Red Hood: Underestimating, Misdirection & Knowing Your Opponent

It's still not clear what Jason's real objective is, and we already had it confirmed that he's not just after revenge. But that's not what I wanted to talk about, I think it's time to discuss how he's been approaching his scheme.

Jason admitted that he wasn't actually trying to kill Penguin. Which explains some complaints readers had with him not being able to kill a man at point blank range. That changes a lot since it looked like--to the readers--that he recklessly went after the man that set his dad up for life in prison. He seemed to regret his choice after the shooting (*1) but think about the implications. This means Jason purposely shot him on tv and despite the fallout never tried to tell Bruce the truth. Now Bruce never attempted to figure out the why but surely he would have been a little sympathetic if he knew it involved Jason's family, right? Maybe, maybe not, but there's more going on.

Remember when Bruce finds Jason in a diner to tell him about Roy dying? First they discuss what happened with Penguin and then we get this reaction:

Jason can't even look at Bruce because he feel guilty over it. He admits to Penguin that he purposely didn't kill him and in his narration box he's said that he plans to take down Penguins' empire. Whatever his plot is it requires Cobblepot being alive but part of me wondered if Jason miscalculated something at the beginning. I'm reminded a little bit of the opening to RHATO volume 2 where Jason seemed to have murdered the Mayor but was actually curing him. There wasn't any communication between Bruce and him before he did things his way. Jason made this a point about Bruce not trusting him and needing to have an in with the criminals of Gotham.

Whatever Jason was scheming he pointedly didn't let Bruce know. It might have started off as a rushed idea that he hadn't thought out. The plan it's self might have changed later on but he knew Bruce would not approve. If Jason tipped his hand he might have been pulled out, which Batman threatened to do if he thought Jason was in too deep.

I do think Jason was affected on an emotional level because of his discovery about his dad. It apparently wasn't the only thing going on. Still, it might have clouded his judgement when he decided to publicly attack Penguin. One thing that struck me is the last exchange they have before they have an audience, Jason unmasks to tell Penguin about Willis. Penguin doesn't believe he'll pull the trigger, echoes some familiar statements (*2) and calls him a bat brat. The strange bit is that Jason chooses to say: "I'm my father's son."

I thought this line might have been a mislead but I wasn't sure when I first read it. In UTH Red Hood says "I'm no one's son" which underlines his feelings of abandonment and the idea of family has been a theme in RHATO for awhile. Once Jason reads Willis' letters he has a better idea who his father was but his statement still didn't quite work for me. He often uses his helmet as a shield to mask his emotions and while he probably wanted to scare Cobblepot I see this as him reaffirming that Bruce is his father. Maybe Jason naively figured that he could still do his plan and be part of the family as long as he didn't kill. It might be why he didn't fight back much with Bruce, he felt like he deserved it.

Only when Wingman insists he returns does he decided to carry out the plan. But to do that he has to overcome the control Bruce has over him by publicly revealing that Jason Todd is alive. By doing this he outmaneuvered Bruce and manages to use Cobblepot being trapped in a safe room to his advantage. Much like his secret base once being under a police station Jason hides in plain sight. 

For the most part Jason knows who he's dealing with and how to use their weaknesses as an advantage. He's effortlessly done this with Penguin before the shooting even takes place. With his employees he pays or threatens them to remain loyal. Except for Miguel who he assumes will remain loyal because he's a hero/friend of Tim's. When it comes to Bruce and Essence he knows how to press their buttons to get them mad and misdirect. Bruce (at least until Year of Villain #1) thinks Jason is trying to pick up where he left off as his undercover agent. The confrontation scene where he arrives after Jason revealed himself to the public really tells you a lot about how Bruce operates.

If you go back to UTH Jason has this bit where he mentions how the bat plane can be stealthy or not depending on how Batman wants to handle a situation. Notice how Bruce chooses to deal with Jason? The lights flash into the office and he rushes in through the door not long afterward. This is an approach Jason is well aware of as he calls his dog away from the door and considers warning Suzie. Instead of arguing/shouting Jason is extremely calm while Bruce is livid. This time it's Bruce that's the emotional one and references Jason betraying his trust. 

Jason brings up the idea that Bruce is mad that he can't make Jason fall in line like the others. Which I think is true especially since he made no effort to undo Jason's legal status and used that to his advantage. When Bruce is mad he can be downright nasty. The most shocking thing for me in this scene was Bruce mocking Jason's intelligence and sanity. Unlike other times the power has shifted in Jason's favor making the intimidation tactics ring hollow. He proves this by cutting to the chase to see if Batman will arrest him then point out why he can't.

Back in the previous volume Essence's temper had been established. Jason let's her think he's merely being arrogant so he makes her misread him. Jason feigns trying to anger her when he knows it's not a sore spot to throw her off. Essence is basically told that he will try to make her mad and she still doesn't see it coming. While Essence's temper is a scary and dangerous thing he's willing to risk his life to do it. She not only goes in for the kill when she didn't want to but she doesn't understand him on a basic level. Maybe because of the dead man she spoke to last issue, maybe not. Despite what he's going through Jason knows he's not evil or good. He also knows everyone underestimates him which usually works out to his advantage.

Jason might not have planned for Penguin escaping but we'll have to see about that next issue. I also avoided a few plots because I'm sure what Jason is doing yet.

*1 As evident by what he says when he attempt to call his team after evading the cops.

*2 Penguin talks about Red Hood playing at being a bad guy which has come up a bit. Most notably with Killer Croc who said he was a good kid playing at being bad. The dress up part is a nice callback to Jason referring to costumes as dress up and disliking them. Jason "let you in on a secret" also seems to be a nod to his talk with Joker in UTH.