Red Hood's "Crowbar" Weapon Never Made Sense, But His Original Weapon Still Rules

Summary Red Hood's use of guns hinders his place in the Bat-Family.

DC's attempts to replace Red Hood's guns with electrified crowbars were poorly received.

Red Hood's connection to a tire iron or kris dagger could define him better than a crowbar.

DC has tried to find a place for Red Hood in the Bat-Family, but his willingness to use guns and lethal force has always made that difficult. Because of this, DC has tried to retool Jason's inventory over the years, but the search for Red Hood's perfect weapon has yet to find success, despite how Jason already has the perfect choices in his long history.

Over the years, DC has tried numerous times to re-invent Jason Todd so that he could fit somewhere in the Bat-Family. This initiative included a period where Red Hood stopped using guns and instead took to using a pair of dual, electrified crowbars, especially in the Task Force Z series by Matthew Rosenberg and Eddy Barrows, as depicted in the 1:25 variant cover by Jim Cheung and Jay David Ramos for Task Force Z #12.

These weapons were meant to represent Jason reclaiming the crowbar symbol after the Joker beat him to death with one. This decision wasn't really well-received by fans, and it wasn't long before Jason went back to using guns. While Red Hood might still occasionally be seen with crowbars, they're no longer replacements for his guns. If DC truly wanted to move Jason away from guns and give him a melee weapon, he has plenty of better options.

Related Red Hood's New Title Proves He's Better Than the Bat-Family at One Thing Fans have long debated which Bat-Family members are better at what, and now Red Hood's new title definitively ends the debate on one skillset.

Red Hood's Electrified Crowbars Will Never Live Up to His Original Weapons

Red Hood: Lost Days #6 by Judd Winick, Jeremy Haun, Brian Reber, and Pat Brosseau

Jason has had a few melee weapons over the years, and they would all work better than crowbars. Not only do crowbars continue to tie Jason to and define him by the death he suffered at the Joker's hands, but Jason has a far stronger connection to other weapons. During the miniseries Red Hood: Lost Days by Judd Winick and Jeremy Haun, Jason travels the world learning the skills he needs to kill the Joker as the Red Hood. During this time, Talia al Ghul gifts Jason his iconic kris dagger, a blade so sharp it can cut Batman's kevlar and utility belt with ease, as seen in the iconic Under the Red Hood story by Winick and Doug Mahnke.

It's possible that DC doesn't want to give Red Hood a bladed weapon — which is understandable, as not many vigilantes use blades in their crime fighting. The crowbar, however, is a terrible idea because it's simply a link to the Joker. Instead, Jason Todd has a perfect possible weapon — in the form of a tire iron. The very first time Jason met Batman was after Jason tried to steal the tires off the Batmobile using a tire iron. To use a tire iron as a weapon would be a perfect call back to who Jason was before he met Batman, and it would work just as well as a crowbar as a blunt weapon.

Red Hood Needs to Stop Being Defined by His Death at the Joker's Hands

And Jason Todd Needs a Weapon That's All About Him

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DC has long struggled with what to do with Jason Todd, relying perhaps too much on Jason's death to give the character meaning and iconography. Robin's death is one of the most famous moments in DC history and is one of the most important things to happen to Jason, but that doesn't mean he has to be defined by it. Using a crowbar isn't "facing his fear;" it's an attempt to tone down Jason's lethal approach to crime to try and make him fit better in the Bat-Family. If DC is so intent on changing Jason's weapons, they should look over his history and give Red Hood one of the two weapons he has already — famously — had.