Jason Todd: Robin, Red Hood, Arkham Knight Appreciation 2022

[Zaresh]

Despite Jason being in one cover of Dark Crisis: War Zone he is nowhere to be seen while on Joker he is reduced once again to a dumbass so the story can advance the way Rosenberg wants




Why would Jason walk around in his costume like that? He might as well carry a huge neon sign asking to be arrested.

He's walking around with a long coat and a hood that covers his face, while in a storm. What's so wrong about it? What do you want him to wear?

Now, not cleaning his gloves, that'd be dumb. But his wearing choice? I see no problem with it o.ô.

[RedBird]

Yeah, I'm not really seeing the issue with this scene, the only thing that indicates that it's the Red Hood is the Red Hoodie, it's not like that's a super unique clothing item that no other random person would have.
If anything I had the complete opposite reaction where I was wondering how the GCPD even figured out that a random man strolling was the Red Hood (or in general someone to suspect for the gangland attacks).
Strangely the GCPD only ever seem to be competent at their jobs when it most inconveniences the bats.


I thought the scene on the boat was more silly, Joker basically pulled one of these on Jason and Harley. XD



Though granted Joker surviving a dive into icy waters (on top of everything else) probably wasn't something to be considered, he seems more immortal than ever in this book.

[9th.]

I've been laughing at this for a good 5 minutes, it's perfect

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

Yeah, I'm not really seeing the issue with this scene, the only thing that indicates that it's the Red Hood is the Red Hoodie, it's not like that's a super unique clothing item that no other random person would have.
If anything I had the complete opposite reaction where I was wondering how the GCPD even figured out that a random man strolling was the Red Hood (or in general someone to suspect for the gangland attacks).
Strangely the GCPD only ever seem to be competent at their jobs when it most inconveniences the bats.

He's walking around with a long coat and a hood that covers his face, while in a storm. What's so wrong about it? What do you want him to wear?

Now, not cleaning his gloves, that'd be dumb. But his wearing choice? I see no problem with it o.ô.

It's stupid because it makes absolutely no sense for Jason to walk around fully suited up while chasing leads for Joker like that. The long coat has no practical function because we've seen him running around that very same night without being bothered by the snow, he wasn't trying to blend with the crowd when there is no crowd to blend in, and is especially egregious he couldn't be bothered to remove the muzzle and the domino mask. If he was trying to bait the cops then he could've simply ambushed a patrol car or tapping into their comms instead of walking around dressed like a dumbass. And if Jason was truly trying to keep a low profile then he is doing an extremely lousy job at it, really the only explanation for such a situation is that Rosenberg wanted to do that scene of Jason beating up some cops but that just means Jason has to be dumbed down for the scene to work.

[RedBird]

It's stupid because it makes absolutely no sense for Jason to walk around fully suited up while chasing leads for Joker like that. The long coat has no practical function because we've seen him running around that very same night without being bothered by the snow, he wasn't trying to blend with the crowd when there is no crowd to blend in, and is especially egregious he couldn't be bothered to remove the muzzle and the domino mask.

Yeah nah, sorry, still not seeing any issue with this, it's literally just the longtime, 'badass long coat' or conspicuous 'trench coat' trope, we've seen plenty of character in fiction wearing long coat disguises only to reveal their true selves when s$!t hits the fan. We saw Jason in the last issue terrorizing gangs for info, and the Doctor mentions it being the same night, if it's the same night and Jason has already found the Joker, why wouldn't he be suited up and ready? For all we know it's only been a hour or two since Joker 'drowned' and Jason didn't seem all too convinced anyway. Plus this isn't assassins creed he doesn't necessarily need a crowd to blend in, he just shouldn't be completely exposed in his Red Hood outfit, hence the coat disguise. His hoodie already hides the muzzle in the scene and even if it didn't, well, the cops come up from behind him, they wouldn't have seen it anyway so that's a non issue, it's not the reason he was stopped so it's not as though this was a series of errors on Jasons part.

