Batman and the Outsiders #23 (1985)

Batman and the Outsiders #23 (July, 1985)
"The Truth About Halo, Part 4: The Search for Halo"
Writer/Editor - Mike W. Barr
Artist - Alan Davis
Letterers - John Costanza & John Workman
Colorist - Adrienne Roy
Cover Price: $0.75

Well, last issue we found out about Halo... now we just need to find her.

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We open on the now familiar scene of Halo's faceless nightmare... this time, however, she knows it's a dream... and finds the power to awaken, only to find that reality is so much worse than even the baddest dream.

She finds herself surrounded by the aggie-shaped Aurakles... they are still trying to get the Halo "orb" to evacuate the body of Violet Harper.  Halo begins weeping and resists... the bad balls ain't impressed... and ain't nothing changing their mind.

We shift scenes to Tokyo, Japan where we observe Batman and the Outsiders soaring in the skies above.  They are there at the request of Katana, who claims to know the way to recover their lost friend.  Leaving her teammates on a roof, she enters the... I dunno, empty penthouse of her Godfather the Yakuza boss.

The Godfather tells her they have no business and tells her to beat it.  His bodyguards draw their weapons... which is a bad idea.  Katana straight up KILLS everybody (save the Godfather).  Like, she plunges blades into fools... slices them up... I mean, Batman should have a problem with this kinda stuff... right?  Ehh, it's pre-Crisis... who knows.

Katana signals for her teammates to join her, and the Godfather says he knows why she's there... and he'll help her, for a price.  She's all "pshh... you see what I did to your army?" and ol' Oyabun decides discretion is the better part of valor.

Now, it gets kinda weird... okay, not so much weird... but concerning things I have no experience with.  Apparently, Katana's blade is a "soultaker"... meaning the souls of whoever (or whatever) she kills with it are trapped within it.  The Godfather had the sword rack which allows Katana to communicate with the souls within.  Among those souls was the Aurakle she slayed last issue... and by use of this strange Ouija sword (get it?) the Outsiders are able to find out where Halo is being held.

And so, they travel to the whatever realm where the Aurakles are keeping their teammate.  A battle rages over the next several pages with neither side really getting a decisive advantage.  The Aurakles ain't letting their gal go, and the Outsiders ain't leaving without her.  It comes down to Metamorpho taking the form of a long cable... who runs through the ethereal orbs... and Black Lightning conducting a whole lotta 'lectricity through him... and refusing to let up until the Aurakles let them go.

The bad balls drop the Outsiders off right at their front door, and all appears to be cool... until Halo announces that she's gonna step for a bit... she needs to know just who she is after all the spoo.

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Well, that was kind of underwhelming... not bad, per say... just not what I wanted from this storyline.  I have no doubt that this was the original intention for the Halo character, but it almost feels as though they wrote themselves into a corner here, and concocted whatever story they had to in order to make everything fit and still redeem the character.

I guess I'll get the art out of the way... it was very nice.  In my review of issue #22, I wrote that Davis... while so very good, is no Aparo.  I flipped through the issue again, and almost amended the review.  Sometimes we need some variety.  I gotta say, Davis' art (just like Willingham's in #14) were refreshing... not better or worse, just different... and made me take attention.

The story itself... well, it didn't really feel like there was much of one.  Batman outsmarted the Aurakles... and used the Outsiders to win the battle.  Katana's bit in Japan was a bit bananas... didn't realize she was so bloodthirsty... and even more, that Batman was okay with her straight up murdering fools.  That just seems weird to me.  I don't see Batman watching one of his teammates plunge a knife into some dude's chest and nodding his approval.

I did like the Black Lightning/Metamorpho deal that ultimately won the day.  That was pretty neat, and a real novel way of using both of their powers.

We end with Halo leaving to find herself... which is fair enough.  She just had a major bombshell dropped on her... and it only makes sense for her to take some time to work through it and digest.

Overall... not bad.  Not great... but not bad.  I must admit, I was much more gung-ho about this storyline at the get-go than I am now... but still better than a lot of stuff I've read, and definitely worth your time.

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Batman and the Outsiders #22 (1985)

Batman and the Outsiders #22 (June, 1985)

"The Truth About Halo, Part 3: What She is and How She Came to Be!"

Writer/Editor - Mike W. Barr

Artist - Alan Davis

Letterers - John Workman & Cody

Colorist - Adrienne Roy

Cover Price: $0.75

From the story title, it appears as though we're actually going to get the "truth" about Halo this time around, and yes... so far this story arc consists of issues 16, 20 and 22.  It will actually conclude in 23, so no weird worries to go.

Let's not dilly-dally...

