There’s a few characters that only got better with age…or whenever they became another character entirely. This was the case with Jason Todd.
Jason was the second person to carry the title of Robin, He was a troubled kid living on the streets when Batman found him trying to steal the wheels off of the batmobile. He was obviously a very different case than Dick Grayson, who was the first Robin. Jason had a chip on his shoulder due to the terrible things that had happened to him after his parents left him and he had to fend for himself. When Bruce found him he had hoped that he could help him to become a better and stronger person but Jason was never quite good enough. It’s difficult for someone to build themselves up and become this great hero when they’re full of rage and just want to kill the people they’re fighting.
In 1986, Jason was killed by the Joker and cause Batman to nearly go insane thinking that he led Jason into this death by not caring for him and not training him enough.
Years later, a Vigilante known as the Red Hood came out of nowhere and started taking out Criminals in Gotham. It was discovered by Batman and Nightwing that this man was none other than Jason Todd.
When Jason became Red Hood he became who he needed to be. He’s the perfect embodiment of what an Anti-Hero should be. He started out a villain for The Bat-Family(and still has his moments on occasion) then later he started working with them. Now, when I say working with them, what I mean is he shows up, gets his part of the job done and leaves. Jason is still full of a lot of rage and doesn’t always make the best decisions but he’s trying to do better and that’s what makes him an interesting character.
He’s only gotten better whenever people like Scott Snyder and Tim Seeley were able to use him as a side character in their respective runs on Batman and Batman : Eternal. I still believe that Seeley should be writing the Red Hood comic but hey, that’s just me.
As for his appearance in the DC Animated Feature, “Batman : Under The Red Hood.” Jensen Ackles voices him to perfection. Most of the time that I read Red Hood, I hear Jensen Ackles. Under the Red Hood is also a great adaptation of the comic it’s based on.
In closing, Red Hood is something that Gotham needs. He’s willing to use what Batman taught mixed in perfectly with what he’s learned on his own. He’s deadly, but he’s certainly not vicious and he’s is definitely good at heart.
