| Title | : | Batman: Under the Hood, Volume 1 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1401207561 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781401207564 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 176 |
| Publication | : | First published November 1, 2005 |
Batman: Under the Hood, Volume 1 Reviews
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I own both volumes of the original collections of this story. Vol. 1 includes Batman 635 to 641 and there is a new edition of this title that collects both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Batman 645 to 650 and Batman Annual #1) in
one book. I will be reviewing both of these volumes separately. Just cuz.
Be warned, some spoilery stuff in this one folks. Judd Winick proved with Under the Hood Vol. 1 that he can not only can write a great story, but one of the greatest Batman stories ever told. I couldn’t help but think of Brubaker’s epic run on
Captain America and the birth of the Winter Soldier (equally epic) when re-reading this one for Red week. Judd introduces us to the new and improved Red Hood in this kick-ass Bat-tale.
So who is it that’s under the hood? Jason Todd? Clayface? The Joker? Alfred? Barbara Gordon? Tom Selleck? Winick does a great job of making you wonder right up to the big reveal. And yep, it’s Tom Selleck….I mean, Jason Todd. Killed off in a vote by fans (I voted to kill him) years ago, Jason was one of those characters that everyone once thought of as dead-dead. Like permanently. Like Bucky and Uncle Ben, never to return. Well he’s back, and I actually like him this time around.
This whole book pretty much revolves around Batman’s investigation into who’s wearing the red hood, an all-out war with the crime lord Black Mask, and the big reveal. A few of the high points for me in this one were Batman and Nightwing’s toe to toe with an Amazo android, Bats paying visits to other Justice League alumni that have returned from the dead, Jason’s reunion with Mr. J, and the final showdown between Batman and the Red Hood. Winick did such a good job building suspense, voicing other long-established heroes, making me like Black Mask, and finally in telling an awesome Bat-story. The only parts I didn’t really care for were the portions involving Onyx, a character I never really liked, and a couple of other minor elements that I think DC editors made Winick shoe-horn into this story for continuity purposes with other Bat-titles at the time this was first published.
Doug Mahnke’s art is fantastic and consistent. The only weak spot was issue 640. Paul Lee was the fill-in artist on this one and just doesn’t do it for me. Sorry Paul. Matt Wagner provides all of the cover art for this collection and man does he kick ass. Love his stuff.
This one’s a favorite of mine and it’s one you should definitely check out if you’re a Bat-fan.
Get this review and more at:
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This hits hard omg!
So a new villain called Red hood is in town and we see him quickly make work of the Gotham mob going against Black mask and well damaging his operations and when he tries to betray their deal by sending Mr Freeze in, we see Red hood take him out too and its mob war in Gotham and Batman has to find out who and we see him going to different JL people who have been dead and came back like GA, Superman to find out how they came back and all and also I love how they reference "Identity crisis" here and well the battle is amazing and it builds to an epic crescendo when ONYX takes on Red hood and then comes Batman and then the insane fight and revelations and seeing he was there in the "Hush" story too omg..
This is so well done, one of the best Batman stories easily! Jason coming back and then revealing himself like this challenging Bruce unlike anyone before and the haunted look on Bruce's face when he has to accept it omg.. That hits hard and builds towards another great moment and its just Act 1 and it will get even more insane when what comes next is revealed! Its one of the best Batman stories and I remember watching the animated movie and loving it, but this is so much better and its my 2nd read and it still hits hard! The art is insane and yeah the faces are funny but the way it shows in those crucial moments is brilliant! A MUST READ! -
The Dark Knight tries figure out the identity of violent vigilante 'Red Hood,' taking a page from Churchill's "riddle wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma" distinct turn of phrase. Although there was a nice amount of intense action involving our title characters (Nightwing and Oynx make appearances, too), it was some the of quieter scenes - in which a troubled Batman confers with Superman, Green Arrow, and the always welcome Zatanna - that were just as effective.
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review -
https://youtu.be/vksPOSLQGd4 -
4.5 stars
I haven't read enough Batman comics to understand everything that had happened before this story took place, but even I know what happened to Jason Todd. Winick did an excellent job showing Batman's struggle with something that cannot be possible. Loved it! -
Being a Batman comic fan who has read a number of Batman arcs, it is utter shame for me not to have read the Death in the Family storyline. All I knew was that Jason Todd who was then the Boy Wonder died at the hands of the Joker. So minus that, I've only read three Batman stories with him in it: Hush (he was kinda in it), Scott Snyder's New 52 Batman and this, Under the Hood.
