Superhero Media: Batman - Under the Red Hood

Much like with Planet Hulk way back when, I really want to talk about the animated Under the Red Hood film, but kind of need to cover the comic first in order to give you the whole story. Batman is at a low ebb, having just survived the onslaught of Hush, he has pushed Tim Drake, Huntress and Catwoman away, and only Nightwing is willing to deal with the crotchety vigilante. Rather than taking time to recover after the deaths of his childhood friend Thomas Elliot, Clayface and Harold Allnut, the Dark Knight throws himself into the crusade more than ever. When even Alfred Pennyworth begins to waver in his commitment, Batman comes to the conclusion that he must patrol the rooftops of Gotham alone. When a new underworld figure, the Red Hood, begins to carve up Black Mask's territory and murder scores of drug dealers, Batman and Nightwing start to investigate. A trail of clues and a battle with Amazo lead to a shocking conclusion, the Red Hood may be Jason Todd, somehow returned from the dead. Batman must struggle to defeat his former ally whilst freeing Gotham from Black Mask's clutches. 

The narrative through of Under the Red Hood is strong, even with the typical Batman operatic melodrama, the return of Jason Todd and Batman having to face up to his past mistakes make for legitimate drama. We see more of Batman's relationships with people in Under the Red Hood than we do in most comics, with the way he reacts to Dick Grayson and a young (in flashback) Jason Todd played for stark contrast; which, yes, is somewhat a retcon, but a good example of how such a technique can be used well. We'll cover this more in the film review, but a few differences stand starkly when the two are compared. For example, when Black Mask decides to take out Red Hood, he reaches out to Intergang and they provide Hyena and Captain Nazi, and the Arkham inmate recruited to Black Mask's gang is Mister Freeze. This drawing-in of broader DCU elements grounds the story in the world, though as a self-contained graphic novel, the references to Hush and Battle for Bludhaven are somewhat distracting. Especially because Chemo dropping on Bludhaven happens, is a big deal for a page, then is never mentioned again. 

The comic probably does the better job of showing the Joker/Red Hood dynamic, because it has more time to play with, letting the two characters talk a while longer. The final confrontation is one of the better "Someone confronts Batman with his own BS" sequences, with a great refutation of the 'slippery slope' argument and a great central thrust; why is the Joker still alive? The point is great too, why not kill him to save all of the lives of his future victims? Just Joker. Not Two-Face, Mad Hatter or Riddler, just the Joker. It's a good point to mull over for longtime Batman fans or just annoying fanboys; maybe Batman is wrong on that one, and, sometimes, he may be justified. Under the Red Hood is a landmark moment in what I consider to be the main Batman canon, the return of Jason Todd and the confrontation with the Joker are the perfect companion and bookend to Death in the Family It's brought down by trying to prop up the Battle for Bludhaven event, Jason coming back to life because Superboy Prime punched the multiverse (long story), and Red Hood just not being that interesting a character after this story finishes. Often considered a Batman "must read", Under the Red Hood certainly deserves a look.