This Batgirl and Red Hood cosplay shows what might happen if the two vigilantes really went head-to-head. Gotham wouldn’t survive this rivalry.
A Bat-Family cosplay of Batgirl and Red Hood shows what might happen if Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd really went head-to-head. Gotham might not survive if this rivalry came to be.
What would happen if these two stubborn characters went head-to-head—and what would it look like? This cosplay by nobody_cosplay_works (Red Hood) and puffancs_cosplay (Batgirl) asks and answers that question.
The armored Batgirl costume seems to take inspiration from Barbara’s original New 52-era costume with its gold details and black bodysuit. The Red Hood costume seems to be from the same era: it includes an armored shirt with a Red Hood logo underneath a tan jacket as well as the classic red helmet. The two cosplayers stand in battle poses, including one where Red Hood seems to be at Batgirl’s mercy.
What Would Happen if Batgirl and Red Hood Were Truly Rivals?
Though fans might be more familiar with Bat-Family relationships that get more “air time,” Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd have a unique relationship within the larger group. In current continuity, of course, they’re best known as Oracle and Red Hood, respectively, but they actually served as Batgirl and Robin at the same time during DC’s post-Crisis on Infinite Earths era. That moment was short-lived, however; Jason Todd’s Robin was famously killed by the Joker, just as Barbara Gordon was famously shot in the spine by the Joker, paralyzing her from the waist down. In time—and through some infamous continuity changes—both characters “recovered” and reinvented themselves. Jason Todd became the unafraid-to-kill Red Hood, and Barbara Gordon currently balances her time between Batgirl and the intelligence expert Oracle.
Batgirl and Red Hood appear to have a lot in common—especially their brutal encounters with the Joker—but this cosplay is remarkable because it bring to the forefront what could be a devastating rivalry within the Bat-Family. Some universes might draw a romantic connection between Babs and Jason, but this Batgirl has always been closer to Nightwing, and Red Hood will never truly be at ease among the morally-strict members of Batman’s family. Given Babara’s technological reach as Oracle and her strong sense of right and wrong, she wouldn’t hesitate to take Red Hood down if she felt he was in the wrong—and Jason wouldn’t hesitate to violently defend his own choices, even to a friend like Babs.
This cosplay by nobody_cosplay_works and puffancs_cosplay certainly notices and makes use of the possible tension between Batgirl and Red Hood, especially in the tense time that was the New 52. Given that, in current continuity, Jason has once again gone rogue in search of the Joker and Barbara is more closely tied to the Bat-Family than ever, readers just might see this confrontation between Red Hood and Batgirl come to life in their pages—not just as a cosplay.
Sources: nobody_cosplay_works (1, 2) and puffancs_cosplay
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