batman: under the red hood

batman: under the red hood
judd winick
graphics/superheroes
dc comics
published 2003

Batman is confronted with a hidden face from the past - it's the return of the vigilante Red Hood who appears to be Batman's one-time partner Jason Todd, the same Jason Todd that died many years ago.  But the Red Hood's violent ways pit him against the Dark Knight in his hunt for the very person responsible for his death: The Joker.

One of the most iconic Batman images for me, and for many others I would expect, is the four volume paperback cover with Batman on the floor cradling a broken and bloodied - and dead - Robin.  So when Red Hood showed up it was a little confusing.  Sure, there have been resurrections in the DC universe, but I had missed this one entirely.

Under the Red Hood is fantastic.  Jason Todd is back (again as we 'saw' him in Hush) and he is determined to clean up the streets of Gotham in a way that Batman was never capable of doing.  He sees Batman's morality as a weakness and while he's working way at Black Mask's hold on Gotham he's actually setting the stage for his ultimate showdown with the man who he thought of as a father.

Gripping, tightly wound and emotional.