Terry McGinnis – The Batman of the Future

Terry McGinnis – The Batman of the Future

You’re a teenager in high school. You’re surrounded by jocks, uptight girls, computer geeks, and so on. A short stint of juvenile delinquency makes you hostile to authority. One night, you blow off your father to be with your girlfriend. Normal day. Only when you get home you find your father’s been murdered by street thugs. Broken with grief, you stumble upon evidence of a corporate cover-up. With the police in the corporation’s pocket, your only option is to join forces with an aging Bruce Wayne whose reclusiveness forces your hand: you steal his Batsuit and become the new Batman. When you actually succeed in taking the corporation down, Wayne offers you the chance to restore justice to a bewildered Gotham City.

If all of the above actually happened, then you’re Terry McGinnis, the protagonist of the DC Animated show Batman Beyond, and the Batman of the future. Strap yourselves in; this is going to be a bumpy ride.

Terry McGinnis is not Bruce Wayne. Wayne committed to the crusade of Gotham almost immediately after losing his parents. Every minute of his life was spent in training: becoming experts in multiple scientific fields, man-hunting, escape artists, and the like. In his own mind, Bruce Wayne is the disguise: it’s the Batman that’s real.

But Terry faces an even more dangerous environment: high school. As Batman he prowls the night for criminals, but as Terry McGinnis he juggles school-work, family-time, and all the things that made high school a war-zone for its’ attendees. Of particular note is the strain of lying to his girlfriend Dana Tan. Wayne’s perfectionist demands, coupled with the Batman duties becoming top priority, strains their relationship to the breaking point.

That’s the beauty of Bruce Wayne’s Batman. He has no emotional ties to wear him down. Being Batman become an obsession that demanded the sacrifice of an ordinary life; love and companionship were distractions that ultimately got people killed.

Terry, on the other hand, has too many emotional ties. Wayne’s Batman could battle criminals without concern of his own life because he had no one to come home to. But Terry does. Having someone to come home inevitably forces you to think of how one’s death will hurt others. That in turn causes Terry to hesitate (even if he’s not aware of it). When dealing with ruthless criminals, hesitation gets people killed.

But being Batman has made Terry stronger, as well. Originally a cynic veteran of Gotham’s lawless streets, Terry’s duties as Batman has made him appreciate his family more. His often confrontational relationship with his surviving family softens to genuine support and caring. Terry’s a better big brother, a better son, because of Batman.

It takes a special commitment to be Batman. Bruce Wayne sacrificed all chances of a normal life to become the Batman his city desperately needed. But Terry had a life before Batman. He has family and friends to think about: something that Bruce never allowed himself to have. Terry McGinnis isn’t Bruce Wayne, but it turns out he doesn’t need to be. It’s the people in Terry’s life that gives him strength, which gives him the maturity to grow out of his juvenile former self and find his place in the world. You should definitely give Terry McGinnis a chance. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Nightwing – Year One

Nightwing – Year One

What happens when the one thing you’ve been trained for all your life is suddenly taken away from you? What happens when you’ve banished from your home and have no idea what to do with your life? What if you face a decision you never saw coming? Do you pick the safe, simple life, or do you choose to continue your life’s calling on your own terms? That is the question Dick Grayson (the first Robin) faces in the Nightwing: Year One graphic novel. Even if the answer is something no one – least of all Grayson – predicted.

The tale begins with the inevitable. As Dick Grayson grew into additional obligations (college, social life, etc), the time Robin stands at Batman’s side became more and more remote. Sooner or later there would come a time when the Dark Knight needed his Boy Wonder, and Robin simply wouldn’t be there to have his back. So when Robin narrowly saves Batman from the villain Clayface, it’s the final straw. Batman fires Robin, citing the latter’s lack of commitment to the crusade against evil as proof. Just like that, Dick Grayson lost his partner, his home, and the only life he ever knew.

With the whole world in front of him, Grayson finds himself at the circus his family worked for (before the tragic death of his parents that sent him on the road of becoming the Dark Knight’s partner). He has a simple choice: live as an acrobat, or follow Batman’s crusade. Perhaps if Grayson hadn’t seen Gotham at its’ worst, the decision would be easy. But he has. He’s seen the supervillains, the corruption that infects Gotham. He can’t turn away from that. So he heads back to Gotham as Nightwing, ready to continue the crusade: but on his terms.

