White Elorda’s Nerdy Lifestyle Blog

Good Morning Nerdy Birdies!

How are you today? How is your week going so far? I hope that your week goes exactly as you need it to.

I am doing pretty well. I had a relaxing weekend, and I got to visit one of my favourite stores on Saturday, which is always a delight.

Today’s post is going to be my thoughts on the recent comic book run, Red Hood: The Hill. This was a 6 issue mini-series with #0 issue to set things up.

Before I really get into it, I am going to say a couple of things. I am coming at this as a fan of Jason Todd/Red Hood. He is my favourite DC Comics character, so I just want you to understand my bias. This is also probably going to be a little bit on the rambly side, as I just want to share my thoughts now that this story is complete.

So let’s get into it, shall we?

Red Hood: The Hill – My Thoughts

When I read that Red Hood was getting another self-titled story, I was really excited. Even if it was only going to be a 6 issue run. The last comic run that focused on Jason was Task Force Z, which I actually really enjoyed. There was that moment in Gotham War, but we don’t talk about that.

The first issue that was released was a collected re-release of Red Hood and the Outlaws #51 and #52, which were initially released at the end of 2020. These made up the last issues of RHATO from the Rebirth run.

This is my first issue with Red Hood: The Hill (which I will refer to as The Hill from this point onward) – this run is continuing a story that was initially released at the end of 2020. As of the start of The Hill, this was over 3 years ago. A lot of things have happened in the Batman universe, as well as the DC multiverse in general, since then, so going back to an event that references The Joker War feels a little bit weird.

Having said that, I may as well get to the main issue I have with The Hill. It doesn’t feel like it has a purpose. It also isn’t a Red Hood story, yes he is there, but it isn’t really about him, and that is my problem.

To explain why this is an issue for me, I am of the opinion that if you are going to name a story after a character, that character needs to be important to the story itself. For example, Nightwing could not exist without Nightwing. Batman could not exist without Batman. Red Hood: The Hill does not need Red Hood. This story could have unfolded in pretty much the same way if Jason hadn’t been there. He just did not feel vital to the story at all.

It really felt like this story was using Red Hood’s name to sell a story that was not at all focused on Red Hood, or even just Jason Todd. It was focused on the Watch, who are a vigilante group operating in the Hill, that Jason happens to become involved with. Jason didn’t not form this group, he isn’t training them, he just happens to be there. He just happens to want to help.

My other problem is that I don’t care about the rest of the characters featured in this comic book run. I don’t care about them as people, and I don’t care about the relationships they have with Jason, which only a couple of them really do. I just don’t know enough about these characters to really care. I feel as though this should have been it’s own story that focused on these characters alone, so that I might have been more invested in them; maybe have Jason come in a little bit later once we’ve established the characters of the Watch. I think the focus character should have been Dana, the vigilante known as Strike; and while she was the focus, I am reading a Red Hood comic, I want Red Hood to be the main character, not a character that I have spent no real time with, and have no investment in.

Next up is Jason’s character itself, and that is he just feels very bland. He is essentially pushed to the side in favour of Dana. I didn’t really get a feel for his motivation at all. I don’t even get the ‘I’m just here to annoy Bruce’ vibe. He just feels added in for the sake of having his name in the title. This ties back into the fact that this story was started 3 years ago, Jason has experienced several events since the end of RHATO that have had an effect on who he is as a person.

I would have understood it more if this had been pitched as more of a Lost Days type of thing, an “untold story of Jason Todd” so to speak. It wasn’t, so I have to take it as it is.

All in all, I’m just disappointed by Red Hood: The Hill. It feels like a cash grab because Jason is a popular character, and that just ended up doing him and the story a disservice.

I feel as though the writer had a story to tell, but they had to shoe-horn Jason into it, and it just didn’t work. Maybe with a longer run, I could have felt differently, but I have to go off of what we got. The story had potential, I just didn’t care, and I wasn’t given a reason to care beyond being a Jason Todd fan.

As far as I am concerned, nothing is more disappointing than wasted potential.

And that is it for this today’s post! I hope that you enjoyed it, and I hope that you can understand my points! As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments as well as any recommendations for stuff you think I should read!

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This is W. Elorda, signing off, and until next time, stay nerdy my friends.

Bye!