Red Hood and Batman’s relationship has never been stable. It’s had its ups and downs, and Red Hood in the present day seems poised to once again destroy his bonds with his family. However, Future State: Gotham #15 (Dennis Culver, Giannis Milogiannis and Troy Peteri) may have shown Red Hood’s relationship with Batman reach an all-time low, perhaps being even worse than his days as a villain
After encountering Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul in the Batcave, Red Hood assumed (reasonably) that it was Hush pretending to be Bruce again. The Dark Knight tried to convince him otherwise, but when Red Hood refused to listen, Talia non-fatally stabbed him. While Bruce was initially horrified, he quickly got over it once it became apparent that Red Hood would live, prioritizing his mission over the physical wellbeing of his son, yet again.
It’s by far one of the scummiest things Batman has ever done to his children. Although he wasn’t the one who stabbed Red Hood, he was, however, the one who chose to leave him behind. There may have been some bitterness behind it, too, Batman was trying to convince his son that he was the real Bruce Wayne, but he was having none of it, preferring to attack instead.
It’s not an unreasonable response, though. Red Hood has been fooled by Hush before, being tricked into joining the Magistrate when he thought he was working for Bruce. It’s understandable that he would err on the side of caution, in fear of being caught off guard again. Being aware of all of this makes Batman’s reaction all the worse. Unfortunately, this is not the first time Batman has refused to acknowledge that his son’s past heavily influences his actions. Especially when he has a genuine reason to be skeptical. What’s surprising this time is how quick he was to just be okay with Talia stabbing his son, even if it was a non-lethal blow.
However, in his defense, Batman did say he and Talia would discuss her actions later. But that’s a hollow defense when he didn’t even try to help Red Hood or even make one last appeal to convince him that he was really Bruce. He just took Talia’s word on the blow being painful but not fatal and left without even bothering to confirm it.
Granted, although it wasn’t the best response to his son getting stabbed, Red Hood has been through worse. Maybe it was a terrible way to react, but Batman also doesn’t have a lot of time on his hands. With Damian back from Hell and ready to destroy Gotham City, Bruce and Talia are on a deadline to find their missing son before he does anything rash. It’s just a shame that this seems to come at the expense of Batman’s other children.