Skip to main content

Batman and the Outsiders # 4 (2019)

By Mark Rodriguez

Batman has set up a team led by Black Lightning to rescue Sofia from being captured by the forces of Rah's Al Ghul. With Duke having his personal issues with trust in the team after an encounter with a villain named Karma, Batman sets up a little exercise to have him gain trust in the team. Elsewhere, Rah's trains Sofia to become a member of the League of Assassins. Some days before though, he gets a deal from Lex Luthor that led him to this path.



Lesser Gods Part 4 opens with Rah's Al Ghul telling Sofia that she is the demon's flame and with violence she will earn her new name. Sofia suits up and is now a full fledged member of the League of Assassins.

In Gotham, Cassandra approaches Duke as he's playing basketball. Duke wonders if she came to see if he's broken and Batman wants him off the team. Cass says she can help him. She says she knows fear and what it does. Duke doesn't want to become her problem but she says he would do the same if she needed help. She says fear is easy for an assassin to kill.

Black Lightning is hanging out with Kaliber who is practice shooting targets that look like the Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Bane. Lightning doesn't like Kalibers fascination with guns. Kaliver says one doesn't sell books in Markovia and guns are just tools and nothing more. Lightning blasts the rest of the puppets and says he just sees Kaliber as an arms dealer between gigs. Kaliber tells Lightning that he doesn't want to take his team. He says he's not proud of himself since he has black market tech stitched onto himself and he has blood on his hands. He has a story on why Batman gave him a second chance and tells Lightning that they don't have to be friends but they do have a kid to save.


Katana has a vision of her reaching for the soul of her husband as he's being attacked by demons. She wakes up from her meditation, her hand still reaching out of him, and weeps.

Jefferson sees Bruce Wayne's yacht full of women in swimsuits and is invited on board. Bruce tells him he has to make appearances, Lightning tells him he's tired of being his errand boy. Bruce says he's not an employee or sidekick, he needs his help. He knows that Sofia is in Khadym, Rah's rouge nation. Lightning says he should go with them since he knows what they're up against. Bruce says this is why he can't go, he is struggling with personal issues and is worried Rah's can exploit it. Lightning says he's afraid of him. Bruce says the main thing to fear when it comes with Rah's is oneself, and at this point, that's a weakness he has. Bruce says Duke can't go on this mission, he needs more time and Jefferson tells him that he has Cass working on it. Bruce tells him they should meet up at the cave later that one.


Lightning meets up with Signal on a rooftop and tells him that Bats wants the to meet up in the cave, though Cass and Duke won't be on the mission. Duke wants to help but Jefferson tells him he isn't being punished, he just needs time, like the rest of them do. Duke apologizes for getting in his face earlier. Jefferson says he was right, he's not his father or Batman. Duke says he is their leader though, so he will respect that. Lightning tells Duke he knows he can handle being on the team, he just needs time. He also says maybe he can learn something from Duke, how to put up with Batman.


At the Batcave, Bats tells Lightning and Katana that Ishmael knows them so they will need to enter in secret. Kaliber generated some fake IDs for them as arms dealers and he will be watching over them.

Rah's has a squad of armed men standing before Sofia and she is to earn her name. As the men start to attack her, Rah's tells her that they won't stop until she makes them stop.

Batman give them both a locator set to Sofia's signal. They are mostly set to get her and take her out. Black Lightning says they have to consider the possibility that she might not want to leave. Batman says he has, and they'll have to be convincing.

Elsehwere, Sofia finally draws her sword and stabs one of the men. The men all lay dead and Rah's says she done well on her first step. He asks her what should he call her now?

Batman says Rah's can cloud Sofia's mind but he can't destroy her soul just yet. He tells them to bring her to Gotham and he'll wrestle with whatever she's become. Lightning goes to see Katana as he can see that something is bothering her. She says her husband's soul trapped in her sword is in pain. She sees visions of her husband being taken over by darkness and she doesn't know how to save him. Lightning says it's not a problem she has to solve alone, they can learn some Japanese magic together if they need to. Katana says they will in time, but for now Sofia needs help.

