DCU Comic Book Reviews

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #5

Ghosts

May 2008

Written by Chuck Dixon

Pencils by Julian Lopez

Inks by Bit

Cover by Dougie Braithwaite

Synopsis

As the Outsiders rush to stop Jardine from launching a space shuttle with new animal species into outer space, hired costume mercenaries prepare to stop them.  Meanwhile, Batman locates the spaceport’s main computers and downloads the data to determine which of the two shuttles contain the cargo.  After the team deals with the mercenaries, Metamorpho heads for the shuttle while the rest of the team head to mission control to stop the launch.  However, they are too late and the shuttle launches, with Metamorpho on board! 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

There is nothing fancy to this book, it is simply a good high-energy, action-oriented tale with a multitude of characters.  Each issue Dixon infuses that action with great moments from the large cast.  In this case we get Metamorpho and GeoForce in action while Ollie’s abrasive ways are on display. Plus, we get the return of the Dibnys.  The tactical strike is handled well, with Lopez’s art capturing the action beautifully.  The down side is that there is very little depth to the plot and the villain remains essentially faceless and entirely replaceable as an OMAC.  Part of this is the fact that these issues, Dixon has been forced to change and add to the team as he went along, but at this point, he’s got the team he wanted.  Now is the time to amp Jardine into a better villain than the scrubs the Outsiders have been forced to face up to this point. 

It took me a little bit to figure it out, but Ralph and Sue are supposedly using their spirits to move into and out of bodies.  Thus they can appear solid when they are really dead.  The story is not all that clear; I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the moment when the two mercenaries are clutching their heads, wondering what happened.  Looking back at the issue, the transformation from normal to ghost-inhabited is not highlighted, the change is very subtle.  Combined with the fact that I have no idea who Gunhawk or Bunny (was she named this issue?) are and the entire sequence was just weird. Of course it could just be me.

When GeoForce dismantles the OMAC or Remac or whatever it is by adding the extra gravity, was there any thought, either from the characters or from the writer, that there is supposed to be a person within the shell.  You see the OMAC turn to complete dust, which means the unwitting human inside has turned to dust as well.  GeoForce just killed someone, yet it is not mentioned at all.

 

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