Outsiders (comics)

For the 1st Issue Special Outsiders team, see Outsiders (DC Comics)

Outsiders
Cover for Outsiders vol. 4, #15. Art by Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.
Group publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983)
Created by	Mike W. Barr Jim Aparo
In-story information
Agent(s)	Black Lightning's Team Black Lightning Freight Train Metamorpho Owlman Geo-Force's Team Geo-Force The Eradicator Halo Katana The Olympian
Roster
See: List of Outsiders members
Outsiders
	Cover for Outsiders #1 (November 1985). Art by Jim Aparo.
Series publication information
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	(vol. 1) November 1985 – February 1988 (vol. 2) November 1993 – November 1995 (vol. 3) August 2003 – November 2007 (vol. 4) April 2009 – June 2011
Number of issues	(vol. 1): 28 (vol. 2): 26 (vol. 3): 50 (vol. 4): 25
Creative team
Writer(s)	(vol. 1-2) Mike Barr (vol. 3) Judd Winick (vol. 4) Peter Tomasi
Penciller(s)	(vol. 1) Jim Aparo, Steve Lightle, Joe Staton, Curt Swan, Jan Duursema, Ernie Colón, Brian Bolland, John Byrne, Jerry Ordway, Dan Jurgens, Jerome Moore, Erik Larsen (vol. 2) Paul Pelletier, Casey Jones (vol. 3) Tom Raney, Dan Jurgens, Carlos D'Anda, Karl Kerschl, Matthew Clark, Shawn Moll, Ron Randall (vol. 4) Lee Garbett, Fernando Pasarin, Don Kramer, Philip Tan, Joe Bennett, Keith Giffen
Colorist(s)	(vol. 1) Adrienne Roy
Creator(s)	Mike W. Barr Jim Aparo

Batman and The Outsiders
Art by Kevin Nowlan.
Group publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983)
Created by	Mike Barr Jim Aparo
Batman and The Outsiders
	Cover for Batman and the Outsiders #1 (1983). Art by Jim Aparo.
Series publication information
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	(vol. 1) August 1983 – April 1986 (vol. 2) December 2007 – February 2009
Number of issues	(vol. 1): 32 (vol. 2): 15
Creative team
Writer(s)	(vol. 1) Mike Barr (vol. 2) Chuck Dixon, Frank Tieri
Penciller(s)	(vol. 1) Jim Aparo, Alan Davis (vol. 2) Julian Lopez, Carlos Rodriguez, Ryan Benjamin
Creator(s)	Mike Barr Jim Aparo

The Outsiders are a fictional DC Comics superhero team. As its name suggests, the team consists of superheroes who allegedly do not fit the norms of the mainstream superhero community, namely the Justice League.

They have had three different incarnations over the years. They were founded by Batman, whose ties to the League had become strained. In its most recent formation, the group's leadership was relinquished by Nightwing to Batman, who recruited former members as well as new additions. He has stated his intent to use the team as a black ops version of the Justice League, able to take the proverbial "fall" in public opinion where the League cannot. After Batman's apparent death in Final Crisis, he posthumously charged Alfred Pennyworth with recruiting a new team of Outsiders for a forthcoming mission of "great importance."^[1]

Batman and the Outsiders/Adventures of the Outsiders (1983–1986)

The Outsiders first appeared in a special insert in the final issue (#200) of The Brave and the Bold in 1983.^[2] The team was given its own comic, Batman and the Outsiders, which debuted in August 1983. It was created and originally written by Mike W. Barr and illustrated by Jim Aparo, and then later illustrated by Alan Davis.

After Batman left the group in issue #32, the title was changed to Adventures of the Outsiders and continued until its cancellation on issue #46. Issue #38 featured the last original story in the series, as issues #39-46 were reprints of stories from companion series The Outsiders (vol. 1, 1986).

The cast of the Outsiders was notable for having mostly new characters (Geo-Force, Katana, Halo, and Looker), two characters who refused membership in the Justice League (Black Lightning and Metamorpho), and a former Leaguer, Batman.

