On September 25th at 7pm MST, the third season of Red Hood: The Fan Series, premiered on YouTube. This fan-funded series is a new take on DC Comic’s Red Hood, aka Jason Todd. Having returned to Gotham at the request of his youngest brother, Jason (played by Ian Lang) finds himself in a city teeming with Owls and not a Batman in sight. It is up to him, along with his brothers, to keep Gotham safe while uncovering the true goal of the Court of Owls, and how the proteges of the Bat fit into it.
Season two sent Red Hood on a tour through the multiverse. Along the way, he meets other versions of himself, middle-grade Power Rangers (Ninja Kidz), and even his own son, Colin Todd (Nadav Jackson). Bring tissues when you hit that episode— “the Future Hope”. Trust me.
When last we saw Red Hood, he was borrowing the ring of the White Lantern to find his path back to his universe—and pick up a guest along the way.
SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE BEYOND THIS POINT
Recap of Red Hood: The Fan Series S3E1 “Batman vs. Red Hood”
Season three, episode one opens in a flashback: 6 years ago. Batman rushes to break up a meeting of arms dealers, knowing that Jason is there. He flees the scene as Batman pursues. It becomes obvious that in this flashback, Jason is still the angry Lazarus pit madness flavor of Red Hood.
Father and son fight, but not before Jason tosses a Batman: Under the Red Hood quip “So you haven’t lost your touch, Bruce.” Batman takes down Red Hood, and we jump to a lonely Jason Todd in his barren apartment, reflecting on his life. He gets a call from Damian and takes a moment to decide before answering the call. I can only assume that this call is the one from Damian that brought Jason to Gotham at the start of the series.
Sidenotes
These episodes, as always, are short and leave you screaming “that’s it?!” at your screen. Part of this is because of how fast the story moves, and the other is an effect from the pandemic.
Due to COVID-19, Lang had to get creative with how to film scenes while keeping his cast and crew safe, not to mention keeping a forward momentum to provide results for his fans. Because of this, much of the season still needs to be filmed and edited. Yet, to give the loyal fanbase, the Robin Army, a return on their investment, Red Hood: The Fan Series has set a release schedule of one episode a month, with the possibility of a watch party with a cast & crew chat halfway between episode drops.
If this is your first time hearing about Red Hood: The Fan Series, hop over to their YouTube page and watch the first two seasons. Also, while you’re on YouTube, also watch the five episodes of Nightwing: The Series, produced by Ismahawk Studios. I’d tell you why, but um, spoilers.
Red Hood: The Fan Series is written by Ian Lang and Zach Denny and produced by CD828 Studios. You can follow the series on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to know when new episodes drop, as well as bonus behind-the-scenes content. And make sure you subscribe to our newsletter, so you won’t miss a recap.
Alison Sky Richards, a “method writer”, has trained professionally in sword fighting to learn how to write perfect fight scenes. She has yet to reach the George Lucas level of severed limbs though.
