Batman and the Outsiders #3
Published and © by DC, October 1983
Title: “Bitter Orange!”
Synopsis: As the Outsiders begin to settle into their new lives in Gotham, a terrorist called Agent Orange plans his attack.
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artist: Jim Aparo
Review: Let’s get this out of the way early: The villains for this series tended to be pretty lame, as this issue’s disgruntled-Vietnam-veteran-turned-terrorist Agent Orange surely demonstrates. That’s kind of ironic, given that strong characterization, at least in regards to the heroes, is one of the book’s calling cards. Of course, many of the character dynamics seem lifted straight from Marvel’s über-popular X-Men: The murderous-but-honorable warrior (played here by Katana); the hero with a missing past (Halo); the good-natured freak (Metamorpho); the team’s diverse ethnic makeup, etc. There’s little new here, but writer Mike W. Barr handles the interplay well.
Grade: B+
Cool factor: Cool new heroes.
Not-so-cool factor: Lame new villains.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 75¢ Canadian variant of this issue. … According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a Mark Jewelers variant.
Character quotable: “Actually, I don’t much like him – but he’s needed.” – Bruce Wayne, talking about some character known at “The Batman” (hmm … )
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Jan. 21, 2010.