Markovia and Baron Bedlam

The Outsiders form in the fictional Eastern European country of Markovia, which was at that time ravaged by war. Batman had attempted to enlist the Justice League's aid but was told they had been ordered to stay out of the conflict. Unable to handle that, Batman resigned immediately to go on his own.
Batman and Black Lightning travel there to free the captive Lucius Fox from Baron Bedlam, who has killed the country's ruler, King Viktor. One of the king's sons becomes Geo-Force after gaining powers from Markovia's top scientist, Dr. Helga Jace, in order to stop Bedlam. Metamorpho is there searching for Dr. Jace in order for the doctor to help him with his powers. Katana arrives in Markovia in order to kill General Karnz, Bedlam's military commander, as vengeance for her family's death. During the adventure, Batman finds a young amnesiac girl in the woods exhibiting light-based powers, whom he dubs Halo. All of these heroes band together to defeat Baron Bedlam and decide afterward to stay together as a team. They go on to fight such villains as Agent Orange, the Fearsome Five, and the Cryonic Man.^[3]

Masters of Disaster and the Force of July

One of the recurring foes are the Masters of Disaster (New Wave, Shakedown, Windfall, Heatstroke, and Coldsnap), who at one point are almost able to kill Black Lightning. After some time, Windfall becomes disenchanted with her team and joins the Outsiders. Similar recurring opponents are the Force of July, a group of patriotic metahumans who also regularly came into contact with the Suicide Squad. During this time, Geo-Force's half-sister Terra dies as a traitor to the Teen Titans. Batman reveals his real identity as Bruce Wayne to the team, although they have already learned it. Eventually, the origin of Halo is revealed. Emily Briggs (who during a later adventure becomes the superheroine Looker and joins the team) is introduced. Denise Howard, the love interest of Geo-Force, also appears for the second time.

Without Batman

Baron Bedlam later returns to life. With the assistance of the Bad Samaritan, the Masters of Disaster, and Soviet forces, he again tries to take control of Markovia. Batman withholds this information, angering the rest of the team. This eventually leads to Batman disbanding the team and returning to the Justice League. The team nonetheless travels to Markovia, discovering many Markovian military casualties. They are defeated by the Masters and learn that Bedlam has cloned Adolf Hitler. The clone commits suicide in horror of the actions his original self perpetrated. The Outsiders become unofficial agents of Markovia, so that can they receive Markovian funding. They move to Los Angeles, as Geo-Force leaves behind his girlfriend, Denise, and Looker separates from her husband.

Outsiders (vol. 1, 1985–1988)

This series featured again the original group and lasted 28 issues, plus an Annual and a Special. The series originally ran alongside the Adventures of the Outsiders title, chronicling events a year after that series. In the end, the first few issues of this series were reprinted in Adventures of the Outsiders before that title was canceled.

Story

The team has moved into a new headquarters in Los Angeles, and once again becomes involved in an adventure with the Force of July, ending in Moscow. Villains such as the Duke of Oil and the Soviet superteam, the People's Heroes, are introduced during this time. The team's adventures take them all over the globe, most notably when the Outsiders' plane is shot down and the team is marooned on a deserted island for three weeks. Tensions rise as Geo-Force tries to resign his leadership and he and Looker give in to temptation. Eventually, they are found and are able to leave.

Even more troubles arise when a detective is hired to look into Looker's private life (now working as a model under the alias of Lia Briggs), who learns of her actual identity of Emily. The detective tries to blackmail her, but she hypnotizes him and makes him leave. However, he is killed shortly afterward and Looker is arrested as a suspect. The Outsiders, fortunately, are able to clear her name.

Reuniting with Batman

The Outsiders are reunited with Batman when they band together to fight Eclipso. After the adventure Batman gives them access to a batcave situated in Los Angeles. The team is also infiltrated by the clone of Windfall. Meanwhile, Looker and Geo-Force feel guilt over their affair and eventually call it off. Metamorpho faces his own personal problems with his lover, Sapphire Stagg. The clone of Windfall is ultimately killed and the Masters of Disaster are defeated as the real Windfall joins the Outsiders. The team also comes in contact with the other Los Angeles-based team, Infinity, Inc.