Everything goes fine: until he stumbles across Jason Todd, the second Robin. Shocked that he’s been replaced so quickly, Nightwing is eager for answers. Unfortunately, Batman’s little test for Todd takes an ugly turn when Alfred Pennyworth is kidnapped. With Batman indisposed, Nightwing and Robin must join forces to save their mutual friend and survive the fury of new villain Killer Croc. Batman may have had a test for Todd in mind, but instead the two Robins emerge victorious from another kind of exam: the test of partnership. They may butt heads, but that night proves the two of them could put their differences aside for the greater good. It’s important because Batman doesn’t just have allies. He has Family.

It’s inevitable. Sooner or later, Robin has to grow up. When Batman fires Grayson, he has a simple choice: to be normal or be extraordinary. The easy life is within his reach; all he has to do is take it. But the call of Gotham is too strong to ignore. The Nightwing: Year One graphic details Grayson’s answer to that call, showcasing the new phase of his crime-fighting career. He may not be Robin anymore, but Grayson’s still part of the Bat-Family. I guess Robins can’t change their feathers after all.

Batman Beyond – What If?

Batman Beyond – What If?

Comic books are full of “what if” scenarios. What if Kal-El’s rocket landed in Moscow instead of Kansas? What if Spider-Man became the fifth member of the Fantastic Four? These alternate timelines allow the development of characters in ways that are otherwise impossible to express within the confines of typical environments. The Batman Beyond television series is one of those scenarios.

Twenty years in the future, Bruce Wayne is still Batman. While others have retired the cowl due to old age, Wayne is too obsessed with his mission to stop being the Dark Knight. So, the inevitable happens: Wayne is waylaid by a heart attack in the midst of an abduction. Desperate, Batman pulls a gun on a thug. Horrified at how close he came to breaking his “no guns, no murder” cardinal rule, Wayne shuts down the Batcave. For the next twenty years, Gotham suffers without its protector . . . that is, until Terry McGinnis stumbles into the Batcave, steals the high-tech Batsuit and avenges his father’s demise. Jolted from his depression by Terry’s bravery, Wayne takes Terry under his wing. Thus Batman is re-born.

Terry’s Batman relies more on gadgets than intellect. Unlike Wayne – whose vow to protect Gotham has him sacrificing any chance of a normal relationship – Terry has a life outside the cowl: a girlfriend, a family, the whole nine yards. While this makes Terry a more human Dark Knight, the resulting social distractions keep him from being the physical/mental paragon Wayne was at his peak. As a result, Terry’s Batman often stumbles through challenges that Wayne would have sailed through effortlessly (the first encounter with the Stalker comes to mind). However, Terry does show remarkable progress as a detective over the course of the series.

The symbiosis between Terry and Bruce is one of the most interesting things Batman Beyond brings to the table. Being Batman helps Terry with sticking to the straight and narrow. Bruce, on the other hand, is content with being an auxiliary Batman (though it’d wouldn’t be false to say he’s vicariously living through Terry).

But enough of semantics. The heart of every Batman story is the toys, and Beyond delivers. Boot jets, cloaking devices, fingertip microphones, and others make Terry into a walking Swiss army knife.

However, all the futuristic toys don’t mean a thing without equally futuristic enemies. Terry’s foes include the Shriek (imposing total silence by canceling all sound waves) and the Repeller (able to manipulate gravity to such a degree that nothing can touch).

Comic books and other media are full of “what if” scenarios. What if Bruce Wayne – now an old man – was forced to use a gun to save his life? What if a random teen takes up the Batman mantle? The Batman Beyond series gives us a peek of a high-tech Batman in a high-tech world, and while cut short in it’s prime, it never fails to entertain. Have fun.

Knightfall – The Bat Is Broken

Knightfall – The Bat Is Broken

It’s said that a hero is only as good as the villain he fights. For Batman, that penultimate villain is Bane. For over seventy years, villains like the Joker and Two-Face have tried to defeat Batman. Yet their failures is Bane’s victory: he broke Batman’s spine, triggering a multi-comic storyline that examines and ultimately re-defines the Dark Knight’s purpose. The Knightfall story is the first chapter of that saga.

Knightfall introduces Bane, a man born in the Pena Duro prison. Following a slight imposed on the prison’s corrupt warden, Bane spends most of his adolescence in an underground pit. Every inmate condemned into the pit eventually go insane. Not Bane. Using his hatred and his mind, Bane thrives in the pit. When he emerges from the pit, Bane finds himself a legend to the other inmates, becoming the prison’s de facto ruler.

