#bruce thinks he's finally getting a son that isn't a vigilante and he's wrong

[helloilikepurple]

DC X DP - Danny Drake

Tim's parents didn't intend to have another child. One was plenty. And then an one drunken night resulted in Janet getting pregnant. It's a bit of a predicament, seeing as neither of them want another child (who will need to be fed and raised and stuff) but are also both generally against abortion. So, she rides out the pregnancy, limiting public appearances so it remains secret. She doesn't want to deal with the publicity her being pregnant would get her. It's too much drama. So she keeps it secret from everyone but her husband, and gives birth in a private hospital.

She refuses to sign the birth certificate. She doesn't want this baby tied to her. She doesn't even bother thinking of a name. She gives him away as soon as he's out. A yet-to-be-named newborn Danny is handed off to an orphanage as soon as he can be. The Drake parents go through medical procedures to ensure another pregnancy won't happen.

He stays there for a only a few weeks before an over-eager, excitable couple comes by with their young daughter, in search of a son to teach all their ghostly hunting ways to because for all Jazz, even so young, is smart, she has no interest in their research. Also, Maddie doesn't want to go through another pregnancy since her first one wasn't very enjoyable (she was in a lot of pain for most of those 9 months, basically unable to work on her research).

They see Danny and are quick to adopt him (well, as quick as you can be, but, with it being a Gotham orphanage, it's a lot quicker than it should be). Jack claims he can see the ghost hunter potential in him and Maddie thinks he's adorable. She's excited to have a little baby again to take care of and hold. She'd always wanted a big family, and while 2 children isn't really a lot, it's enough for someone as busy as her. Jazz is excited to have a little brother, and takes to reading books about babies and parenting to better take care of him. She loves holding him, and brags to all her friends about her baby brother, who's undeniably the cutest baby ever.

Danny grows up with the Fentons, not knowing he's adopted. Everything happens as it does in the show. And then, when Danny is 15, his parents take him to Gotham for a ghost hunter convention, Jazz busy with university hunting. Going to Gotham should've been a nice vacation for him. No ghost attacks for a good two weeks. Just Danny in Gotham - with free reign of the most crime ridden city in the world. Yeah this wasn't gonna' go well.

Gotham is dark. The air smells like sewage, death and bitter hope. The people feel like candles flickering in a storm, stubbornly refusing to go out. Danny decides he likes it. The hotel his parents choose is fancy (paid for by Vlad at the insistence that Maddie couldn't stay in some random, run down place after catching wind of their trip). Danny thought it suspicious but figured he'd deal with it when he needed to.

Anyway, Danny has his own room right across the hall from his parents. It's got a queen sized bed, full sized bathroom with a jacuzzi bathtub, a walk-in closet, a tv and a balcony. It's very nice. Danny sets his bags down and collapses onto his bed with a huff. He lays there for a minute, and then reaches for his phone to text Jazz, Sam and Tucker that he made it to the hotel safe (something they insisted on).

And then he stews.

Mum and Dad, for all their brilliance, can be forgetful when it comes to their children. Danny basically has free reign to do whatever for most of the 2 weeks they'll be in Gotham (which is his whole winter break and a little of the first week back).

Vlad's invited the Fentons to a few galas he's attending, insisting they'll be able to show off their inventions to a bunch of people. Danny knows its an excuse for Vlad to spend time with Maddie, make digs at Jack, and show him off as if he was his son. He's not looking forward to it, but the offer came with free, great hotel rooms so it could be worse.

(Plus, with Vlad paying he can spurge on room services and bleed him dry.)

Besides, Danny could do whatever he wanted the rest of the time. He could go to the planetarium and stuff. All he had to do was not out himself as a meta-adjacent person in a meta-hating city. Easy peasy.

All in all, what better time for all this to happen than on Christmas?

Honestly, even with the galas, the garish Christmas decorations all over the place, the music, and Vlad, this is seeming like a better Christmas than usual.

[jayladfanpage]

Hi! Tq for the help. Sort of fanon-just-getting-into-canon writer here. I've read Barr's Detective Comics Run + Starlin's run for Robin Jason and UTRH + Lost Days + Countdown to final crisis for RH Jason. Going to be reading more but this is where I am at.

