Batman and the Outsiders, Volume 3: End of the Line

Batman and the Outsiders (Collected Editions)

by Mike W. Barr, Alan Davis (Illustrations), Irv Novick (Illustrator)

Their powers are as different as their personalities, but Black Lightning, Katana, Geo-Force, Metamorpho and Halo all have one thing in they are the Outsiders, heroes handpicked by the Batman himself to take on the threats no other team can touch.

Those threats, however, are growing more and more deadly. With Halo in a vulnerable state after learning the truth of her old identity, the insidious Kobra Cult targets her for indoctrination--and weaponization! Meanwhile, an underground civil war erupts onto the surface, and an aging war criminal strikes at the Outsiders during what should be their happiest hour--Metamorpho's wedding!

Finally, the kingdom of Markovia comes under attack, and royal son Geo-Force must confront the hidden figure that has kept him from defending his homeland--Batman himself! Will this showdown mark the end of the Caped Crusader's grand experiment?

Step outside the norm one last time as writer Mike W. Barr ( Son of the Demon ) and Alan Davis ( Justice League of The Nail ) conclude their incredible run on one of the most unique superhero team-ups ever created in Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 3 ! Collects Batman and the Outsiders #24-32, Batman and the Outsiders Annual #2 and DC Comics Presents #83.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Fantasy

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Mike W. Barr is an American writer of comic books, and mystery, and science fiction novels. Barr's debut as a comics professional came in DC Comics' Detective Comics #444 (Dec. 1974-Jan. 1975), for which he wrote an 8-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated Man. Another Elongated Man story followed in Detective Comics #453 (November 1975). He wrote text articles and editorial replies in letter columns for the next few years. By mid-1980 he was writing regularly for both DC and Marvel, including stories for Marvel Team-Up, Mystery in Space, Green Lantern, and various Batman titles.

Legion of Super-Heroes #277 (July 1981) saw him take on editorial duties at DC, while writing issues of DC's Star Trek comic, for whom he created the native American character Ensign Bearclaw and a pacifist Klingon named Konom. In December 1982, he and artist Brian Bolland began Camelot 3000, a 12 issue limited series that was one of DC Comics' first direct market projects. In August 1983, Barr created what may well be his most enduring work, the monthly title Batman and the Outsiders with art by Jim Aparo. Barr wrote every issue of the original series, and its Baxter paper spinoff, The Outsiders.

His other comics work includes Mantra and Maze Agency as well as the 1987 OGN hardcover book Batman: Son of the Demon (with art by Jerry Bingham), proceeds from which reputedly "restored DC Comics to first place in sales after fifteen years." This title, and Barr's work on Batman with artist Alan Davis have been cited by Grant Morrison as key inspirations for his recent (2006) run on the Batman title.

In 2007, he wrote a two-part story for the pages of DC's JLA: Classified (#47-48, Jan-Feb 2008), returned to the Outsiders with Outsiders: Five of a Kind—Katana/Shazam #1 (Oct 2007), contributed to Tokyopop's Star Trek: The Manga, and relaunched Maze Agency at IDW Publishing. He has also scripted many of Bongo Comics' Simpsons titles, including a Christmas story for 2010.

In May 2010, the Invisible College Press published Barr's science fiction/fantasy novel, Majician/51, about the discoveries of a scientist working at Area 51.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad DC is finally reprinting this Outsiders run. It's still very good. Alan Davis's clean art is sublime. He even does his own inks without missing an issue. The first half of this book is the team going up against Kobra. It's great. Then we get Looker's origin story. It's ridiculous in a 60's comic kind of way even though this was in the mid 80's. She's the descendant of some subterranean culture and gets her powers from the return of Haley's Comet. She may also have the most 80's costume of the 80's. It's awful. But the story was still fun camp.



The story ends with the title changing to Adventures of the Outsiders as Batman decides to focus only on Gotham.

[Eric Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Davis finally shows up to do the art and it's great to see him work on these classic DC characters. The book ends on an abrupt note, with what looks like DC pulling the plug on the series. The storylines are early 80s and before the gritty realism entered mainstream comics so be prepared for some fluff. Overall enjoyable even if just to see Batman with a different and softer light.

