Red Hood - Accountable - P. A. Nolte

1/ Outside a boarded-up brownstone in the run down part of Gotham is The Batmobile, sans a front tire.  The back tire was being viciously attacked by a 13-year-old with a crowbar until Batman arrived.  Now he is being hit in the stomach by that same 13-year-old with that same crowbar.  (Batman #408.)

Jason (Caption): You ever read Atlas Shrugged?


2/ A line of betting booths at an upscale racetrack.  In the background, Batman is fighting off two large, bald men in matching green suits.  The look on his face is one of terror as he observes what his partner is doing.  In the foreground, Robin is on top of Two-Face, who he's knocked to the ground.  Robin's hands are wrapped around Two-Face's neck and he shows no sign of letting go anytime soon.  (Batman #411)

Jason (Caption): I hated it, except for one part.


3/ The Joker smiling down at an unseen Jason Todd.  His eyes are red.  Both his face and clothes are splattered with blood, as is the crowbar dangling in his left hand.  The background is black.  The Joker is all Jason Todd sees before he dies.  (Batman #427)

Jason (Caption): "A lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders one's reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person one's master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that person's view requires to be faked..."


4/ Talia al Ghul watches as Jason Todd is revived in a Lazarus Pit.  His back arches in pain as the murky water splashes around him.  Ra's al Ghul is also in the water, and looks furious that his daughter has so cavalierly interrupted one of his ritualistic baths.  (Batman Annual #26)

Jason (Caption): I like the accountability of that.


5/ Batman's reflection in the Red Hood's helmet.

Batman: This isn't about vengeance, Jay.  It never was.

Batman: It's about justice.

Red Hood: Tell it to The Joker...

Red Hood - Mission Statement - R.A. Wonsowski

Splash Page. From above, as if from a fire escape, a trash-strewn alley in Crime Alley. At one end, top of panel, BLACK MASK and his thugs; and at the other, bottom of panel, TWO-FACE and his goons. All have pistols drawn. Dead center between them all stands the RED HOOD, bleeding from a gunshot in the shoulder and weaponless, but uncowed.

CAPTION 1- I grew up not two blocks from here. Boosting tires for smokes. Mean streets.

CAPTION 2- Saved by the Bat. Trained by him. Was killed by his worst nightmare. I remember the crowbar.

CAPTION 3- Brought back by his lover, mother to his real son. Learned how to kill, and who needed killing.

CAPTION 4- I know eighteen different resolutions to my situation. All of them end up with blood on the ground.

CAPTION 5- Good.

Red Hood – Behind the Red Hoodlum! – MK Stangeland Jr.

(This is set within the AMALGAM universe, where DARK CLAW (LOGAN WAYNE) has finally caught up with the mysterious RED HOODLUM (RED HOOD/DAKEN), who has been terrorizing NEW GOTHAM.)

(6 Panels)

Panel 1: DARK CLAW pulls off RED HOODLUM’s mask to reveal his identity as TODD DAKEN, formerly the second SPARROW.

DARK CLAW: (Continued from previous page) …Todd Daken?!

Panel 2: DARK CLAW steps back in surprise and shock. RED HOODLUM reaches for his crowbar.

DARK CLAW: But you…

RED HOODLUM (1): Died?

RED HOODLUM (2): No, I didn’t die, you idiot!

Panel 3: RED HOODLUM swings at DARK CLAW with his crowbar. DARK CLAW steps back and dodges the swing.

RED HOODLUM: Healing factor, remember?

Panel 4: RED HOODLUM brings his crowbar up above his head and prepares to swing it down on DARK CLAW. DARK CLAW brings his claws out.

RED HOODLUM: But noooo, you didn’t even bother to remember!

SFX: sNikT!

Panel 5: RED HOODLUM swings down at DARK CLAW. DARK CLAW holds his claws up above him to block the crowbar and cut through it as it comes down.

RED HOODLUM: You’re so eager to angst and brood you ran off without trying to figure out if I was still alive!

Panel 6: RED HOODLUM throws what’s left of the crowbar away and pops his own claws.

RED HOODLUM: Well now I’m really going to give you something to angst and brood about.

(END PAGE)

Red Hood - Call Me Maybe? - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Red Hood stands facing the reader, menacingly wielding a crowbar.  He's wearing his full costume, but it's clear he's furious.  A ball of rage.  He's the focus of the page and the background should either be artfully blurred or not drawn.

