Red Hood convincingly beats Nightwing in “Outsiders” No. 44

There’s no doubt that Dick Grayson is the greatest member of the Bat Family next to Bruce Wayne. He was Batman’s first sidekick and his first son. Damian Wayne is his biological child, but Dick was the first child Bruce considered family. And then there’s Jason Todd.

Jason was the second Robin, one of the most despised Bat Family members, and regarded as the worst Robin. So much so that fans voted to get rid of him (he died in Batman: Death in the Family). After years of revamping his character, Red Hood is among the most popular DC Comics characters.

Nightwing and Red Hood have evolved over the past ten years. Jason went from being a despised character to being sought after. That can be attributed to Red Hood and The Outlaws. Recently, Dick became the premiere superhero leader of DC Comics (check out Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths to learn how that started). He's also doing big things in Tom Taylor's Nightwing.

Despite both former Robins having a similar upbringing, Jason’s insecurities put him at odds with his brother. Usually, Nightwing wins their fights. However, there was the encounter in Outsiders No. 44 where Red Hood was the clear winner.

Towards the end of the issue, Red Hood sneaks up on Nightwing saying he wants to talk. Unfortunately, Jason has a history of attacking the Bat Family. It didn’t help that Jason had a gun pointed at Nightwing. This leads to Dick attacking Jason instead of seeing what he wanted.

The battle goes on with neither having an advantage long. It ends in what Nightwing called a stalemate. Sadly, it wasn’t. Nightwing had his sticks to Red Hood’s neck, but Jason had a gun to Dick’s head. Jason says, “If it’s a race, I’d say my bullet passes through your brainpan before you crush my windpipe." Luckily, as Red Hood said, he was just there to talk.

Does this confirm that Red Hood beats Nightwing more often than not? Not at all. It always comes down to the DC Comics' needs.

For example, if Jason Todd needs a push, the writers will have him win. When a story requires Nightwing to dominate, he'll have a clear victory over Red Hood. Thankfully, they’ll fight again at some point. When that happens, Caped Crusades will be here to break it down.

If you want to read the entire issue, the information is below.

• Comic book: Outsiders No. 44
• Writer: Judd Winick
• Artist: Carlo Barberi
• Release Date: January 10th, 2007

Who would you pick in a fight between Red Hood and Nightwing? Do you have a favorite Robin? We want to hear from you. You can email us at entertainment@fansided.com