If he was trying to bait the cops then he could've simply ambushed a patrol car or tapping into their comms instead of walking around dressed like a dumbass. And if Jason was truly trying to keep a low profile then he is doing an extremely lousy job at it, really the only explanation for such a situation is that Rosenberg wanted to do that scene of Jason beating up some cops but that just means Jason has to be dumbed down for the scene to work.

I don't really think he intended to bait the police, since we don't really get a reason as to why they pull over their cars to harass a random citizen anyway. (Again, I'm here wondering how they even knew or suspected that Jason was a suspect in anything.) He even tells them to drive away and only attacks when they persist, so this doesn't seem like part of some elaborate plan by him. I'm pretty sure the point of the scene was (on top of just presenting a bad ass with a trench coat trope like I mentioned) was to show how Jason finds out about the two dead men being discovered by the river (where a certain villain had fallen into) thanks to the officers questioning him, and how he finds out about the emergency situation at the hospital based on the police scanner.

[RedBird]

I'm more so concerned with Jason's overall motivation for the book, we've already gone over questioning WHY on a more meta level on the fact that any attempt to end the Joker is a pointless endeavour, but I'm wondering what exactly is the narrative reason and sudden motivation for Jason in the story. Does he know something else or did he just snap and if so why? Or is this even Jason? Is this a clone that believes themselves to be Jason, similar to Joker? We did see a sort of copy of him in Task Force Z, so who knows at this point.

But I suppose this is what happens when you don't have a solo or even a team book, you're left with even more questions about character motivations as said character gets tossed around books. Jason is back to being a gutter character, it hasn't been this way since like 2010.

[RedBird]

I've been laughing at this for a good 5 minutes, it's perfect

Haha, love JJMKs work

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

Yeah nah, sorry, still not seeing any issue with this, it's literally just the longtime, 'badass long coat' or conspicuous 'trench coat' trope, we've seen plenty of character in fiction wearing long coat disguises only to reveal their true selves when s$!t hits the fan. We saw Jason in the last issue terrorizing gangs for info, and the Doctor mentions it being the same night, if it's the same night and Jason has already found the Joker, why wouldn't he be suited up and ready? For all we know it's only been a hour or two since Joker 'drowned' and Jason didn't seem all too convinced anyway. Plus this isn't assassins creed he doesn't necessarily need a crowd to blend in, he just shouldn't be completely exposed in his Red Hood outfit, hence the coat disguise. His hoodie already hides the muzzle in the scene and even if it didn't, well, the cops come up from behind him, they wouldn't have seen it anyway so that's a non issue, it's not the reason he was stopped so it's not as though this was a series of errors on Jasons part.



I don't really think he intended to bait the police, since we don't really get a reason as to why they pull over their cars to harass a random citizen anyway. (Again, I'm here wondering how they even knew or suspected that Jason was a suspect in anything.) He even tells them to drive away and only attacks when they persist, so this doesn't seem like part of some elaborate plan by him. I'm pretty sure the point of the scene was (on top of just presenting a bad ass with a trench coat trope like I mentioned) was to show how Jason finds out about the two dead men being discovered by the river (where a certain villain had fallen into) thanks to the officers questioning him, and how he finds out about the emergency situation at the hospital based on the police scanner.

The cops approach him with very specific questions related to his actions through the night, implying they know who he is from the start and he is drawn intentionally bulky, making him look more like one of the turtles on their trenchcoat costumes than a "badass in a long coat". During RHATO there were multiple times when he could blend with the crowd merely by covering the emblem on his chest and removing the muzzle and domino mask so why not do the same here? It kind of defeats the only practical benefit of the MK costume.

As for motivation, he doesn't have any since he's just here to fill the antagonist role but unlike Gordon, he is not involved in the plot making him a one-dimensional terminator-lite that will always fail to catch Joker due to contrived reasons.

