By [ad_1]
During a secret meeting, Red Hood pointed out that despite all the people Batman has saved, his methods have not improved Gotham at all.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from Task Force Z #4, on sale now.
Red Hood has always had a tense relationship with Batman. It stems from a lot things, but the core of it has always been a fundamental difference in how they view their vigilante activities. Batman has a strict code he adheres to, whereas as Red Hood wants to be more flexible in what laws they break. Recently, he has made efforts to work more closely within Batman’s code of ethics, but in Task Force Z #4 (by Matthew Rosenberg, Eddy Barrows, Kieran McKeown, Eber Ferreira, Dexter Vines, Adriano Lucas, Rob Leigh), Red Hood revealed that he was largely unsatisfied with how effective their efforts have been for Gotham City. He feels that Batman does the same thing every night and nothing changes. While his exact summation of Batman’s efforts may have been crude though: he is right, Batman’s methods haven’t done much to change the status quo of Gotham.
Red Hood met up with Batman to report on his findings while working for Task Force Z. Confirming that it was Two-Face in command of the operation, Batman wanted to pull Jason out, feeling they had enough evidence to take down the operation. Jason however, suspected that there was more corruption beyond Two-Face and wanted to continue his undercover mission. The debate was put on hold when they heard a woman call out for help while she was being mugged.
The two leapt into action, but continued talking as they fought the purse-snatchers. Red Hood explained that he wanted to do more good in the world than simply beating up muggers and mentally ill people every night, feeling the skills he acquired under Batman’s tutelage could be put to better use than beating the tar out of Gotham’s scum in dark alleyways.
Batman countered by pointing out that they don’t get to choose who needs their help. Red Hood didn’t deny this, but also pointed out that it’s the same story every time, they rush in, save someone’s life, then the whole process repeats itself the next night.
What Red Hood wants here is to make a more positive impact in the world than they have thus far. The thing is, he is right. Batman does save lives and that counts for something, but he hasn’t done enough good to balance out the evil that lurks within his city. If anything, Gotham has only become more dangerous since he first arrived on the scene. Yet Batman continues to do the same thing every night, going out and beating up drug addicts or mentally ill people. Granted, these people are dangerous to ordinary civilians, but it is not curing the illness so much as fighting the symptoms.
Red Hood isn’t advocating for more liberal use of lethal force here, he’s trying to argue for using their talents to affect things on a broader scale than simply the streets of Gotham. Both men have the minds and abilities to change the world for the better if they tried to work within the system. This is what Red Hood is doing right now, operating within a quasi-governmental system to root out its corruption and bring it to justice. The zombie task force he’s working with isn’t the answer to his doubts about Batman’s methods, they’re the stepping stone to proving that the Bat-Family can chance things for the better if they focused on the sources of the problem rather than the effects.
Batman however, seems to content to continue his routine, maintaining practices that have come back to haunt him more than once. Even more so recently as the city continues to change around him. Red Hood on the other hand, may have had a more difficult road to become a hero, but he has learned from Batman’s mistakes and wants to do more with their power than Batman is willing to, just in a different way that could bring about lasting, positive change.
About The Author
[ad_2]
