In the DC Future State event, Gotham is ruled by a despotic leader called the Magistrate. The new director of Gotham has enacted a police state that employs peacekeepers to keep citizens and villains in line while employing bounty hunters to hunt down masked heroes. The Bat- Family is caught in the middle of it all. Batman is presumed dead and a mysterious new hero has taken up the cowl.
In the heart of Gotham, Red Hood exists in a state of survival. In keeping with his character, he makes decisions the rest of the masked community doesn't agree with, facing their scorn while just trying to do his job. He is written with his usual brassy, straightforward nature that made fans love Jason from his first appearance as Red Hood. Besides a new costume with an actual hood for once, there are some things that fans should notice about his story arc in this comic. The writers delve a little deeper into what Red Hood is willing to do to save his family and his city.
10 Contracted Mask Hunter
Lead by Nightwing, an entire resistance is formed to fight the rule of the Magistrate. To keep control of the city, Gotham's leaders have taken to hiring some of DC's best bounty hunters to take down the vigilantes that oppose him. The best way to keep a city under control is to take away the hope they hold in their heroes.
Future State: Gotham #1 opens with Jason Todd being dressed down by a peacekeeper for doing something outside his designated contract. He has been hired to track down and capture the masked vigilantes of Gotham, seemingly betraying his family with the role.
9 Working Undercover
It is very quickly revealed that Red Hood is actually working with a mysterious figure in an alleyway. He is most effective when working from the inside to take down the corrupt leaders, while his associate sulks around in the shadows, digging up what he can.
Issue 2 of Gotham opens with flashbacks to the times that Jason feels he betrayed his family. The final flashback is the moment Bruce asks him to go undercover. Because of his previous history with the family, he feels as though he can't really say no, knowing that it won't be hard for them to believe he has betrayed them. This protects his cover and allows him to work without interference.
8 Relationship With Ravager
Although previous comics have seen Red Hood confess his love for Batgirl, in this issue, he has a different love interest altogether. In a flashback, it is revealed that Red Hood and Ravager were dating; however, they broke up after Ravager claimed he had broken too many promises. They were planning on going away together at one point, but Jason, in a very Batman-like move, sacrificed everything for the good of the mission.
The two were clearly very close and intimately aware of each other's fighting styles. When facing off against Nightwing, who was claiming to be better trained, Red Hood was able to foil him due to knowing all his moves. In the past, Deathstroke had enlisted Nightwing to train his daughter Ravager, meaning that Jason has second-hand knowledge of all Dick's strategies.
7 Still Trying to Protect the City
Despite looking like his allegiances are all over the place, Red Hood is really just trying his best to protect Gotham. He risks getting in trouble with the Peacekeepers to stop Scarface from wreaking havoc in his neighborhood. When an explosion collapses the streets of Gotham, almost immediately afterward, he tries to help the people fleeing the destruction.
Even when he first emerged as Red Hood in Batman: Under the Red Hood, the goal was to protect Gotham. Though his methods were revenge-driven, he was trying to take care of his city. So when someone blows a hole in Gotham's streets, he is going to put a stop to it while also taking down the Magistrate at the same time.
6 Working Secretly with Bruce
For the most part, everyone believes the original Batman is dead. At first, it looks as though Bruce asks Jason to go undercover and then left him to his own devices when he is killed. The mysterious figure Red Hood interacts with is later revealed to be a Bruce Wayne in hiding, working from the shadows.
Bruce continues to encourage him to stay on the path and pursue the evidence needed to take down the Magistrate. Red Hood is clearly becoming agitated with the lack of progress and not being told the whole story. It is par for the course when working with Batman, which is why Jason was regularly frustrated any time he teamed up with his old mentor.
5 Keeps Tabs On His Family
Just because Red Hood has to let his family believe he is a traitor, doesn't mean he has stopped caring. After the next Batman allegedly blew a hole in the streets of Gotham, Jason felt the need to make contact with his family. He knew exactly where they would be meeting and when. He had also been keeping up with all the new rumors about how they were doing.
Red Hood has always had a complicated relationship with his family, but whether or not they hated each other at the moment, he cares enough to protect them. Even though he was right in the middle of having a very physical spat with them, the moment the Magistrate's men showed up, he covered for them to escape.
4 Resourceful
Jason Todd is still his usual resourceful self in Future State: Gotham. He uses any and all tools to his advantage. Whether it's his knowledge of Nightwing through Ravager or his access to the Peacekeeper database, everything he gets his hands on becomes a method of survival.
The very first time Jason Todd was introduced, even before becoming one of DC's most iconic Robin's, he was caught stealing tires off the Batmobile. His rough childhood hardwired him for survival, so if anyone is going to endure the brutal future state that Gotham is now, it will be Red Hood.
3 Red Hood Is Beginning To Get Tired Of Lying
Everyone reaches their limits eventually. During one of his clandestine visits with Bruce, Jason admits that he isn't sure how much longer he can keep it up. He thought he could handle being undercover and lying to his family just one more time, but it has begun to wear him down.
Jason is getting tired of the lies. Tired of feeling alone and hated by his family. Bruce gives him a pep talk and promises that they can be a family once the Magistrate is taken care of, but who knows how long that will take? Batman has a history of convincing people to pursue a mission that has no real end. Fans will have to wait to see if Jason will be pushed past his breaking point.
2 The Impact Of Being Made A Peacekeeper
After the bat-shaped crater was blown into the heart of Gotham, the Magistrate became increasingly desperate. Jason Todd was just a mask hunter and after the explosion, he was immediately promoted to peacekeeper, under the terms of "succeed or go to prison."
What they thought would help them keep better tabs on the anti-hero actually just gave him better tools to undermine them. He has access to places like Blackgate Penitentiary now, so he can interview witnesses and suspects for his mission. Combine that with his devil may care attitude about their authority and the leaders of the Peacekeepers are going to be left very frustrated. No one else would have the audacity to hang up on their boss while being scolded for going off-grid.
1 Conflict Takes A Backseat to Survival
In issue #2 of Future State: Gotham, Red Hood finally comes face to face with the Next Batman within Black Gate Penitentiary. He is pretty determined to arrest the new bat for blowing up Gotham. Despite the Magistrate claiming the new guy was behind the explosion, Batman insists he had nothing to do with it.
This of course leads to a fight. Red Hood and Batman are in the middle of trying to beat the crud out of each other when they hear the prison alarms sound. As someone opens every single door in the prison, immediately the two are fighting alongside one another instead of against each other. He prioritizes the need to survive over the mission. He also understands that he won't get the necessary answers if he and the New Batman don't work together.
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