Jealous, the warden submits Bane to experiments involving the Venom steroid. Bane’s endurance is put to the test, but once again Bane succeeds where previous subjects fail. Augmented by Venom, Bane has the extraordinary strength to match his already formidable intellect. Having achieved the physical and mental perfection he desired, Bane breaks out of prison. His goal? To defeat Batman and control Gotham City.

Instead of a direct assault, Bane instead frees most of Batman’s rogue gallery in a bid to tax the Dark Knight’s endurance to its lowest ebb. Only then does Bane strike, breaking Batman’s spine as a symbolic victory and a sign of his ascension of Gotham’s criminal kingdom.

With Batman out of commission, Bruce Wayne selects former assassin Jean-Paul Valley over original protégé Dick Grayson to be his successor, citing Grayson’s solo vigilante career as justification. With the Batman mantle secured, Wayne can focus on his rehabilitation with the help of Dr. Kinsolving, a physician whose patients include Jack Drake, the mentally-crippled father of Tim Drake (the current Robin). With her renowned healing abilities, Bruce is making significant strides in his recovery.

Unfortunately, Kinsolving is abducted right before Bruce’s eyes. Traumatized by his uselessness – and convinced that Kinsolving is the only hope for complete recovery – Bruce chases after Kinsolving.

Meanwhile, things are taking an ugly turn in Gotham. Valley proves himself a darker Batman, focusing more on punishing criminals over saving lives. Things come to a head when an encounter with Scarecrow’s fear toxin unlocks Valley’s alternate Azrael persona (derived from intense brainwashing from the extremist St. Dumas cult). Knightfall ends with Bane’s defeat at Valley’s hands. Batman once again rules the night . . . but a Batman who struggles for his sanity.

A hero is only as good as the villain he’s fighting. Bane leveled the playing field by doing the impossible: breaking Batman. Knightfall gives Bruce Wayne a new path: a life without Batman. We can only wait and see how that story unfolds.

Jean-Paul Valley

Jean-Paul Valley

Jean-Paul Valley. Typical nerd. Social outcast. The new Batman.

Confused? Let’s start from the beginning.

When supervillain Bane broke Batman’s spine in 1993, Wayne chose Jean-Paul to carry on the legacy. What he didn’t know was that Jean-Paul had been trained from birth to be Azrael, the assassin for the fanatical, Illuminati-like Order of St. Dumas cult. Had Bruce known, he would have spared himself a lot of pain.

At first Valley seems like the safe choice. His Azrael training has given him the necessary skills. Batman himself said that, “Jean Paul . . . instantly shifted into the state of alert relaxation Batman had observed only in Zen masters . . . poised on the cusp between readiness and action.”

All of that changes when Valley dons the mask. Ordinarily meek, Valley seemed overjoyed at using lethal force on a helpless opponent. It’s only the intervention of Tim Drake (the current Robin) and the timely arrival of the police that the criminal walks out with all limbs intact. Later on, Valley berates Robin for his soft-heartedness, despite the fact that Drake has significantly more experience. It’s as though Valley is a completely different person when the mask is on.

The truth isn’t far off. Much of Valley’s Azrael training involved brainwashing and negative conditioning. As such, Valley’s been trained to believe he’s nothing without Dumas and the System (the collective name for his subconscious assassination skills). An example is the Valley nearly crashes the Batmobile twice. It’s only when Valley prays to Dumas that his subconscious grants him the necessary skills.

It only gets worse. Valley’s darker persona gains more power with each passing night, as exemplified by Valley’s new costume. His subconscious, seeing Batman’s ordinary garb inadequate, completely modifies the costume. Combined with the lethal weaponry suitable for a holy assassin, plus a strong resemblance to the Azrael garb, this new costume marks Valley’s complete domination of his Azrael persona.

The Azrael persona’s effects are also psychological. Seeing Drake’s reluctance with violence as weakness, Valley arms the Batcave with a host of fatal defenses designed to keep interlopers out. Furthermore, finding detective work tedious and unbecoming of an agent of holy vengeance, Valley concocts an alliance with antagonistic policeman Harvey Bullock for the information he needs. Valley is so consumed within this Azrael persona that he lives within the costume. It’s only when Valley is tricked into getting out of his costume that his Valley persona reasserts himself.

