10 Batman Questions That Always Confused You

6. Why Was He Okay With Jason Todd Using Guns?

Red Hood And The Outlaws Wallpaper
DC Comics

Moving swiftly on to stuff that is slightly less confusing (slightly), we now come to Red Hood. The title was first used by Joker - supposedly - in the accident that led to his permanent scarring at Ace Chemicals. Today, however, it is the second Robin - Jason Todd - who goes by the mantle.

Wherever you side on the "should Jason Todd have returned" debate, one quandary that few writers have failed to really address has been how Jason's current association with the Bat-Family contradicts Batman's one rule. Todd is an anti-hero who uses firearms, and unless your only experience of Batman has come at the expense of 2016's Batman v Superman, you'll know that the Caped Crusader considers guns a big no no.

And yet, in recent years, Jason has been free to wear his symbol and regularly interacts with the Dark Knight and his allies. What gives?

The answer - sadly - isn't all that satisfying. It seems as though Bruce just tolerated his behaviour on the condition Jason didn't kill, but at no point does he decry his former ward for using firearms while brandishing the Bat-symbol. It's only in the most recent volume of Red Hood and the Outlaws that the pair once again come to blows, with Batman kicking him out of the Bat-Family for good after Jason tried to assassinate the Penguin.

As for why he was okay with him using firearms up until that point? That's anyone's guess.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.