Millennium

Main article: Millennium (comics)

The team is next involved with the company-wide crossover event Millennium, wherein it is revealed that Dr. Jace is an operative of the villainous Manhunters^[4] and she kidnaps the team.^[5] The team, now also joined by the Atomic Knight, are able to free themselves, but Dr. Jace blows up both herself and Metamorpho.^[6] Looker is called to return to Abyssia, the origin of her powers, where she must also face the Manhunters. During the course of the adventure, she is drained of much of her power and returns to her normal form.^[7] Halo is hit in crossfire, saving Katana's life, and slips into a coma as Katana vows to look after her.^[8] The team is disbanded by Geo-Force as Looker returns to her husband, and Batman has since rejoined the Justice League.^[8]

Outsiders (vol. 2, 1993–1995)

Cover for Outsiders #1 Alpha (1993). Art by Travis Charest.

This revival of the title in 1993 lasted 24 issues and was written by Mike W. Barr, with most of the issues penciled by Paul Pelletier.

Story

Declared a traitor in his native Markovia, Geo-Force is forced to seek the help of old and new Outsiders to battle the vampire lord who controls his country. This is later coupled with the framing of the Outsiders for the slaughter of a Markovian village, and thus the Outsiders are forced into hiding. This fugitive status motivates the Atomic Knight to go after the Outsiders, hoping to bring in his former allies without too much trouble. He is eventually convinced of their innocence and joins them at a later juncture.

The new members who join the team in Markovia are the magician Faust, the warsuit-wearing engineer and industrialist Technocrat, and Wylde (Charlie Wylde), a friend of Technocrat who has been turned into a mountain bear by Faust's uncontrollable magic.

During the initial confrontation with the vampires, Looker is apparently killed. Hiding out in Gotham City, the Outsiders take another loss as both Halo and Technocrat's wife, Marissa, are killed. This happens during a fight with Batman, or rather, the man standing in for Bruce Wayne: Jean-Paul Valley. However, Halo's spirit survives in the reanimated body of Marissa. For some time afterward, Technocrat has trouble accepting that his wife is dead; after all, her body is still walking around. Eventually, it turns out that Looker is not dead, but undead. The Outsiders find her and free her from the vampire king's control.

Split in two

After the defeat of the vampires, two teams (one composed of Geo-Force, Katana, and Techonocrat; the other composed of the Eradicator, Looker, Wylde, Halo, and Faust) claim the name the Outsiders; even though both teams are still considered fugitives for some time, thanks to some questionable tactics by their new members. During this time, the teams learn that Halo's original body has been brought back to life by the Kobra terrorist organization. In control of the body is Violet Harper, the evil woman whose body Halo originally inhabited. She now has abilities similar to Halo's, calling herself Spectra, and joins Strike Force Kobra alongside Dervish and Windfall. Both Kobra and Violet Harper are defeated.

The two teams unite to confront Felix Faust, father to the Outsider Faust. During the confrontation, the bear-like Wylde betrays the team when Felix promises to restore his humanity. The team is able to defeat Felix Faust and Wylde, who eventually becomes an actual bear without the ability to speak and is locked up in a zoo.

The title ends with the clearing of the Outsiders' names and the wedding of Geo-Force and Denise Howard.

Outsiders (vol. 3, 2003–2007)

Cover for Outsiders (vol. 3) #1 (2003). Art by Tom Raney and Scott Hanna.

Outsiders (vol. 3), almost completely unrelated to the previous series, was launched in 2003 featuring new members, some of whom had previously been part of the Titans. The series was canceled with issue #50 and relaunched as Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2), featuring a mix of current and new members.

Formation

This new team is put together in the wake of the Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day crossover that dissolves both groups. Arsenal accepts the sponsorship offer from the Optitron corporation, uses the money to buy an enormous bomb shelter that used to belong to a multimillionaire, and renovates it to create the group headquarters. He recruits a group of young heroes, the last of them being his friend Nightwing, who joins reluctantly. Instead of functioning in a reactive capacity like most other superhero teams, Nightwing decides that this group should act as hunters, tracking down super-villains before they can cause problems.

