Warning: spoilers for Future State: Gotham #2!
Red Hood (Jason Todd) is one of the Bat-Family’s most troubled members, but he is still seen as worthy of redemption by Tim Drake’s Robin. In DC Comics’ Future State event, Red Hood appeared to betray his family by joining up with the Magistrate, the oppressive authoritarian state that has forbidden masked vigilantes in Gotham City. Aiding in the Magistrate’s efforts to find and kill masked heroes, Red Hood seemingly went against the values he was raised with as part of the Bat-Family.
Despite Red Hood’s actions, Tim Drake still has not written him off completely in Future State: Gotham #2 (written by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver, art by Giannis Milonogiannis, and letters by ALW’s Troy Peteri). After being injured by Red Hood in a skirmish at the beginning of the issue, Tim approaches Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and suggests that there are still redeemable aspects to Jason’s character. Dick, not keen on considering whatever motives Jason may have for joining with the Magistrate, brushes Tim off.
Tim Drake’s lack of animosity towards Red Hood is characteristic of his personality, because he has tended to be more sympathetic towards the Bat-Family’s troubled members than Nightwing in the past. While it is clear that the sympathy Tim has for Jason is not shared by the rest of the group, he still makes a valid point that alienating Jason further from his family may not be “the right move.” With Future State showing a Gotham City overrun by moral and legal absolutes, the nuance that Tim puts forth about Red Hood and the Bat-Family’s future puts some much needed perspective on some of the event’s most shocking turns.
Tim’s hesitance to hold a grudge against Jason comes off as quixotic in the context of Future State, and this does not go unnoticed by Dick. After Jason nearly injured him, thanks to his powers from the Lazarus Resin, Tim argued that there is still hope for him. Stating, “Jason’s always been… confused about his methods, but his heart is usually in the right place too,” Tim’s words came off as unrealistic to Dick, considering that Jason had sided himself with a group who hunts down masked heroes.
This attitude confirms Tim’s hesitancy to cast Jason as a villain based on his actions, as he understands that people’s acts do not always reflect their beliefs. While he remains an outlier in the Bat-Family for thinking this way in Future State, this line of thought has been the glue that has held the family together in the past. In a Batgirl miniseries by Adam Beechen and J. Calafiore, Tim had defended Cassandra Cain when Dick stated that she couldn’t be trusted because of her dark past. With violence being the common denominator of so many members of the Bat-Family’s early lives, Tim understands that such trauma can cause people to act inconsistently.
The future of the Bat-Family looks frighteningly uncertain off the heels of Future State, seen in how divergent Tim is from the rest of his family about Jason. Bruce Wayne had long been the central axis that guided the Bat-Family, but without him, the heroes are in a splintered position in their struggle against the Magistrate. With Red Hood, it remains to be seen whether Robin‘s idealism or Nightwing’s cynicism will help them outsmart their city’s oppressive regime in one piece.
About The Author
