The following article contains spoilers from Batman #123, on sale now.
Since the Shadow War began, Batman has been racing against the clock to prove Deathstroke’s innocence and prevent any significant loss of life. However, in Batman #123 (by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Tomeu Morey, Clayton Cowles), time ran out with the deaths of Dr. Moon, Respawn, and on Batman’s side, the Hood. Now that one of his people has been killed in the conflict, it may push Batman to take a more proactive stance on the war rather than reactionary.
The Hood was a member of Batman Inc. He was a highly trained operative and one that Batman trusted to keep the world safe. For him to fall in the line of duty, even if the Hood understood the risks, is still a tragedy. Even more so because it was trying to stop a war that really had no point.
The Hood first debuted in Batman Incorporated #1 (by Alan Grant, Bret Blevins). Originally a spy for the British espionage division known as the Agency, George Cross was strategically positioned to be recruited into Batman Inc. as a vigilante. However, despite the organization’s attempts to spy on the Dark Knight, the Hood helped Batman uncover that the Agency had ties to Spyral, a rival spy organization with less than heroic purposes.
This discovery resulted in the Agency betraying Hood and leaving him for dead. Fortunately, he survived and became part of Batman’s “Dead Heroes Club” a group of heroes that Talia al Ghul’s organization, Leviathan, believed to be deceased, thus allowing them to operate in total secrecy. Hood, as well as the rest of Batman Inc., had been assigned the task of safeguarding the Secret Society while Batman tracked Deathstroke and tried to uncover who really framed him for the murder of Ra’s al Ghul.
The Hood was later assigned to keep tabs on Deathstroke while Batman worked with Robin to find an alternate lead for the case. This unfortunately coincided with a massive attack by the Demon’s Shadow. They had taken a page out of Deathstroke’s page and armed themselves with assault rifles. Tragically, Hood was caught in the crossfire, his dead body left to rot in the streets.
Aside from the fact that Batman abhors the taking of life, it was also one of his people that was killed in defense of Deathstroke. He knew that the only way to limit the violence would be to remove Talia’s targets from sight, but now, she has gone far enough to kill one of his own people to get her revenge.
It was also revealed that Talia ordered that anyone who protects Deathstroke and his people must be killed. This means that Batman Inc. has now been dragged into the fight whether they want it or not. The Hood was not a casualty of war, but a direct target of the Demon’s Shadow. They can either sit and wait to die, or go on the offensive and fight back.
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