Jason Todd: “See?! This is exactly why we don't do this for a living ”
Roy Harper: “Okay, so maybe we don't take every job that comes our way. But you have to admit that being in this business together is kinda fun. ”
Jason Todd: “Oh yeah. I'm having a blast. Idiot. ”
Red Hood/Arsenal #1 -
Red Hood/Arsenal is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics on June 2015 as part of their new editorial direction post-Convergence. The series is written by Scott Lobdell with art by Denis Medri.
Following the events of Red Hood and the Outlaws, Arsenal (Roy Harper) is on his own, trying to help people whether they want his help or not. After a trade between a Mexican cartel and a Washington power broker goes wrong despite Arsenal's best efforts, he's reunited with his fellow Outlaw Red Hood (Jason Todd) and together they successfully defuse the situation.
The power broker then offers them a job and while they decline the offer, Roy later convinces Jason of going legit as Vigilantes-for-Hire.
This work is part of the following storyline:
Red Hood/Arsenal provides examples of:
- Art Shift: #13 shifts art styles halfway through, as the main story wraps early. The remainder depicts Roy and Jason's 'first' meeting, which combined with the newspaper-coloured margin and classic era style suggests that the entire sequence is less flashback and more tragic ideallic fantasy.
- The Alcoholic: Arsenal is a recovering one. At the start of the series he's in a vulnerable place after his break up with Kori and is worried about having a relapse. It's only after having a pep talk with his sponsor Waylon Jones (AKA Killer Croc) that he recovers his confidence.
- Batman Cold Open: The beginning of Issue #3 has the boys shutting down an illegal gunrunning operation
- Batman Gambit: Ironically used by Joker's Daughter to get close to the boys and destroy them from the inside.
- Back from the Dead: Palette and Suzie Su are resurrected by Sera Fina as part of her Hero Manifesto. They're all promptly defeated by Roy in their first encounter.
- Badass Normal: Red Hood and Arsenal. And as of issue six, Joker's Daughter.
- Bitter Sweet Ending: Joker's Daughter is beaten and the Iron Rule is dissolved but Jason's trust in people has been left in shambles and he decides to part ways from Roy to avoid dragging him into his own darkness
- Bookends: Of a sort to the entire New 52 run of Jason and Roy's adventures together. The original Red Hood and the Outlaws run began with a Jason saving Roy from captivity. Red Hood/Arsenal ends with Jason once again saving Roy from captivity. He even learns of it in the same way: viral footage of Roy at the mercy of his captors!
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Jason's faith is broken hard when he finds out a whopping 233,000+ viewers voted to kill Roy (compared to the measly 52 who voted against his death). Combined with Duela's duplicity, he's convinced that there's no bright side for him. As much as Roy would hate him for it, Jason walks away so that his best friend may be a better hero than he would be had Jason stayed.
- Breaking the Fellowship: The series ends with Jason breaking off his partnership with Roy, believing that Roy's heroic potential won't go anywhere so long as he stayed with Jason.
- Code Name: Played with: they have them, but generally use their real ones.
- Continuity Nod: In issue #2, Roy mentions all the enemies they faced together in Red Hood and the Outlaws.
- Crazy-Prepared: Played with. Roy claims to have weapons ready for any kind of situation but he's so focused on seeing the big picture that he overlooks the most basic stuff like money management. However, his inventions do come in handy on several occasions, especially towards the end of the series.
- Deadpan Snarker: Red Hood never miss the chance of point out how ridiculous or insane are the situations they come by.
- Death Seeker: It's implied this is the reason Joker's Daughter looked for the boys. However this turned out to be a ploy to get on Jason's good side.
- Demonic Possession: Underbelly is able to manipulate the darkness inside men's heart to bend them at his will.
- Depending on the Artist: Denis Medri (original artist of the series) gave Jason a very distinctive undercut that is ignored by any other artist that draws him.
- The amount of musculature on the boys also varies from artist to artist.
- Jason's helmet having facial features changes with each artist.
- Despair Event Horizon: Jason towards the end of the series.
- Dysfunction Junction: Despite Jason and Roy having grown as characters through their adventures there's still a long way to go before they can be considered flawless characters.
- Fat Bastard: Underbelly and Suzie Su
- Friendly Enemy: Killer Croc returns to give Roy a pep talk.
- Joker's Daughter helps the boys take down the Hero Manifesto
- Genius Ditz: Arsenal. He's brilliant at making weapons and prone to blow all his money on spare parts.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Jason and Roy are the best friends to each other and the only people in whom they truly trust.
- Homoerotic Subtext: This series carries the
Ho Yay between Jason and Roy from the first run of Red Hood and the Outlaws, except this series takes it up to eleven. It starts with the title being a slash-pairing name, with several gags dedicated to depicting Jason and Roy Like an Old Married Couple. The final issue is even headlined with "The Bromance Ends Here!", with the final presentation day page dedicated to the actual break-up, which can be read with very romantic undertones considering the way it's drawn. - Hypocrite: Jason berates Roy for being irresponsible, and mentally notes that he'll "never grow up". And yet he can't be bothered to take care of the "day-to-day stuff" and leaves Roy to handle it.
