Warning: contains spoilers for Batman #138!Batman has always had issues when it comes to control, but his latest attack on Red Hood takes this to the extreme. Since he returned to life after being murdered by Joker, the former Robin has embraced lethal justice, killing Gotham’s biggest threats rather than locking them up in Arkham. Jason Todd and Batman have clashed again and again over his lethal tactics, and now the Dark Knight has had enough.
The face-off happens in Batman #138 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles. After having a full-blown fight with the Bat-Family, Batman ends up kidnapping Jason, bringing him back to Bruce’s new apartment where Batman puts Jason through a machine that alters his brain. This altered effect is so strong that Jason initially confuses it for Scarecrow’s fear toxin. It turns out what Batman has done is simply edit Jason’s brain so that anytime Jason experiences increased adrenaline, he is overcome with unbearable fear. Jason honestly can’t believe that Batman would go so far as to change his brain, even suggesting that Batman is no longer in control of his actions. The moment is revealed in a preview of Batman #138 from DC Comics.
Batman Just Nerfed Jason Todd In The Worst Way
Batman and Jason have always disagreed over how to handle criminals. Due to the death of his parents, Batman has been traumatized by the idea of death, he wants to avoid it by all possible means, for everyone. Jason, on the other hand, believes that instilling fear in criminals only goes so far and that sometimes certain evil-doers have to be killed. This philosophical disagreement has kept Batman and Jason at odds for years. Despite Jason trying to give up lethal force a few times, he’s always gone right back to it: most recently Red Hood has sworn to kill the Joker, but Batman is done letting Jason choose murder.
Batman Has Finally Gone Too Far
Batman has always been a control freak, but it’s generally within reason. What Batman did to Jason completely crosses the line of what Batman typically finds okay, and even recalls a betrayal that he himself found it difficult to forgive. In the infamous storyline Identity Crisis, Batman walked in on the League wiping the memory of Dr. Light. Batman immediately attacked those responsible and had his memory wiped as well – when Batman learned of this, it’s what spurred him to create his anti-Justice League protocols. This shows that Batman is clearly not okay with the idea of messing with people’s minds, even if they are brutal criminals. However, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh would be.
Batman developed the Zur-En-Arrh persona to protect him in cases of psychic attack, but the extremist identity – which sees itself as a pure Batman, without humanity to hold it back – has been messing with his thoughts lately. Zur-En-Arrh set the deadly robot Failsafe on Batman, and now seems to be pushing him to end the threat of Red Hood for good. However, whether Batman is being controlled or not, Zur-En-Arrh is still a part of him, and it’s unlikely Red Hood will be willing to forgive Bruce anytime soon. This is especially the case because Batman notes he can’t remove things from Red Hood’s personality – presumably including his new fear response. Red Hood faces a future where it will be impossible for him to operate as a crime-fighter, and where Batman‘s betrayal could cut him off from the Bat-Family for good.
Batman #138 is on sale October 3 from DC Comics.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
