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The Man Behind the Red Hood!

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"The Man Behind the Red Hood!"
File:Detective Comics (1937) -168.jpg
Cover of Detective Comics #168 art by Bob Kane.
PublisherDC Comics
Publication dateFebruary 1951
Genre
Main character(s)Batman, Robin, Red Hood (Joker)
Creative team
Writer(s)Bill Finger
Artist(s)Lew Sayre Schwartz, George Roussos
Penciller(s)Lew Sayre Schwartz, Win Mortimer
Inker(s)George Roussos
Editor(s)Jack Schiff

"The Man Behind The Red Hood" also known as Detective Comics #168 is the 168th issue of Detective Comics.

Comic Book

Plot Summary

Commisioner Gordon has summoned Batman and Robin via the bat-signal and introduces them to Dean Chalmers head of Gotham University and wishes to have Batman as the teacher for his criminology class. Batman has many pupils including two "special" ones: Jimmy and Paul.

Over the course of a month, Batman decides that the kids are ready for a real case - the Red Hood whom even Batman was not able to catch. The Batman gives the students clues. Each of the Red Hood's victims told Batman the same thing: He wore a black tuxedo, a red cape with a red hood which has no eye-holes. Batman's first encounter with the Red Hood did confirm the rumors. Red Hood continued his crime sprees for another month but one night however, he found himself cornered by both Batman and the police at the Monarch Playing Card Company and had no alternative but to escape by jumping into a vat of all the Company's chemical waste. The Red Hood was thought to have been killed by the toxic waste and he never returned.

The re-open of the case is publicly announced and Jimmy finds out that the Red Hood's real goal was to steal a million dollars. The Red Hood suddenly appears at the school and Batman and Robin chase him. Robin balls his fist into the Red Hood's hood but breaks his arm as the hood is solid metal. Batman, now alone chases the Red Hood around the campus. The only "exit" left for the Red Hood is a room filled with deadly gas fumes that no one could survive in there for more than two minutes. Batman finds a hat that the Red Hood left behind a rolled-up hat, meant to be worn after the robbery.

Later, he and Robin study a piece of hair in the hat. Robin forgets that his arm is in a cast and knocks over a lamp. The lighted bulb comes into contact with the hair, charring it black. However, Robin had been working on a formula that restores colour to burnt fibers. Strangely, the hair turned green. Both heroes are puzzled.

Later, that night Batman spots the Red Hood and easily unmasks him only to find out that it is Paul. Paul and Jimmy reveal their discoveries on how the Red Hood was able to see through the hood. In the place of two eye-holes were two mirrors painted red on the outside so no one could see in but the Red Hood could see out. Later, again the Red Hood comes to the campus and the Batman and the kids chase him. The Red Hood jumps out of the window and Batman tackles a shadowy figure to the ground. It is actually the school gardener, Benson. They debate on whether Benson was the Hood after all. They said that the robberies took place ten years ago and Benson would have only been 12 years old so he wasn't the Red Hood.

The Red Hood arrives at the campus again but when red lights fill the room, he is momentarily blind. Batman reveals that red lights hitting his two red mirrors made him momentarily blind. Batman unmasks the Red Hood and he is actually Benson.

Benson explains that when the Red Hood jumped out of the window, he did not see Benson so he took advantage of the situation and attacked the Red Hood. he decided to turn the Red Hood in but thought he would take the Red Hood's costume and commit crimes with them, framing the poor Red Hood. He says that the Red Hood is locked in the tool shed. The kids, Batman and Robin go to the tool-shed to find the Red Hood.

Finally, the Red Hood's identity is revealed to all - The Joker.

File:Joker reveals origin.jpg
The Joker slowly reveals his origin to Batman.

Joker explains that years ago he was a lab worker who decided to steal one million dollars and retire, so he became the Red Hood. The Joker indeed survived his "chemical bath" but found out that the chemical vapour bleached his skin chalk-white, dyed his hair green and stained his lips ruby-red. Realizing that his new look terrified people, the Red Hood decided to take the alias "The Joker" after the playing card character as the Playing Card Company was responsible for his dis-figuration. Joker reveals that all these years he had been secretly laughing at Batman as he had not figured out his identity until know! Batman claims that he and Robin had the last laugh on the Joker as nothing was wrong with Robin's colour-restoring formula - the hair was supposed to be green as the Joker's hair was green!"[1]

Publication

As well as being printed in "Detective Comics 168", "The Man Behind The Red Hood" as been reprinted in:

Animation

  • The Joker version of the Red Hood was used as the Joker's heroic counterpart in the hit Tv Series episode - "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" - "Deep Cover for Batman!".[2]

Notability

  • This issue is extremely notable for being the first ever media of introducing the origin of The Joker and this has gained it a lot of notability.
  • The Joker's Red Hood origin from this comic has been used in countless Batman franchise.[3]
  • Due to being the only Silver Age Comic Book of introducing The Joker's origin, it has been reprinted in countless DC comics collections which feature characters' origins from the Silver Age of Comic Books.[4][5]
  • It was chosen as one of the comic books to represent "Batman in the Fifties", "Batman From The 30's to the 70's" and as one of "Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told" again due to introducing The Joker's origin(a landmark story arc).[6][7]

See Also

References

  1. ^ "The various origins of The Joker".
  2. ^ "A clip of the Joker version of the Red Hood from Batman: The Brave and the Bold at youtube".
  3. ^ "A clip of the Joker's origin from Batman: Under the Red Hood at youtube".
  4. ^ "Batman #213".
  5. ^ "Limited Collector's Edition Vol 1 C-39".
  6. ^ "Batman: From the 30's to the 70's".
  7. ^ "The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told".
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