Batman: Under The Hood Volume 1

By Judd Winick (W), Doud Mahnke and Paul Lee (A)

Published by DC Comics. Cover price $9.99. Originally printed as Batman 635-641.

The Plot: A new Red Hood, who has ties to the Dark Knight’s past, appears in Gotham City and runs afoul of both Batman and the Black Mask.

The Positives: Since Batman became grim and gritty after The Dark Knight Returns and Year One, it’s become difficult to tell a “fun” Batman story. There are two key elements that have to be there for it to happen, and Judd Winick seems to have nailed both of them.

The first element is putting Batman in a situation where he feels at ease. Paul Dini accomplishes that by putting Batman in the middle of an intricate mystery. In Under The Hood Volume 1, Winick accomplishes it by teaming Batman up with one of the few people he actually trusts, Nightwing. Beyond just trusting him, Nightwing reminds Batman of “the good old days,” before his enemies starting murdering his sidekicks and paralyzing his allies.

The second element is letting the villains of the story do what they do best: be crazy. Crazy in comics is fun, because when the Joker or Mad Hatter murder, maim and destroy, there aren’t any actual consequences. It gets even better when more than one of the lunatics is involved. Seeing the Batman rogues interact with each other is a joy because each of them is psychotic in their own unique way. In this story, the Black Mask’s sadistic businessman plays wonderfully off of the cool-but-not-collected Mr. Freeze. When such explosive personalities get together, sometimes it results in actual explosions.

Under The Hood is a great example of what can be done to embrace continuity in comics without being bogged down by it. The trade acknowledges the events of the day but doesn’t dwell on them. I really appreciate the subtle things like Oracle’s operation being shut down and Nightwing wearing a knee brace. Winick also includes two scenes between Batman and two members of the “Secret League,” Zatanna and the Green Arrow. Set after Identity Crisis but before Batman reveals he knows he was mind-wiped, the scenes build great tension by hinting that Batman already knows what the Secret League did to him. The best part, though, is that both encounters make complete sense in the context of the story, and aren’t shoehorned in just as a way to remind us of the mistrust Batman has for his allies

The Negatives: The Red Hood is Jason Todd (oops! SPOILER ALERT!). It would be practically impossible for anyone who reads DC Comics today to be unaware of that fact. Which means pretty much anyone that would have any desire to read this trade knows it. So the mystery of who’s behind the mask, which is a huge aspect of the story, is lost in this format. I’m sure the mystery would have been great reading the story as it came out, but in this case, waiting for the trade greatly hurts the story.

Since there are two Batman trades with the title Under The Hood, it’s not surprising that Volume 1 doesn’t reach a terribly satisfying conclusion. While there isn’t a cliffhanger ending, the story of Jason Todd’s return from the dead is by no means finished by the time you’re done with the trade.

The Grade: B. Judd Winick has a great feel for what makes Batman tick, and he’s one of the very best dialogue writers in the business. Doug Mahnke’s art works incredibly well with the story, blending the over-the-top nature of Mr. Freeze and Amazo with the more realistic side of Batman’s world. If you’re looking for a fun Batman story, Batman: Under the Hood Volume I is a great place to find one.