Who was Scarlet?  In Batman and Robin, we see Jason Todd re-make his Red Hood costume and take an apprentice (assistant, he calls her, actually) under his wing.  But Scarlet’s first appearance is not in Batman and Robin #3 as Jason’s is. She actually appears first in Batman and Robin #1, with her father, a petty thief who is working with his brother for Toad and Prof. Pyg. Her mother left her and her father sometime earlier. Her story is quite a sad one.  Her real name is Sasha and she’s a young teen, perhaps between the ages of 13-15, as we see here: She and her father are both captured by Prof. Pyg’s Dollotrons and are tortured and mutilated. Damian comes across her when he goes to Prof. Pyg’s hideout and is quite rightly disturbed and feels a desperate need to save her.  Damian attempts to save her, but cannot as he is engaged by Prof. Pyg in a fight. She begs him to help her and not to leave her. He feels intensely for this and this is a huge character development moment for Damian as well.  Sasha is taken to the hospital where she smothers her father with a pillow in a moment that echoes The Chief’s euthanisation of McMurphy in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Two security guards attempt to detain her, but before they are able to, Jason shoots them both in the head. With his fabulous line of “If you can’t trust the Red Hood, scourge of the underworld, who can you trust?” their partnership is formed. (Sadly, this wonderful and campy line that is just so very Jason is removed from the hardcover edition of Batman and Robin vol. 1) Sasha believes that this partnership has given her purpose, meaning and has helped to make her unafraid. By Jason’s side on the streets, she is harsher, colder and ruthless. She has no problem slicing open criminal’s throats or holding down a criminal so Jason can pour bleach into his I.V.  She is very much the dutiful sidekick, obeying him, and watching out for him and could almost be seen as a Carrie Kelly Robin turned on its head. She films the killing of criminals and their interactions of Batman and Robin and posts them on her Twitter account, under the name Scarlettraces. She reads the marketing and branding books he tells her to and openly confides to him that she’s worried they will get their own worse Rogues gallery of villains.  In a very haunting scene in Jason’s mack truck hideout, she looks at herself in the mirror and tells him how afraid she is of removing her Dollotron mask, that she is terrified it will rip her skin off down to the bone. Jason tells it’s her decision to leave it on or take it off, but that if she decides to leave it on, people will just imagine the beauty that lies beneath. While there is a slightly manipulative edge to him telling her this — that if she leaves it on, it will keep her “edgy” — it is also a very kind and sweet moment for him. It is probably one of the best scenes of the entire arc.  In a final battle with Flamingo, Jason saves Sasha as she is getting beaten by yelling at Flamingo and telling him to “come after him.”  This is a very important moment for Jason as well, as it shows he is willing to die for people he cares about. He tells her to run, to save herself in a moment that echoes A Death in the Family, when he does the same thing for his biological mother. It is actually a very heroic moment for him.  Scarlet runs away and drives off in the truck/hideout  out of Gotham, and as she does, her mask falls off. While Jason’s story ends with him going to jail and feels tragic, her story ends with hope.  What did you think about Scarlet? Did you like the character? Why or why not? Would you like to see more of her? What did you think about the dynamic between her and Jason? Submit your thoughts to us! 
Pop-upView Separately

Who was Scarlet? 

In Batman and Robin, we see Jason Todd re-make his Red Hood costume and take an apprentice (assistant, he calls her, actually) under his wing. 

But Scarlet’s first appearance is not in Batman and Robin #3 as Jason’s is. She actually appears first in Batman and Robin #1, with her father, a petty thief who is working with his brother for Toad and Prof. Pyg. Her mother left her and her father sometime earlier. Her story is quite a sad one. 

Her real name is Sasha and she’s a young teen, perhaps between the ages of 13-15, as we see here:

She and her father are both captured by Prof. Pyg’s Dollotrons and are tortured and mutilated. Damian comes across her when he goes to Prof. Pyg’s hideout and is quite rightly disturbed and feels a desperate need to save her. 

Damian attempts to save her, but cannot as he is engaged by Prof. Pyg in a fight. She begs him to help her and not to leave her. He feels intensely for this and this is a huge character development moment for Damian as well. 

Sasha is taken to the hospital where she smothers her father with a pillow in a moment that echoes The Chief’s euthanisation of McMurphy in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Two security guards attempt to detain her, but before they are able to, Jason shoots them both in the head. With his fabulous line of “If you can’t trust the Red Hood, scourge of the underworld, who can you trust?” their partnership is formed. (Sadly, this wonderful and campy line that is just so very Jason is removed from the hardcover edition of Batman and Robin vol. 1)

Sasha believes that this partnership has given her purpose, meaning and has helped to make her unafraid. By Jason’s side on the streets, she is harsher, colder and ruthless. She has no problem slicing open criminal’s throats or holding down a criminal so Jason can pour bleach into his I.V. 

She is very much the dutiful sidekick, obeying him, and watching out for him and could almost be seen as a Carrie Kelly Robin turned on its head. She films the killing of criminals and their interactions of Batman and Robin and posts them on her Twitter account, under the name Scarlettraces. She reads the marketing and branding books he tells her to and openly confides to him that she’s worried they will get their own worse Rogues gallery of villains. 

In a very haunting scene in Jason’s mack truck hideout, she looks at herself in the mirror and tells him how afraid she is of removing her Dollotron mask, that she is terrified it will rip her skin off down to the bone. Jason tells it’s her decision to leave it on or take it off, but that if she decides to leave it on, people will just imagine the beauty that lies beneath. While there is a slightly manipulative edge to him telling her this — that if she leaves it on, it will keep her “edgy” — it is also a very kind and sweet moment for him. It is probably one of the best scenes of the entire arc. 

In a final battle with Flamingo, Jason saves Sasha as she is getting beaten by yelling at Flamingo and telling him to “come after him.”  This is a very important moment for Jason as well, as it shows he is willing to die for people he cares about. He tells her to run, to save herself in a moment that echoes A Death in the Family, when he does the same thing for his biological mother. It is actually a very heroic moment for him. 

Scarlet runs away and drives off in the truck/hideout  out of Gotham, and as she does, her mask falls off. While Jason’s story ends with him going to jail and feels tragic, her story ends with hope. 

What did you think about Scarlet? Did you like the character? Why or why not? Would you like to see more of her? What did you think about the dynamic between her and Jason? Submit your thoughts to us! 

Recent comments

Blog comments powered by Disqus