Red Hood


The Red Hood is an alias used by multiple fictional characters and a criminal organization in comic books published by DC Comics. Jason Todd is the most widely known character to assume the Red Hood identity in the main DC Comics continuity while the Joker has also previously assumed the Red Hood identity.

Fictional character biography

Joker

The Red Hood first appeared in Detective Comics #168, in the story "The Man Behind The Red Hood!". In the original continuity, the man later known as Batman's arch nemesis "the Joker" was a master criminal going by the Red Hood alias, claiming to be a lab worker intending to steal $1,000,000 and retire. His costume consisted of a tuxedo, a red cape, and a large domed red helmet with no eye holes or facial features. While attempting to rob a playing card company, he was cornered and dove into a catch basin full of chemicals and swam to freedom, surviving because of a special breathing apparatus built into the helmet. The toxins in the vat permanently disfigured him, turning his hair green, his skin white and his lips red. Driven insane by his reflection, he recreated himself as "the Joker" and became Batman's greatest foe. A decade later, Batman reopens the case while tutoring a group of college students. To mock him, the Joker resumes the identity and tries to rob the college. However, a gardener, Owen "Farmerboy" Benson, captures him and takes his identity, planning to commit crimes with the Red Hood getting the blame. Batman realizes this Red Hood is a fake and captures Benson, who takes him to the real Red Hood. The Joker then reveals his origin.
In ', Alan Moore wrote an alternative origin of the Joker and the Red Hood; the man who would become the Joker is portrayed as a former lab assistant, now a struggling stand-up comedian with a pregnant wife. He is approached by the Red Hood gang, who want him to lead them through the chemical plant he once worked at so they can rob the card factory next door. He accepts in order to make enough money to start a better life for his family. The gang gives him the Red Hood costume, which has been worn by many others; unknown to him, the gang plans to use him as a patsy in case they get caught. The day of the proposed robbery, police inform him that his wife died in a freak accident. He attempts to back out of the robbery, but the gang strong-arms him into keeping his commitment. During the robbery, the plant's security men spot the intruders and shoot the other criminals dead. The man who becomes the Joker tries to flee, but Batman appears and corners him on the plant's catwalk. Terrified, he jumps off the catwalk into the chemical basin to escape. As in the previous origin story, he goes insane after discovering what the chemicals have done to his face and becomes the Joker. The Joker himself is reluctant to admit that this iteration of his story is definitive, stating: "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!"
A retroactive continuity change appears between the Batman #450–451 story line The Return of the Joker and the graphic novel one-shot '. In The Return of the Joker, the Joker resurfaces after apparently being killed at the end of the ' storyline. In this story, the Joker rummages through his belongings, finds the Red Hood costume and wears it for a robbery in order to regain his confidence and become the Joker again. The Man Who Laughs is a retelling of the Joker's first appearance, a few months after the Red Hood's plunge into the chemicals, tying the story into both ' and The Killing Joke. In this story, Batman is in possession of the Red Hood costume, presumably having discovered it on the banks where the Joker washed up after his swim in the chemical basin.

Jason Todd

Another version of Red Hood appears in the ' storyline running through Batman comics, written by Judd Winick. Jason Todd, the former Robin killed by the Joker in ', is revealed to have been resurrected by Ra's al Ghul via the Lazarus Pit. But the pit changes him and his emotions and he becomes the new Red Hood. His debut culminates in a fateful confrontation with those he feels have wronged him. He beats the Joker with a crowbar and later kidnaps him. The new Red Hood assumes control over various gangs in Gotham City and starts a one-man war against Black Mask's criminal empire. He actively tries to cleanse the city of corruption, such as the illegal drug trade and gang violence, but in a violent, antiheroic way. He eventually comes to blows against Batman and other heroes, including Nightwing, the new Robin, Onyx, and Green Arrow.
In the second story arc of Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison and Philip Tan, Jason retakes the Red Hood mantle. With the goal of making the very concept of Batman obsolete, he puts a lot of effort into public relations: he drastically alters his Red Hood costume to look more like a traditional superhero outfit, and recruits his own sidekick known as Scarlet. In their war on crime, Red Hood and Scarlet freely kill criminals, villains and anyone who gets in their way, even the police. After all of Red Hood's killings, he leaves behind a calling card which states "let the punishment fit the crime". He describes his vendetta against Dick Grayson as "the revenge of one crazy man in a mask on another crazy man in a mask".
After Barry Allen's involuntary tampering with the continuum, Red Hood is shown, along with Arsenal and Starfire, as one of the Outlaws, a close knit group of anti-heroes. Still not above killing, and still angry at the world, Jason has now reverted to the street clothes costume, forgoing his feud with Batman for stealthier, more cloak and dagger missions. Eventually, Jason and Batman reconcile and call a truce between them.
In an interview for the Infinite Crisis hardcover, Jeanine Schaefer states that Geoff Johns originally planned to reintroduce Red Hood as the Jason Todd of the Earth-Two universe, but such plans were discarded.