If there's one word I can say about this arc written by Judd Winick, it is balanced. Under the Hood Vol. 1 has the right amount of action, drama, dialogue and interesting characters that kept me engaged and entertained. Just to show you some comparison, with say Hush. Sure it was a great story with tons of action and interesting plot points. The problem is, it is saturated with so much characters that many of them were not really given the appropriate amount of screen time. It felt dense many times that Hush required a more focused reading than usual to fully absorb it. Under the Hood on the other hand unfolds itself in a more casual way, allowing the readers to sit back and slouch in couches while still enjoying reading it.
Another thing I enjoyed with this volume is the way they have made use of lower-tiered/less known characters enjoyable to see, there's Amazo who is there for the actions, Onyx and Black Mask who was the story's one of the two main antagonists and comic relief. Oh yes, Under the Hood has a couple of funny moments, just enough to counter the emotional weight it carries. Such a weight becomes heavier at the end, where the sure, full of ego, calculated Batman starts to have feelings of doubt, and maybe even self-blame.
Under the Hood is definitely the best Jason Todd story post-Death in the Family. If there is better than this, I would have known it. -
Reserving my judgment until more of this story is revealed because the twist of this plot is a bit hard to buy for me and for Batman. It may pay off, it may not, but it seems a bit fantastical, even in a world of fantastical things.
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Co tu dużo mówić? Bats ma problem z nowym łotrem w Gotham, którego tożsamość już dziś nie budzi zaskoczenia.
Jason Todd jako Red Hood pasuje do kanonu. Jest bezwzględny i opanowany a do tego para się brudną robotą. Co z tego wyniknie wiem z późniejszych komiksów (zwłaszcza the outlaws), jednak ten szczególny tytuł nie obszedł się bez potknięć. Black Mask jest jedynie urządzeniem pchającym fabułę do przodu, a nie pełnoprawnym bossem. Cała akcja jest bardzo pospieszana przez "kinowy" montaż kadrów, co czasami powoduje dezorientację. Dialogi też nie są zbyt dobre, a do tego jest ich niewiele. -
I'm on a bit of a comic book kick right now and this fit in perfectly with my already strong Batman obsession. In Under the Hood, Batman comes face to face with his past in a confrontation with a new character known as the Red Hood. The Red Hood has been making waves in Gotham by challenging the Black Mask's monopoly on crime in the city but doing so with a rather strange moral code. The Red Hood is ruthless in getting rid of competition and refuses to involve children in any way in the organization so he ends up getting on the bad side of both Batman and the criminals in Gotham. The identity wasn't a huge surprise for me because I'd already seen the animated movie that came out a few years ago but it was extremely satisfying to see how well it's hinted at and the way in which it's finally revealed. I especially loved the fact that you get an inside perspective on both Batman and the mystery of the Red Hood through the eyes of both Nightwing and Alfred during different sections of the story. This gives the reader a more well-rounded view of Batman and really brings attention to the central conflict between the Red Hood and Batman which is Batman's refusal to kill anyone, even those who may deserve it. Absolutely fantastic Batman story and one that's really a must-read if you're a comic book fan!
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This is the first Graphic Novel I read concerning Jason Todd, except for the small cameo he had in Hush. I'd heard what happened to him from other comic reading friends so I was looking forward to seeing how Winick would write his character. I really liked Jason's character in Under the Hood 1 and 2. I thought it made sense considering what had happened to him. He was more hard core than Batman and his team and also a little crazy, but not to much. Also. I'd want revenge on the Joker too. I wish other writers had been consistent with the way Winick wrote Jason's character, in later Graphic Novels, instead of making him a complete psychopatheic nut job.
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Book Info: This collection contains
Batman issues #635-641.
ABSOLUTE RATING: {4/5 stars}
STANDARDIZED RATING: <4/5 stars>
Bruce Wayne's life as Batman has been uncommonly difficult of late, and fraught with loss. On the heels of the events of
Batman: War Games, Batgirl, Robin, and Oracle have all ceased crime-fighting activity in Gotham – each leaving on tragic terms – placing the city's protection in the hands of
Onyx, Nightwing, and Batman alone. And with crime lord Black Mask having risen up the ranks of the criminal underworld, as well as Bruce having been the victim of a hostile takeover of Wayne Industries' R&D division – which supplied all his cool gadgets – Bats and the gang clearly have their work cut out for them. But perhaps most startling of all is the sudden reemergence of a homicidal masked vigilante calling himself the Red Hood – a mystery man from Bruce's past who's made it his mission to make life hell for the Mask, pumping lead at anyone who's brave enough to try and stop him.