Infinite Crisis

Main article: Infinite Crisis

Former Outsiders Technocrat and Looker are in close proximity of Breach when he explodes in the Battle of Metropolis. The fate of Technocrat remains unclear, while Looker soon appears in an issue of the World War III limited series. Roy Harper is saved by Superman from Doomsday. Captain Marvel, Jr. was sent to Earth-S when it was reformed. When New Earth came, he went with other heroes who could fly to fight Superboy-Prime. In the Infinite Crisis hardcover, Freddy joined alongside the other Titans to take down members of The Society who tried to kill Robin.

One Year Later

Main article: One Year Later

After Infinite Crisis the Outsiders are "officially" no more. Because of the Freedom of Power Treaty, the Outsiders have been operating covertly outside of the United States. Most of the members were presumed dead until a botched mission forces them to reveal their presence. Following the revelation of their continued existence, they are recruited by Checkmate to pursue missions which Checkmate cannot support publicly. Checkmate's assignment as part of the "CheckOut" crossover arc involves dispatching the Outsiders to Oolong Island in China, the scene of World War III the previous year. The mission goes disastrously when Chang Tzu manages to capture Owen Mercer and Checkmate's Black Queen, until both sides are eventually bailed out by Batman. In the aftermath, Nightwing decides to give Batman control of the team once more.

Collected editions

The third volume of the Outsiders has been collected as follows:

Title	Material collected	Publication date	ISBN
Looking for Trouble	Outsiders #1-7	February 2004	978-1401202118
Sum of all Evil	Outsiders #8-15	December 2004	978-1401202439
Wanted	Outsiders #16-23	November 2005	978-1401204600
Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Insiders	Teen Titans #24-26 Outsiders #24-25, #28	January 2006	978-1401209261
Crisis Intervention	Outsiders #29-33	April 2006	978-1401209735
The Good Fight	Outsiders #34-41	January 2007	978-1401211950
Pay As You Go	Outsiders #42-46, Annual #1	July 2007	978-1401213664
Outsiders/Checkmate: CheckOut	Checkmate #13-15 Outsiders #47-49	January 2008	978-1401216238
Five of a Kind	Outsiders #50 Outsiders: Five of a Kind #1-5	March 2008	978-1401216726

Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2)/Outsiders (vol. 4, 2007–2011)

Cover for Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #1 (2007).
Art by Doug Braithwaite.

In November 2007, writer Chuck Dixon and artist Julian Lopez relaunched Outsiders as a new volume of Batman and the Outsiders with the Dark Knight taking control of the team in the aftermath of the "CheckOut" crossover with Checkmate.^[9][10]

Outsiders: Five of a Kind

In the weeks leading up to the new series debut, Batman holds tryouts to determine who will be on the team in a series of one-shots called Five of a Kind. Each issue featured a different creative team (including Outsiders creator Mike W. Barr), as well as an epilogue written by Tony Bedard.

Batman angers several members who feel he has no right to remove people already on the team. Captain Boomerang leaves the team for Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad and Nightwing decides to take no part in the Outsiders' questionable activities. Katana is chosen as the team's first official member, joined later by the Martian Manhunter, Metamorpho, and Grace. Thunder is kicked off the team and the second[Aquaman#Arthur Joseph Curry|Aquaman]] is rejected as a member because Batman feels he doesn't match up to his predecessor, Orin. Batman then tells the other members, "Whether you like it or not, you're here to save the world. And you're going to be hated for it." After the team's first official mission in Outsiders #50, Catwoman overheard the other recruits talking about the team being "down by law," and said, "Batman can't possibly start up his own crew of super-crooks without me in it!"

Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2)

The team from Outsiders #50 was featured in the first two issues of Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2). Afterward, both Catwoman and Martian Manhunter left the team; Batgirl, Geo-Force, and Green Arrow joined; and Thunder has consistently appeared in the series as well. In issue #5, Ralph "Elongated Man" Dibny and Sue Dibny make a guest appearance. They are now "ghost detectives" and seem to be able to possess people in a method similar to that of Deadman. Dr. Francine Langstrom (wife of Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a.k.a. Man-Bat) serves as the team's technical advisor, and her assistant, Salah Miandad, operates the "blank" OMAC drone known as ReMAC. In issue #9, Batman calls on former team member Looker to assist in an interrogation.

