Customer Reviews

Batman: Under the Hood, Vol. 1

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I went into this knowing who the Red Hood was and expecting to hate this storyline. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the story was. Winnick sold it.

In the past I have found Winnicks writing to be extremely hit or miss. His work on Outsiders has always seemed rather lacking to me and while I have enjoyed his Green Arrow work it never struck me as brilliant. Under the Hood is really very good, leaps and bounds ahead of his other work.

His handling of Batman is great, he is driven and obsessed but more likeable than I have seen him be in a while. The subtle ways in which he deals with the trust issues left by Identity Crisis are also quite good. Winnick handles the conflict between Batman and the Red Hood quite well, building suspense and excitement. Black Mask also comes across as a great character ruthless but quite funny at times.

Overall its a good package.

Now if only Winnick could write Nightwing this well in the Outsiders.

Okay, do NOT read this review if you don't want any spoilers. It's impossible for me to write a review about this book without a spoiler. Okay now that, that's out of the way, here's the review...

Batman Under the Hood collects Batman #635-641 and is written by Judd Winick (Green Arrow) and illustrated by the ex-art team of JLA, Doug Mahnke and Tom Nguyen. The story starts of with a mysterious vigilante/criminal coming into Gotham City on the heels of War Games and challenges the current mob-boss Black Mask. The Red Hood is soon shown to be ruthless as he kills and maims anyone who gets in his way. The Red Hood even steals 100 lbs of Kryptonie and activates an Amazo (with the combines power of the JLA) to take on Batman and Nightwing. Red Hood comes off as a very formidable for for Batman But through out his escapades there is a hint of familiatrity. Now, the Red Hood seems like any other Batman villain but his true identity is what's shocking....it's the resurrected Jason Todd. Yes, the same Jason Todd who died at the hands of the Joker and has stayed dead for the better part of a decade and a half. He's back and apparently like everyone in Comics, he didn't stay dead either.

Now, I was really torn over this story. I hate seeing characters brought back because it cheapens the entire death scenerio. And someone like Jason, whom the readers voted (via the 900 number) to kill off, it's a real thorne on my side. But I have to admit that Winick brought him back in a very stylish manner and if I had to bring him back, I couldn't imagine any better way of doing this. The dialogues are sharp and sometimes has a sardonic humor to it. The last scene where Red Hood's idenity is revealed is very bittersweet. It's like finding a long lost friend but then you realize that he is not the same friend you knew.

This event ties in with the current monthly Infinite Crisis event happening at DC and the mystery is far from over so do not expect any closures of any sort in this book. The entire book is the revelation of Red Hood's idenitity and leaves you with more questions then answers which I eagerly look forward to being answered in future volumes.

Recommendation --- pretty cheap price tag, excellent story, stylish art, definitely pick it up.

Gotham's criminal underworld is ruled by Black Mask. But someone is trying to undermine his operations...and it's not Batman. His face is one well known among comic fans...The face of Jason Todd. Now Batman has to face his worst fears: His former protege has returned from death to battle evil on his own, lethal terms.

This is an excellent story, Judd Winick is an incredible writer who knows how to spin a tale that entertains readers. I love his use of dialogue, "Do you prefer I call you Black Mask...Mr. Mask...Blackie?" He is able to make the characters real and Batman is excellent in this story. I highly reccomend that you buy it.