I just wanted to know, how would you approach a story where Robin Jason and RH Jason meet? What are the considerations from canon someone should take writing it? They're complicated, both of them. I don't think RH Jason even likes it all that much but morso deems it as 'necessary' and has made himself a moral casualty.

I'd be happy to have another viewpoint on this! But basically although Jason was an angry teenager, rightfully so, about the unfairness towards victims and the justice system itself being rigged against poor people (the whole diplomat's son fiasco and even adtif discussing immunity) I think he was the type to still view his bleeding empathy and compassion as righteous. I think he'd be vv put off by murder? Atleast the extent to which RH Jason is doing it?

Trauma changes people and grief is such a heavy driving force and I'd want to explore it but I feel iffy on many aspects.

How does RH Jason see himself? Does he see that love and open heart as weakness? It's a mess ;-; I feel my RH Jason characterisation isn't hitting at all. Does he have a moral compass (I don't think so???) Plus for all his love, he's also an asshole (imp information to me). Plus I just don't think Jason as a whole is suitable FOR vigilantism. It's an absolute mess. So if you have any input lmk! Tq.

— ヾ⁠(⁠*⁠’⁠Ｏ⁠’⁠*⁠)⁠/

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE TIME TRAVEL AUs!!!

I think a key part here is to not ignore Robin!Jason's anger. He was, generally, kinder and sweeter than Red Hood Jason is, but he was still angry and plagued by violent instincts. You can play this up, have Robin realize that if he continues on this cycle that he doesn't know how to break, he'll become Red Hood. He'll become apathetic to victims and grow hypocritial and, most importantly, alone. Jason, especially as Robin, is desperate for connection and affection. He would genuinely recoil at the idea of having no one that loves him -- it is, after all, what drives Red Hood to demand Bruce kill the Joker.

I do, yes, believe Robin Jason would be put off by the rampant murders. Not that Red Hood kills, I think after Felipe Garzonas he could realistically see himself becoming a killer even if you don't believe Jaybin pushed Felipe off, but he would be upset about the sheer extent of it.*

*You can tie in some of the Batman mythos here. Jaybin fully, throughly believes in Bruce's mission, fully believes that Batman is capable of saving Gotham. To see or know that Red Hood murders people would imply to him that he loses faith in Batman. It would break his illusion that Bruce is all-knowing and all-powerful, and that's GREAT angst potential.

Red Hood Jason believes himself to be right. Judd Winnick said on an interview something that's stuck with me-- Jason does not see himself as a crimelord. He does not see himself as a mass murderer or a villain. He believes himself to be a better Batman. Jason has full faith in his methods and his aggression, and he would not take kindly to anyone (especially a past version of himself) who told him he's wrong.

He does NOT view love and an open heart as a weakness. Red Hood is perhaps even more open with his emotions than Robin has ever been. He's loud about his feelings and he demands people listen to him, forces them to understand and sympathise with him. It hardly ever works, but he does try.

Lastly, Jason actually has a very strong moral compass, he's just wrong. He's headstrong and stubborn and sure of himself. He believes that his murders will change the world, he believes he's a good person. He thinks taking control of crime is the only way to truly stop it. He thinks if you're a horrible enough person then you're no longer a victim, you're a casualty.

None of that applies to himself, of course. He thinks he's good, and kind, and understands politics like nobody else does. He thinks he's saving people when he tells them to join him -- see Green Arrow (2001) #69-72 with Mia.

Hopefully this helps!! Don't be afraid to reach out again if you need anything else, and may the inspiration gods bless you!!<3

[alfredsolos]

The potential dynamic of Terry, Matt and Damian in Reverse Robins au is gold.

Matt is Bruce's first child, and is a big Batman fanatic. He buys every single merch and toy the moment they come out. And when he learns that his dad is Batman? Holy New Sidekick Batman!

Matt coincidentally discovers Bruce's night time activity at 10 years old. He begs and pleads to his dad to let him become a superhero too, but Bruce immidiately refuses.

One night frusturated and angry, he sneaks out of school to prove Batman he can be useful. As you can guess, it ends up with him getting kidnapped and in danger.