RED HOOD (1): You thought you could just forget about me.  Have your fun and then throw me away like so much trash.

RED HOOD (2): Maybe you figured I wouldn't remember.  Wouldn't discover your part in that sick drama.

RED HOOD (3): But I got the message.  And I've come a long distance to return it.

2 - Similar staging, but Red Hood has the crowbar raised above his head, ready to attack.  The background and foreground is now present, revealing that he is in a phone store, with a cornucopia of different types of phones all about him - cell, landline, rotary, novelty, and so forth.

LETTERING NOTE: Maybe have Red Hood's word balloon dripping black to show how mad he is.

RED HOOD: I hope you're ready to accept the charges.

3 - Outside.  Arsenal and Starfire stand a safe distance back from the building - a Phone Hut, as it were.  Evidence of the violence within is everywhere: broken windows, phones flung out of the building, maybe some smashing sfx, and so forth.  Arsenal asks a question to Starfire; she can do nothing in response but shrug.

ARSENAL: So is this why he never answers my calls?

Red Hood - Robin Beyond - Phillip Butehorn and Brian Harris

Panel 1: View is from a dark street corner looking straight into the heart of downtown Gotham. Most of the light in the panel can be found stretching out from the Bat-symbol lighting up the sky. Red Hood is speeding on a motorcycle straight at the reader.

Red Hood (Caption): My drinking buddies usually ask, "Why rope yourself back into their drama? What's the point?"

Panel 2: In the foreground, a fist is connecting with the right side of the Mad Hatter’s face. Blood and teeth fly out of his mouth. In the background, Red Hood is extending his arm into Mad Hatter’s jaw.

Red Hood (Caption): The basic answer is the adrenaline kick we get. Any cape or psycho will tell you it's the thrill that locks you into this lifestyle.

Red Hood (Caption): A lifestyle choice that led to the ass-kicking of others and plenty of Bat-finger wagging at me

Panel 3: Full view of Red Hood doing a split-kick in the air with Tweedledum and Tweedledee each taking a kick to the head.

Red Hood (Caption): I’m not as perceptive as Tim and I’ll never be as reliable as Dick. I'll always be me: the rowdy Robin

Red Hood (Caption): I slaved for my abilities. Nothing came naturally. Well, except for the arrogance.

Panel 4: In the background are Mad Hatter and Tweedledum and Tweeldedee. They are bloodied and bruised. They’re tied up together under a light post. The light is shining on them and a red Bat- symbol is spray-painted across the three of them.

Red Hood (Caption): I do what I do not to piss off The Bat and his Merry Men.

Red Hood (Caption): I do it to remind myself that I have transcended the silly “Robin” status.

Red Hood (Caption): I am The RED HOOD.

Why Red Hood? - Phillip Butehorn

Growing up, Kyle Rayner was my Green Lantern, Wally West was my Flash and Tim Drake was my Robin. Yes, I am a loyal 90s fan. In my opinion (I have done zero research on this), the 90s ended death in comic books. For years, no one touched the resurrection of Jason Todd, Barry Allen, or Bucky. However, death was defeated by Superman. Soon after, everyone returned. Like I said before I was Team Tim Drake, but when Jason Todd first “returned” in Hush and then later in Under the Red Hood, I was muddled by Jason Todd’s return, his history, and character.

Even though Tim Drake will always be my first, I think Jason Todd is the Robin that got away from me. I say that because he is the middle Robin (I know that is no longer true, but that’s not the point here.) and I am a middle child. However, our similarities end there.

Jason Todd wasn’t born with acrobatic skills or money. He was poor, orphaned, and had a special set of skills. Those skills involved theft and survival. One might say Robin #2 was Aladdin meets Robin Hood. Instead, DC’s creators of the 90s made Jason Todd unlikable. What a waste. Dick made Robin likable, fun, and for some, (those outside comics) a joke of a sidekick. Jason Todd could have added even more layers to Robin’s legacy. Give the role to a brat and watch it transform even the worst of kids. Instead, they brutally killed him. They made jokes about how they killed him. When he returned, he was a still a joke, but over time they developed him and made him even more likable. He looks too much like the other Robins and his personality is sort of like the annoying brother everyone has. The sad thing is that he still hasn’t found his place. Maybe this week we can help him take a step closer to doing just that.