Throughout their run on Outsiders so far, Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Robert Carey, and Valentina Taddeo haven’t been content to just do your standard superhero book. They’ve delved into some weird, wild elements of the DC Universe including a spaceship from another world and a kaiju graveyard at the bottom of the ocean. Not to mention taking a pair of superheroes from the Batman family and putting them way outside their comfort zone (pun very much intended). In Outsiders #3, things get even weirder and wilder…because Batwoman and Batwing are swept into a pocket reality featuring a multitude of Batmen.
On the surface, this is nothing new. Different versions of Batman have been prominent in the Dark Nights: Metal saga, and Chip Zdarsky had the Dark Knight meeting various versions of himself. Where Jackson and Lanzing choose to zig where others zagged is in what their script says about the concept of Batman. Batman is simultaneously inspiration and infection, a champion and a curse. But more than that, there’s the idea of what happens to those who join his crusade – particularly Batwoman, who’s his actual family, and Batwing, who hasn’t been as scarred as his inspiration. Suffice it to say that neither of them walk out unchanged.
As if the idea of a pocket dimension entirely dedicated to the concept of Batman wasn’t trippy enough, Carey makes it even more trippy with his art. From the opening sequence, which features a Eischer-esque staircase that ascends into inky blackness, to the various Batmen that the Outsiders encounter, this issue continues to push the boundaries of what you can expect in a superhero book. The most visually striking – and outright terrifying – Batman happens to be one who’s clad in jet black armor, with his massive cloak seeming to draw all light out of the room thanks to Taddeo’s gratuitous use of shadows and dark hues. The revelation of this Batman’s identity is yet another curveball the issue throws us, and I’d love for this creative team or another comic to roll with it in the future.
Outsiders #3 interrogates the very concept of Batman, and how his influence shapes friends as well as foes. This is one of the most interesting books DC is putting out on the stands – Batman fan or not, DC fan or not, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
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