Slowly but surely, each issue of Outsiders is getting better and better. I like this clone storyline centering on Brain and Mallah. I think that Outsiders #39 is going to be a pretty good read. I’m working my way through a fresh pot of Café Bustelo and am ready to crank out a review on this issue.
Creative Team
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencilers Matthew Clark & Ron Randle
Inker: Art Thibert
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: This issue starts with Brain and Mallah in bed together. (That is just gross.) Mallah tells Brain that he was thinking about what kind of dancer God would be. Mallah thinks that God would be a tap dancer. Tap dancing appears to be random, but is actually based on a structure and is grounded in order. That is just like nature. During the conversation, Brain and Mallah walk to the laboratory in their secret hideout. There we see that Brain and Mallah are keeping the Outsiders as their prisoners.
We then flash back to three hours ago and Brain and Mallah are involved in a big fight with the Outsiders. Mallah summons some more clone metahumans to battle the Outsiders. The clone metahumans consist of a big-like creature, a frog-like creature, a person made of fire, a woman and a man. The man, who appears to be the leader of the clones, suddenly morphs and bulks up into a muscle bound monster. With that we have a serious scrap. The cloned metahumans end up taking down all of the Outsiders except for Katana who manages to escape and hide. The last Outsider to fall in defeat is Grace Choi. Before she passes out, she rips off the mask of the male clone leader. She recognizes him as Plastic Man! Grace then passes out.
We then shift back to the present. Mallah tells the Outsiders that he has taken blood samples from each of them. Nightwing’s DNA was useless since he is just a normal human. That they have had Metamorpho’s DNA on record for years. That Mallah was surprised that Boomerang’s DNA had the metahuman gene in it. Mallah then tells Thunder that they have her father, Black Lightning’s DNA on record. Mallah then tells Thunder that Black Lightning is not her father. Thunder freaks out and Mallah cackles that he was only joking. Mallah then tells Grace that her DNA was useless. That they have been trying for years to manipulate the genetic matter of her people, but have never had any success. The Outsiders appear surprised by Mallah’s statement. Mallah then realizes that the Outsiders don’t know. Mallah tells Grace that she has never told her teammates what she is. Grace tells Mallah to shut up.
Mallah then tells Brain that they have to find the missing Outsider: Katana. We then see Katana in the reactor core of the abandoned nuclear power plant that is serving as the headquarters for Mallah and Brain. Katana hears someone else in the reactor core with her. Out from the shadows steps Metamorpho. Katana asks him how he escaped. Metamorpho says that he didn’t escape. Only a small part of him did. Katana stares at him and says “Shift?” End of issue.
Comments
The Good: All right! Outsiders #39 was a pretty good issue. I have really gotten lucky this week with some great issues to read. Winick delivered a well crafted issue. The pacing was just right. We had an excellent balance of action and drama. Winick also writes some good dialogue.
I liked the opening scene between Mallah and Brain. Their discussion about what kind of dancer would God be was interesting. Winick has an excellent feel for Mallah and Brain. I like how Winick is handling these two characters. Their relationship is gross and creepy, but incredibly enthralling. I just can’t get enough of these two. They have such an odd and yet very touching relationship with each other. It is interesting to see two villains who are portrayed with depth and emotions rather than just being one dimensional evil masterminds.
The brawl between the cloned metahumans and the Outsiders was nicely done and gave us some quality action. And at the end of the fight, Winick pulls a nice twist on the reader by revealing that one of the cloned metahumans is Plastic Man. And believe me, this is not your father’s Plastic Man. This is one bulked up and psychotic Plastic Man. I have never seen him use his powers in such an aggressive and overpowering style and manner. This is the first time I have ever been interested in Plastic Man. I know this is just a clone, but wow, this was the coolest version of Plastic Man. I can’t wait to see more of this character.
But, Winick isn’t done with the twists and surprises. In the scene where Mallah reveals the results of the DNA tests on the Outsiders we get teased with more hints about Grace’s origin. Mallah reveals that Grace is not human, nor is she metahuman. And that they have never had success using the DNA from her people. Just who are Grace’s people? I am very curious and can’t wait to find out more about this plotline. I also liked Winick’s touch of humor with Mallah messing with Thunder about Black Lightning not being her father.
And Winick still isn’t done with the surprises. In the final scene, Winick drops a bomb on the reader with the return of Shift! Wow, surprise after surprise and then ending the issue with a nice hook that gets the reader eagerly waiting for the next issue. Well done, Winick.
Winick pulled out all the stops in Outsiders #39. We get the revelation that Plastic Man is one of the cloned metahumans. We get teased with the fact that Grace is from a race of people who aren’t human or metahuman. We then get the hook at the end that Shift has returned. Man, this issue was just chock full of good and intriguing plotlines. The Outsiders really got kicked up several notches and my interest in this title has really grown.
Clark and Randle share the penciling duties. I rarely enjoy it when an issue has more than one penciler. It gives the issue a bit of a schizophrenic look and lacks consistency. Having said that, the art is solid. I love how Clark draws Nightwing and Metamorpho. And Plastic Man looked wicked! The way he was drawn all morphed out and psychotic was an extreme departure from the standard visual depiction of Plastic Man.
The Bad: I have no complaints. Winick did a nice job with this issue.
Overall: Outsiders #39 was a great issue. Winick is really starting to crank it up on this title. After the first two One Year Later issues, I was seriously considering dropping this title. I am glad that I stuck with it. Each issue keeps getting better and better. It seems that Winick is finally hitting his stride on this title.