One of Batman’s old allies returns in the pages of Detective Comics #1027, and this former costumed hero is back on the case.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story, “Odyssey” in Detective Comics #1027 by Marv Wolfman, Emanuela Lupacchino, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jordie Bellaire, and Carlos M. Mangual, on sale now.
Roy Raymond Jr. may not be the most recognizable name, but he and his family have played a minor role in exploring the darker corners of the DC Universe over the years. Most notably, Raymond served as a heroic Owlman in the Outsiders and as a minor Bat-Family ally ally in other Batman.
And after years out of the spotlight, Roy Raymond Jr. appears in the story “Odyssey” in Detective Comics #1027, where he helped both Batman and Bruce Wayne with another case.
Roy Raymond, Sr was an investigative reporter and host of the television show, Impossible… But True!. On this show, Raymond would investigate various stories and expose them as either hoaxes or as real and news-worthy. Raymond first appeared in 1953 in Detective Comics #153 and wascreated by Ruben Moreira. Raymond was a fairly frequent character in early Detective Comics issues until Aquaman gained popularity and replaced Raymond. Raymond spent some time in Superman and Swamp Thing books until eventually fading into the background of the DCU.
Raymond Jr. followed in his old man’s footsteps and is also an investigative journalist. He appears in 1997 in Chuck Dixon and Staz Johnson’s Robin #38 and has the reputation as being arrogant, incompetent, and nothing at all like his father. He works on the Gotham show, Roy Raymond Jr: Manstalker. Though Raymond has moved over to the tabloid side of sensationalistic TV, he still has strong investigative skills and is one of the few detectives who Batman admires.
When Raymond Jr. gets on the trial of the case of an abducted girl, he uses his sleuthing skills and locates her whereabouts. When he tries to alert the authorities, he is laughed at and mocked as just some hack reporter. So Raymond sets out to find the girl and rescue her himself. This catches the attention of Alfred, who offers Roy a position to join the Outsiders after Batman seemingly died during Final Crisis. Roy remains part of the Outsiders team for the rest of its run. The only other mention of Raymond Jr. since the Outsiders was in Blackest Night #1, where it was acknowledged he wrote a book on the murder of Sue Dibney.