Bruce saves him in record time. Thinking of every single worst thing that could happen to him, he is scared.

But Matt does not give up. People expect him to end up traumatised, but he ends up being more excited to see his dad fighting criminals. It's totally epic!

Bruce exasperated and anxious of his son's future, agrees to teach him how to fight. But under no circumstances will he be a vigilante.

Bruce trains him for 3 years, hoping the Batman fanboying is just a phase and he'll change his mind. He doesn't.

At 13 Matt becomes Batboy. Not the most imaginative name but he doesn't really care.

With Matt on the streets, Bruce is extra careful and protective. For the first 2 months, he isn't allowed to interact with the criminals and only helps the civillians evacuate. But Bruce notices it. His night job becoming a bit easier, and over quicker. He starts to warm up to Matt being with him all the time, but never stops feeling the wrongness of putting a child on the line of fire.

Matt grows up and decides to try different types of vigilante-ing. He still goes out to beat criminals, but a certain day changes his whole perspective of crime fighting.

Bruce goes undercover as Matches Malone, while Matt watches the ordeal through the camera on his glasses. He, for the first time, feels excited in a very different way. He soon comes to the realization that he likes the spying and going undercover, so he talks with Bruce about it.

Matt finally drops Batboy to branch out on his own as an undercover agent. He doesn't stay in Gotham, but travels the world switching from disguise to disguise. He saves people using not only his fighting skills, but his acting and different voices with numerous wigs and clothes. It's an awesome feeling. It's freeing and Matt loves it!

Just after a year Matt leaves home to find himself, Amanda Waller pays Bruce a visit. A little boy with her, squeezing her hand.

Amanda then starts to explain. That Matt had his own mother and a father, but she injected the mother with Bruce's DNA so he was still his father, even though he never had any intercourse with her.

Bruce is furious, he had always thought that Matt's concievement was due to a mistake he did when he was stupid and drunk. He hides his anger, not wanting to frigthen the little boy. Which turns out to be another biological son from the same mother. It takes Bruce all his anger management control to not punch her in the face.

Bruce, ignoring Waller, kneels down to the boy and introduces himself. He learns that the boy's name is Terry and he is 12 years old. The boy looks just like him. Just like Matt. And his heart skips a beat.

The boy eventually comes home with him and he is silent and angry. He snaps at Bruce and Alfred whenever they try to have a conversation with him. Bruce has no idea what to do. So he tries to get to know about his life.

Appereantly, he was raised in an A.R.G.U.S. HQ his whole life. Waller had trained him with guns and defense arts. No wonder the boy was so cold.

Bruce contacts Matt after a week of Terry's arrival and explains the situation to him. Matt is furious to know the truth about his past and the horrible things his brother had gone through. He comes home in 2 days, not showing his frusturation to the boy, and gets to know him better.

To no ones suprise Terry already knows about their vigilante activities, and asks to be Batboy. He had been trained his whole life to become the Batman after all.

Bruce and Matt is hesitant though. Matt had the best time of his life being Batboy, but he knows the danger. The bullets and the fists. They both want him to have a normal childhood. But after days of arguing and deciding, Terry becomes the second Batboy.

Bruce quickly realizes that Terry is different than Matt's Batboy. The boy is very well trained, but he is almost unemotional. He does what he does because of duty. Not because of the want to save lives. It bothers Bruce but he keeps his mouth shut.

3 years pass and Terry turns 15. The whole crime fighting thing is... not what he had expected. Its almost frusturating really. They fight the same villains over and over again. They put them in jail, then they get out. It's an endless cycle. And it starts to bother him. Matt is, most of the time, absent. Going undercover and traveling all over the world. Terry is a bit jelaous, if he's being honest. So he makes a decision. He wants to continue fighting obviously, but not like this. So, he reaches out to Amanda Waller.

Terry asks Amanda for advice. She had raised him after all. And she makes a proposal. Come and work for A.R.G.U.S. as a team leader of the Task Force X. Also knows as the Suicide Squad.

A few days later, Terry leaves the manor with a note. Saying he has found another purpose for his life. He is drowning in Gotham, and he needs a way out. He needs to make his own choices. And with that, Red X is born.

