Batman Crossed A Line That Some Fans Are Calling Immoral, Abusive & Unforgivable
Contains spoilers for "Batman" #138 (by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles)
Batman just crossed a major line in his fight against his former allies in the current "Gotham War" arc. In "Batman" #138, The Dark Knight reveals he drugged the Red Hood during a recent confrontation, infecting the former Robin with a failsafe that triggers immense panic when he does anything violent. While under the influence of Batman's alternate personality, Zur-en-Arrh, the hero violated Jason's bodily autonomy in a move that's upset some DC Comics readers due to his highly unethical actions.
In the current "Gotham War" story arc, Batman returns to Gotham City following his battle with Failsafe and dark adventures across the Multiverse's "Bat-verse" to learn Catwoman has made a serious dent in crime. Selina Kyle wants to create a better Gotham by using low-level criminals who steal only from the rich, with a percentage of everyone's thievery being given to charities. Even though her plan has proved successful, Batman disagrees with Catwoman's methods, putting him at odds with his former lover and the Bat-Family. Complicating matters, the Zurr-En-Arrh personality, a version of Batman completely separated from Bruce Wayne, is trying to take over the Caped Crusader's mind. Its intervention has led Batman down a dark path, leading to one of his most stomach-turning actions ever.
Batman took away Jason's violent side
In "Batman" #138, Jason Todd wakes up alongside Batman, unable to breathe freely. When he questions what his former mentor did to him and whether he's infected by Scarecrow's Fear Gas, Batman admits he's toyed with Jason's mind. Now, when he has heightened adrenaline or is about to do something dangerous and violent, fear will kick in and stop Jason by inducing severe panic attacks. Batman tries to justify the move by telling Jason he's a murderer, referring to his early days as the Red Hood following his resurrection in the Lazarus Pit, where he made it his personal mission to do exactly what his father figure told him not to: kill. Todd has since adopted a more measured approach to violence, but the influence of Zur-en-Arrh has led Batman to believe the worst in Jason. As such, he feels he needs to bench his former student — permanently.
Jason sits in agonizing pain as Batman removes his cowl and tells him he's set up an all-new identity for the former sidekick. He says he's given Jason the gift of a new chance, setting him up with an identity in Metropolis where he can live as normal a life as possible. Batman adds that his actions are a "gift," since Jason should actually be in prison for all the people he's killed.
Bruce believes he's saved Jason when, in actuality, his delusional actions have left the violent vigilante more vulnerable than ever. It's one of the darkest moves Batman has ever made, and it's even more messed up since he's doing it to Red Hood, a man who has already died once and suffered considerable trauma due to Batman's lack of action against the Joker.
The Bat-Family - and readers - aren't happy with Batman's actions
One member of the Bat-Family who is completely disgusted by Batman's actions is Nightwing, who unloads on his out-of-control father in a bloody fight as he rightly questions how Bruce could infect and further traumatize Jason. As one fan on X (formerly known as Twitter) points out, "One side being wrong doesn't mean the other is right," and as a result, Batman completely "deserved the ass whooping Nightwing gave him."
Given everything Jason has been through as Robin and Red Hood, readers are unhappy with Batman's treatment of him. One Reddit user points out how messed up Batman infecting Jason was while adding that Dick Grayson is wholly justified in being mad at him. Another user asked why Batman doesn't just infect his rogues like he did Jason, with others pointing out how immoral doing something like that would be. Another X user illustrates how unforgivable this is by saying Jason's list of people he could shoot in the face without judgment just became longer, with Batman's name now added to it.
As if Jason's situation isn't morally repugnant enough, Zur-en-Arrh hints that he plans on revealing Bat-Family's identities to the public in order to free Batman from his emotional bonds. In short, Jason won't be the last former Robin he targets.
How can Jason trust Batman going forward?
The truth is, Jason Todd's Red Hood has suffered enough. He's lived and died as a hero and worked hard to reinvent himself since his rebirth. Along the way, he regained his trust in Batman and worked alongside the Bat-Family to protect Gotham City. After this incident, it's hard to see a path forward for Jason to ever fully trust Batman again, considering the Dark Knight's current actions. He's taken away Jason's free will, leaving him panicked and defenseless as war breaks out around them in Gotham.
Batman's struggles are notable, to be sure, with Zur-en-Arrh trying to take his allies off the map in order to gain complete control over Bruce Wayne's body and mind. Still, invading Jason's mind and implanting a failsafe that leaves him frightened and suffering is a new low for one of DC's premier heroes. And even if he's not fully in control of his own decisions right now, it remains to be seen how he can fix his relationship with Jason — and the rest of his family — going forward.
Readers can see Batman infect Jason Todd and continue his war against the Bat-Family in "Batman" #138 from DC Comics, in comic book stores now.