Knowing that all comic book characters must receive periodic evolutions in order to satisfy an equally evolving audience, the Batman staff made Valley’s character into a question: do the fans want a darker Batman? The answer? No. Jean Paul is a pretender. Bruce Wayne is the one true Batman. Not even a broken spine can stop him. He’ll be a long time correcting Valley’s atrocities, but he’ll persevere. He’s Batman. He always does.

Knightfall – Comic Vs Novel

Knightfall – Comic Vs Novel

1993 was a big year for Batman. The previous year had Superman battle to the death with the new villain Doomsday. Not to be outdone, artist Dennis O’Neal and other Batman staff concocted an equally ground-breaking villain for the Dark Knight: Bane. Like Doomsday before him, Bane changed Batman’s world by breaking the Dark Knight’s back. The events of the following comics (Bruce’s rehabilitation, the exploits of his successor Jean Paul Valley, and Bruce’s return as Batman) were adapted into two novelizations: one written exclusively to younger fans, and one crafted for more mature fans. This article will explain the differences between them.

A major deviation between the two is Dick Grayson, the first Robin. Both the comics and the children’s version heavily rely on Grayson. As Valley grows more violent, Tim Drake (the third Robin) goes to Grayson for moral support. When finally Grayson tracks Bruce down, he chides Bruce for choosing Valley over him for the Batman cowl. Bruce admits that he deliberately chose Valley because he didn’t want Grayson to be burdened with the responsibility that comes with being Batman.

The adult novelization doesn’t have Grayson at all. He’s mentioned once, when Alfred explains the history of the Robins to Tim. Tim does make a good point: the presence of a young partner kept Batman from descending to darker and more violent means to deal with criminals. Batman needed a Robin to keep him sane.

Another deviation is the manner of Bruce’s return as Batman. Both versions have Bruce psychologically traumatized, becoming incapable to use violence. Both versions feature the master assassin Lady Shiva to retrain Bruce. But in the comics, Bruce is challenged by three martial artists. Afterwards he gains Shiva’s approval by fooling her into thinking he killed the last challenger, and he is allowed to leave.

The adult novelization has more psychological consequences. After a month of training, Bruce finally defeats Shiva. But he gains more than his battle ability. “In that instant [beating Shiva], he’d regained his capacity of violence, and something more, something he’d never known was his: the pleasure of dominating another human being . . . as he watched Shiva fall, it had erupted into the purest joy he could imagine.” (O’Neil 305) For a man whose creed is to avoid killing, the exhilaration of victory is not only an addiction he cannot afford, but the catalyst of re-evaluating his entire life. The comic-book Bruce Wayne got off scot-free, but the adult Bruce Wayne has some serious demons to deal with.

Bane was a game-changer to the Batman world. But the fallout from Bane’s act depends on which version one is reading. The child-novelization has everything wrapped up in a nice bow. But if you want a serious Batman story, pick up the adult novelization of Knightfall. It pays tribute to Batman’s redemption without coddling the reader. Have fun.

Superman – For The Man Who Has Everything

Superman: For The Man Who Has Everything

No life is complete. People want what they cannot have. The grass is always going to be greener on the other side of the fence. It’s true for ordinary people. But what might a being like Superman dream of? What might be lacking for the world’s most powerful champion to miss and regret? What life did Superman put aside for his crusade against evil? This is the question that the 1985 comic strip “For The Man That Has Everything,” answers.

The prologue: a normal man returning home from work. All he wants is to tuck the kids into bed, maybe share a private moment with his wife, take a hot shower and get some sleep for tomorrow’s shift. Instead he walks into his very own birthday party. Only this man isn’t normal. He’s Superman.

What’s going on?

February 29^th, 1985: Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman travel to the Fortress Of Solitude for Superman’s birthday, only to find him under the thrall of a strange alien plant. Before they can even speculate on what happened, the supervillain Mongul steps in and reveals his master plan. The alien plant is a Black Mercy, a telepathic symbiont that bonds with a host and fabricates a false reality according to the host’s fondest wish. The mundane family man is what Superman would have been had Krypton didn’t explode. In this illusion, there’s no superpowers, no people to save or monsters to battle. For an outcast on an alien planet, Superman just wants to be normal.

