It's no secret Gotham. But a few words from Jason Todd suggests that Bruce Wayne is fighting a losing battle trying to save his city.
Batman has been fighting the good fight in Gotham for years and no matter how much damage he's taken, he's never stopped. Despite the numerous colorful criminals fighting for control of the city, Bruce sees it as his duty to keep Gotham safe from the likes of psychopaths like the Joker or Two-Face. But despite giving his all, Batman struggles to save Gotham from itself and just can't seem to root out the evil forces hiding in its shadows. Even with the additional allies he's taken on over the years, it seems like Gotham is a city that just doesn't want to be saved.
No one in Batman's orbit loves voicing their critiques on Batman's operation more than Jason Todd and in Batman #641, Jason gets to really lay out how he feels about his former mentor's obsession with Gotham. Batman has finally come face to face with the Red Hood, only to discover that hiding behind the mask is his former Robin, Jason Todd. Though Batman doesn't want to believe it, Red Hood's skills and attitude most definitely prove it's Todd. The confused Dark Knight wants to know what's driven Jason to start killing as wantonly as he has, but the smug Todd says that it's simply who he is. He criticizes Batman for not killing the Joker but mentions that's just part of a larger problem. Todd claims that despite Bruce's mission to save Gotham, he doesn't understand the city the way Jason does, who believes the city is actually evil.
As blunt as he is, it’s hard to say Jason’s wrong. Batman's biggest failure in Gotham City is that he's never been able to keep its malignant forces at bay. But the Red Hood raises another interesting point by calling the city "evil". With the haunted history Gotham has and the horrid events that have taken place there, Jason may have summed up why saving the city's soul is an impossible task.
The truth is Gotham has always been fairly messed up. Demon-worshipping cults, evil secret societies and criminal families are only part of its sordid legacy. The arrival of the Dark Knight may have helped usher in some more outlandish villains, but Gotham City’s dealt with crime way before Batman came onto the scene. And it doesn't help that Gotham has seen it's fair share of nightmarish calamities, such as it being the epicenter of the Dark Multiverse's invasion in Dark Knights: Metal. Bruce Wayne's desire to save his city may come from a noble place, but history is not in his favor. Red Hood may have a point that Gotham may actually be evil, meaning Batman's doomed to fail in his mission.