Terry's absence is felt in the Manor. Bruce blames himself and so does Matt. They don't know where he ran off to, but there are no traces. No clues. Matt leaves to go find him, and Bruce changes.

He knows he made a mistake somewhere but doesn't know what. He is yet again alone and for the first time in years, he feels cold.

He doesn't get to brood more, as a war starts between two branches of the League of Assassins, and Batman investigates.

Damian for all of his life had one purpose. Destroy Ra's and his little League. His mother calls him Alexander. He will conquer the planet, but his priority is his dear Grandfather.

Damian was raised underground at the main HQ of Leviathan. His mother observing his every single move and teaching him to be better. More cruel, smarter, quicker and better. He had to be perfect. How else was he supposed to take down Ra's himself. He never met the man, but from the stories of his mother, he was a curse placed on their world. A pest. And Damian would stomp on him.

But nothing ever goes according to the plan. Everything goes to shit as always.

Few months ago, Damian gets a new trainer. He is young, but Damian does not underestimate him. He learned the hard way not to after all.

The man is different than his previous masters. He is almost... kind? Damian is intrigued. And he doesn't want to kill this man just yet.

The man teaches him how to survive on harsh conditions. Damian finds value on this training. After all he never went outside his entire life. Not before he is ready. The man seems to be taken aback by this information. And the look of pity in his eyes is what drove him to attempting on the man's life.

The man is a good fighter. It is an unexpected information and Damian is going to lose. And for the first time in his life, he is scared. But the man doesn't kill him. Instead ke knocks him out and kidnapps him.

When Damian wakes up he is inside a run down apartment and with a man he doesn't recognize. But then the man starts ti talk and Damian knows him. His trainer.

He looks so different. His dirty blond hair now is unkept black locks. Green eyes, now ice blue. He introduces himself as Matt and tells him his story.

Appereantly, the man was looking for his little brother, but instead had found him. Damian's living conditions had reminded him of his little brother so he had tried to save him.

Damian is furious and tires to kill him. But the man is strong and quick. He never strikes back. Only defending and blocking. Damian fights until he can no more.

When he falls back on his ass yet again, Matt asks to make a deal with him. Help him find his brother, and he will show him the world. Rid him of his burdens and free him. Damian is... tempted. Conflicted. After hours of debating and arguing he agrees. Matt frees him of his shackles and gives him the world.

Damian vows him that he'll find his little brother. And Matt believes him. Taken aback by the fierceness in his eyes.

The two travel and travel until it lands them right back to Gotham. Damian is excited to see the Batman but Matt looks... anxious.

After Damian's endless row of questioning, he admits that Batman is his father, and the child they're looking for is Batman's ex-partner Batboy. And he hadn't left Gotham in best conditions.

A few days later Damian finally meets Batman.

A few days before Batman sees Matt for the first time in 6 months, he learns of a child. A little more than a decade ago, Bruce and Talia was in a relationship. It ended badly. With their unborn child dying and him leaving. But that wasn't the case. His child was alive all along and raised to be a weapon. Just like Terry.

When Matt comes to Gotham, Bruce knows. So he goes out to talk with him, instead finding him with another child. His son Damian al Ghul.

Bruce cuts Matt off before he even starts to talk and tells him that the child he's holding is his half brother. Both the child and Matt is blown away. Gaping and not managing to make a noise. Bruce, finally asks them to come back to the cave so they can talk. And so they do.

A few days pass and the truth is out. They are awkward but managing. They tell Bruce about their plan to find Terry and he joins them.

Damian, though, refuses the name Batboy. Saying it sounds stupid. Instead he goes as Leviathan. Both Matt and Bruce are a little distressed about the name, but they don't say anything.

After months of research, they finally find him. Red X is different than his previous self. He is quicker and quieter. He uses guns and X shaped knives. He is the leader of the Suicide Squad and he's not willing to come home.

Fighting ensues. Yelling, crying, slashing, shooting and punching. They are all very tired. And finally, they fall back and talk. Talk about everything. No secrets. Only the truth. And Bruce feels lighter.

