Gotham Knights is great about sprinkling in context from before the game starts so players get an idea of what the characters have been through. Particularly, plenty is said about Jason Todd, who is the Red Hood. However, it’s an entirely different situation when you first see Jason Todd out of costume and notice his most distinct feature. Here’s our full explanation of how Jason Todd got that scar in Gotham Knights.
Jason Todd’s Scar in Gotham Knights Explained
The whole story of the scar can be seen in the A Death in the Family arc in the Batman comic (Volume 1, Issues 426-429) which includes a deadly attack on Jason Todd (as Robin) by a crowbar-wielding Joker. If you want more information, we tell more of the story below.
One day, while wandering Gotham, Jason Todd (now well-established as the second Robin) ended up in his old neighborhood in Crime Alley. An old neighbor recognized him and gave Jason a box of important pictures and documents she had managed to save before his old unit was sold off. In this box, Jason discovers his birth certificate and finds out his mother wasn’t actually his birth mother.
Jason’s determination to find out more about himself leads the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin to Ethiopia to track down Dr. Sheila Haywood, the final name on the list of possibilities for Jason’s birth mother. She’s in charge of medical supplies and funds for the surrounding region.
Unfortunately, the Joker is also in Ethiopia, and he’s blackmailing the good doctor for medical supplies he can turn around and sell on the black market. The Joker leaves Dr. Haywood no choice and in an effort to save the woman now known to be his real mother, Jason Todd reveals his Robin identity to her. Though, it turns out Dr. Haywood has been running her own corruption racket on the funds she’s been given. She betrays Jason to the Joker and he is brutally attacked with a crowbar. After being beaten almost to death, he is locked in a warehouse rigged with explosives with Dr. Haywood and he dies in the resulting explosion.
While there is nothing concrete in Gotham Knights that outright makes this connection, the scar you see Jason have from the left corner of his mouth to the edge of his scalp is most likely from the Joker’s crowbar.
That is the full story of how Jason Todd got his scar in Gotham Knights. While none of this is explicitly said, Gotham Knights very clearly shows that it follows canon in many specific ways such as Batgirl once being paralyzed by the Joker and mentioning Jason Todd getting put in the Lazarus Pit for his resurrection as the Red Hood.
Featured Image Source: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment via Twinfinite.