Line #22 TearJerker/BatmanUnderTheRedHood


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jason_todds_death.jpg]]
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3	Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies to all "Moments" pages, so '''all spoilers are unmarked.'''
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5	* Near the beginning of the film, when Jason sees the bomb timer, you can see in his eyes that he knows at that moment he's going to die and there's nothing he can do about it. [[FaceDeathWithDignity He just squares his shoulders and waits for the end to come.]]
6	** Jason, unable to even stand, musters the strength to drag his broken body all the way to the door. [[HopeSpot Only to learn the Joker locked him in...]]
7	** The beating itself was just plain hard to watch, not helped by it being how the movie opened. Not many, especially those not on the up-to-date with Batman mythology, can watch a kid be beaten within an inch of his life like that without at least cringing.
8	* [[DoomedByCanon All the flashbacks involving young Jason]], especially the one right at the end when Jason wears the Robin suit for the first time and is really psyched about it.
9	-->'''Young Jason''': This is the best day of my life!
10	** What makes the final flashback even worse is that not only do we see a happier and more innocent Jason, we also see a happier and more innocent Bruce. It's a stark contrast to how somber he has become since then.
11	* Alfred's [[DramaticDrop reaction]] to seeing that Red Hood's blood is a perfect match to Jason's is damn near heartbreaking. Especially since Bruce had never openly voiced his suspicions with anybody.
12	* Ra's al Ghul's actions, despite having [[WellIntentionedExtremist the best intentions]]. By hiring the Joker, he paved the way for Jason's murder, and by resurrecting Jason, Ra's inadvertantly drove him insane and set him loose upon Gotham. His remark as he orders his men not to pursue Batman sums up Ra's' feelings about the whole ugly mess.
13	--> '''Ra's''': I have done enough.
14	* In a flashback we see a pre-Joker wearing the 'classic' Red Hood costume, pleading with Batman that it's not what it looks like and that he's 'not a crook'. He even tries to remove the helmet before tripping on his own cape and falling into the vats. For people who have read ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', you can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy.
15	* Jason's speech, particularly these lines:
16	--> '''Batman''': I know I failed you, Jason. But I tried to save you. I'm trying to save you now.
17	-->'''Jason:''' ''(pulls a gun)'' Is that what you think this is about? That you let me die? I don't know what clouds your judgment worse: your guilt or your antiquated sense of morality. Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me... but why? Why on God's Earth ''(breaks down the door)'' ''is '''he''' still alive''?! ...Ignoring what he's done in the past, blindly, ''[[LawfulStupid stupidly]]'' disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled, the thousands who've suffered, [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke the friends he's crippled]]! You know I thought...I thought I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt. If it had been you that he had beat to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world, I would have done ''nothing'' but search the planet for this pathetic pile of evil death-worshipping garbage and sent him off to Hell!
18	** Jason mentions "The friends he's crippled" when talking about why the Joker should die. ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' happened in this universe. This adds another layer of tragedy to Jason's character: he wants to avenge Barbara as well as himself.
19	*** He states that he doesn't advocate killing any other member of the RoguesGallery, just The Joker, because "he took me away from you."
20	** We already knew Joker has murdered countless innocents while laughing, but that doesn't make Jason's statement that he's filled entire ''graveyards'' any less distressing. It ''could'' be hyperbole, but knowing Joker, it most likely isn't.
21	* Batman admitting that he's ''always'' wanted to kill the Joker, but because he knows [[StartOfDarkness what that]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters would mean]] [[MoralEventHorizon for him]], will never bring himself to do so. Bruce's ''real'' SadisticChoice isn't the one offered by Jason, but the one he gives '''himself''': spare the Joker, which would mean allowing him to continue his endless rampage and let Jason go unavenged, or kill the Joker, and lose his own soul in the process. Undoubtedly one of the greatest victories for the Joker, resulting in a complete Win-Win situation for him: Batman either kills him, and in doing so, completely loses his soul and lets the Joker die knowing that in the end he had the ultimate victory of forcing Batman to break his [[ThouShaltNotKill oath]], or Batman doesn't kill him, and must instead live in sorrow/guilt for the rest of his life because the Joker has not only tainted the Robin legacy but successfully killed one of the few people Batman is close to.
22	-->'''Red Hood''': Why? I'm not talking about killing Penguin, or Scarecrow, or Dent. [[ItsPersonal I'm talking about him.]] ''[[ItsPersonal Just him.]]'' And doing it because... because ''he took me away from you''.
23	--> '''Batman''': ''(after a long hesitation)'' ...I '''''can't'''''. I'm sorry.
24	** To make this scene even '''more''' emotional, Jason's voice starts to break up during that last part. He genuinely sounds like he's holding back tears.
25	* The hopelessness of the moment when Jason [[VillainousBSOD just sits in a corner]] while a madman is choking his mentor and a bomb is ticking away to kill them all.
26	** Two things make this scene all the more heartbreaking. One, when Batman does break out of Joker's grip, the first thing he does is actually reach out to grab Jason, totally ignoring the clown in favor of saving his surrogate son. Two, when the bomb goes off and reduces the building to rubble, Bruce begins to search through the rubble in the vain hope of finding what's left, if anything, of Jason.
27	*** The voice-acting also shines through, as you can ''hear'' the desperation in Jason's voice as he's giving Batman a SadisticChoice - he knows [[ThouShaltNotKill Batman's code]] and hopes that, for his sake, he'd be willing to make a single exception.
28	** Add a third thing: when Batman does grab Jason just before the bomb goes off, Jason has an obviously shocked look on his face, like he is surprised that Batman is bothering to save him at all...
29	* Amazingly enough, the Joker gets one of these moments as well, in the same scene as the previous example. While the Joker is choking Batman he laughs hysterically, with tears in his eyes, that he's finally going to get his wish of dying with Batman.
30	--> '''Joker:''' ''(grabs Batman from defusing the bomb)'' '''''[[BigNo NO!]]''''' Don't spoil it! This is ''better! I'm'' the only one who's gonna to get what he wants tonight! '''Yes! ''Bing bang boom!''''' We all go out together! Don't you just love a happy ending?! ''([[CryLaughing laughs hysterically while crying]])''
31	* [[DownerEnding Nothing changed]]. The criminals killed by Red Hood will inevitably be replaced by more. Black Mask remains free, the Joker is back in Arkham, [[CardboardPrison for all the good that ever does]], and Jason, whether alive or dead, is still lost to Bruce, whose feelings of [[MyGreatestFailure failure]] have, if anything, only gotten worse than ever.
32	** Made even worse when it shows a [[HappyFlashback flashback]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid when Jason was in his younger kid-Robin days]], only followed by the somber credits roll afterwards. Those happy days will never again return...
33	-->'''Young Robin:''' [[BeCarefulWhatYouSay This is the best day of my life.]]

Context TearJerker / BatmanUnderTheRedHood