Matt decides to stay in Gotham for an undecided time to look out for Damian. Terry doesn't quit his position, but promises to come home and help them out from time to time. Damian abandons the name Leviathan. Along with his previous life. He still refuses the stupid Batboy name. So after days of thinking, Gotham gets a new vigilante.

He is quieter and stealthier than the previous Batboys. He doesn't hold back from shedding blood and he uses a long two handed sword. A new era begins. And his name is Heretic.

[littledead-ridinghood]

Fanfic ask: "Steph!"

Okay. Okay. So. I don’t currently have anything written for Steph but—

I have this whole, elaborate AU in my head that I always circle back to but don't have enough accumulative knowledge and grasp on characters without feeling bad for writing them.

(side: I love comics, but I'm terrible at reading them. I don't finish arcs, I read three arcs in a day then don't read anything for 2 weeks, I have terrible focus on things I, both, like and dislike to do, and I have a crippling fear of writing characters wrong and filling up their tags with OOC work. So this will not be in actual writing form for a Good While)

Anyway y'all are gonna get this choppy series of images that are constantly getting knocked around my head. there's like four stories going on at once

So the first input focuses on the arrows. I don't know how, but it'll probably be a hurt/comfort Case Fic. I constantly rotate who's at the forefront of the story. Currently, I fixating on Mia which would be so fun cause I could do so much with her. Probably dig into childhood traumas.

But like this ask is specifically about Steph sooooo:

In the background of the first story, Stephanie, having recently faked her death, rather than going to Africa goes off to the west coast to work through life with a healthier support system (looking at you, Bruce) in her growing friendship with Mia that started to blossom before Bruce isolated her. She gives up vigilantism for a while to recuperate and focus on pre-med where she starts rooming with Jason, who ditched Gotham after seeing multiple timelines in the all-caste, rather than holding a huge confrontation, decides it isn't worth it, kills the joker in secret, and relocates his problems to the other side of the country where he's also in pre-med. Jason accidentally becomes the arrows' nurse who stitches them up as the vigilantes keep falling through his window. He builds up a relationship with the arrows therefore the family offers him as a roommate option for Stephanie because I thrive on roomies steph and Jason. Mia pulls Steph back into vigilantism as she needs her help with a case. I think I want an end goal StephMia? Mia got ripped from canon for a good chunk of time and I don't think those two ever interacted but I feel like they'd get on like a house of fire.

So that’s background happening the first story. The second input would focus on Steph healing. She’d have to find a new vigilante name as to not draw attention from prior connects. And this would be the aftermath of the arrow focus fic where we shift to Steph who’s finding confidence in being a vigilante again as well as general self esteem and trust within her new home. Don’t know what the climax will be yet

Third input would focus on jason and him rebuilding his life. As a child, he said he was fine just being Bruce’s son and didn’t need to be a vigilante and I want to build off of that. See how knowing the main timeline effects his trajectory in life, that being a vigilante may bring him more pain. But! climax: Bruce finds out Steph is alive and comes collecting. Jason tries to hide who he is from the man but Bruce needs to dig up everything on every vigilante. All accumulating in Bruce finding out this stranger killed the clown and slitting Jason's throat because even if he knows different timelines Jason's my Final Destination baby and I need Bruce to kill him (he comes back but still :/)

I have so many other little branches off of this story. Both Steph and Jason are trans because why wouldn't they be? During this time period, in canon, lian dies but screw that…..most likely 😬 I want to squeeze in lanterns as well as cosmic mistakes in here. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Maybe I squeeze that before Jason’s focus so he’s stays “hidden” awhile longer? Steph and Jason have two stray cats and a dog. Really want to squeeze in my “odd job” AU but they’ll probably be emts

Again, said this in a different post: I need to read like 50 more arcs before I even Beginning thinking of writing it but i can dream

[stxleslyds]

MY TOUGHTS ON PART THREE OF RED HOOD BY CHIP ZDARSKY :)

A DC RENDITION OF THE SONG “MOTHER KNOWS BEST” FROM TANGLED.

Here I will leave the links to my reviews of Part 1 and Part 2

Well, here we are, three issues in this story of only six parts and i still cant tell if i like it or not. What i know for sure tho is that Zdarsky never read any Red Hood books, i had my suspicions but now i am at least 95% sure.

