Spoilers for Truth and Justice #10 ahead!
Robin, and over the years he has had a tense relationship with Batman, his former mentor - but in the DC Digital First Truth and Justice #10, while working a case, he begrudgingly its Batman made him into a great detective.
The Red Hood is the crime-fighting alias of Todd, the second person to bear the mantle of Robin. Unlike his predecessor, Todd was a troubled young man, prone to bursts of anger and violence. He met his end, temporarily, at the hands of the Joker in the classic Death in the Family story, where fans voted to kill him off. The character was resurrected almost 15 years later and has since gone by the moniker of Red Hood. Initially, Jason blamed Batman for his death, but over time, relations between the two have thawed slightly and they have even worked together on several occasions. There is still tension, however, but Red Hood is not too proud to it the Dark Knight made him into a better hero.
The story, written by Jeff Trammell, with art by Rob Guillory and colors by Jean-Francois Beaulieu, sees the Red Hood investigating the death of a childhood friend. It is believed his friend overdoses on heroin, but Red Hood does not believe this and begins a search for the truth. Arriving at the crime scene, his detective senses kick in, and he begins noticing details that slipped by law enforcement. After noticing an odd set of tire tracks, he realizes he can use Batman’s computer to cross-reference them with recent traffic cam footage to find out more; he then concludes that Batman made him a “half-decent detective.” The joke is, Red Hood noticed many things the authorities did not - making him a great detective.
Red Hood and Batman’s relationship got off to a rocky start as the two first met while Jason was ripping tires off the Batmobile. From the beginning, Jason’s anger and emotional issues strained his working relationship with Batman, and he blamed Batman for his death for many years. Working through those kinds of issues takes a great deal of time, and it is clear to readers that Red Hood and Batman are making progress, and him acknowledging Batman’s role in training him is a huge first step.
Red Hood is a fascinating and complex character as a man struggling against his nature to be a better hero. Batman tried to help him once before as Robin but it did not work, and only now is Red Hood itting that Batman may have been right about some things. The issue is available now on all digital comics platforms.