- In the Hood: Jason briefly traded his leather jacket for a hooded vest at the start of the series.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Red Hood. He cares deeply for Roy's well being and is delighted to see Bruce alive despite their past.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Joker's Daughter undergoes a Heel–Face Turn and genuinely wants to be a better, healthier person who will help the boys do good. But then it's revealed that she's affiliated with the Iron Rule, and she has them subject Roy to a murder.com poll while she tries to seduce Jason to the Dark Side, seeing him as her "Brother."
- Limited Wardrobe: Subverted, no civilian outfit was worn more than once.
- Made of Evil: Underbelly is all the insanity and evil impulses from Arkham inmates given physical form.
- Mythology Gag: 52 shows up again, this time as the number of people voting against Roy's execution during a livestream.
- No Kill like Overkill: How Jason deals with the Iron Rule. Roy specifically states that the arrows Jason used were meant only for nuclear plants that needed to be shut down, not people. While the Iron Rule are walking nuclear weapons, they are also still human and are shown responding to the arrows with pain and fear.
- "Not So Different" Remark: The Joker's Daughter's entire motivation regarding Jason. She sees the both of them as the forsaken children of the Joker, and how they both endeavour to continue their "father's" work for him by taking up his faces: Red Hood for Jason and the Joker's literal face for Duela. Jason is evidently not happy with the comparison, and realizing how thin the line between them really is is what pushes Jason over the Despair Event Horizon.
- On Patrol Montage: A variant of this in which Jason and Roy's adventures through France are depicted as a tabletop game is used in issue 2.
- Pragmatic Hero: Continuing the development started on Red Hood and the Outlaws Red Hood no longer enjoys killing people, and tries to avoid it when possible. This comes to a turning point when Joker's Daughter joins them, prompting Jason to swear off killing for good. However, when it's revealed that Joker's Daughter joined them in order to orchestrate Roy's very public execution to spite Jason, he relapses. He kills four of the Iron Rule and nearly kills its fifth and final member, but Roy intervenes.
- Punch-Clock Hero: Roy's idea of going legit is making them "Vigilantes-For-Hire". To this end, he has set up "Rent-A-Bat", a business venture that allows anyone to hire them for the right price. Suffice to say, Jason is less than thrilled by the idea.Jason Todd: "Now You want to start charging everyday people on the street for our help?"
- Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: A former Robin who came back from the dead and has a strained (if somewhat civil) relationship with the Batfamily, Green Arrow's ex-partner in rehab for his alcoholism, and midway through we have a deranged teenage girl who fancies herself as the daughter of the Joker.
- Reaction Shot: Some livestream viewers are all given a reaction shot to Everest's death, whose molecular structure was dissolved by arrows designed to defuse nuclear power plants.
- Reality Warper: Sera Fina is able to manipulate pockets of reality in her immediate vicinity. She uses this power to resurrect villains previously defeated by the boys.
- Refuge in Audacity: One of the reaction panels in the final issue depicts an infant watching Everest's very brutal murder in a livestream meant to broadcast Roy's execution.
- Sad Clown: Arsenal tries to chat and make jokes whenever he can, but it's fairly obvious that he's practically dead inside.
- Sequel Series: Is a direct follow up to Red Hood and the Outlaws
- Special Guest: James Gordon's Batman guest stars in issues four and five.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Duela accomplishes her goal of breaking Jason's spirit with her little poll stunt.
- The Chess Master: Joker's Daughter puts in motion an incredibly complex and at times contrived plan to break Jason's spirit through the second half of the series
- The Cameo: An amnesiac Bruce Wayne shows up in issue 6 while Red Robin does the same in issue 7.
- Stewie Griffin and Brian Griffin, and Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, Milhouse Van Houten and Montgomery Burns are some of the many people watching the live stream set by the Iron Rule in issues 12 and 13.
- The Freak Show: Pyg's old gang shows up in issue 7.
- Trick Arrow: Roy has Bomb Arrows, Riot Control Arrows, Electric Arrows, Darkness inducing Arrows and even Arrows able to project a Bullet Proof shield on his quiver. He also somehow builds arrows able to defuse ''nuclear energy'' in the case a Nuclear Plant were at risk of a meltdown. Jason even lampshades how absurd this is.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Roy to Jason, when the latter rescues Roy by brutally murdering four nuclear-powered mercs, and nearly kills a fifth and in front of a livestream audience. The line blurs, however, on whether Roy was more concerned about the livestream viewers or the fact that his best friend was about to commit to a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: An unconscious girl, as Jason finds it hits too close to home. Roy takes advantage of this in the final issue.