This Jason has been nerfed. We had a perfectly balanced Jason back in 2005 he was smart, skilled, confident and strategic. Then from 2011 to 2020 (let’s put the fact that Lobdell is trash aside for a moment) Jason was skilled, he had the whole “chosen one” thing going on with the all-castle, and in some moments you could even see him being quick witted and confident. But now in this first half of this story he is extremely insecure, his skill set and expertise is barely there and is presented as just reckless. 

The other day i was talking about how DC treats Jason, how they just can’t decide on who he is, what motivates him or what he wants. His personality is a whole ass mess, it was fine in 2005 and 2010 when Winick wrote him but then Lobdell from years 2011 to 2020 just couldn't decide what he wanted to do with Jason or his relationship with Batman and his rules. After Lobdell finally left Jason was passed around people who either only read Lobdell's work, or didn't read anything from him or didn't take into account Jason's life because their book was set in a future that may never happen. 

What i am trying to say is that Jason doesn't have a personality, and writers don't really add things to the Jason that we “know”, what they do is start his story from zero over and over again. There is no consistency to Jason's character and while you could argue that maybe this new start could be the definite version of Jason Todd/Red Hood i will point out that this nerfed version of him is a major disservice to the character that he was when he was brought back to DC.

It’s simply not nice. 

And in this particular issue the “Jason isn't that good at this whole vigilante gig” is even more pushed because of the whole “batman knows best” bullshit. I am not getting this (anthologies) book with a Red Hood story just for Batman to come in and be like “I am actually good at this job, you know nothing AND i have the moral high-ground”, this is NOT it.

If you are reading a Red Hood story chances are that you will be interested in Red Hood not Batman. 

Oh one more thing, Jason was an excellent Robin. He was kind, smart and skilled. I liked the flashbacks in UtRH because it showed Jason being all that but he also understood a couple of things about the kind of criminals that Gotham had, your common thug is easily scared of the concept of Batman but the dress-ups knew that no matter what they did the Bat would never kill them, that’s what Jason thought about criminals there.

This Robin Jason is treated rather poorly by Zdarsky at times, he feels insecure and inferior to Dick but he is also dismissive of him and the Robin mantle in the first issue, now in this one he is shown as way too reckless (which is kinda bad because it feeds into DCs favorite trope of “Jason’s death was Jason’s fault”) and his stance on “low level” criminals is weird, like it was made clear that drug related criminals are Jason’s biggest issue, thieves were not. 

Those are my general thoughts on this issue and the current state of Jason’s characterization. I have some panels from this issue that i want to talk about in more depth tho, so here we go. 

The issue stars were we left off once more, Tyler defends Jason and when Batman asks who he is Tyler says that he is the Blue Hood, that was really sweet of him, that child is adorable and he needs to be protected. 

Once the Bat distracts Tyler Jason tells the Bat that the man he killed was Tyler’s dad. 

There are a couple of things i want to point out from these panels, Jason feels incredibly guilty, not about killing Andy but about leaving Tyler in a situation that is similar to the one he was left in when his own mother died. He still believes that Andy was not a good man and deserved to be dead, after all he was drugging his own son and was the reason Tyler’s mom overdosed and is now in the hospital. It just hits incredibly close to home for Jason and i understand completely. 

The other thing i want to point out is that Jason says “I know your rules. No killing in Gotham” so, this is (to me) confirmation that Jason hasn’t killed in a long time and that he has been sticking to the Bat's rules (at least in Gotham). Andy (a drug-dealer) is the only person that Jason has killed since the events of UtRH (that are apparently canon in this story because it was mentioned in the first issue). 

Following this conversation the Bat says that he will take care of Tyler’s mother (yikes, i really thought in my last post that Jason was the one who would have tried to get her the help she needed, to me it seems more appropriate if Jason does it given that this is his story but what do I know) 

This is where this Red Hood story transforms into the Batman show.

Not only will Bruce take care of Tyler's mom but he will clean up the mess and shut down the making of the drug all by himself. Jason tells him that he will do it but the Bat tells Jason that if he wants to do it they will have to do it together because there is no way he is letting Jason out of his sight, he made a mess!

