WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Task Force Z #1
Jason Todd may be seen as the black sheep of DC Comics’ Bat Family, but the Red Hood is a true hero where it counts, and in one arena, he’s even truer than Captain America. Over the years, the Red Hood has walked a pretty dark path either as a full-on supervillain or even as Gotham’s own version of the Punisher. But recently, Todd has decided to turn over a new leaf, pledging to bring justice to the streets without leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake.
Unfortunately for Red Hood, however, the dead aren’t done with him just yet as he’s found himself roped into the Task Force Z program. Alongside the reanimated corpses of some of Gotham’s deadliest deceased, Jason has already been forced to put his new code to the test. But when a prisoner is about to be tortured before his very eyes in Task Force Z #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Eddy Barrows, the Red Hood is unwilling to stand by and watch - unlike Marvel Comics’ Star-Spangled Man.
After Jason and the rest of Task Force Z capture the villain known as Crazy Quilt, the program’s overseers seek to press the D-list villain for information. Placing a chained up Crazy Quilt in an empty room while Red Hood watches on from behind a one-way mirror, they then release the reanimated Arkham Knight into the room, threatening Crazy Quilt with the zombified zealot in order to get him to squeal on his contacts – much to Jason’s disgust. The Red Hood makes it clear that he doesn’t approve of their methods and even threatens to take out the entire program and its director if they don’t call off the undead attack dog. While the eerie display does result in Task Force Z getting the information they desired, Jason Todd is clearly disgusted – and clearly far less approving of torture than one Steve Rogers.
Despite his violent past, Red Hood is clearly trying to make a change and torturing villains isn’t going to be a part of it. Meanwhile, when recently put into a similar situation, Captain America allowed the U.S. Agent to effectively torture Sin, the daughter of the Red Skull, all while simply waiting in the other room. Both men have racked up a sizable body count – Red Hood used to be a ruthless vigilante and Captain America was a wartime hero – but their respective reactions to pretty similar situations say a lot about both characters.
While he’s often seen as Bruce Wayne’s wayward son, Jason was still trained by the Batman, and no matter how hard he’s tried to shake those teachings over the years, there will always be a part of him that will try and live by Batman's code of honor – one that clearly prohibits torturing prisoners. Meanwhile, Captain America is seen as the Sentinel of Liberty and is the high standard to which many Marvel heroes measure themselves. But thanks to his harsh experiences both during war and as an espionage agent, it seems that Steve is willing to cross a few lines for what he considers the greater good.
Red Hood and Captain America are two very different characters, and each heroes’ reaction to torture was far different than many fans may have expected. But when looking at the context of both Jason and Steve’s backgrounds, as well as the new identities they’ve forged, it makes total sense for them to react the way they did. But just because Steve’s reaction wasn’t surprising doesn’t mean it was acceptable. After all, if even Red Hood - DC Comics’ resident Bat-Family bad boy – won’t allow torture, then neither should Captain America.