Few writers have the ability to truly capture Batman's essence. But Judd Winick pulls it off with little effort.
The art work here is nothing short of great, but it's not quite as good as Jim Lee's work in "Hush." Still, if you're looking for some great art and one of the best interpretations of The Joker, this is a book you shouldn't miss.
The story picks up shortly after War Games and Identity Crisis and leads directly into Infinite Crisis, if you read both volumes.
This first volume really concentrates on where Batman is as a hero and as a person.
During War Games Stephanie Brown, The Spoiler and Robin IV, is killed. For those who didn't know, Tim Drake quit soon after Identity Crisis due to the death of his father. It was very tragic, I suggest you read it before reading this. War Games lacks as a story but it's important to understand the events of this story.
Here we get the re-introduction of a character known as The Red Hood. He's out to take over the crime in Gotham City and sees both Black Mask and Batman as problems. However, his efforts are more concentrated on taking out Black Mask.
For those who remember, The Red Hood was the original identity used by The Joker before his chemical bath. This is a clue to Red Hood's actual identity, which most people figured out long before it was revealed in volume two.
Winick deserves a lot of credit for getting inside each of the characters he chose to focus on. Here he demonstrates a deep love and understanding of what makes Batman who he is.
The only person who probably understands Batman better than Winick is Jeph Loeb. However, given where this story eventually winds up, even Loeb might not have been able to pull this piece off with as much grace and style as Winick.
The problems with this book are few but they are there.
Some people will complain that this story undoes years of history and that it violates the character of Jason Todd and Batman and that Infinite Crisis was used as a cheap way of bringing Jason Todd back to life.
Maybe, but Jason Todd has played an intricate role in Batman's life ever since his death and it stands to reason that he would eventually make another appearance. Especially given that his death was caused by a 1-900 number instead of an editorial decision. His death was a clear example of why fans should not be allowed to determine the outcome of a story arc.
Given the choice between killing someone and letting them live, fans always seem to want death. Probably because they didn't actually believe DC would go that far.
Jason Todd really has made for a great villain and, in the hands of such good writers and artists, he's really making the most of his new lease on life.
Another thing Winick does better than most other writers is working humor into his stories. The dialogue Black Mask has with Mr. Freeze and The Red Hood is simply hilarious. I never knew just how funny his character could be until this story.
This story ends with a nice cliffhanger so you'll have to get the second volume to find out what happens. I suggest you do so and ignore the unjustifiable criticism, judge it for yourself.

This is an interesting and very well written series. The dialogue is sharp, quick-witted, and fun to read. I enjoyed the beautiful artwork and the story line was un-muddled and easy to follow. Bats comes in contact with a few old cronies as well with satisfying results. I won't give away the ending, but it makes me wish for more.

Black Mask is now the nearly undisputed crime lord of Gotham. Hiring Mr. Freeze as an enforcer, he wants to continue exerting force to perpetuate his strangle hold of power. However, a new threat emerges that is reminiscent of a different era of the Batman mythos: the Red Hood.

Red Hood acts as a spoil to Black Mask, undermining every criminal enterprise. Red Hood, however, is a vicious killer whose efficiency rivals, if not surpasses, even the League of Assassins. His movements, methods, and personality all bother Batman; it is as though a ghost has come back to haunt him.

Who is "Under the Hood?" It is a well-drawn and written comic. What I really like is the flippant nature of the Red Hood. I don't know if this makes sense, but all the other villains are deeply invested in their gimmicks and perceived psychoses. Red Hood just gets the job done. He doesn't have the potential weaknesses that other villains like Joker and Riddler have.

The new Red Hood does something that few others in Gotham achieves. He seems to disrupt the stoic confidence that Batman brings to battle. An unease exists in the mind and heart of Bruce Wayne; he must confront what everything he stands for contradicts, he must acknowledge that he too, has a heart. This is a good graphic novel.

However, the novel ends once Batman sees who is under the hood. I wanted more of an explanation as to how the ending came about, the sort of wrap up in a Detective Story like in Columbo or Sherlock Holmes. Despite a lack of sufficiency in bringing full closure to the plot, this is a good one.

I loved "A Death in the Family". The Joker's massacre of Jason Todd is still a haunting moment in Batman history. When I heard Todd had been revived and was back as the Red Hood, I thought it was a ridiculous idea. Picking up the volume I was welcomely suprised by just how good it was. The artwork is superb, the dialogue engaging, and the entire atmosphere addictive. The build-up to the Red Hood's unmasking was well paced, even if I allready knew the climax. Black Mask, as always in these recent titles, is a joy to read and a fantastic villain, now in control of the Gotham underworld. He is a ruthless, sadistic buisnessman with some very memorable, often hillarious lines. I was also happy to see a villainous gem like Mr. Freeze included. Very well executed.

