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Gotham’s Red Hood: Is He a Crime Lord? Experts Are Baffled.
By Guest Writer: Lois Lane, September 17th, 2024
A new player going by the name of Red Hood has made his way onto Gotham’s crime scene in recent months. Despite the claims of the GCPD and Batman himself that Hood is a serious threat and a danger to Gotham’s citizens, some claim that Hood himself is more like a vigilante than a crime lord. I, Lois Lane, have taken it upon myself to look at the facts and come to what I hope is a reasonable and satisfying analysis of the situation.
To begin, who is the Red Hood? Older Gothamites may remember when Red Hood was an alias of the notorious clown prince of Gotham, the Joker. Based on his decision to take on the old mantle, it is reasonable to assume that this new Hood may aim to follow in the psychopath's footsteps. However, on multiple occasions, the Red Hood has made his feelings towards the Joker extremely clear, an opinion that is perfectly summarized by his attempt to murder the criminal during his last Arkham breakout. Red Hood was supposedly intercepted by the Batman, after which he retreated. He has not attempted to take the Joker’s life since. However, when prompted by reporters, the GCPD, or Batman himself, Hood reiterates his hatred for the clown.
In an attempt to further understand Hood’s criminal activities, I interviewed Commissioner Gordon and Officer Renée Montoya, both of whom have interacted with the Red Hood on multiple occasions. The Commissioner shared Hood’s extensive list of crimes and suspected crimes with me. However, as it is quite long, I have edited an abridged version for this article.
Committed multiple murders of mob lieutenants via beheading
Multiple charges of murdering child abusers
Multiple counts of maiming drug dealers
Multiple counts of property damage
Suspected murder of human traffickers
Suspected drug lord
Suspected weapons trafficking
Officer Montoya warned the average citizen “not to be fooled by Hood’s claims of morality” and to remember that “this man is a dangerous criminal. He is always armed and regularly commits murders. He is not your friend.” Officer Montoya had the unfortunate experience of being the GCPD officer who first discovered the duffle bag of severed heads that Red Hood had dropped at the police station. She urges Gotham to remember his crimes and maintains that there is no proof that he had changed or grown since committing them.
Red Hood has undoubtedly broken several laws and is suspected to have broken more. However, many crime alley residents maintain that Hood is helping more than he is hurting the average citizen of the alley, and Hood himself has said nothing to dispute these claims, despite the blow his criminal reputation has taken. In addition to Hood’s purported public-spirited nature, he has recently taken to helping Gotham’s vigilante population when the opportunity presents itself.
An anonymous source reports that she witnessed the Red Hood fight alongside Nightwing, the protector of Bludhaven, Gotham’s sister city. The source provides this photo to back up her claims. She also claimed that she watched Hood carry Nightwing out of the alley after he had passed out from injuries and emphasized that Hood did not look inclined to hurt the vigilante, only not leave him passed out in the most dangerous part of the city.
A different anonymous source claimed to have seen the Red Hood and the Gotham vigilante Spoiler work together to capture a small gang of drug dealers in the Narrows. The pair was later purported to be seen sitting on a rooftop and drinking coffee, so evidently from this report, they seem to be on friendly terms. The source specified that Hood seemed to use purposefully non-lethal methods while working with the child vigilante, as in accordance with his golden rule, which is not to hurt kids. This source did not have photo evidence to back up their word, but in my time spent in Gotham, I ran into Spoiler one evening and asked her myself. She said, and I quote, “No comment, but the Red Hood is ok”. She refused to elaborate but offered to walk me back to my hotel, as it was rather late at night. It is hard to tell what Spoiler truly thinks about Hood or his methods. However, it is a safe bet to say that they have run into each other in the past and that she does not think badly of him.
Finally on the vigilante front, Hood supposedly rescued Robin from a kidnapping just this week! The young hero’s famous derogatory nickname, Boy Hostage, made a reappearance in the papers this week with Robin’s most recent kidnapping. However, according to the Boy Wonder himself, it was not Batman who rescued him, but this morally gray crime lord. In Robin’s words, “[i]f Hood hadn’t found me when he did, I’m not sure there would have been much left of me to find. He pretends that he doesn’t care about anyone, but look at his actions: Hood heard that a random kid that he doesn’t even like was missing and dropped everything to find me and get me out safely. He cares about everyone. That earns him my trust, at the very least”.
