The Red Hood and Lew Moxon

I've never hidden the fact Batman was one of my favorite superheroes. Mostly because I feel that you can do so much with the character as far as stories are concerned outside the boudaries of current DC Continuity.

A good point is a recent episode of Batman: Brave and the Bold which used the concept of the parallel universe version of Batman called Owlman for a two part story. Owlman came from a Silver Age Justice League of America story which featured an evil version of the Justice League from another dimension called The Crime Syndicate.

Although, in the episode the team is called the Injustice Syndicate.

What's really great about the episode (and I'm going to ruin it for anyone who has not seen it) but the story features an alternate universe version of the Joker who is fighting crime as the Red Hood.

For those of you who are unfamilar with the Batman universe:

The Red Hood first appeared in Detective Comics #168 "The Man Behind the Red Hood." In the original continuity, the man later known as the Joker was a master criminal going by the alias of the Red Hood. His costume consisted of a large domed red helmet and a red cape. While attempting to rob a chemical plant, his men were dispatched and then he was suddenly cornerd on a catwalk by Batman. Left with no alternatives, he dove into a catch basin for the chemicals and swam to freedom, surviving because of a special breathing apparatus built into the helmet. The toxins in the vat permanently and grotesquely disfigured him, turning his hair green, his skin white and his lips red. Upon discovering this, he went insane, and became the Joker.

As a comic artist and writers, I've really wanted to do a graphic novel which would feature both the origin or the Joker as the Red Hood as well as Lew Moxon.

For those unfamiliar with Lew Moxon:

Sometime prior to their murder, Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife attend a costume party - to which Dr. Wayne wears a bat-like costume. Wayne is taken from the party, by gun-point, to meet racketeer and bank robber Lew Moxon. Moxon orders Dr. Wayne to remove a bullet from his shoulder. Wayne carries out the operation before overpowering Moxon and his men.

Moxon is arrested and sentenced to 10 years for armed robbery. As he is taken away he swears revenge on Thomas Wayne. Ten years later, a free Moxon informs Thomas Wayne that he will get someone else to extract that revenge (that someone being Joe Chill). It is suggested that Chill was told to leave young Bruce alive so as to provide an alibi for Moxon.

Years later Batman learns of Moxon's involvement in the murder of his parents, by which time Moxon is operating a Billboard blimp business. Batman's first attempt to convict Moxon for the murder of his parents fails, as Moxon is now suffering from amnesia and is able to pass a lie detector test. Batman determines that Moxon's blimp business must be a cover for illegal activities and continues to trail the gangster. Eventually, after uncovering Moxon's illegal activities, Batman confronts the criminal while wearing his father's costume (his own had been ripped during an earlier fight). On seeing Dr. Wayne's costume Moxon suddenly remembers what he had done. Thinking Batman was actually Thomas Wayne's ghost, Moxon panics and runs out into the street, where he is hit by a truck and killed.

I always felt the Lew Moxon character made the origin of Batman was much more interesting knowing that Joe Chill didn't act alone and he was actually on someone's payroll rather than just being a petty thug.

They did something similar to that for Batman Begins when they reintroduced Chill as Batman's parents murderer. Previously, the Tim Burton movies had created an origin which had the Joker murder Batman's parents. I suppose to give the film a full circle sort of feeling to it. But I never cared for it.

I think the whole Joe Chill thing is kind of bland. But the putting some sort of motive behind Chill's crime like what they did in Batman Begins or the Lew Moxon origin definitely gives Batman's origin much more depth.

But one of the things on my list to do is write a Batman graphic novel that would somehow involve both the Red Hood and Lew Moxon.

But the Red Hood would not be the namby pamby version from The Killing Joke. As much as I do like that graphic novel, the Red Hood would be a cold blooded killer and to that point Batman's key arch nemesis in my reimaging of the character.

Most of the most intersting Batman graphic novels don't fall anywhere in the current continuity of the Batman universe. So, even if it's just considered an Elseworld style story, that would be fine by me.