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We join Batman, his Outsiders, and Dr. Jace on board the sorta-kinda wrecked JLA satellite.  Metamorpho is surprised they were able to use the teleporter since Batman told his former teammates where to stick it.  Batman notes that he was the one who designed the security system... and as such, added a secret override to the works.  He discusses some of his differences with the League... including their being more about by-laws than justice, and their choice to base themselves off-planet.

They are up here in order to see about getting to the bottom of the Halo-mystery.  The girl herself thinks she is nothing more than a murderer... having been responsible for the overdose of Mark Denninger.  She goes as far as to say that her nightmares pale in comparison to her real life anymore.

Since the satellite is in such disrepair, Batman has Black Lightning give it some juice to activate the intergalactic MRI machine for Dr. Jace to take a look inside Ms. Harper.

It doesn't take very long... Jace hits Halo with a touch of irradiation... and, presto... she remembers everything!  It turns out she is not Gaby nor is she Violet... she comes from a race of aurakles (which apparently sounds like oracles) that were created before time even began.  The way she describes it, it almost appears as though they were a result (or cause?) of the big bang... and they have the appearance of an aggie.

This particular aggie took a special interest in organic beings, and so it observed them... including one strange day in Markovia, when Syonide murdered Violet Harper.  Halo claims that this was the first time she saw an organic being die... which I have a hard time buying... anyhoo, she saw the dead girl and decided to hop on in.

She finishes her story by reiterating that she is not human... not Gaby nor Violet.  She is just light occupying a human's body... which explains her light-manipulating powers.  And so she stands before her Outsider pals, when a humorous (though it's probably not supposed to be) scene occurs...

Yup, Batman ain't buyin' it.  Halo maintains that what she's saying is the truth... states that before taking her human form she was both asexual and immortal... though, now she's a woman... and feels her body aging.  Batman still ain't buyin' it.

Katana steps in, and tries to reason with her friend.  She sees Halo's eyes change into psychedelic marbles and suddenly light bursts from them... talking light!  It seems as though the aurakles have found her... due to her restored memories... and they want her back.

Well, the Outsiders ain't gonna let her go without a fight... as futile as that may be.  They do battle with the ethereal orbs until they blow a hole in the side of the satellite... sending Geo-Force, Katana, Black Lightning, and Dr. Jace into space... where they implode... nonono, they hold their breath, so it's all good.  Batman and Metamorpho (and Halo) manage to remain inside, and Batman has Rex seal the hole in the wall.

Brion is able to deliver the gang back into the satellite through a weird two-way mouth Rex finagles... and once inside, the aurakles decide they've had enough of this fight... and just disappear poor Halo.  Needless to say, we are... [to be continued]

--

Well... I wanted a reveal, and I guess I got one... just not the one I was hoping for.  So... Halo is an immortal ball of energy that inhabited the dead body of Violet Harper?  Hmm... I dunno, I just kinda feel myself losing any emotional investment I had in the character.  Just seems so alienating... and really not at all what I was expecting.

Alan Davis joins the book here, and while I think I'd rather Jim Aparo... that's not anything resembling a slight to Davis.  I usually enjoy his work whenever I come across it... be it Captain Britain, Excalibur, or here on Batman and the Outsiders.  He's always a treat... Jim Aparo, however, is Jim Aparo.

Not much else to say here... I'm not a fan of Halo's origin... the lettering used by the spherical baddies was rather distracting... I almost expected one of the balloons to read "EAT AT JOE'S"... just really ugly... like they used a typewriter and pasted it up on the art board... which... hell, they may have actually done here.

Still going to check out the concluding chapter... but I gotta say, I'm rather pessimistic... which, is probably unfair... it's just not the way I wanted this one to go.  It's not really an indictment on story quality... just how well I received it.

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Still attends all High School functions

Batman and the Outsiders #20 (1985)

Batman and the Outsiders #20 (April, 1985)

"The Truth About Halo, Part 2: Death and Remembrance!"

Writer/Co-Creator/Editor - Mike W. Barr

Artist/Co-Creator - Jim Aparo

Colorist - Nansi Hoolahan

Cover Price: $0.75

Let's go deeper down the Halo rabbit hole.  You might be looking at the issue number like "eh?"  Yeah, weird as it may sound/look... part two of The Truth About Halo comes four-months after part one!  Weird, right?

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We open with a white woman with an afro being approached by a shady looking woman who knows her by name... Denninger.  She is led to the office of the mountain of a man known as Tobias Whale.  The pale Whale is pleased by her presence, and asks his associate (addressed as Syonide) to gather the rest of the team at the Harper home.

The following morning we get some hot tickling action by the warmth of crackling bacon by the elder Harpers.  Here we learn that Sam and Margaret Harper run a lumberyard.  There's a knocking at the door... which surprises them.  Sam answers the door and receives a punch to the gut... as Whale's crew enters in search of young Violet.