[Dr Rashmit Mishra · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few good things about it , like we saw character growth and we saw continuity for Rex and Sapphire but over all it all became pretty formulaic comic book from 80s and dear god just how many times do we have to witness Metamorpho getting brain washed . Not to mention apart from Katana and Metamorpho everyone else felt needless overall it was all a meh and i will take a break before i read any future volume

[Cybernex007 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issue #24:

Halo is now on her own and trying to deal with the fact that she is an inter galactic being that has taken this earth body, so what’s the first obvious choice to start your journey? Well joining a cult of course.

This issue read very odd and once you get to the end you find you why. The entire issue read like a golden age villain of the week comic with everyone being in the right place at the right time and getting a chance to take on some bad guys themselves with a few comedic hijinks in between. Whelp that all makes sense at the end once you see the quick conclusion with Rex and Stagg and an invitation to Batman and the outsiders annual #2 for the wedding of Rex and Sapphire. Which I could not find on dc universe, so I am just going to continue with the core story of Halo joining a cult and Katanna wishing she didn’t leave.


Issue #25

From back to front this issue intrigued me but also pissed me off with some of its details. First off, I get Rex not having any other friends than the outsiders, but Sapphire as well?? She had to grab Katsu who only wants to trauma dump, and Halo’s not even there. Has she spent so much time with just her father that she doesn’t have any friends?

Also with the side storyline with Byron, apparently to get noticed by geo force you just have to attempt suicide and then he’ll ask you out. WTF?!

Also gabby joining a cult is going swimmingly, turns out the most d class villain ever, Kobra is behind it. So low class that Batman forgot about him and really hasn’t been looking for him. AND Gabby already got proposed to, isn’t that just perfect. But the proposal didn’t go as plan and the dude got thrown over a waterfall by the other cult members, forcing halo to reveal herself to save him and then faking right into Kobra’s hands. And then IMMEDIATELY giving up Batman’s identity to KOBRA OF ALL VILLIANS, just because he threatened to hurt the dude with, guess what, a KOBRA. UGH, just lie and say you don’t know his identity and he’s super secretive. How is KOBRA, of all people going to fact check you on that. And it appears they have some mind control drugs, why wouldn’t they just use that to get you to tell the truth.

OH ALSO, what is with Alfred turning off the tv for Bruce. Bro you are literally Batman, get up and turn off the tv lol.

But also there is a bigger implication here. With Kobra in his normal outfit not having a full goatee, that means he puts a fake one on when out of costume. What a poser.


Issue #26

I love how brutally incompetent Kobra and his goons are. Even when getting the drop on all the outsiders by knowing their secret identities they are still easily taken down at every turn and are just a laughing stock the entire time. And what’s Kobra’s big plan, to take over that dudes general father and then go to space and take over the space station?? And now that he has it, what does he want? All of FORT KNOX!! Omg what an idiot, or he will sell it to Russia. I swear the thoughts that go through Kobra’s head.

I swear Alfred is going to have to clean everything up.



Issue #27

Kobra is so incompetent that there was legit panels to Gorbachev calling the dude a nut case and that they will provide full support to the US for taking him down.

But seriously did Kobra write this issue with how many out of character moments? At one point Batman gives a gun to David, WHAT!? And a part of this issue references KOBRA #4? Is that a thing, did Kobra have a comic? If so, why? And why did Batman say it was the second most dangerous person he has ever faced? Kobra? We are talking about Kobra? The dude that cut and run from the space station the second he lost it.

And what is with this current side story with the banker. That page with her not meeting social norms at the time was hard to read, but apparently it’s leading into something else? Looker from the first issue, huh? Ngl that does have me a bit intrigued.


DC comics presents #83

What an absolutely throwback issue. The concept of Alfred becoming the outsider, a being of total control over all matter, is an odd thing to bring back up but like Halo says, in a way that makes Alfred the first outsider. But geez that is a really niche and cool thing that has happened in comics lore.

I’ve never heard of I.Q. either so that’s really odd to me he could just control Alfred and the outsider but I’m rolling with it and so I find it even funnier in the last seconds of outsider power they were able to wipe I.Q.’s memory of their identities.

Also obviously David was forgotten about with Halo’s comment about Superman dating younger. But honestly, not a big fan of David so let’s go for that instead LOL.

Lastly, technically I should also be reading annual #2 at this point. BUT, I can’t find it on dc universe, so I’m a little out of luck.



Issue #28

“We’ll continue our tonsorial tale in a minute, but first a symbolic splash page…”

Well it seems that Emily Briggs has a very bright super heroing future. But the stepping stones to get there seem very muddy. I am also a little confused about why Emily went to Katsu in the first place before being kidnapped.