The first time I read this was maybe 3 or 4 years ago, and I absolutely loved it. In light of recent rereads and the state of DC comics in general, it was nearly a shock to come back and find this book just as amazing as it was the before. With the first issue, Winick hits the ground running with an exceptionally intense battle sequence between Batman and the Red Hood, ending with a bit of a mid-issue cliffhanger teasing the hidden identity of the man under the hood. From there, the writer backtracks five weeks, gradually leading up to the events of this epic confrontation. For a lot of writers, I'm sure it would have been really tempting to try and more thoroughly catch readers up with what happened in the previous arc (i.e. War Games), but – aside from the one-page flashback following the cliffhanger – Winick does much of this recapping while on the move. So although some level of detail was likely sacrificed in the process, I rarely felt shortchanged or confused, and was glad he had the opportunity to focus almost exclusively at the plot at hand.
I'm almost tempted to say that Winick's Batman is one of the strongest characterizations I've seen from any writer, but I suspect that perception is just a mere product of clever plot organization on Winick's part. Besides the addition of
Dick Grayson – an ally with whom Batman has excellent chemistry – there's just so much action and scene changes between characters that Bats simply doesn't have the chance to drag down the writing. Usually, Batman is far from the most compelling of caped protagonists, but this writer's skillful narration and reduced internal whining was enough to remind readers that – under all the tough stoicism and gruff bossiness – is a remorseful, human man who secretly grieves for fallen friends and longs for a simpler, more peaceful time. Maybe, in Winick's case, he already got through much of the obligatory rumination and self-pity
an issue earlier, but writers generally feel the need to really play up this aspect. Not surprisingly, we do have a single mention of Bruce's dead parents (because what self-respecting Batman book could possibly omit that, amiright?), but it's a nonverbal one, and I expect most readers would be content with what comparatively little pathos Winick manages to squeeze into the plot line.
Overall, this tends not to be the case, but with Under the Hood Vol. 1, the villains steal the show. There may have been a couple decent moments with Alfred and Dick, but those paled in comparison to all the great stuff I saw from Red Hood, Black Mask, and Mr. Freeze. Of the three, I'd easily seat the Hood at the head of the table; admittedly, I may be a few years behind, but my recent comic history is fairly extensive, so I'd think it's a pretty significant statement when I say that the Red Hood is the coolest comic book character I can immediately bring to mind. Now there's probably several who come close, and a tiny few who match him, but I doubt anyone can actually top this guy in terms of just pure badassery radiating off the character. Besides his dynamic arsenal of weaponry, the Hood travels well-equipped with sharp quips and unbeatable comebacks suitable for any encounter, and in spite of his smug charm, he always seems level-headed enough to be ready for anything. Black mask is comparably cheeky, though also a tad bit funnier, and combines the street smarts of
the Penguin with the mercurial, unafraid-to-get-his-hands-dirty demeanor of
Two-Face. And even disregarding the formidable tech upgrades, who the heck knew Mr. Freeze could be such an ice-cold playa?
[Okay, Freeze! My mans ain't taking shit from nobody! Good for him. But y'all wanna know why I love Black Mask so much? First off, the guy's got a talking guy with a skull for a face, and his expressions alone just crack me up sometimes. More importantly though, he's so hilariously unhinged, and runs his business so close to the edge, that it's simply too entertaining seeing him navigate the chaos he's orchestrated – even when we know it's only a matter of time before it all falls apart for him. I mean sure, he *could* have played it safe like
the Penguin, who rarely gets busted by Bats and mostly keeps his operations under the radar, but where's the fun in that? As far as villains go, I'd easily take Winick's Black Mask over the Joker any day. He's just a hell of a lot funnier.]
