Red Hood (comics)
| The Red Hood | |
|---|---|
Jason Todd as Red Hood. From the cover of Red Hood/Arsenal #10 (May 2016); art by Dexter Soy.
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First comic appearance | Detective Comics #168 (February 1951) |
| Created by | Bill Finger |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego |
Jason Todd Joker |
| Team affiliations | The Red Hood Gang |
| Abilities |
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The Red Hood is an alias used by multiple fictional characters and a criminal organization appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Jason Todd is the most widely known version of the incarnation, and he assumes the Red Hood identity in the main DC Comics continuity.
The Red Hood first appeared in Detective Comics #168 (Feb. 1951), in the story "The Man Behind The Red Hood!". In the original continuity, the man later known as the Joker was a master criminal going by the Red Hood alias, claiming to be a lab worker intending to steal $1,000,000 and retire. His costume consisted of a tuxedo, a red cape, and a large domed red helmet with no eye holes or facial features. While attempting to rob a playing card company, he was cornered and dove into a catch basin full of chemicals and swim to freedom, surviving because of a special breathing apparatus built into the helmet. The toxins in the vat permanently disfigured him, turning his hair green, his skin white and his lips red. Driven insane by his reflection, he recreated himself as "The Joker" and became Batman's greatest foe. A decade later, Batman reopens the case while tutoring a group of college students. To mock him, the Joker resumes the identity and tries to rob the college. However, a gardener, Owen "Farmerboy" Benson, captures him and takes his identity, planning to commit crimes with the Red Hood getting the blame. Batman realizes this Red Hood is a fake and captures Benson, who takes him to the real Red Hood. The Joker then reveals his origin.
In Batman: The Killing Joke, Alan Moore wrote an alternative origin of the Joker and the Red Hood; the man who would become the Joker is portrayed as a former lab assistant, now a struggling stand-up comedian with a pregnant wife. He is approached by the Red Hood gang, who want him to lead them through the chemical plant he once worked at so they can rob the card factory next door. He accepts in order to make enough money to start a better life for his family. The gang gives him the Red Hood costume, which has been worn by many others; unknown to him, the gang plans to use him as a patsy in case they get caught. The day of the proposed robbery, police inform him that his wife died in a freak accident. He attempts to back out of the robbery, but the gang strong-arms him into keeping his commitment. During the robbery, the plant's security men spot the intruders and shoot the other criminals dead. The man who becomes the Joker tries to flee, but Batman appears and corners him on the plant's catwalk. Terrified, he jumps off the catwalk into the chemical basin to escape. As in the previous origin story, he goes insane after discovering what the chemicals have done to his face and becomes the Joker. The Joker himself is reluctant to admit that this iteration of his story is definitive, stating: "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another...if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!"
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