Oh also, as things always perfectly aline with each other, it seems the same group who captured Emily also captured Metamorpho while he was on his honeymoon. So I am sure they will be meeting up next issue. I haven’t been able to read BATO annual 2 but I am just going to assume their wedding went off without a hitch and had no complications. Even though I highly doubt it.

Also, not sure what’s going on but what is with the writing of Batman? There are these singular moments where he just has a really cheesy line. Like “make my day pal.” Like what, lol?


Issue #29

CALL CAVE CARSON RIGHT NOW!! Looks like we got an underground civilization war going on here, and I’m sure he can help lol.

But so far we have been taken by 2 warring factions. Each side lead by the primary brother and sister. The sister is the one using the magical techniques to take our heroes souls and take over their bodies, while the brother is the one to kidnap Emily.

Why are they all doing this? Why does metamorpho have to be the one to be mind controlled first? Why did the one reference to Halley’s Comet have anything to do with anything? Find out hopefully next issue!!


Issue #30

Well some origins have been revealed. Turns out these peoples leaders are primarily powered by a fragment of Halley’s Comet and gain more power every time it comes back around. But they are also an underground people because they are very much into war, and it became too much so they fled underground. So how do they get power from Halley’s Comet from underground? No clue, maybe connected to their rituals they showed at the end, or maybe it has some kind of connection to the huge fragment they have and get power from.

But Emily Briggs is the key to everything right now, because it turns out her grandfather was one of the rulers of this civilization that fled after advocating for peace. And apparently the next issue doubles as a Christmas issue, what an absolute break in pace lol.


Issue #31

Batman: “it was the conflicting obedience orders that freed her!”

Katana: “Nonsense! It was love!”

Halo: “Boy! You two!”

What in the game of thrones was this issue? Isn’t Emily somewhat directly related to the man who wanted to make her queen? But doesn’t matter now. With everything being setup over the last 3 issues, it was quickly dismantled and they sealed themselves off so we wouldn’t see them again.

But other than the idea that Emily was able to use the powers of looker so easily without issue, I have a problem with the concept of looker by itself. She kept having personal issues because she felt she did not look beautiful, then to fix that she gets the equivalent of hair implants and contacts? Oh come on, what objectifying BS is this, maybe now she will get that promotion: har har har. Or more than likely she will join the outsiders with her telekinetic powers? Which also, how creative is that (sarcasm), not like geo force and halo can move stuff.



Issue #32

“Go then — leave me, Dick did, and I suppose Jason will too, some-day! It doesn’t matter…soldiers come and go, but my was never ends.”

Omg, awkward… Hope he doesn’t find any crowbars when he gets home.

But legitimately what is with writing Batman like the most selfish guy on the planet. Even if Gotham was faltering while he was gone, Batman NOT telling geo force about his home in danger is the biggest BS I’ve ever heard. Batman even said they are acting more like a team than ever, they could have easily split up and conquered more. I get this kinda goes back to the first issue, with the outsiders being formed out of Batman not following the Justice leagues rules and needing more help in Gotham, but that just seems written to provide some form of divide. And giving Batman that stupid smirk when he thought the outsiders would beg for him back, that’s wack yo.

But going back to the war in Markovia, we see the masters of disaster make a return right alongside Baron Bedlum, things are really coming full circle.

“But I’m going to the top on my feet, not my back.”

Most empowering line I’ve seen so far from a character named looker, who’s entire personality is based around her looks. I’m glad in a way near the end of this short story they are teasing the toxicity of the character looker, with Greg being physically uncomfortable with what his wife has become. I mean geez, she was happy about it cat calling. I guess from now there are a few issues of the adventures of the outsiders, I may have to check them out just to see where this story concludes.



Final thoughts: Overall this volumes felt very rushed together and went as soon as it came.

We saw Halo join a cult, find a man, somewhere along the line that dude was just dropped from existence (honestly I prefer no more mention to him), and then come to terms about who she is and start getting more comfortable in the body she finds herself in.

Then we immediately start a storyline for a character whose entire ability is the ability to objectify herself to get what she wants, and control other objects.

