The cat is out of the bag! In the previous issue, Drummer reveals that she has been Jakita Wagner the entire time! Whether readers are familiar with the events of Planetary or not, Outsiders #7 takes time to illuminate the true fate of the team. Let's take a look.

You've Been In My Story

Since the beginning, Outsiders has been an excuse to follow up Planetary by Warren Ellis. In particular, this series unsubtly reintroduces the cast and core concepts from the series. Although readers of Planetary easily pick up on the Easter eggs and signs, this twist may cause unintentional confusion. First of all, Planetary surrounds four extremely self-aware explorers mapping out the fictional multiverse. Back then, Planetary consisted of "the fourth man" Elijah Snow, archeologist Drummer, reality maintenance man Ambrose Chase, and Jakita herself. Yet, all of that changed when the New52 reboot unceremoniously merges the DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm universes together.

According to Jakita, 2011's Flashpoint event destroyed her entire life in an instant. Due to her inherent powers of immunity, Jakita survives the crisis intact while holding onto the guide and drumstick left behind. Admittedly, her ordeal is not unlike what Pariah or Psycho Pirate have gone through. Initially, Jakita spent her time trying to find answers. Unfortunately, it isn't long before Jakita realizes the DC Universe reboots itself quite frequently. As a result, she sits through Convergence, Rebirth, Metal, Infinite Frontier, and Dark Crisis against her will. In the midst of her depression, she eventually relents that her friends are dead after all.

All My Friends Are Dead

While not wholly unique, there are still cool things about this issue. For instance, Carey's choice to illustrate Jakita's immunity by making her tumble off panel while everything else fades is fascinating. Although, the size, arrangement, and spacing of the panels is seemingly random. Additionally, the depiction of the sudden appearance of Challenger's Mountain during Dark Nights Metal was pretty cool. In contrast, several of the Justice League line-ups show up in unsatisfying full page spreads. Specifically, more than a few of the League members have poorly thought out gestures and costumes. On a positive note, the artwork readily showcases the violence of the New52, Rebirth's return to hopeful storytelling, and Infinite Frontier's focus on legacy. Weirdly enough, the silhouetted antagonist and their server-like library bears strong resemblance to Imu from One Piece.

The main idea of Jakita's new origin story follows a theme of enduring friendship. In her previous life, her companionship was the only constant. After witnessing the instability of the DC Universe first hand, its inconsistency disgusts and unsettles her. Despite knowing this new world's instability, she would rather spend her time searching for anything remotely familiar. In fact, only the unstuck Duke Thomas from Death Metal understands her and gives her the hope she needs to continue. In response, she has spent the entire series looking for ways to bring her friends back. However, this selfish hypocrisy pisses off Kate and the team virtually falls apart.

Recommended If...

• You don't mind that Outsiders is actually Planetary.
• You like meta storytelling about storytelling.
•  Your expectations for this series are extremely low.

Overall

In a nutshell, Jakita spends the entire book bemoaning the loss of her world and lying to the "Outsiders." While empathetic to her reality, the harsh truth is that the forcing the readers and the characters to buy the lie wasn't a good idea. Subjectively, its easier to understand Kate walking away than it is to continue following Drummer's selfish beat. Writing Outsiders with the ulterior motivation of missing Planetary has made the story feel superficial. The artwork isn't that great, but at least it's readable in spite of the esoteric content. Overall, Outsiders #7 is a poor attempt to force another series into another. Falsely advertising this series as Outsiders may bother some readers, but others may take whatever Wildstorm content they get at whatever expense.

Score: 5/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.