One of the few flaws this book has is it's somewhat simplistic, uneventful plot, and nowhere was this more detrimental a factor than the fifth and sixth issues. Here, we get the slowest – or at least what feels to be the slowest – progression of noteworthy plot events, as Batman investigates any supernatural forces behind the Red Hood's appearance. During this time, we get to see various cameos including that of Superman, Green Arrow, and Etrigan, in addition to a passable segment involving Onyx's surveillance of a group of Black Mask's high-ranking lackeys. The surveillance part is a little bland, the cameos involve interactions which aren't terribly interesting, and which would – due to that well-intentioned recap skimping I mentioned earlier – probably go over the heads of folks unfamiliar with the events of
Identity Crisis. The seventh issue is the last one in the three-part sub-arc following the more consistently engaging "Under the Hood" opening arc, and does a whole lot to redeem this portion of the book. In fact, I'd call it the strongest issue of the entire volume, and had some of its best action and writing.
In most cases, I think if I read a comic Mahnke illustrated, I'd probably say the art was the most impressive part about it. But it truly is a testament to Winick's writing – and perhaps also to Mahnke's work by consequence – that he's able to match (and probably even surpass) the book's superb artwork. Apparently, Winick is indeed that talented a writer. (Okay: I think I'll stop blowing Winick for a moment and grant the rest of this paragraph to Mahnke.) For years now, I've always seen Mahnke as one of the very best of DC's regulars, and I was crazy about his work on
Black Adam: The Dark Age. Although the expressive intensity of his pencils is something I really love about it, it can be a little heavy-handed (as it was in
Stormwatch: PHD), and I suspect many of his earlier (i.e. pre-2005) works suffered as a result. But even Paul Lee – who briefly took over from Mahnke for the penultimate issue – was no slouch at all, and it must've taken me 3-5 pages before I noticed the decrease in artistic quality.
[Consider this the start to a really great fight sequence that nicely shows off Batman's genius as a combat strategist. But it's only one of several – all of which are expertly rendered by Mahnke.]
After finishing this book, I'm a little depressed to see how few decent, popular Winick books there are out there, and I remember being quite unimpressed by
his Green Arrow following
Kevin Smith's wonderful run. Don't know about y'all, but I really need more good Winick in my life, and he's clearly competent/deserving enough to be doing much better than he seems to be. So finally, I guess we're at the point in my review where I'm finally ready to drop the bombshell: Batman: Under the Hood, Volume 1 is the best Batman book I've ever come across, and I expect
part two to be even better. And yes, I've already read (and reviewed)
TDKR,
Year One, and
The Killing Joke. Huh? What's that? You disagree? Well bite me, bitches; I don't really give a fuck. With such a brilliant script and action galore, I ask you: what more can a comic lover ask for?
Postscript:
In closing, let's just take a look at one of my favorite moments in the entire book. It's not exactly a spoiler, per se, so feel free to click it if you're curious. I guarantee it won't much affect your future reading experience in any meaningful way. Just tryin' to be a professional reviewer, is all...
Man, this Red Hood chap sure is one class act, isn't he? Not only is his punchline hugely unexpected, given the fact that so many villain try and pull this stunt, but it's super badass, because it puts him above virtually all of 'em. And it also demonstrates that the guy has a code of honor, which makes him far more sympathizable and worthy of respect than your run-of-the-mill baddie. Now, you wanna tell me that Winick isn't an extremely talented writer? If that's still what you think, then fine: there's nothing more I can say to convince you otherwise. Just be sure to slap yourself in the face on my behalf. -
Tohle jsem si užil navzdory všem mým předpokladům, že by se tak dít nemělo. Animák jsem viděl, takže žádné velké odhalení se tu nekonalo. Věděl jsem, že je to jenom první book ze dvou a druhý tu podle všeho nikdy nevyjde. A jako by to nestačilo, tak to byl další Batman z kompletu, kde Batman tvoří sám čtvrtinu vydaných věcí a to nepočítám ty, kde se objeví jako člen týmu.
Na druhou stranu tady pořád máme dobře napsaný příběh, kde Batman řeší a hlavně si odmítá připustit totožnost nového zločinného hrdiny. Kde se zase jednou někdo snaží řešit otázku, proč nezabíjet zločince, když jim to jenom umožňuje se zase vrátit a znovu škodit. A kde se dočkáme, jak povedené akce, tak odlehčenějších momentů.
