WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Batman, now in theaters.
When The Batman ended, it felt like a bittersweet moment for Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne. Sure, he put Paul Dano’s Riddler in Arkham Asylum, but his symbol got warped in the process. Thankfully, that inspired Bruce to step into the light and become a hero rather than someone brooding in the shadows. However, as time goes on, Batman can’t predict who else might use his crusade as an excuse to carry out their own plans. And with that being the case, the perfect Red Hood story is set up in Matt Reeves’ universe.
Now, fans are accustomed to Jason Todd being the sidekick that Bruce took in and got killed by The Joker. The Boy Wonder would then return from the dead as a bloodthirsty Red Hood, waging war on crime in a lethal manner and going after the Bat-family to show them his brand of justice was more effective. But it’s a story that’s been told in many comics, cartoons, video games, animated movies and the Titans TV show, meaning Red Hood is n need of a fresh tale. And with Bruce being so young in The Batman universe, a possible time-jump could focus on an adult Red Hood as his own person, removed from the Bat.
The new Red Hood could be a young man like Bruce acting as judge, jury and executioner while Gotham rebuilds, hoping to snuff out corruption like what Riddler and his legion attempted. After all, the Dark Knight can’t deny the city still has dirty cops, politicians, villains like the Penguin and elite folks who have been misappropriating funds and capitalizing on the rebuild to fill their own pockets. This would make Red Hood the antithesis to a Caped Crusader who doesn’t believe in guns, murder and chaos. A new Red Hood would also leave the cops, including Jim Gordon, wondering if endorsing the Bat was the right thing.
It would come down to philosophies and ideals, and Red Hood, like Riddler, would feel more emboldened. He could be an orphan who knew poverty as well, and, as someone society forgot, he could evolve Riddler’s mission, scrub the flaws from him and the Bat and merge their best traits to become a new killer in the name of equality.
This new antagonist will test the city’s moral compass and reveal where the people stand in terms of class warfare and how they think the issues are being solved. But more than that, it will shape a dark reflection of what the Bat could have been if he went too far, pushing Bruce to redeem Red Hood and burn the hatred from his soul. Moving away from the father/son dynamic of the comics, this new story would craft a relatable dynamic that would improve both characters.
See how Matt Reeves sets up the perfect Red Hood story in The Batman, now in theaters.
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