Collected here are the seven issues (Batman #535-641) that introduce the new Red Hood character, ending with the big reveal of his identity. While I won't spoil that reveal here, I will say that if you've read internet comic news sites or message boards, most likely you, like I, already know the Red Hood's identity. Going into this knowing that did not ruin the story for me, and in some ways, may have improved it.

First things first, I'm not a huge fan of Judd Winick's writing. I found his Green Lantern to be too steeped in trying to be "hip," not to mention Judd's penchant for weaving controversial social themes into his stories (something this collection is without). Neither were noticeable in this story and, in fact, this storyline has done much to convince me that Judd Winick is the decent writer others have claimed he is. He won me over with this issue.

The story starts off in the present, as Batman chases a hooded assailant across the rooftops, while his internal dialogue points out that this unknown adversary is very skilled and very good at what he does. The climax comes as Batman is unmasked and the Red Hood tells Batman it's time to even things out and removes his hood, to Batman's shock (though we are not privy to who is under the hood).

The story then starts five weeks earlier and progresses until the last chapter, when we see who the Red Hood is, and the final few pages deal with Batman's reaction to the unmasking.

Overall, the story structure is similar to Jeph Loeb's "Hush," as a masked adversary with ties to Batman's past works behind the scenes and Batman works to unravel the mystery, while meeting various people from the Bat mythos and the DCU proper along the way. Of course, except for a key piece of the reveal referencing "Hush," that is where the similarities end.

Not being a big fan of the Batman comics, and therefore not being up on current events in Gotham, this collection did a good job of giving me the details I needed, without making me feel like I was missing a lot by not reading those issues. Though reading on-line about the "War Games" crossover might help flesh out a little of the back story.

There are a lot of fun "surprises" in this collection, including an old Batman foe, an old Justice League foe, another old Batman foe gets what's coming to them, and of course, the big surprise of who the Red Hood is at the end. Each one made for an interesting part of the story, adding the right amount of suspense to this tale.

Perhaps the best part of the book though is the view into Batman's place in the DCU. We see the effects of the recent "War Games" crossover, as well as the sale of Kord Industries (mentioned in "DC's Countdown to Infinite Crisis"). We also see Batman interact with a few key players in the DCU going into Infinite Crisis and how he handles each meeting is very telling. Batman has alienated a lot of people, and we've seen that in the past, but we get a good glimpse of how others have alienated Batman as well.

I took a shot on this collection, knowing that Judd Winick was not one of my favorite writers. I came out pleasantly surprised and eager to get the second collection of this storyline ("Under the Hood," Vol. 2 for those keeping track). I'd recommend this collection to anyone interested in reading recent tales of Batman, even those unfamiliar with Batman's recent history, as well as anyone who has a love of the characters and the DCU in general.

The criminal underworld is active in Gotham City and as usual the gangs tend to fight each other as much as they do the forces of law enforcement. Enter the new super criminal Black Mask, a psychotic killer that suffered horrific burns to his face in a battle with Batman. His plan is to take control of all the criminal activity in Gotham City and he is bringing in the goods and hiring the muscle to carry out his plan.
However, there is a force besides Batman that stands in the way of the Black Mask. It is a mysterious figure that wears a red mask, is very capable yet not super powered and does not hesitate to kill in order to get their way. The Red Mask does have some moral scruples as he is careful to kill only the bad guys but his methods are repugnant to Batman. When Batman sees the face of the Red Mask he is appalled and then embarks on a quest to question some of his fellow heroes that have come back from the dead.
To the Red Mask, it all appears as if it is a game. He foils the Black Mask over and over again yet never seems interested in anything other than infuriating him. The battles rage back and forth in a three-way truel between the Black Mask, the Red Mask and his allies and Batman with his allies. Sometimes Batman and group are fighting the forces of the Black Mask and other times Batman is up against the Red Mask.
The story moves very quickly and has enough twists and gyrations to keep you largely clueless as to what is going to happen next. It is very exciting and dramatic, so much so that once I completed this book I had to immediately buy the sequel.

This Storyline is awesome, full of character and was definitely worth every cent. The Service receiving the book was great and the description was appropriate.