WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Red Hood #52 by Shawn Martinbrough, Tony Atkins, Stefano Gaudiano, Paul Mounts and ALW's Troy Peteri, on sale now.

In the annals of DC, Jason Todd's role with the Bat-family will forever be a contentious topic. A lot of it has to do with the violence he inflicted as the Red Hood, a vigilante hellbent on bloodshed and someone Batman has fought with numerous times to remind him this isn't their way.

Admittedly, Jason's tempered down a lot, eventually making his way back to Gotham after mentoring the Outlaws, ready to embrace life with his old peeps again. But as the recent arc in the Hill showed, now's the best time for Jason to leave Bruce Wayne's stable of crimefighters and continue carving his own path.

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Let's be honest, Jason's stories are best when he's on his own. We saw that with Artemis and Bizarro, where he was a friend, lover, and surprisingly, someone maturing past the mentality of judge, jury and executioner. Not to mention, he also taught a new generation of heroes with Ma Gunn, balancing his code with that of Bruce's. This just felt like better character development than falling in line like Dick and Tim did, or going off the rails like Damian.

This Jason represents the whirlwind inside Bruce, the conflict of the dark and the light. Without Batman looking over his shoulder, Jason is free to explore who he is without having to worry about what anybody thinks. It's similar to Punisher being away from the Defenders or Avengers, where he makes his own way -- for better or worse.

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These isolated stories simply offer a better character portrait and a study into the human conditions of these characters, and there's no one better to do this with than Jason. Sure, the Robins and Batgirls have traumatic baggage, but Jason's trauma is unique. He was killed, resurrected, became an enemy, acted as a pseudo-Batman and represented everything Bruce stood against. That's an emotional rollercoaster, better handled in smaller, self-contained stories than sprawling Bat-family adventures.

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We're not saying he can't team up a la Joker War, but when you weigh what he did there versus the Hill -- helping marginalized people of color -- the latter feels more wholesome. It fits his aesthetic and grime too, working with vigilantes padded up with hockey masks, embedding himself in various diverse sub-cultures and looking after the 'little man.' Honestly, Batman is way too big and powered up for the common folk, as is Bruce. Jason, though, can come right down to ground zero, giving us a more relatable arc as seen with him saving the Hill from a fashion mafia.

This also helps DC fix white savior syndromes, shows him learning from the kaleidoscope of people, and creates a better hero than someone who's wisecracking when he knows he has multiple back-ups. Jason becomes his own man, someone worldly who really gets the man on the street akin to Daredevil and Hell's Kitchen, and whether it's dedicated to rebuilding the Hill or moving to other underprivileged areas, it's an evolution of identity Bruce would be proud of.

KEEP READING: Red Hood: How Jason Todd Helped Save the Joker's Daughter