If you’re a batman comic book fan, you are familiar with Red Hood and the Red Hood Gang, however if you’re a Gotham fan and are finally wondering who the heck these guys are, here’s a brief synopsis for you.  Seasoned vets, please feel free to add more to the historical record.

Red Hood and the Red Hood Gang have been an ever evolving group of masked criminals in the DC Universe.  Characters that have donned the hood have included The Joker, Jason Todd (the 2nd Robin), and various other no named criminals.  Red Hood (less the gang) was first introduced to Gotham in Detective Comics #168, published in 1951, in the story “The Man Behind the Red Hood”.  The Red Hood Gang, however, makes its first appearance in the iconic Alan Moore story “Batman: The Killing Joke”, when The Joker (pre-insanity) is approached by the gang to pull off a heist.

The Red Hood character has had another identity: as a vigilante, when Jason Todd (the 2nd Robin, following after Dick Greyson) decided to take over the mantle, after his resurrection from death in the hands of The Joker, thanks to the Lazarus Pit.  The Red Hood becomes the scourge of the Gotham underworld, doing the one thing Batman will not do: kill.  In all his DC Universe reincarnations Jason Todd’s Red Hood is always portrayed as the anti-hero; an angsty/bitter guy, trained under the Batman.

The Red Hood Gang have made appearances in the show Gotham, as well as in some of the DC animated films.  The Red Hood (both Joker and Jason Todd versions) have shown up in DC Comics video games such as “Arkham City”, “Arkham Origins”, “Lego Batman 1, 2, and 3”, “Injustice: Gods Among Us”, “Arkham Knight”, and on “DC Universe Online”.

In the comic book universe, the gang has shown up in “Kingdom Come”, “Justice League: Generation Lost”, and several other Batman titles.

For more information of The Red Hood Gang’s return to the show Gotham, check out the video below.