Christmas with the Outsiders begins in earnest as we catch up with Katana and Halo shopping for presents. They get a purple robe for Geo-Force, figuring that it's a good color for him. Yahoo! Answers is in complete agreement: When asked whether purple and orange (his hair color) go well together, the top respondent says: "YES. It's bold. Opposite colors create a sort of electricity that just forces you to love it!" And we really need to be FORCED to love Geo-Force.
But what's dragging Halo down? Does she realize Katana is being condescending in asking her opinion seeing as her own usual gear is a right mess of colors? Nope, it's just teenage angst.
Let me get this straight. She can't enjoy Christmas because she's never celebrated Christmas before. That is completely the opposite of my experience. The more Christmases *I* go through, the more I hate the holiday season. If it was my first, I'd find it damn exciting! But yeah, there's really nothing so depressing as people having fun. But there's a little jealousy at work too:
Halo doesn't have a family, but for that matter neither does Katana or Batman, but at least she doesn't remember LOSING it. And though Katana asked her last issue not to talk about the soul-sucking sword, she keeps BRINGING IT UP! By this point, though Katana's voice is angry, she can't help but grimace in pain. I hear as a foot-stomping whine, myself. "Stop it! St-o-o-o-o-op ittttt!" So does that girl go to Halo's school? Cuz I was under the impression Bruce sent her to public school, and that looks like a private school kind of shopping spree.
And then there's this panel where word balloons turn into captions, and we're seeing the world through the eyes of an Auton. And on that abstract note...
...the girls head home with one measly gift. Poor Black Lightning and Metamorpho. The other guy's a prince that lives in a lavish chalet. I think the working class heroes deserve a little something too. What's BATMAN'S gift to the Outsiders? How about verbal abuse?
It's all he could afford after springing for the world's largest wreath for the Wayne Foundation building. Such opulence must really bug whoever's living in that shed with the stove-pipe chimney. But let's head under the building to the dark warehouse space that acts as Outsiders HQ. And for the first time, we see that it's a cave (the Batcave II recently used by Dick Grayson's Batman).
What else do we discover?
1) The HQ is equipped with an ice rink.
2) Batman is cruel. "Put some life into it" is very mean to poor, undead Halo.
3) Batman hasn't yet chosen to get his team involved in the babynapping case. There's no mention of it.
4) Geo-Force and Metamorpho HAVE been working on their teamwork. See how they complete each other's sentences?
And we learn one more thing:
5) The Outsiders haven't fought anyone since the Cryonic Man, which was set as Halo started school. It's now Christmas. According to Batman's own compressed timeline, he solved about 500 cases during that time.
Next time: If Mike Barr had any sense of irony here, Black Lightning would be dead and buried. That's a great, misleading cut-away. But no, we'll find out what BL is doing in a cemetery, and see Batman continue to work the case alone!
But what's dragging Halo down? Does she realize Katana is being condescending in asking her opinion seeing as her own usual gear is a right mess of colors? Nope, it's just teenage angst.
Let me get this straight. She can't enjoy Christmas because she's never celebrated Christmas before. That is completely the opposite of my experience. The more Christmases *I* go through, the more I hate the holiday season. If it was my first, I'd find it damn exciting! But yeah, there's really nothing so depressing as people having fun. But there's a little jealousy at work too:
Halo doesn't have a family, but for that matter neither does Katana or Batman, but at least she doesn't remember LOSING it. And though Katana asked her last issue not to talk about the soul-sucking sword, she keeps BRINGING IT UP! By this point, though Katana's voice is angry, she can't help but grimace in pain. I hear as a foot-stomping whine, myself. "Stop it! St-o-o-o-o-op ittttt!" So does that girl go to Halo's school? Cuz I was under the impression Bruce sent her to public school, and that looks like a private school kind of shopping spree.
And then there's this panel where word balloons turn into captions, and we're seeing the world through the eyes of an Auton. And on that abstract note...
...the girls head home with one measly gift. Poor Black Lightning and Metamorpho. The other guy's a prince that lives in a lavish chalet. I think the working class heroes deserve a little something too. What's BATMAN'S gift to the Outsiders? How about verbal abuse?
It's all he could afford after springing for the world's largest wreath for the Wayne Foundation building. Such opulence must really bug whoever's living in that shed with the stove-pipe chimney. But let's head under the building to the dark warehouse space that acts as Outsiders HQ. And for the first time, we see that it's a cave (the Batcave II recently used by Dick Grayson's Batman).
What else do we discover?1) The HQ is equipped with an ice rink.
2) Batman is cruel. "Put some life into it" is very mean to poor, undead Halo.
3) Batman hasn't yet chosen to get his team involved in the babynapping case. There's no mention of it.
4) Geo-Force and Metamorpho HAVE been working on their teamwork. See how they complete each other's sentences?
And we learn one more thing:
5) The Outsiders haven't fought anyone since the Cryonic Man, which was set as Halo started school. It's now Christmas. According to Batman's own compressed timeline, he solved about 500 cases during that time.Next time: If Mike Barr had any sense of irony here, Black Lightning would be dead and buried. That's a great, misleading cut-away. But no, we'll find out what BL is doing in a cemetery, and see Batman continue to work the case alone!
Comments
I dunno...I think getting a bathrobe from my teammates would be a bit...odd. Then again, these ARE odd teammates...
And for the first time, we see that it's a cave
With handy pitch black edges, so Aparo need not draw backgrounds!
"Still on ice?"
Outsiders Batman isn't too far removed from Adam West Batman, is he?
According to Batman's own compressed timeline, he solved about 500 cases during that time.
Ha! Further proof of the Outsiders uselessness. In the ten minutes Batman spends training them, he could have solved two cases!