On the Outside: The Outsiders Appreciation/Discussion thread '19

[J. D. Guy]

I too admit to being curious as to where the parallels seemingly being established between Duke and Sofia will lead.

And never really knew I'd enjoy Duke interacting with Cassandra like this like I am.

[lemonpeace]

It looks rad. And I can't wait to see where The Signal will go in this run.

I also have the feeling that there will be a change of costume for him if he truly join Ra's. He'll get his League of Assassin's one, then a new Signal costume I think. I can't just see him returning to the current one if he switches side first.

Also, Duke and Cass are so damn great together !

oh man, I figure it's possible that Duke will get a League make-over but I hadn't thought of the possibility of him getting a new supersuit after the fact. I really hope that happens.

[Korath]

It's honestly nothing more than a hunch, but I feel that turning villain then becoming a hero once more is usually a trope followed by the change of costume's one. Then again, if he fully returns embracing The Signal, he could keep his costume.

Edit : just read today's issue. Hill, Soy and Gandini are killing it on this book !

[leo619]

A little worried on the execution, but intrigued nonetheless.

Hope this excursion Duke seems to be taking will be about Duke, and actually feel like it's about Duke (with narration and focused point of view and everything).

Also, hope Gnomon gets referenced in someway. (Despite reservations, I'm already liking the prospects enough that I wish this was Gnomon Duke was going under right now.)

Also, I really love the Signal's costume in the last, November solicit. It highlights why I love Hamner's look so much for Duke!

Agreed on both points, the suit especially in the image looks pretty awesome. And I'm concern how the execution is going to be.

Right now Hill is doing like 3-4 storylines at the same time, with some taking priority over others. (The primary storyline being Sofia, followed by Black Lightnings relationship with Bruce and the team, Duke's in third place and Katana in last.)

I'm loving the developing relationship between Cass and Duke, but because of the limited panel time they receive, it seems like they just scratched the surface. That's why I'm reserved on the execution on how this will go.

[Falcon16]

Black Lightning is so sexy.

[lemonpeace]

Agreed on both points, the suit especially in the image looks pretty awesome. And I'm concern how the execution is going to be.

Right now Hill is doing like 3-4 storylines at the same time, with some taking priority over others. (The primary storyline being Sofia, followed by Black Lightnings relationship with Bruce and the team, Duke's in third place and Katana in last.)

I'm loving the developing relationship between Cass and Duke, but because of the limited panel time they receive, it seems like they just scratched the surface. That's why I'm reserved on the execution on how this will go.

We'll likely see that relationship factor in more as we reach the end of this arc and the beginning of next arc. Hill said he wanted to hold back on Cassandra because she's his favorite character out of the bunch and he didn't want to end up overindulging, so she's gonna get the focus in the next arc. I'm thinking once Duke is passed his Ra's "internship", which I believe Cass will play a part in, we'll see him and Cass operating as a more cohesive team and a stronger partnership.

[protege]

I don’t think I like where they’re going with duke’s character; part of his appeal for me was that he was a somewhat stable sidekick.

[Blue22]

I don’t think I like where they’re going with duke’s character; part of his appeal for me was that he was a somewhat stable sidekick.

You work under Bruce Wayne for long enough and eventually you lose all sense of stability lol

Once upon a time, I would have called Tim the "normal" member of the Batfam. But that stopped being the case a long time ago. Now with Duke slowly going insane, it looks like it's his turn to lose that title XD

[lemonpeace]

I don’t think I like where they’re going with duke’s character; part of his appeal for me was that he was a somewhat stable sidekick.

I think that's a fundamental misunderstanding of the character. he's not supposed to be a sidekick, Batman, Duke and Snyder themselves have said as much, that's why I have such an issue with his suit (lemma not get started on that) and how DC's handled Duke's appearances. he's supposed to be a protege not a sidekick, it's supposed to be Batman guiding a new hero to reach their individual potential; that's why they gave him powers and sun motifs as opposed to the bats and darkness of Batman.

as for stability, I don't think surviving and coping with trauma disqualifies him from being a stable individual. a character who's always well adjusted and never conquers any internal conflicts sounds boring, I think it's necessary to show characters taking their lumps sometimes. If Hill pulls this off right, we should see a more competent, mentally healthy and emotionally intelligent Duke at the end if this. hopefully with an updated uniform.

[Nomads1]

Since the beggining, The Outsiders were always among my favorites. My favorite run is the Barr/Pelltier (Later Jones, which was a HUGE step down in the art department) run in the 90's, which, IMHO, truly made them feel as Outsiders. Too bad it was so short. I'm looking foward to read the first TPB of this new run, but I can also see a few signs that, probably, I won't like it very much.
First, the make up of the team. Too small a team and with very little range in powers and abilities. Jeff and Katana are awsome, of course, but I'm not much of a fan of Cassandra Cain, and have to say I know very little about the Signal (I read in the first posts of this series that he has powers. What are they?), but I'd much rather not have members so derrivative nor attached to the Batman. That was never the case with the Outsiders. They've always been a faily powered (not exactly the Justice League in terms of powers, but still quite powerful) group of individual heroes. I'd love to see guys like Looker, Halo, Atomic Knight, Faust, Geo-Force, Blue Devil, or others added to the line-up (one or two of them at the most).
Second, time travel? Really? I'm always wary of those.
Still, I'll give the TPB a shot, and hope for the best.

Peace

[Korath]

The variant cover for November, BatO by Chris Burnham :

[J. D. Guy]

The variant cover for November, BatO by Chris Burnham :

Nice to see Duke on of these, and as close up as he is.

[Korath]

Dexter Soy provided the preview for next week's issue on twitter :

[Korath]

And the fourth page :

[lemonpeace]

And the fourth page :

damn, I'm excited for this! always look forward to this title, I am starting to really enjoy the interactions between Black Lightning and Katana.