Red Hood (Jason Todd)

Red Hood (Real Name Jason Todd) is a vigilante from Batman's corner of the DC Universe. Originally the second Robin, after Jason's death at the hands of the Joker he was revived via the Lazarus Pit and subsequently turned into a more brutal and vicious but still well-meaning crimefighter.

History
Jason Todd is the son of criminals. With his father having been killed by Two-Face and his mother not a part of his life, Jason was forced into a life of thievery and other petty crimes at a young age. One night, the audacious Jason attempted to steal the tires off the Batmobile. Batman caught him in the act, but also took pity on the boy and decided to take him in as he had once taken in Richard Grayson. Soon, Batman had turned Jason Todd into his second Robin. Though Jason quickly showed himself to be arrogant, mean-spirited, and ruthless, he still sometimes performed legitimately heroic deeds, including saving Batman from Deacon Blackfire and later helping stop Mongul during his first usage of the Black Mercy Plant.

Ultimately though, Jason's increasingly vicious behavior prompted Batman to dismiss him, though the two would later work together anyway to try and locate Jason Todd's mother. Unfortunately, she sold her son out to the Joker, who she had been in league with. The Joker savagely beat Jason with a crowbar and then left him to die in a warehouse rigged to blow. Batman raced to save his former disciple but was too late. The warehouse exploded and Jason Todd died.

This was not to be end of Jason Todd's story however. Revived via a Lazarus Pit (Pre-Flashpoint his revival was the result of Superboy Prime altering reality) Jason Todd spent several years rebuilding himself and training himself further until he was far more dangerous and skilled than he'd ever been previously. Learning that Batman had not avenged him by killing the Joker, Jason was enraged and vowed to kill the Joker himself, as well as do what he felt Batman should do but could not: clean up Gotham City in a far more brutal and lethal manner. So it was that Jason Todd became the Red Hood and brought his own brand of justice to Gotham City. Though typically seen as a villain by this point, Jason Todd is still technically battling against criminals and fighting to stop meances like the Joker, and though far more ruthless and brutal then most DC heroes he still has scruples and a code, and has no desire to hurt innocent civilians. He has also consistently shown a concern for the well-being of children (likely having to do with his own troubled childhood) and saved the life of a teenage girl who had been victimized by Professor Pyg before taking her under his wing much the same way Batman had once taken him in.

In current DC continuity, Jason Todd works with fellow anti-heroes Arsenal and Starfire as they are pursued by all manner of different foes, including some of Jason Todd's former teachers the All-Caste.