Rah's tells Sofia that Batman will try to save her and send his pawns over to rescue her. He says it's a weakness that Batman thinks there's another way to save this world. He says that Batman's pawns will try to rescue Sofia Ramos, but will instead find Babylon. She is to let them know her name and then kill them all.


My Opinions- 

It looks like the gang is starting to slowly work together and learn to overcome their issues. The biggest take away is Bruce wanting to help but being held back by his own personal demons to dare go after Rah's directly.

It still bugs me a bit that while the gang is busy just chilling out, like Duke playing basketball and Bruce throwing fake yacht parties, Sofia is being brainwashed by Rah's. It's to the point where the characters even admit that by the time they get to her, she might not want to be rescued. While I understand the need to get the team together and all that, but there is a girl's life on the line here. If the Outsiders aren't ready, send someone who is before she becomes a permanent super villain.

Other than that, the comic is cool as we get to know about the characters and the art is pretty cool too. I did like seeing Duke apologizing to Black Lightning.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SNK VS Capcom Chaos Volume 1

By Mark Rodriguez We'll be seeing a few crossovers this month, and we're gonna start with one based on a crossover videogame. If you think the Malibu SF comic series was kinda sloppy, this one was literally all action, pin ups and splash pages, and what little story in it is just plain weird. I'm talking about the SNK VS Capcom Chaos comics made by Happy Comics, translated by Japan and produced with supervision from both SNK Playmore and Capcom. But first a brief explanation on the game this was inspired from. In 2000, Capcom produced Capcom VS SNK Millenium Fight 2000 which would throw the fighters of Capcom and SNK at each other. Unfortunately, aside from Morrigan from Darkstalkers and Nakoruru from Samurai Shodown, the game felt more like Street Fighter VS King of Fighters. Capcom later made Capcom VS SNK 2 Mark of the Millenium with even more characters and variety as well as different modes of play. SNK made their own game, SNK VS Capcom Chaos and it offered a bit more...

Arachna# 1 Review *Spoilers*

 By Mark Rodriguez Here's another awesome comic from independent artists that opened up an Indiegogo to get it started. I usually don't chip in unless it looks real good, like you just know they're gonna hit their goal. Arachna, a sexy superheroine with a split personality and an amazing art syle, sure looked like a good pick for me.  With lots of clever marketing in advance, even getting a person to dress as Arachna herself to bring the character to life, they hit their goal the same day they actually opened the Indiegogo for donations. I chipped in for the comic and the shirt, and here is my review on the latest superheroine that's bringing sexy back to comics, Arachna! Also note, while I'll try to keep my language as tame as I can, this book deals with way more adult stuff than I usually discuss on this blog. The Adventure Begins The issue opens with Jennie lying in bed naked in her apartment, a noticeable pile of sketches lying on the floor. She awakens to a voi...

Goshawk and Falconet # 1 (heavy spoilers so beware!)

 By Mark Rodriguez Brought to you by the same studios that brought you Arachna # 1 and 2, we get a brand new superhero duo, Goshawk and Falconet. Let's check it out. The story opens with Goshawk and Falconet soaring through the sky just above Santa Monica Bay. They fly towards a ship that is being robbed. Goshawk tells her to secure the cargo while he keeps the guards busy.  The robbers are working for a villain named Black Parrot. Goshawk lands between two of them and bashes their heads together. Just then a third man pulls a gun on him from behind. Goshawk retracts his wings which knocks the gun out of the man's hand. Goshawk knocks the guy out while Falconet kicks the guy protecting the cargo. Falconet uses one of her claws to pick the padlock and finds a room full of captured women. She assures them that they're alright now. On the lower decks, Black Parrot and a woman named Secretarybird think their mission is a success. With the harbormaster being bought and paid for ...