Since his resurrection, to call himself Robin to be accepted back into the good graces of Gotham’s vigilantes. And while most fans may believe he was welcomed back to the group under the Red Hood moniker, Jason Todd initially reed the Bat-Family in secret as an entirely new undercover hero: Wingman.
For years, the Red Hood was the black sheep of the Bat-Family, as his more brutal methods separated him from his fellow vigilantes. Despite plenty of opportunities to reform, Todd kept finding new ways to walk the line between being a hero and becoming a villain. Ultimately, it was after the foundation of Batman Incorporated that Jason first found his way home – even if most of his family hadn’t realized it yet.
While Red Hood’s predecessor to the Wingman mantle was a double agent working for a group of villains called the Black Hand, Jason Todd’s time in the role sees him secretly mirroring that position as an undercover agent for Batman Incorporated. As the dark vigilante, Todd works under Bruce to atone for the pain he's caused since his return by facing the forces of Leviathan. As Wingman, he even temporarily teams up with Damian Wayne – under the guise of Redbird – to take on the League of Assassins and rescue Batman. And when the younger Robin learns the true identity of his newfound partner in Batman Incorporated #4 by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham, Jason simply replies, “Batman needed someone who’s seen both sides.”
Under the Wingman identity, Jason Todd is the perfect candidate for an undercover mission. Like all of the Bat-Family, Jason is an incredibly capable fighter, but unlike the rest of his adopted siblings, the Red Hood is willing to cross the line and get his hands dirty if he feels the mission calls for it. Along with his own personal history with Talia, Jason’s darker tendencies naturally made him the logical choice to adopt the Wingman persona and go places that other Batman Inc. operatives either couldn’t or wouldn’t.
While Wingman’s true identity was kept secret – at least to Damian Wayne’s Robin – this undertaking did signify Jason’s first genuine steps towards reing the Bat-Family. Even at the start of the New 52, Red Hood began operating with a Batman insignia out of irony and without Bruce’s true consent while still using his more violent methods. While those same methods came in handy as Wingman, this was the first time he was doing so under Batman's rules, and that willingness to work together, even tenuously, was a huge change compared to their relationship prior to Batman’s death in Final Crisis by Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones.
While it took plenty of time and more than a few identities to find his way home, Jason Todd has been a pretty trustworthy member of the Bat-Family for years now. But that trust took a long while to earn, starting with Jason’s actions as a Wingman on Batman’s behalf. And now that Batman Incorporated is back in action, maybe it’s time for DC Comics’ Red Hood to dust off the old Wingman identity once more.
