun. This is made clear when Jason puts the gun to Red Robin’s head. And there’s no question at all that Jason Todd would have shot the Joker in the face until his gun ran out of bullets, and then he would have reloaded and done it again. And maybe a third time, too. Because this isn’t “Under the Red Hood” where Jason is trying to prove a point to Batman. This is a scenario where these two need to save their lives. It’s just piss-poor writing to hand him the gun. Especially because all you need is one box of monologue where Jason realizes he no longer has his gun and it all goes away.
On top of that, the Joker replacing his body with a gas bomb is gimmicky, and with how personal Snyder’s joker has been, he would have incapacitated them in a different way, I think.
Also, the scene where Red Hood and Red Robin fight each other is just plain stupid.
I’ve got nothing else to say. This was a terrible issue. That’s all there is.
A Look Inside
Comments
My thoughts EXACTLY! I have been pulling my hair out for months with Scott Lobdell. He just can't write and I'm constantly shocked that DC gives him work.