Red Hood Gang

In the New 52, a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe, a gang called the "Red Hood" appears in issue zero of Batman. A young Bruce Wayne, not yet Batman, had recently returned to Gotham to start his crime fighting career. One of Bruce's early targets was the Red Hood Gang, which he managed to infiltrate undercover. Unfortunately for Bruce, the leader of the Red Hood Gang knew his group had been infiltrated and managed to weed out a disguised Bruce as the culprit. Though the Red Hood Gang attempted to kill him, Bruce manages to escape into the sewers after the police show up to break up a robbery. The Red Hood Gang eventually follows him into the sewer system, but a prototype motorcycle hidden in the tunnels allows Bruce to escape. The Red Hood Gang is later seen outside of Bruce's apartment, scoping it out for their next hit.
The Red Hood Gang subsequently reappeared in the first story arc of the "" event, "Secret City", where five months prior to the birth of Batman, Bruce gets involved with the Red Hood Gang to spoil their plans to sink a pickup truck full of men who refused to join their ranks. During this encounter, it is revealed that the Red Hood Gang's ranks have expanded. It turns out their leader had since begun blackmailing innocent Gotham citizens into joining the group, threatening violence against them if they refused to be his henchmen. They eventually steal an airship belonging to Penguin and several weapons from Wayne Industries. Bruce discovers that the Red Hood Gang has been doing business with Bruce's uncle, Philip Kane, who was selling them weapons after being forced to join the gang. When Bruce discovers this, he goes to tell Alfred, but a bomb from the Red Hood Gang to "welcome him back to the city" blows up the apartment.
The motivation of the Red Hood Gang comes to light, and it was revealed that they had been inspired by the impact that the murder of Bruce's parents had upon the city. The murders of the famous and beloved Doctor and Mrs. Wayne had made the residents of Gotham fearful, since if even the rich and powerful could be gunned down by a random criminal, no one was safe from being harmed by crime. Embracing nihilism, the Red Hood Gang killed, robbed, and caused suffering in order to make the average citizen know their lives are worthless and can and will be murdered at any given moment.
The culmination of the Red Hood Gang's campaign of terror was their plan to take over the Axis Chemical Plant and use its resources to create a flesh-eating bacteria. Bruce Wayne, as Batman, lures the Gotham City Police Department to the plant. During the battle that ensues, Phillip Kane is mortally wounded by the leader, who accuses him of betrayal. The police raid the plant and the gang is arrested, while Batman goes after the leader, who ultimately falls into a container of chemicals rather than be taken alive. A few days later, police discover the body of the assumed leader of the gang, Liam Distal, stuffed into a barrel of lye. The lye had dissolved the better part of his remains, meaning there was no way to tell when he was killed and placed there. Bruce surmises that the Red Hood Leader he encountered was an impostor and had killed Distal and taken his place, but there was no way to confirm it or know when the impostor murdered Distal. Afterwards, the remaining members of the gang were then killed in an explosion by the Joker. It is assumed that after the event, the Red Hood Gang is officially defunct.

Alternate versions

DCAU comics

An animated version of the character appears at the end of The Batman Adventures #8. It was meant to be a subplot to be resolved later, but the cancellation of the ongoing series prevented that. Though the creative team behind the story are hoping for a chance to resolve it, they have yet to do so. It has been stated that this Red Hood is someone crucial to the DC animated universe.
Dan Slott mentioned that the background of the character would tie into a subplot concerning Lucius Fox, the Valestra mob and the Powers Family
Though the comics storyline was never followed up, Dan Slott told fan website The Worlds Finest, "Had Batman Adventures continued, Dan Slott said, The Red Hood would have been revealed as Andrea Beaumont’s mother, Victoria Beaumont, who also happened to be the real head of the Valestra mob. Years ago, she faked her death in an attempt to get her family away from the Valestra mob, and was disappointed to see her family eventually fall into their clutches. However, when she saw what happened to her husband, and what eventually became of her daughter, she felt it was time to not only get revenge on the Valestra mob, but take Gotham for herself. Inevitably, this would have led to a devastating confrontation between her, Batman, and Andrea Beaumont."

Batman '66

A version of Red Hood appears in Batman '66. This version of Red Hood is Professor Anders Overbeck, a psychiatrist who was brainwashed by the Joker through his malfunctioning brain regulator machine.

In other media

Television