After a bit of protest, Mama Harper tells Syonide that Violet is upstairs sleeping.  We get a bit of a look into Violet's head as she has the same nightmare we observed in part one.  She wakes up and holds Syonide... thinking her Tatsu.  Once she gets her druthers, Syonide ensnares her in her whip.  With her kayoed, Sy makes mention of having killed this girl once already.  The Harpers are brought to their own lumberyard for further unpleasantness.

Inside the lumberyard offices we find Mr. Whale along with a Dr. Moon.  He claims that Violet has a photographic memory... and she's got some information in her head he needs.  They ain't buying her amnesia act... and threaten to do harm to her parents if she doesn't spill the beans.  Of interest here, Sam Harper comments that Violet never showed concern for them before... why would she start now?

Halo knows she doesn't have the power to "Halo up", so she triggers her Outsiders emergency alarm... and decides to vamp for some time.

We shift to the Batcave where Bruce is in the midst of his weight-lifting regimen.  Alfred directs his attention to the Outsider alarm, and they deduce that it is Halo calling out.  Bruce then rallies the troops... and before we know it, they're headed west.

Back in Missouri, Violet continues pleading the case for her amnesia.  When it appears that her parents would be harmed, she begs Whale and company to hurt her instead.  This makes her parents think maybe she's done some growing up in her time away.  Dr. Moon attempts to reason with Whale, claiming his methods may be more successful than making threats.  Violet is hooked up to some machinery, and Moon claims that her brain readings are unlike anything he's ever seen!

At this point, the afroed Jane Denninger decides to try and fill some of Violet's history blanks.  She learn that Jane is the sister of Violet's old (dead) boyfriend, Mark.  She claims that Mark was taken with her almost immediately... and oddly shows a bit of jealousy.  She continues by discussing an evening in which Violet and Mark came across a flaming car.  The man inside begged them for help, and told them he's "make it worth their while" by flashing them some documents.  Violet decides why settle for "some" when she could have "all", snags the documents... and allows the man to die in the car fire.

From here we learn that those documents were the formula for a new highly-addictive drug... one that Mr. Whale wanted the exclusive "rights" to.  Syonide begins telling her story... she followed the young couple to Paris, where she came across the dying Mark in a hotel room.  She claims that Violet set it up to make it look like he'd died of an accidental overdose.

Later, she followed Violet's trail to Markovia... where the two met... and Syonide shot her dead.  During the whole time this backstory was being told, we got bits of the Outsiders making their approach... Brion flying under his own power, and the rest in a jet.

Speaking of Brion, he bursts through the wall of the office... however, due to his weakened state from having flown at such amazing speeds, is easy prey for Syonide's whip.  Just as Geo-Force goes down, the rest of the Outsiders burst on the scene.

From here we get a pretty good fight scene.  Metamorpho turns into liquid mercury to give a pair of goons the slip... and Katana straight-up stabs Dr. Moon... not fatally, mind you... but with intent to leave him in so much pain he'll wish she'd killed him.

Syonide snares Halo with her whip again... only to be shot in the shoulder... by Sam Harper!  It's enough to distract her, but little more.  She gathers herself... and shoots both Harper parents dead.  As they lay dying, Violet rushes to their side.  She tells them that she finally remembers them.  In the confusion, Whale and Company hightail it out of Dodge.

We wrap up with Batman clearing things up with local law enforcement while Halo stands before her parents' graves.  Katana approaches to comfort her, and we learn that when she told the Harpers she remembered them, she was lying to comfort them in their final moments.

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Another great soapy issue of Batman and the Outsiders.  Mr. Whale is a pretty decent street-level crime foil for the team, and really fit well here.

This, as the title suggests, is Halo... Gaby... Violet's story.  We learn here that before she "woke up" she was kind of a jerk.  It's no surprise her father was so tentative in regard to her return.  We find out some pretty evil things she did... letting a dude die in a burning car... inducing an overdose on her boyfriend... yikes.  We're venturing closer and closer to that "point of no return" here... which makes me really curious as to how they are going to redeem her at this point.  I'm hopeful it's something creative... but fearful we're going to get something of a reset.

I liked seeing the Outsiders rise to the occasion here.  Especially Brion and Tatsu.  Brion, arriving exhausted from flying the whole way... and still fighting... really spoke to how important Halo is to him.  Tatsu's inner conflict about seeing Halo again was also quite touching.  It was so hard for her to say goodbye the first time, how could she do it again?  Looks like that's a moot point right now, but at the time, it was a powerful thought-bubble.

So, yeah... it's a moot point... because the Harpers are dead.  I'm glad Halo had her wits about her during their final moments to give them a bit of peace... even if what she said wasn't true.  It spoke to Gaby being a different person since her awakening.

This series is still proving to be quite the "sleeper hit" for me.  I never expected these characters to draw me in like they have.  I still urge anybody reading to give this book a shot.

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