[RedBird]

The cops approach him with very specific questions related to his actions through the night, implying they know who he is from the start and he is drawn intentionally bulky, making him look more like one of the turtles on their trenchcoat costumes than a "badass in a long coat". During RHATO there were multiple times when he could blend with the crowd merely by covering the emblem on his chest and removing the muzzle and domino mask so why not do the same here? It kind of defeats the only practical benefit of the MK costume.

And again, how they knew that of all the citizens in Gotham that this was their guy is anyone's guess. It's not like we're shown anything. But on the topic of suits, one of the reasons I've always loved Jason's classic suit is because of how 'non flashy' and practical it is, when you break it down it's mainly just pants and a jacket with the biggest giveaway being a 'red helmet'. It's deliberately a step away from the usual caped costumes. The MK suit looks very DIY but I'm not sure it's practical in the sense of being a disguise given how distinct the coat and open shirt combo is, unlike the classic suit with it's more indistinct brown Jacket that, like you said, can be zipped up. Point is, your not gonna get me to say that the MK suit is practical for crowds or wandering the streets. Hell, calling the suit a 'practical Mortal Kombat' fit, almost feels like an oxymoron.

As for motivation, he doesn't have any since he's just here to fill the antagonist role but unlike Gordon, he is not involved in the plot making him a one-dimensional terminator-lite that will always fail to catch Joker due to contrived reasons.

I know, I guess part of me would still have liked to see some explanation for the motivation here, outside of their general role in the story. Than again, considering the pointless subject matter of an attempt at ending Jokers life, maybe it is better that Jasons reasoning is unknown and he just stays as an antagonistic force. No need to spoil a general villain escapes the hero story all to risk another 'Cheers' situation with some BS moral reasoning added to the pile.

What's that saying, 'better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt'. I guess Jason may need to keep to that here.

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

And again, how they knew that of all the citizens in Gotham that this was their guy is anyone's guess. It's not like we're shown anything.

The red hood this "mysterious guy" in a trench coat walking in the middle of the night in an empty street is wearing.

And the MK suit was introduced by Jason just putting the shirt with the logo and stealing the vest from a random mook



By the end of RHATO a simple jacket and gloves turned the MK suit into a inconspicuous biker outfit that could blend perfectly into the crowd



Here the only thing Jason needed was to remove the muzzle, the domino mask and take off the hood to look like a random guy walking in the night.

[RedBird]

The red hood this "mysterious guy" in a trench coat walking in the middle of the night in an empty street is wearing.

Yeah. Sorry, but I don't see what is so majorly suspicious about a guy walking the winter streets in a coat, especially enough to then deem that Jason was acting 'stupid'. I've already gone over the 'whys' for myself, if you feel differently, we're gonna have to agree to disagree on this one.

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

The fact he's still wearing his full gear underneath the coat instead of taking off the pieces that give away his identity is him acting stupid for plot reasons.

[RedBird]

I don't know why 'muzzle off' equals perfect disguise, but long coat equals major alarm bells for you, but okay.

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

Again, the issue is not the coat itself but the fact he's wearing it alongside the hood, the muzzle, and the domino mask; Jason without the muzzle and domino mask is just a black-haired dude in a black shirt with cargo pants. And the dialogue itself has the cops singling him out due to the hood.

[CorDaytona]

It's a silly thing, but I don't think it's too important, especially not in cape comics lol. I have a bigger problem with other aspects of his portrayal, like how easily the clown tricked him (it was kinda funny, though).

Gotta say, the artist is making the MK suit really cool with the red eyes and the white hair poking out of the hoodie. Still worse than a more typical getup and I think it'd improve dramatically with just a shirt (or with longer sleeves), but yeah. And I'm glad to see the guns back, even if they weren't used and I don't expect them to be really back. Taking them away from him because of merchandising policy is the fucking dumbest thing, especially when your replacement is so stupid even characters comment on it in-universe.

All in all, what a boring time to be a Jason fan lol. There's nothing in the horizon to look forward to beyond Martinbrough's book, which will sadly be a mini if things didn't change.