And then Batman broke up from the outsiders immediately following one argument where he retained info from geo force about his home under attack. Just gone, just like that.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't crazy about how cold-blooded Batman was in the last story in this volume -- that seems to be more a trait of Batman after BATMAN: YEAR ONE and inconsistent with Batman's reasoning for forming the Outsiders to begin with -- but I hope DC continues collecting the adventures of the Outsiders.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the arrival of artist Alan Davis for his first American work was a huge boost to the book, it was starting to feel a little laboured in the twilight years of its run. The Looker four-parter was a tad overlong, Looker herself not being the most interesting character, and although I enjoyed the Kobra storyline it again felt a little stretched out. There were still enough positives in here though to make this a worthy enough read though, and Mike.W.Barr managed an admirable level of consistency over the title’s 32 issues.
The final issue remains a little disappointing after all these years, the exit of Batman should have been a much bigger deal in my humble opinion.
On balance though, well worth your time.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating this as a 4 not just for the content, which is probably a 3 for this particular volume, but for the experience of reading and then listening to The Outcasters, a podcast that covers the book issue by issue. It's so much fun to be part of that community. Anyway, the issues collected here include a wild but fun story with Kobra, Rex and Sapphire's wedding, Looker's origin (which gets a bit tedious), and the story where Batman tries to dissolve the team but they decide to stay together without him. Alan Davis starts his stint on the book here too and, while is art is decidedly different than Jim Aparo's, it's just as nice to look at.

[Simon Belfast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average conclusion of overally average series. The middle of the series was the best and the it's a bit disappointing that what looked so full of potential in the second volume was wasted on somewhat outdated stories. It's still fun to read and it's definitely not the ending of the Outsiders, it's more like an ending of Batman in the Outsiders, but even his departure feels anti-climactic. It seems that it was more like editors' decision than author's. Anyway it could be done in a much better way and it can be said about the whole series up to this point. - 5/10

[Juan Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time to be an insider 😂😂😂😂

This is the 3rd part in this series, this is a wonderful storyline, we have a great inner story involving Halo who is searching for her identity and then we have the introduction of a new member, in looker. We also see another side of Batman almost an existentian. Of his mentoring of robin he’s taken the outsiders under his wing. A wonderful collection to have.

[Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore the Outsiders, the first arc follows Violet to a mysterious cult, the second arc was a bit lame, where Emily Briggs was kidnapped by a mysterious figure called Looker to an underground civilization. The best part of both arc was the relationship between Katana and Halo; the transformation of Emily was pretty cool though.

The annual focused on a Rex Masons and the team fighting the Masters of Disaster. Overall it's a fun volume and I am thankful for the reprint.

[Dylan Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eventually, Batman leaves the team. It doesn't really change anything, but it does lack a bit of flair. These issues aren't bad, but there's a spark that's missing as they focus on developing a new Outsider, who I didn't care for.

[Anthony Wendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated between giving this book a 3 or a 4. It seemed closer to 4 because of the great action and character development. At the same time this comes at the end of the production and the series ends in a single issue. It's still incredibly entertaining and an overlooked bit of DC comics.

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories get a little sillier in this volume, but it suits Alan Davis' more fanciful drawing style. Still an excellent example of 1980s comics at their best.

[JD Comics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batman and the Outsiders, Vol. 3, written by Mike Barr and illustrated by Alan Davis, is a book that I am thankful to have in my collection because it is hard to find. It is probably because this is where Batman leaves the team. After Batman and the Outsiders 32, the title is renamed to Adventures of the Outsiders.

This book starts off with DC Comics Presents 83, wherein the Outsiders and Superman square off with the Outsider. The rest of the Batman and the Outsiders issues are a continuation of what happened in the second volume. Halo’s identity was revealed in the second volume, and this book focuses on the aftermath of that revelation. Halo takes time off from the team to find herself, much to Katana’s dismay. So what does Halo decide to do on her time off? She joins a cult, albeit unknowingly. However, the cult is not your typical cult. Someone is operating behind the scenes, manipulating events for their own hidden agenda.

Meanwhile, Simon Stagg agrees to meet his daughter, Sapphire Stagg, and Rex Mason. Rex is not a fan of this meetup, but they’re getting married and need to inform Sapphire’s dad. This is comics, so we know that something bad is going to happen on their wedding day.

This volume introduces a new member to the team, Looker, through her own story arc. They have been building up this character for several issues before she was formally introduced. She’s quite a character. My theory is that they introduced her to replace Batman.

This is a great way to end the series. It actually makes me want to read Adventures of the Outsiders. Having read the entire Batman and the Outsiders series, I highly recommend this title. Hopefully, DC will release an omnibus soon.

Collects Batman and the Outsiders (1983) 24-32 and Annual 2 and DC Comics Presents (1978) 83.