Vydání je zase jednou typicky kompletové. Nečtěte žádné z přidaných informací, dokud si nepřečtete komiks samotný a vyhnete se spoilerům (u historického kousku rovnou odhalí totožnost zločince pod maskou, asi pro lidi, kteří nemají čas číst celý ten jeden sešit). A pokud chcete druhou půlku, tak sáhněte po anglickém vydání. A nebo po animáku, ale ten doporučuji tak jako tak.
Mohlo by se vám líbit, pokud:
- máte rádi Batmana a přitom vás tenhle docela zásadní příběh minul
- si chcete dát jednu z těch lepších věcí v rámci DiCKKa
Spíš vás zklame, pokud:
- už jste viděli animák a ani ten vás moc nezaujal
- nechcete číst jenom půl příběhu a dočítání v angličtině pro vás moc není -
Since 2019 Lunar New Year is tomorrow, so do allow me to pimp my New Year themed Red Hood fanart!
(Link:
https://www.deviantart.com/darkchildr...) -
Really enjoyed the first volume of this. Nightwing, Batman and guest appearances from Superman and Green Arrow make a great read and Winick has impressed with this volume so much so that as this was a library read I'll be getting the collected edition of this & Vol.2 as a permanent physical copy edition to my collection either from the local comic store or Amazon.
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Hodnotím z pohledu DCKK, kdy se nedočkáme druhé části (a ani vlastně nemám chuť si ji přečíst v Aj): Totálně zbytečné a o ničem. Na začátku je hezká chemie Batman-Nightwing, jinak ten komiks nefunguje. Ani nevim, proč vlastně dávám tu druhou hvězdu.
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I feel like I've always known that Jason Todd returns as Red Hood. I'm 17, one year older than this comic so maybe its just been that way for so long, its simply become part of the established lore. Because of this, the story doesn't work on a mystery-level at all. Its interesting seeing Batman try and deduct the identity of this new vigilante in Gotham but, of course, the 'Who is the Red Hood' angle completely falls flat.
I'm not too fond of the retcon from Hush that Batman was in fact fighting Jason instead of just a Clayface duplicate, but I digress. Looking forwards to Volume 2 arriving so I can finish this story. -
Having already seen the animated film adaptation of this, I can't help but think that the reveal of Red Hood's identity was executed poorly. They don't drop "hints" so much as they tell you in advance that he's Jason Todd. Whether that's because readers already knew this info from another comic that was printed first, idk. It just struck me as odd, since this is written like a mystery with Batman trying to figure out who this new crime boss is.
Other than that, solid stuff. Liked it a lot. One too many characters involved, but that's to be expected when it comes to comics. -
Není dobré tímto komiksem začínat, pokud neznáte první dva Robiny. Pokud ale chcete být překvapení, tak nesmíte vědět moc o Red Hoodovi.
Moje hodnocení není pravděpodobně moc objektivní, ale viděla jsem i animovanou verzi a obojí je skvělé, moc mě to bavilo. Pokud jste fanoušek Red Hooda, doporučuji (komiks i animák). -
Significantly, significantly better than Death in the Family and exactly how Batman works at its best: a combination of pulpy noir, SF overtones and a healthy dose of darkness. There are stakes here and they are tangible. The writing has tension and the art is beautiful. It’s the comic at its very best
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This is an intriguing Batman story I really enjoyed, despite the fact that I knew "who dunniit?" prior to reading it.
Under the Hood first volume sets up an intriguing mystery that you can enjoy even if you are not that familiar with Batman comics.
Definitely recommended. -
I absolutely love the animated movie based on these comics, so I have be waiting a long time to read this. I feel a little let down because this seems to be just the bare bones of the story, like there is a lot of context missing.
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8/10
After re-reading this, this is much better than I remember and a very key part of the batman timeline. The art is great and the writing and dialogue very good, but i would argue that the reveal could have hit harder. -
t amo red hood
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This one is immensely better than the other one. It's not like Jason's doing something different here but I guess driving the bat crazy is enough to make me enjoy this.
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Never too happy with hauling dead characters up and main charters being page after page like "how is this possible".
But I do like this overly grim Batman. -
this book is absolutely amazing and I like the reviews.
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I don't think this needs Superman or Arrow's guest appearance with another volume to finish, but here we are.
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Primer tomo. En Argentina se editó en revistas en la última saga publicada por SD.
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I really enjoy the characters and overall character arks but this graphic novel in particular felt a bit cheap. The panelling and art just didn’t seem to flow for me and the story felt half baked.