Eventually, Superman breaks free of the Mercy’s influence in time to save his friends from Mongul, but at the cost of giving up his “perfect” world. Now we see a new Man Of Steel: angry. Vengeful. Hurting. A hate so intense that lashing out is the only way of appeasing it. To have one’s fondest desire, the desire so secret that no one else knows, given form and then taken away? To have a taste of one’s ideal existence, however briefly, only to be forced into giving that up in the name of moral responsibility and duty? I’d be pissed. Superman certainly is. This is the closest he comes to killing someone. Fortunately, Mongul falls victim to the Mercy’s sway, and life – such as it is for superheroes – returns to normal.

No life is complete. People want what they cannot have. The grass’s always going to be greener on the other side of the fence. It’s true for ordinary people, and it’s true for Superman. It’s rather clever: How do you hurt someone impervious to physical pain? Hurt him emotionally. Expose his deepest secret. Make his fondest wish come true and then watch him throw it all away. It reminds people that underneath the superpowers and colorful costume, Superman is just like us. He yearns for a dream that’s forever beyond his reach. Even now, three decades after publication, I’m impressed. Trust me, that’s saying something.

Ra al Ghul

Ra’s al Ghul

Ra’s al Ghul is DC Comics’ go-to villain these days. Originally an enemy of Batman, Ra’s has stretched his insidious reach with his debut in the superhero show Arrow. However, as with all comic book characters, Ra’s personality has been revamped time and time again. These variations fall into two distinct categories: gifted visionary and eco-terrorist. This article will explore the eco-terrorist as seen in the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series cartoon.

The first thing you should know is that Ra’s al Ghul is 600 years old. His longevity’s due to the mystical Lazarus Pits, subterranean pools that restores youth to whomever immerses oneself into it. This immortality requires multiple immersions, but it’s made Ra a brilliant tactician. The Pits gives him a long-term mindset. His every move is meticulously planned to ensure his victory. Example: the Society of Shadows (the Animated Universe counterpart to Batman Begins’ League of Shadows). The Society is dangerous because Ra’s spent centuries molding it to the singular purpose of restoring the world to its’ undamaged state (before humanity came along). Unfortunately those plans call for the eradication and subjugation of humankind. Again, for the good of the planet.

Of course Ra is no fool. He has foreseen the possibility that he won’t live long enough to see his ambition realized. He needs a successor, and he finds one in Batman. The Dark Knight’s considerable skills make him the ideal person to lead the Society of Shadows. Batman naturally refuses, and is nearly buried alive for it. Ra’s sees everything as tools, and discards them once they exceed their usefulness.

Here’s where it gets complicated. Ra’s talks a lot about heirs and legacies, but his true obsession is permanent immortality. Ra’s search leads him to the Egyptian spirit Thoth Khepra, who according to legend grants immortality to whoever joins her (in truth she drains their youth instead). He left Batman and Talia to die when they became an obstacle. Later on, when the Lazarus Pits reached their limits, Ra’s drains Superman’s powers via a mystical artifact. Drunk on his newfound strength, Ra’s proceeds to beat Batman to death despite Talia’s warnings.

The greatest evidence for his obsession lies in the Batman Beyond episode “Out Of The Past.” 40 years into the future, Ra’s creates a machine that exchanges his consciousness to a new body. However, the prototype only transfers the mind into a genetically-matched vessel: Talia. Ra’s transported his mind into Talia knowing that her personality would be permanently, utterly destroyed. For all his talk about family and legacies, Ra’s al Ghul sacrificed his daughter without hesitation in order to stave off death.

Ra’s al Ghul is one of the most dangerous men in the DC universe, Animated or otherwise. He’s also a hypocrite. His benevolent agenda is a charade. What Ra’s really wants is to live forever, and he’ll sacrifice anything and everything to achieve that goal. It’s what makes him so fascinating . . . and so pathetic.

Damian Wayne – Son of Batman

Damian Wayne – Son Of Batman

Damian Wayne. Son of Batman and Talia al’Ghul. Grandson of Ra’s al Ghul and heir to the League of Assassins. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. The best way to stop evil? Kill it. Dead men cannot hurt anyone. Arrogant, stubborn, and spoiled, Damian is his father’s opposite. At first glance, Damian seems to be a lost cause. It makes his eventual redemption all the more satisfying.

Damian was groomed to be perfect. Literally. Grown in an artificial womb, Damian’s genetic structure was tweaked to make him the ultimate warrior. Combined with extreme training – courtesy of the League of Assassins – Damian’s a match for even seasoned fighters. At ten years old, he is his father’s equal in combat. (An impressive feat given Batman’s aggressive, obsessive work ethic). Others believe Damian’s the superior warrior. But no one’s been crazy enough to challenge Damian on it.

