DC K.O. Red Hood vs. The Joker #1
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inker: Cam Smith
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Cover Artist: Greg Capullo
Being a Jason Todd fan is a lot like being a New York Mets fan: you’ve learned to take your wins where you can get them, but you’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop. For years, Jason has been the odd man out in the Bat-Family hierarchy. He isn't the "Golden Child" like Dick Grayson, he doesn't possess the clinical brilliance of Tim Drake, and he lacks the blood-legacy of Damian Wayne. He was the street kid with edges too sharp to smooth over. He was a character so polarizing that the very fanbase he was created to serve literally voted for his death.
While Jason eventually reclaimed his agency by defying death, donning the Red Hood and taking a pound of flesh from both Bruce and the Joker, DC writers still find themselves at a loss when it comes to telling a compelling Jason story. When it comes to the Red Hood, it seems all roads lead back to the Joker. In DC K.O. Red Hood vs. Joker #1, we find ourselves back at the inevitable crossroads where Jason must try to finally extinguish the psychological boogeyman that has defined his existence for almost 40 years.
Round One: He Who Laughs First
The entirety of this opening bout is narrated by Jason Todd. He clearly feels the crushing weight of facing the monster that ended his life so many years ago. This is a foe so legendarily unpredictable that even Batman struggled to contain him. Scott Snyder does an excellent job capturing Jason’s tragic and trauma-filled perspective. Jason admits that he feels like a permanent shadow of the clown. He believes that whenever people look at him, they are actually seeing the Joker's greatest crime.
This realization makes Jason’s mission clear. While he technically fights for the survival of the world against Darkseid, this specific encounter is deeply personal. He wants to sever the tether between himself and the Clown Prince of Crime so he can finally stand on his own merit.
In a desperate gambit, Jason attempts to "cure" the Joker by forcing an overdose of the chemical concoction that originally transformed the villain. He hopes the chemical shock will be fatal. However, the plan results in a horrific backfire. As the Joker begins to mutate from the exposure, he retaliates with a grenade that sends Jason plummeting into the very same vat. Jason perishes in the chemical bath, proving that the Joker is the only one capable of surviving such a transformation. While the first round feels like it played it safe, it successfully established the Joker as a dominant threat for the rest of this fight.
Round 2: Robin’s Revenge
To me, the story truly begins to shine in Round 2. The Heart of Apokolips manifests the setting of Jason’s greatest trauma: the infamous warehouse from A Death in the Family. In a striking and uncomfortable visual shift, Jason is regressed into his classic Robin garb. Seeing the modern, hardened Jason forced back into the bright reds and yellows of his youth is a chilling reminder of the vulnerability he felt in that moment over thirty years ago.
This is the rematch Jason has played out in his mind a thousand times, yet the issue initially leans into the tragedy as he finds himself once again under the shadow of the crowbar. The writing emphasizes the physical and emotional toll as history threatens to repeat itself. However, desperate to rewrite the most harmful chapter of his life, Jason finally snaps the cycle. He turns the tide with a visceral, desperate fury, beating the Joker to death before the warehouse is consumed by fire.
The round concludes with a powerful, haunting image: Jason as Robin, emerging from the wreckage while cradling the Joker’s lifeless body. It is a perfect, frame-for-frame reversal of the iconic image of Bruce holding Jason’s corpse. While some might see this as pure fan service, for a Red Hood fan who has watched Jason be defined by his failure for decades, this moment felt deeply earned. It was a visual reclamation of his own history, and in some ways, the only bone this issue is willing to throw to s Jason fans.
Round 3: Mutually Assured Destruction
In the final round, the narrative peels back the layers of the Red Hood legacy. Jason reveals that the mantle was a Gotham urban legend long before the Joker ever touched the helmet—a boogeyman story told to children in the Narrows. For this climactic bout, Jason assumes a grizzled, older form, fully embodying that legend on his own terms. Conversely, the Joker manifests as the classic figure from The Killing Joke, complete with the tuxedo and the oversized red dome.
The two settle into a rain-soaked graveyard, eventually tumbling into an open grave for a final, desperate scrap. It is a raw, ugly fight where Jason finally finds catharsis, beating the Joker to death with the villain's own iconic red helmet. It is a moment of pure poetic irony, using the symbol of the Joker's beginning to bring about his end. However, the victory is stained by the reality of the toll taken. Jason realizes too late that he has been stabbed and is rapidly losing blood.
The match concludes with a grim technicality: Jason succumbs to blood loss just as a pacemaker restarts the Joker’s heart. While the ending feels like a bit of a cop-out to keep the villain in the tournament, I am glad the writers let Jason keep his pride intact. For him, this was never about the scoreboard; it was about the internal necessity of becoming his own man. Whether he carries this newfound peace into his future legacy remains to be seen, but for once, he died on his feet rather than on his knees.
The Art of Redemption
The artistic collaboration between Dustin Nguyen and Giuseppe Camuncoli is essential to the success of the issue. Nguyen, who has a storied history with the Red Hood, brings a moody and atmospheric quality that makes the transitions between the tournament rounds feel like shifting through layers of a nightmare. The visual contrast between the segments acts as a powerful storytelling device, moving from the sickly, radioactive greens of the Ace Chemicals mutation to the jagged, raw grit of the rain-soaked graveyard.
The undisputed height of the visual storytelling occurs in the second round. The artists perfectly recreate the 1988 warehouse aesthetic but color it with a modern, visceral edge. Seeing the bright, primary colors of the classic Robin suit drenched in deep shadows creates a sense of visual dissonance that builds toward the most iconic moment of the book. The image of Todd as Robin holding the Joker’s lifeless body is a haunting, frame-for-frame homage to the original tragedy. This reversal stands out as a definitive reclamation of Jason’s history, capturing the street kid who finally grew into a legend on his own terms.
Conclusion and Verdict
I’ll admit, I initially avoided this issue. As a long-time Jason Todd fan, I was afraid this would be another exercise in trauma porn, another story where Jason is relegated to the passenger seat of his own life while the Joker drives him toward another tragic end. I didn't want to see my favorite character get the short shrift again. However, what I found in this tie in issue was a story of a man finally taking matters into his own hands to rewrite his narrative.
DC K.O.: Red Hood Vs. The Joker #1 reads like the long-overdue culmination of the history between an abuser and the abused. The narrative moves beyond a simple test of physical strength to focus on the grueling internal work required to sever a tether that has lasted for nearly forty years. By the time the final round ends in that rain-soaked grave, the message is clear: we break the cycle when we take back control over our own lives, regardless of the official scoreboard. Jason spent decades believing he was nothing more than the Joker's greatest crime, but in this arena, he finally stepped out of that shadow. He may not have moved forward in the tournament, but he moved forward as a man. For the first time in a long time, Jason Todd is standing on his own merit.