The first main storyline of the title involves Batman sending the team to investigate the mysterious Mr. Jardine, who is organizing a convoluted plot to populate a subterranean lake on the Moon with strange alien lifeforms. While trying to stop Jardine's unauthorized space-shot in South America, Metamorpho is blasted into space and is forced to escape from the International Space Station, where seemingly brainwashed astronauts from around the world are building a giant weapon. Seeking a shuttle to hijack, the rest of the team infiltrates a Chinese space facility, only to be captured by members of the Great Ten. The timely intervention of Batgirl and ReMAC saves the team from execution. Metamorpho manages to steal a shuttle back to Earth; then escape from the ESA and hook back up with the team.

During the Batman R.I.P. events, an assembly of the Outsiders, including Thunder, receives a message from the missing Batman. It asks them to feed a secret code into the cybernetic mind of the ReMAC, allowing it to track the caped crusader and The Black Glove and help him in his fight. As they comply, against Batgirl's advice, the code reveals itself as a cybernetic boobytrap coming from Simon Hurt, the mastermind behind Batman's downfall, and ReMAC explodes. Several Outsiders are wounded, and Thunder suffers brain injuries severe enough to knock her into a seemingly irreversible coma. However, her in-costume appearance in the Final Crisis: Submit story comes into odds with this, because the events of that Final Crisis storyline occur after the events in Batman R.I.P., suggesting continuity error.^[11] When Black Lightning rejoins the team following the events of Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, he is shown visiting Thunder, who is still in a coma in the hospital.

Outsiders (vol. 4)

As a result of Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, where Batman apparently died, the series was renamed Outsiders and featured a new team roster. The change occurred when a new creative team took over with Peter Tomasi writing and Lee Garbett on art duties. Tomasi began with Batman and the Ousiders Special #1 and then the retitled series began with issue #15.^[12]

One night, after going to the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Alfred awakes in Wayne Manor to a giant door opening in his room. He walks through it, where he sees a pod with a chair inside. He takes a seat as a hologram of Batman activates. Batman explains that because he has not entered a special code into the Bat Computer or any of its subsidiaries for a certain amount of time, this recording is playing, meaning he is most likely dead. At this time, he tells Alfred of a very important mission that Alfred must undertake on his behalf since he is unable to do so, but gives Alfred a choice to accept or decline. Alfred promptly accepts while Batman explains what Alfred has meant to him throughout his life, saying to him what he didn't have a chance to say at his death: he told Alfred, "Goodbye, Dad."

With this, Batman charges Alfred to assemble a new team of Outsiders. Alfred travels around the planet, recruiting Roy Raymond Jr., Black Lightning, Geo-Force (leader), Halo, Katana, The Creeper, and Metamorpho. As a member of the team, each of them must become a true "outsider," living away from their families and the public eye for months at a time. Each member fills a role that Batman once filled, making this team a composite of Batman himself. This arc ended with issue #25.

The Series ended with issue 40 back as for one issue as Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 2.

Future

Dan Didio and Phillip Tan began a new run of Outsiders in Jan. 2010. Geo-Force appears to be acting more and more irrationally since his battle with Deathstroke. Without consulting the rest of the team or Alfred, Geo-Force enters into a non-aggression pact with New Krypton, offering Markovia as a safe haven for all Kryptonians. The Eradicator acts as New Krypton's representative.

Collected editions

Issues #11-14 of Batman and the Outsiders do not appear to be collected.

Title	Material collected	Publication date	ISBN
The Chrysalis	Batman and the Outsiders #1-5	October 2008	978-1401219314
The Snare	Batman and the Outsiders #6-10	February 2009	978-1401221997
The Deep	Batman and the Outsiders Special #1 Outsiders #15-20	November 2009	978-1401225025
The Hunt	Outsiders #21-25	May 2010	978-1401227166
The Road to Hell	Outsiders #26-31	November 2010	978-1401229030
The Great Divide	Outsiders #32-37	Augest 2011	978-1401231613

Batman Inc. (2011–present)

In the 2011 Batman Inc. series by Grant Morrison, Batman assembles a new team of Outsiders that act as a black-ops wing of Batman Incorporated. The team consists of Metamorpho, Katana, Looker, Halo, Freight Train, and is led by Red Robin.^[13]

