The Outsiders' Japanese Vacation

Batman and the Outsiders 11 - Pages 15-18
Hope you had a nice Christmas, but alas, if you expected some Aparo punches for BOXING Day, I'm going to have to disappoint you. To recap the "action" so far: Katana's sword has been stolen by a ninja, so she's gone off after him, leaving Halo, her underaged ward, a note. Yeah, you'd think more plot-related stuff would have happened in those first 14 pages. So she's off to Tokyo...

Maybe Katana thinks in Japanese and something's been lost in translation because nothing she thinks makes any sense. Has she already decided that she won't survive this encounter? Because the ninja in question has a pretty poor kill-record to date. Or does she think that once you skip out on the Outsiders, Batman will write you off? Either way, Batman has drilled into these guys the idea that they're losers, so either is a possibility. I guess it's a good thing Halo is young, because otherwise, the Outsiders wouldn't take care of her. Then again, if she weren't, she wouldn't need a guardian in the first place, so the point would be moot.

Katana is staying at the (as far as I can tell) purely fictional Tokyo Hotel. When you travel to countries and don't want to do research, keeping generic is best. Brought to you by Nikon.

"How?" Is that a reservation joke? I remind you that Katana is on a (suicide?) mission to retrieve her sword. What kind of reservation would she make? Normal, low-profile hotel room with a single bed? Or MEGA-SUITE as if she somehow knew the Outsiders would all show up?

Metamorpho is really gross by the way. A fully-furnished suite and he still tries to get Katana to put her bum in his hands. This is Batman's first appearance in the issue, so of course, he's got a harsh wrist slap to dish out:

Batman - he's got your phone tapped. And he's using your calls to criticize you. But Katana's had enough!

Pulling a sword on Batman? That's another wrist-slapping offense! However, just this once, Batman's not gonna go with the criticism, but instead with a no-vote of confidence. You CAN'T do this alone, so we're gonna meddle.

Please Geo-Force, don't put anyone on that box with you. But look at Halo's face, she's not doing the same religious cult thing like the others.

Leaving off the fact that Katana can't imagine her only friend being worried about her, let's ask the HARD questions. Namely, just how big is Halo? Look through these articles again if you must. Katana is wearing the same boots she is on the opening splash (p.1), which made her come to Geo-Force's shoulder. In one of the above panels, Halo comes to GF's chin. Yes, Katana is a tiny woman, and I like that not everyone has the same body type, but even if the splash showed the wrong proportions, there's no explaining Giant-Sized Halo over here.

Benefit of he doubt: Halo awkwardly stayed on the suite's steps while giving Katana a hug. Because she doesn't know how hugs work. The idea that she knows how to blow her nose is blowing my mind as well. Now for some detective work:

No reason he should think this, since she just pulled that sword on him, but we know almost nothing about her except that she carries one, so it was worth a shot. Ninja Takeo is in the Yakuza? That means we officially have more background on him than on Katana. Sign that this is 9-11: Katana brings a sword on an airplane AND a superhero uniform in her carry-on. Using private phones is the least of her worries. Cue Metamorpho acting creepy again:

I bet Katana wouldn't let him finger her REAL sword, because that would be cheating of some kind. Prepared to be shocked:

Well, Rex, GF and BL are shocked, at any rate. Batman's been around the block too often to register anything at all. Dude served on a team with an emo robot possessed by an air elemental, or something, after all. And Halo registers... sadness? Sadness at not understanding words like "inhabited", "spirit", "slain" and "husband".

Let's leave on this high note. When next we speak, it'll be all about who ELSE Katana was "cleaning" for all those months.