In The Boy Wonder #2, Damian Wayne is at his wit’s end following the mysterious new threat that’s been plaguing Gotham City. He needs help. That help comes in the form of Jason Todd, aka the Red Hood. But there’s two issues: Damian and Red Hood don’t really like each other, and the man they’re tracking knows a lot about them…and how to appeal to the darker parts of their natures.
Writer/artist Juni Ba has been pretty upfront that The Boy Wonder is meant to present the Batman mythos as a fairly tale, with the Dark Knight serving as the “king” of Gotham and Damian as its “prince”. Since Nightwing played a major role in the first issue, Red Hood gets the spotlight – and Ba doesn’t hold back from how traumatic Jason Todd’s life has been. The issue opens with him standing over the bodies of his latest victims, but then unfurls more of the section of Gotham he lives in – and it isn’t pretty. When he goes to buy food from the convenience store, the clerk shrinks fearfully away. When a child tries to imitate his behavior that child’s mother pulls them away. Even his apartment is a sparse, shadowy place screaming with loneliness.
Ba also continues to explore Damian’s connections to the rest of the Bat-Family. If Nightwing is the standard he feels he has to surpass, Red Hood represents the darker parts of himself that he hates. But there’s more to it than that: Damian’s mother is the reason Jason was brought back to life and they both even connect over the fact that they haven’t felt worthy of Batman’s standards. It all ends on a bittersweet, but rather hopeful note.
Ba is also still committed to making sure The Boy Wonder looks as visually compelling as possible, even when new characters are introduced. The Red Hood is drawn differently than the inspiring build of Nightwing or the diminutive stature of Damian. He’s shown to be constantly hunched over, his expression completely masked by his trademark red helmet. What skin is exposed showcases a litany of scars criss-crossing his arms, hinting at the horrific death he suffered at the Joker’s hands. His motions are laser-quick and violent; when Red Hood thinks Damian’s been harmed he immediately draws his guns and lets loose with a hail of bullets. Aditya Bidikar’s blood red lettering, combined with Chris O’Halloran’s vibrant colors, make Red Hood every inch the hunter the story proclaims him to be.
The Boy Wonder #2 isn’t just another great entry into Juni Ba’s reworking of the Batman mythos; it’s one of the more compelling Red Hood stories I’ve read in a while. This bodes well for the next issue, which will team up Damian and Tim Drake.
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