Batman: Under the Red Hood is the latest DC Comics animated film from Warner Premiere and WB Animation. The film is based on two well known Batman comic book stories: the groundbreaking 1980′s arc A Death in the Family and the controversial 2005 arc Under the Hood. The former was significant because it featured the murder of Jason Todd—the second Robin—at the hands of the Joker; while the latter destroyed the lasting impact of Jason’s loss by bringing him back from the dead in a rather ridiculous and convoluted manner. Batman: Under the Red Hood succeeds for the most part, bridging these two tales in a way that is both satisfying and action packed, while leaving an obscene amount of essentially useless continuity safely out of the picture.
As a preface to this review, I should state that I’m not much of a Robin fan. I have a hard time squaring the solo Batman with the Batman who has a sidekick; to me they feel like two very different characters. That’s not to say that it isn’t an interesting relationship or that great story opportunities haven’t arisen from the pairing, I just prefer my Batman lonely, dark and brooding.
Spoilers to follow
When you consider that the movie is only about 75 minutes long, it’s amazing how much they manage to pack into Under the Red Hood. Of the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery, the Joker, Black Mask and Ra’s al Ghul all figure prominently in the story—the Riddler even has a small cameo in the film. But the real focus of Under the Red Hood is the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his first two proteges: Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. Though they had both lost their parents to criminal elements, the two Robins could not have been more different. Grayson was a gifted athlete, master strategist and natural leader; while Todd was a brash, reckless and angry youth that often took things too far. In the guise of Nightwing, Grayson would go on to become a successful hero in his own right; whereas Todd, after a tumulteous stint as the Boy Wonder, would end up being brutally murdered by the Joker. The two represented Bruce Wayne’s greatest success and most crushing failure. It isn’t until a new player calling himself the Red Hood begins taking over Gotham City’s underworld that Wayne is given a chance to atone for his past.