Other versions

Flashpoint

An alternate version of the former Alfred Pennyworth alter ego, The Outsider, appears in the Flashpoint crossover event. Michael Desai was born in Chandigarh, India, an infant metahuman with alabaster-white skin and superhuman durability. When his mother died during his childbirth (an accident which Desai's father blamed him for causing) Desai created a massive sinkhole within a three-mile radius of Chandigarh which killed thousands of people and left him as the only survivor. How Desai managed to accomplish this feat and the extent of this power is currently unknown.^[14] Years later, Michael adopted the alias of "The Outsider" (as he is both "outside" the law and the human race) and manages to accumulate considerable wealth through implied illegal activities, allowing Desai to effectively elevate India's status as a world power; turning the entire country into a multinational criminal operation that is completely under his control. However, the Outsider has also managed to garner many enemies, and was attacked by Rising Sun along with Mister and Misses Terrific in an attempt to assassinate him after Desai admittedly framed them for unknown crimes when they uncovered some of the Outsider's illegal activities. The Outsider then killed all three would-be assassins and set out the man who hired them.^[14] Desai is also engaged in a manhunt to find and capture a teenage electricity-based metahuman named Blackout, whom he believes can efficiently power mainland India with his abilities. Later, the Outsider was contacted by the heroes of Earth and attended a meeting that Cyborg has arranged to talk about the possibility of creating a group of heroes to deal with the Amazon/Atlantean War. The Outsider's reasons for supporting the heroes revolve entirely around maintaining his empire, as he responds to the threat of war by saying that: "War is bad for business. MY Business." When Batman refuses to join the team, the Outsider declines as well, stating that "The Outsider is Out".^[15] Desai is revealed to have some degree of longevity, as he is shown to be active in Indian criminal and political affairs since the late 1970s.^[16] In 1979, the Outsider quelled the Bombay Riots by manipulating and subsequently killing the crime leaders responsible for the violence, and then united their organizations under his leadership. In 1996, the Outsider captured Isis in his Siberian Express on Novaya Zemlya in a bid to blackmail Black Adam into selling Desai his home country, Khandaq. However, when the two negotiated terms for Isis' release, the Outsider attacked and defeated Black Adam using Durlan technology. The Outsider then shot Adam and threw him off of the Siberian Express to join Isis as his trophy/prisoner. In the present day, the Outsider is shown interrogating the warden at the prison responsible for allowing the assassins to escape. Although the warden states that he knows nothing about the prisoners' breakout, the Outsider shoots him and has his family sold into slavery for his incompetence. The Outsider's investigation then leads him to Khandaq, where he uncovers an encryption key which links Blackout to the assassination attempt. Later, Desai confronts Blackout, but realizes that the man he is fighting is not Blackout at all but rather J'onn J'onzz in disguise.^[16] In 1985, the Outsider is revealed to have kept J'onn J'onzz captive within a secret research facility after stealing Doctor Erdel's teleportation device. After studying him and learning his weaknesses, the Outsider sold J'onn to Russia, where he subsequently escaped and took the country. In the present day, after the Outsider talks with J'onn about the past, J'onn admits to pursing revenge against Desai for torturing him and moves to kill him. During the battle, Outsider uses a salvaged teleportation device to trap J'onn within several instances of the Multiverse. After questioning J'onn about future assassination attempts and getting no answers, the Outsider closed the device with J'onn still trapped inside, cutting in half and killing him. Later, the Outsider returned to his base and contacts the heroes to join the assault on New Themiscyra.^[17] The Outsider arrives at the scene to attack in the Atlantean/Amazon war.^[18]

In other media

Television

The Outsiders as seen in the first series of Batman: The Brave and the Bold (from left to right: Katana, Black Lightning and Metamorpho.

The assembled Outsiders in the second series of Batman: The Brave and the Bold (from left to right: Katana, Halo, Black Lightning, Metamorpho and Geo-Force.