Damian’s literally dropped into Batman’s lap by his mother Talia. Batman’s many things: a warrior, a perfectionist, a genius. The one thing he’s not? A father. Batman treats Damian as a project rather than a person, trying to undo his killer mentality.

Unfortunately, Damian’s progress undergoes a complete reversal when Batman “dies” at uber-villain Darkseid’s hands. Forced to start from scratch, Dick Grayson – the new Batman –takes Damian under his wing as the new Robin. Damian, thinking he’s the only one worthy of Batman’s mantle, fights Grayson every step of the way. Rebuilding his trust is a slow, agonizing process, but Grayson sticks to it. As a result Damian’s anger eventually cools, and a grudging respect develops between them.

This change in Damian’s loyalties forces Talia’s hand. When Damian’s dealt a mortal blow, Talia swoops in to restore her son. But the microscopic robots that healed Damian gave Talia control over his nervous system. She forced Damian into a murderous battle with Grayson, hoping it’ll revive his killer instinct. The attempt fails, ending with Damian’s question. “Can’t you love me for me?”

Talia doesn’t answer. But later on, it’s revealed that she has several Damian-clones in artificial wombs. If Damian became too “infected” by Batman’s morality, then she will simply grow another one.

Damian ends up changing his father just as much as Bruce changes him. When Bruce returns from death, Bruce’s time with Damian opens a world that he never ventured: fatherhood. Damian makes his father more human.

Unfortunately, this is never more apparent when Damian dies: Batman goes off the deep end in trying to revive Damian, going so far as to amputate a Frankenstein-like monster to unlock the secrets of resurrection.

Damian may have started as a ruthless warrior. But he’s the catalyst that allowed Batman to step outside his comfort zone and be human. For a character whose inner darkness is his trademark appeal, that’s saying something. Damian Wayne is truly his father’s son.

Jason Todd — Batman’s Greatest Failure

Jason Todd – Batman’s Greatest Failure

Death is cheap in comic books. Characters aren’t serious players until they rise from the grave. Villains caught in explosions or fall off mountains miraculously return without a scratch. In fact, only a handful of characters who die remain dead. For Marvel Comics, that person is Ben Parker, Spider-Man’s uncle. For DC Comics, that person is Jason Todd, the second Robin. This article is about Jason Todd.

Jason Todd replaced Dick Grayson after the latter parted ways with Batman. From the first, Todd was everything Grayson was not. Rude, arrogant, vengeful, Jason chafed against Batman’s “no-kill” policy. In fact the only reason why Batman took Jason under his wing was because he knew that Jason would become a criminal otherwise.

Jason’s noteworthy not because his death was “permanent,” but how his death was decided. Fan reaction to Jason was resoundingly negative. However, the DC higher-ups were hesitant to kill off a character as significant as Robin. So they put the decision in the fans’ hands. Two 1-900 numbers were placed in an ad. Fans calling the numbers were given the choice of two outcomes: one where Jason lived, or one where he died. The results were neck-to-neck, but ultimately Jason was killed. Never before had a comic book company place so much power in their fans.

Jason’s death was a more important legacy than his life. Batman considers Jason his greatest failure. It’s the death that haunts Batman the most. He even goes so far as to place Todd’s Robin uniform on display as a constant reminder of what happens to partners on the battlefield.

Jason stayed dead for twenty years . . . until his origin was revised. Found by Talia al’Ghul, Jason was resurrected thanks to a Lazarus Pit (the DC counterpart of the Foundation of Youth). Crazed upon his revival, Jason escapes into obscurity.

Always walking the tightrope of Batman’s morality, Jason’s revival tips him over the edge. Convinced that killing criminals makes him a better Batman, Jason embarks on a years-long crusade to master the necessary skills to put him on the same level as Batman. Donning the identity of the Red Hood (the first criminal alias used by the post-insane Joker), Jason wages a one-man war on Gotham criminals. When Bruce Wayne “dies,” Jason uses social media platforms to better advertise his lethal tactics, but gives up when Grayson proves himself the right heir for Batman’s mantle. After Bruce returns, Jason bluffs his way out of Gotham for destinations unknown.

Death is cheap in comic books. Jason Todd holds the record for being dead the longest. His resurrection could have made him into a thousand clichés. Instead he made himself into Batman’s dark side: the person Bruce could have been if he didn’t uphold the sanctity of life. Not bad for a dead man.