After hearing from the local vigilantes, I turned to Crime Alley’s population, his most avid defenders. Workers in the red light district swore by Hood, saying that since he has made his presence known, they have been harassed significantly less due his other “rule”, which is that the Red Hood has absolutely no tolerance for sexual assault. One girl commented that “even if some a**hole was stupid enough to try something, all we girls have to do is tell Hood about it, and he never comes by again.” When I asked a follow up question about if she thought the Red Hood killed these people, she responded “I’m no snitch. I’m just saying we never see ‘em again.” I must say that I am inclined to agree with her. Only Hood can say for certain what he does to these people, but they never make trouble again, so it seems to work. While in the Alley, I also interviewed a group of children who lived there. Two of them told me how Hood had saved them from a mugging. One claimed that Hood had helped them escape from an abusive home and then followed up with them every week to make sure the foster family was being good to them. The entire group said they would feel safer being saved by the Red Hood than they would being saved by Batman or Nightwing.
All in all, the Red Hood appears to be more than a crime lord. Whether he will commit to being exclusively a vigilante in the near future or not, many people depend on him and feel safer with him around. Hood appears to be using his crime lord status for harm reduction by outlawing the most egregious of criminal offenses, enforcing that illegal drugs not be sold to minors, and ensuring any drugs sold are untampered with and thus safer. Many argue that this approach is what the Alley needs for true change.
One cannot write an article about Gotham without including thoughts of the Batman. In my time spent in Gotham, I ran into the vigilante exactly once. His thoughts surrounding the Red Hood are as follows: “I cannot endorse the Red Hood’s actions. They are illegal, and many of them result in the deaths of citizens of Gotham. Individual people cannot be allowed to play judge, jury, and executioner. Even if the legal system is corrupt, it is easier to hold accountable than a single, unknown person with guns.” He refused to comment on Hood’s alleged involvement in rescuing Robin.
The Red Hood is a complicated individual, and his effect on Gotham is an even more complex and controversial issue to address. I can only hope that I have portrayed both sides of this debate in a clear and unbiased manner. No matter how you feel about the Red Hood, you cannot deny that the other side has cause for their argument as well.
Comments:
MusicMaker1997: Wow, I had no idea people in Park Row liked him so much. Great article, Ms. Lane!
JustSomeGuy: the red hood is an unstable criminal ffs and the gcpd should be doing more to arrest him
kparr0129: Isn’t he like…a murderer? I mean I’m all about harm reduction and protecting kids, but like. This guy beheaded ten people.
V1g1lante-Enthusiast replied to kparr0129: Yeah he did, but that was when he was trying to establish himself as a crime lord
kparr0129 replied to V1g1lante-Enthusiast: That doesn’t really excuse it. And I mean, I live in Gotham. I know the crime rates and murder rates and whatnot, but beheading people just feels next level unnecessary. I mean, it made a good point, I guess? But it’s still not right.
cR1mE replied to kparr0129: Shut up. Hood has done more for Gotham than your precious laws ever have.
kparr0129 replied to cR1mE: Dude, chill. 1. I wasn’t saying he’s a completely unredeemable person, I’m just saying that no matter how you spin it, ten beheadings is ten beheadings and that seems a little worrisome.
cR1mE replied to kparr0129: this comment has been deleted by Gotham Times content control for violating our community guidelines.
kparr0129 replied to cR1mE: I’m reporting you.
purplewaffles: the guy didn’t get off to a strong start, but besides the beheadings (which are Bad), has he done anything to that level since then?
not_a_stalker_I_promise replied to purplewaffles: I mean he’s killed people since then? But like the article said, it was like s*xual ab*sers and other really terrible people so do with that what you will.
WafflesAndPurpleSupremacy replied to purplewaffles: Love your username babe
C00lDudesFr0mG0th@m: isn’t Lois Lane from Metropolis? Why’s she writing a gotham-centric article?
InvestagativeNormalMan replied toC00lDudesFr0mG0th@m: It says in the first heading that she’s a guest writer.