Batman has finally crossed the line with his greatest failure
The Gotham War crossover event has turned Batman against Catwoman and most of the Bat Family, with the Dark Knight resorting to increasingly questionable tactics in his fight against crime.
However, the storyline also highlights the strained relationship between Bruce Wayne and his most complicated Robin, Jason Todd.
Batman has a long history of failing Jason, both as Robin and under his current mantle as Red Hood, with the Caped Crusader now having seemingly finally crossed the line in his treatment of his former protégé.
In the Gotham War story, Jason sees the merits of Catwoman's approach to controlling crime in Gotham by employing known criminals and redirecting them to careers of non-violent crime only targeting the rich and corrupt, rather than working for vicious mobsters and supervillains.
Batman - who is currently under the influence of his violent Zur-En-Arrh personality - sees Jason siding with Selina Kyle as a personal betrayal and viciously takes him down, before brainwashing him so that if his adrenaline kicks in he will be overwhelmed with fear, unable to even move.
To justify such a radical strategy, Batman cites Jason's history of using excessive and lethal force as the Red Hood, feeling his former protege is best left sidelined for the foreseeable future.
This history came after the DCU rebooted its continuity in 1986, along with the depiction of its second Robin, Jason Todd. In contrast to the previous canon, Jason was revised to be more street-smart and rough-around-the-edges than his predecessor Dick Grayson.
This personality change proved unpopular with readers and the fate of the character was put to a fan vote - should Jason Todd live or die?
The latter was chosen by a narrow margin and Robin
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