Yes, nothing like making the lead character look incompetent at his job. Love that for Jason.

Before the team up starts Batman and Red Hood go to Leslie's place to leave Tyler with her. This is a good moment only because there is a dog involved, well…Tyler, Jason and a dog are involved, best panel in the whole issue? I think yes.

Maybe I have a couple more panels that are my favs in this issue, here they are, a lil bit of positivity in this extra bitter post.

Now I will be honest, I hate Batman (Bruce’s Batman, love Dick Bats he was the MVP) so him saying that he is helping a Robin makes me want to shoot him. You are not helping; you are overtaking, as you do. Never a team player, the Batgod must always be the center of the show.

Back in the new cave Bruce talks to Jason about the drug and who he thinks might be behind it's production. He also makes sure to let Jason know that he is very smart and might be the only person outside of Crane's circle that knows how analyze a very unstable compound…weird flex but okay. He also teases Jason about his detective skills. Yay.

Flashback time! Get ready!

Robin Jason and Batman are at a crime scene and Jason doesn’t seem to be in the mood to play CSI: Gotham with Bruce.

At one moment Jason says “and then we will stomp the guy who did this” (“this” being murder), which makes Jim Gordon (who came to see if batman was done playing Sherlock Holmes) uncomfortable, so Batman tells Jason to wait for him. As Jason is going he sees someone acting suspicious.

Back to present day Batman and Red Hood are visiting the woman that created the compound that makes Fear Gas, the interrogation starts well but because this is the Batman show and Jason is bad at reading people and asking questions we have a scene that shows Jason being a bit too much.

I honestly thought that the first question was fair, but then after they leave the office they were in Batman basically goes on a rant about the things that Jason missed.

Ok, I get it Batman = good vigilante. Red Hood = Incompetent.

Zdarsky is honestly trying to make us believe that Jason hasn’t picked up any of those things, in his years as Robin with Batman AND Nightwing? They both taught him, there is no way Jason doesn’t know the basics of how to read people. Also do you guys remember Jason in UtRH and Lost Days? That guy read people perfectly, how is UtRH canon in this story, did Jason lose his skills in the explosion when he blew up the Joker?

As if that wasn’t enough Batman calls Red Hood reckless after they don’t agree on what to do next.

To this I say the following: Never again make me believe that Jason will willingly work with Batman. They don’t work together and neither are willing to meet each other halfway, even less let the other lead. This makes the idea of Jason following the Bat’s rules and him being part of the “Batfamily” the joke that it actually is.

They don’t work well together anymore; bring duality back to Gotham 2021.

Back in the past where the previous flashback is resumed we have Jim telling Batman that the new Robin seems a bit too rough around the edges. Did Jim ever meet Dick as Robin? I mean, don’t get me wrong, Dick was a sweetheart but he also beat criminals alongside batman every night. It just doesn’t feel like what Jason said was that much of a violent statement or anything, maybe I just don’t get it.

But don’t worry if you don’t get it, because we are shown Robin Jason going after that suspicious man, he is beating him asking if he knows anything about the murder or what exactly he was doing so close to the crime scene when Batman arrives. Through Batman we are told that that man was no longer a criminal, to which Jason says this, “…The guy is a jewel thief! He will always be a thief” and Batman responds “I refuse to believe that. Didn’t I meet you in the middle of stealing the Batmobile’s tires?”

I can’t believe Bruce went full “It’s over Jason. I have the moral high ground” on Robin Jason.

I mean Jason is OOC, we know this, but he has to be that way in order to make Batman look better when compared to a child. DC hates Jason Todd #Confirmed.

It kinda reminds me of that thing DC does with Dick and Barbara, Dick is skilled and smart as long as Barbara isn’t in the room, if she is then Dick will forget to check if there is someone inside his apartment and then be thrown across the room by her and then be told that he sucks at putting security in his living space.

Moving on...back to the present one last time Jason is interrogating a man while he dangles him from the edge of a building (did Dick teach him that? I bet he did.) After getting some information he calls Oracle so he can make sure that the place he is going to is safe. Oracle tells him the she will help him but she did not like the fact that the last time she helped him someone ended up dead.

