Batman And Robin's Case: Under The Red Hood

Batman and Robin are arguably one of the most iconic symbols of justice and morality. But, what if Robin did not have a moral compass as strong as his mentor, and instead displayed very un-Batman-like behavior, such as brutalizing criminals while fighting crime? Would this Robin be fit to take up the Batman mantle? Well, no need to worry about that too much, since he gets brutally tortured and murdered by the Joker in Brandon Vietti’s 2010 animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood. End of the problem, right? Normally it would be, but Robin, whose real name is Jason Todd, comes back from the dead, but under a new name: Red Hood. Jason is still fighting for justice, but he’s not afraid to get his hands bloody or become a crime lord to control

As Valentina Nikulina’s scholarly article about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its link to poverty and neglect discusses, by the time Batman found Jason it may have already been too late for Jason to completely reform and renounce all the tendencies he picked up while living in the crime-riddled streets of Gotham. “Growing up in a poor household and/or poor neighborhood may predispose a child to experience more traumas (Paxton et al. 2004) and to have fewer resources to buffer the negative impact of traumatic experiences, which in turn may contribute to a range of difficulties (Brooks-Gunn et al. 1995)” (The Role of Childhood Neglect and Childhood Poverty in Predicting Mental Health, Academic Achievement and Crime in Adulthood). Thus, it is likely that Jason suffered from PTSD influenced by the neglect and poverty he faced as a

Disturbed and angered at the revelation that his dead partner has actually been alive for the past five years, Batman travels to visit the man responsible for resurrecting Jason: Ra's al Ghul. He learns that Jason was brought back to life with the Lazarus pits. The Lazarus pits have made several appearances in the DC Universe and many characters have used them; the pits are used because “a Lazarus Pit has longevity, rejuvenation, and youth restoration properties. By bathing in a pit a person can have their wounds healed, the old are made young and the dead can be brought back to life” (The Lazarus Pit). However, the use of these pits is controversial, as they can cause insanity. It is unknown if the trauma of resurrection is what causes the insanity or if certain injuries, such as damage to the brain, affect the restoration process. In the case of Jason Todd, it could be a combination of those two as well as the PTSD he likely suffered from after being tortured and killed by the Joker; getting beat by a crowbar would likely cause some issues, especially when mixed with the unpredictable and unstable side effects of how he was resurrected. Regardless, Ra's al Ghul informs Batman that Jason returned damaged and presumably killed himself by jumping out of his palace and into a deep canyon. Obviously, Jason survived, yet whether or not the