"Through the Valley" by Shawn James.
I know I've talked about it and Jason Todd twice already.
HOWEVER, it's my favorite characterization of Jason (and I know the song wasn't written with Jason in mind. Hear me out).
Okay... So most of the song fits. There are three verses that I feel really hit it home:
"And my mind and my gun they comfort me because I know I'll kill my enemies when they come."
"But I can't walk on the path of the right because I'm wrong."
"But I know when I die, my soul is damned."
Jason Todd was murdered and this affects his outlook on death. He is constantly haunted by the memories of Joker and can't be reassured with the fact that Joker will never harm him again. Joker is still alive, so he can and will hurt Jason (physically, emotionally, or mentally).
For whatever reason, he doesn't kill Joker. His other enemies he can permanently neutralize so they won't hurt anybody again, but Joker is still alive.
The fandom likes to characterize Jason's murders as those of particular crimes (SA, abuse, trafficking, etc). With this in mind, Jason becomes a paradigm of what he wishes for as a victim of murder. He desires the peace of mind that his murderer is dead. He assumes this role for other victims (not all victims want the same resolution. Some shit could be said about Jason taking the control away from the survivors about their own situation, but that's another analysis).
With his actions, he's not deluding himself into believing he's a hero. He doesn't see himself as righteous. He sees himself as necessary. What he's doing may be wrong, he may be condemning himself to hell, but it's what's needed.
[Bottom line, I like characterizations where Jason chooses his path while viewing himself as the "bad guy." He's not choosing the road his mentor paved of the moral high ground, but he's walking the way he needs to. Fuck what it does to him. Mentally, he's basically thinking: "I'm not a good person, but I can live with that."
This mindset of his would occur way after UtRH after he's had time to process his relationship with Bruce and their differences regarding "justice."]
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