Now, fair warning, Barbara and Jason big NO for me and after Geoff Johns and his antics in Three Jokers I have zero love for their “team-ups”.

Jason says this, 

Believing in him? Excuse me? Chonky, baby, she only helped you find a building.

All I can do at this point is pray to whichever god or whoever hears that this does not lead to Jason pinning for Barbara. We don’t need it (Barbara doesnt need it), I might be overreacting, I hope I am, but nobody wants that kind of drama right now, thanks.

When he arrives to the place he was looking for I think everyone can tell that it’s a trap, everyone but Jason apparently. 

How on earth does Jason not realize it’s a trap up until it’s too late? Are you joking? Is this a Red Hood story? Are we really doing this? Just how incompetent is Jason in Zdarsky’s eyes?

Freeze…is it Freeze? I don’t care but he is there, he freezes Jason and that’s the end of the issue.

Listen, I wish I could say that this is the worst Jason has been treated and that this book is horrible, I wish but I can’t. I can’t do it because this isn’t the worst characterization or book of Jason, this is still a pretty good story, could it be better? Yes.

I mean this story is written by someone who obviously doesn’t know Jason and that sucks but it still isnt the worst characterization and it messes me up. Three Jokers was worse than this, certain plot decisions in Future State: Red Hood were worse than this (in my opinion) and Lobdell’s New52 RHatO was pure trash (that is the worst book, just horrible please dont read it). 

I am saying this only to make it clear that even tho this issue was painful (mostly if you don’t like Batman) I still have hope that it can turn out to be good. I cant help it, i want and need this story to be good and there is still time for it to get better. 

Alright thats all i have to say, let me know what you thought about this issue and my review, bye!

[wesavegotham]

The thing that bugged me about this issue is not really the things that we got, but rather the things we didn't get, that I think should have been in there.

Like...this issue basically confirms that Bruce did nothing to find Damian. He's busy doing other stuff that is apparently more important to him than finding his mentally unwell and missing 13 year old son.

He's moving out of Wayne Manor after the events of Joker War and thinks some more about Alfred:

Which isn't bad or anything...it's just that we have seen quite a lot of moments where Bruce deals with Alfred's death and we're not really seeing or learning anything new here. I talked with @yicruz48 about this when the preview for this issue came out and we both thought packing the family portraits could have been a great opportunity to use the family portrait from Batman and Robin (2011) that Damian finished after returning from the dead to talk about what went wrong in their relationship since then and instead we get more...Bruce missing Alfred. Which again is fine, but not really telling me anything new or interesting about their relationship or Bruce's emotional state. I know Bruce cares about Alfred. I want to know if he even gives a damn his son left him now.

Then you have Bruce going to a party to keep an eye on Nakano, the mayoral candidate who wants to ban vigilantes in Gotham. When they are attacked Nightwing shows up, which is nice:

But only reminded me that Dick hasn't even asked about Damian despite having the opportunity to do so in Nightwing #74, #75, Batman #100 and now here.

DC is ignoring that Dick should at least care enough to want to know about this, instead they act like this issue doesn't even exist.

And then you have the final two pages...

Bruce doesn't have an emotional reaction here. He analyzes the situation as he would a criminal case. He notices someone broke in and stole the black casebook, which he said he needed for his work as a Batman with low funds earlier, and determines his main suspect, Damian. He doesn't ask himself why Damian did this, where he is or any of that stuff, he asks himself what Damian's next move (probably against him) will be. It sounds like Batman trying to forsee the next move in the plan of one of his rogues, not like a father worried about his son. Maybe it would come off differently if we had seen Bruce care about their broken relationship earlier, but that didn't happen.

The only thing I wanted from this issue was some form of confirmation that Bruce did care about what happened with Damian and that he was working on getting him back as a caring father should do.

Instead I got...this.

So for anyone who hoped Bruce would adress the Damian situation and maybe finally look for his son in Detective Comics #1029...nope.

For anyone who hoped Dick would finally ask Bruce about Damian...nope.

The only mention of Damian we get is right at the end when Bruce realizes Damian broke into the batcave and stole the black casebook.

and that's it.