How to Write: Batman

How to Write: Red Hood

My personal favorite character in the Batman mythos(besides Batman and Joker, of course. It's a three-way tie), Jason Todd aka Red Hood could be written a few different ways depending on what phase of his character arc you place him in. He could function as a villain if you start right after his death, an antihero and enemy of Batman if you start a little later on, and a hero and freely of Batman if you start farther away. Let's start with a general overview of Jason Todd, and then I can walk you through how to handle him(in my opinion) through each phase.

Jason Todd was the Robin after Nightwing, Batman's sidekick after his first decided he didn't need to rely on the Dark Knight. Jason grew up on the streets, due to his own parents death. Iike Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, his parents' deaths were not his fault. He was caught by Batman when he tried to steal tires from the Batmobile, and was brought under Batman's wing. He was trained like the other Robi s were/will be, but we wasn't Ike those that came before or after. He didn't quite have the impressive agility of Dick Grayson or the immense IQ of Tim Drake(though he did still have impressive agility and detective skills), but he did have a special quality of his own. His rough childhood was setting he dealt with a different way from Batman or Nightwing. Rather than hold back the anger or not giving into it at all, Jason Todd unbridled his at his enemies. It took Batman by surprise at first to see a Robin with a dark side. Regardless, Batman tried to steer him in the right direction. Eventually things went horribly wrong when Jason got cocky and was captured by the Joker. Joker brutally beat Jason hf to death with a crowbar, then left him to be blown up before Batman could rescue him. Jason would later be resurrected by a Lazarus Pit, and seek revenge kn Joker for his death and Batman for not saving him. As a character, he supports the NOBAT rule by symbolizing Batman's failures, and his ability to overcome them.

When writing Jason as the villain, remember this is a sympathetic villain. I would recommend mot having him as the only villain in the story, because even with Jason's rageful nature he does have limits. He won't, for example, target crimes towards children willingly. So, if you are writing a Batman story and need dark elements added I would suggest another villain to play a role in the story(Joker would be ideal--Batman, Red Hood, and Joker form a very entertaining trio of characters that understand each other in their own crazy ways). Jason's motivation is more complex than I summarized before. Thinking in Red Hood's shoes, he was brutally murdered by a psychotic freak a d left to die. His father couldn't save him. When he came back, he learned that despite this Batman still allowed Joker to live and hurt more people. That crazy psychopath with no hope for redemption, who inevitably would kill many more people if allowed to. Batman let Jason die, but let Joker live? Jason isn't evil; he never was. But he is very hurt, and wants to hurt Batman back. And he believes that hopeless scum like Joker should die. Red Hood would be a very emotional villain for Batman to face, because every time he strikes he is striking his own son. Whether or not he chooses to show those emotions, it still would hurt any human being. Again, Jason is the embodiment of all of Batman's failures. Jason Todd is Batman's greatest failure, and now Bruce has to face that failure head on in combat.

If you choose to write Red Hlod as an antihero and enemy of Batman, it's important to note that he isn't necessarily an enemy of the Batfamily. You may like to invent your own reasons why he may despise some of the members of the Batfamily besides Batman, but he generally does not blame them for his father's mistakes. Still, he's so.ewhat of a lone wolf and doesn't really require a team to accomplish his goals. Speaking of which, Red Hood in this time period as well as from now on has his own agenda not part of Bruce's plan or a vengeance plan. He believes that Bruce is wrong and that there is no hope for this city, similar to Two-Face(we'll get to him later). He thinks that crime cannot be stopped, but it can be controlled. His new plans inventing becoming a crime boss in order to be able to organize and contain the crime to make the situation better. This often leads him into conflicts with Batman and Black Mask(again, we can come back to him later) over morals and in a scrabble of power. Remember from what I wrote about his villain arc--he has limits. For example, if he were to lead a weapon dealing shop he may tell his men not to deal with children. This being said, it's important to note that in this arc as well as his villain arc he has no problem killing people who he feels deserved it. Especially Joker. By now he likely isn't willing(or at least actively trying) to kill Batman, but he is still more than happy to clash against him should the opportunity arise.

If you are writing Red Hood in his hero and frenemy with Batman arc, you may miss a lot of development. For that reason, I highly suggest doing this later in your series after you've done the first, or at least the second arc beforehand. However you choose to do it, Red Hood is much more accustomed to Batman than before. He could either be trying alongside Bruce to repair their relationship ship or simply not trying to fight with him anymore, them having come to terms. Something important to note is that fompromising with Batman involves Red Hood to not kill, since then Batman would be indirectly responsible for any deaths Jason causes and would have broken his one rule. At this point Jason could have put away the guns, could replace the metal bullets with rubber ones(much less lethal bullets, but still painful), or you could think of an interesting plot-related reason to have him still use lethal tactics. Your choice! I imagine Bruce and Jason would still have plenty of issues, but they try to talk it out now rather than fight it out. A very interesting thing to focus on would be his trying to connect with the rest of the Batfamily. I imagine he could have a close relationship with Dick Grayson, and enjoy humbling his 'annoying' little brother Damian Wayne to give specific examples.

Whichever arc you decide to use, feel free to be creative! Red Hood is a fan-favorite no matter which aide he's on. As far as powerscaling goes, I'd imagine him being able to stand up to Nightwing on his own. Not necessarily win, but he would give Nightwing quite a fight. He would also prove quite a challenge to Batman as well. A main edge Red Hlod has over most other Batfamily members is that he is very brut, even rivaling Batman's fighting tactics in this way. He also uses much more dangerous weapons than most other members. Because of this, he could likely rank up higher than most of the Batfamily and the Rogues Gallery with Batman, Joker, Nightwing, etc.
Jason was the Robin who fell. His life was torn away without his consent. The next Robin, however, gave up his life on purpose in order to serve a greater purpose.