The Outsiders appear in several episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Here, they were re-imagined by the show creators as teenage versions of Black Lightning, Katana and Metamorpho (the former two also have new outfits). Initially, they appear in "Enter the Outsiders!" as vigilantes gone rogue under the brainwashing control of the Slug, who resembles the evil New God Sleez. With the aid of Batman and Wildcat, they break their conditioning, turn on the Slug, and begin training under Wildcat's tutelage.^[19] In "Duel of the Double Crossers!", the Outsiders appear again fighting against Despero in a simulation created by Batman in the batcave.^[20] In the episode "Inside the Outsiders!", they are later kidnapped by Psycho-Pirate, who feeds on their rage by trapping them in nightmares. Batman enters their minds to help them confront their anger and fear, and defeat Psycho-Pirate.^[21] They appear in the teaser for the episode "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!", at the time Geo-Force and Halo are added to the roster, and work together with Batman to stop Kobra, his plan of global domination, and his cultists. Black Lightning and Katana are now older and sport their classic attires. Though Batman and the Outsiders defeated Kobra, the Outsiders forgot to blow up the bridge that would prevent other Kobra soldiers from arriving.^[22]

Film

An evil version of the Outsiders appears in the animated film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, as part of the wider Crime Syndicate of America. The team consists of Black Power (Black Lightning), Aurora (Halo), Sai (Katana), and Model Citizen (Looker). The villainous Outsiders are shown working alongside alternate versions of several Justice League Detroit members.

References

1. ^ Tomasi, Peter (w). Batman and the Outsiders Special 1 (Feb. 2009), DC Comics
2. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. "Despite being the final issue of this particular series, the book wasn't closed on Batman's team-ups. Although Batman was through working with partners, it was time to think bigger, and in a special sixteen-page preview insert written by Barr and with art by Jim Aparo, the Outsiders debuted. A super-hero team of Batman's own creation, the Outsiders would soon star alongside Batman in the new monthly series Batman and the Outsiders." 
3. ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008). "Fearsome Five". In Dougall, Alastair. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 120. ISBN 0-7566-4119-5. OCLC 213309017. 
4. ^ Englehart, Steve (w). "The Arrival" Millennium 1: 22/3 (Jan. 1988), DC Comics
5. ^ Barr, Mike W. (w), Larsen, Erik (a). "Robot Tyrants of Kadeyland" The Outsiders 27: 6/6 (Jan. 1988), DC Comics
6. ^ Barr, Mike W. (w), Larsen, Erik (a). "Robot Tyrants of Kadeyland" The Outsiders 27: 24 (Jan. 1988), DC Comics
7. ^ Barr, Mike W. (w), Larsen, Erik (p), Farmer, Mark (i). "...A Land Down Under..." The Outsiders 28: 23-24 (Feb. 1988), DC Comics
8. ^ ^{a b} Barr, Mike W. (w), Larsen, Erik (p), Farmer, Mark (i). "...A Land Down Under..." The Outsiders 28 (Feb. 1988), DC Comics
9. ^ Chuck Dixon named as new "Batman and the Outsiders" writer, Newsarama, November 16, 2007
10. ^ Dixon shakes up "Outsiders" right off the bat, Comic Book Resources, November 13, 2007
11. ^ Morrison, Grant (w). Final Crisis: Submit (Oct. 2008), DC Comics
12. ^ Life without Batman: Peter Tomasi talks the Outsiders, Newsarama, December 16, 2008
13. ^ Batman Inc. #6 (May 2011)
14. ^ ^{a b} Flashpoint: The Outsider #1 (June 2011)
15. ^ Flashpoint #1 (May 2011)
16. ^ ^{a b} Flashpoint: The Outsider #2 (July 2011)
17. ^ Flashpoint: The Outsider #3 (August 2011)
18. ^ Flashpoint #5 (August 2011)
19. ^ "Enter the Outsiders!". Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Cartoon Network. January 9, 2009. No. 6, season 1.
20. ^ "Duel of the Double Crossers!". Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Cartoon Network. June 12, 2009. No. 21, season 1.
21. ^ "Inside the Outsiders!". Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Cartoon Network. No. 25, season 1.
22. ^ "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster!". Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Cartoon Network. No. 39, season 2.

External links

• Cosmic Teams: Outsiders Index
• DCU Guide: Outsiders II
• DCU Guide: Outsiders III
• The Outer Observatory: Outsiders fansite