Review — Batman/Catwoman — The Gotham War: Red Hood #2 — Sons of Gotham

Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War — Red Hood #2 cover, via DC Comics.

Batman/Catwoman — The Gotham War: Red Hood #2 — Matthew Rosenberg, Writer; Nikolas Cismesija, Artist; Rex Lokus, Colorist

Ray — 7/10

Ray: The second part of the only tie-in this mini-event has gotten really shows its roots, as it’s not just a tie-in to Gotham War but just about everything Rosenberg has written for DC over the last few years. When we last left off, one of the men Red Hood trained to work for Catwoman was killed, sending him on a roaring rampage of revenge. This takes place before Jason’s fateful meeting with Batman, which drastically impacted him, and this is the issue at its best. Jason on his quest to beat up every hood in Gotham is pretty funny, and Rosenberg is a solid Red Hood writer. He’s just ridiculous enough, but his interaction with characters like Catwoman and Ravager offer some more meaningful moments. The battle leads him to some of Gotham’s deadliest villains, who are mounting their own plans to take over the city — but as we know, he’s never going to get to his destination.

Out for blood. Via DC Comics.
Too much of this issue in the back half is devoted to recreating many of the scenes from the last few issues, showing Jason being infected with fear by Batman, nearly being unable to move from his spot, and eventually breaking out of it long enough to save a little girl’s life. But in the shadows, Scarecrow lurks — and so does someone else with a vested interest in Jason. That’s right, this is essentially a stealth tie-in to Rosenberg’s Joker series, where Joker is heavily played for laughs, and that makes his entry into this issue feel like a strange record-scratch. This story doesn’t so much end as just dovetail into both the final chapter of the event, and the final issue of the Joker series next month. So while it does have its good moments, it ultimately doesn’t add much of anything to Red Hood’s storyarc in this event and leaves the character still in limbo as the story heads back over to the main creative team.

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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.