Clownhunter just made a surprisingly strong bond with a notable Gotham hero — and teased further team-ups with them.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “D.I.Y. Part 3” from Batman #114, now on sale from DC Comics.
The Bat-Family has been expanding lately, now formally including former enemies like Harley Quinn and new additions like Ghost-Maker. One free,sh vigilante on the streets of Gotham has been largely avoiding that path — but a notable member of the city’s heroes might have convinced him to join up.
Clownhunter was just saved by Red Robin in the Brandon Thomas, Jason Howard, and Clayton Cowles story “D.I.Y. Part 3” from Batman #114, by setting up the pair to become partners against Scarecrow.
Despite making his debut during the recent events of The Joker War, Bao Pham has quickly made waves in Gotham City as the brutal Clownhunter. After taking out multiple Joker henchmen in the event, Clownhunter has since encountered more members of the Bat-Family. He confronted Batman over his mercy for the Joker and came close to killing Harley Quinn (although he eventually backed down). Punchline has made a concentrated effort to kill him, Red Hood has offered to train him to be a more effective vigilante, and Leslie Thompkins has expressed sympathy for him and his plight. But his first real encounter with a dangerous classic member of the Batman rogues gallery — Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow — left the young anti-hero in serious danger.
Running into the events of Fear State, Clownhunter was quickly infected with the villain’s Fear Toxins and kicked off the side of a building. His hallucinations quickly kicked in, sending Clownhunter through a terrifying and haunting vision of Gotham City as he rocketed towards the Earth — forcing him to confront monstrous clowns and a devilish incarnation of Leslie Thompkins. But as he fell, it turns out that he was spotted by Tim Drake– aka Red Robin. Moving quickly across the rooftops, the young hero was able to break through Clownhunter’s visions enough to convince Bao to take his hand, allowing Red Robin to save his life and bring him back to his current base of operations.
Clownhunter later wakes up in a small secret Bat-Cave, connected to an advanced IV tube. Getting up, Clownhunter finds himself talking with Red Robin — who explains he’s been investigating Crane’s new experimental fear toxin and ways to counteract it. While he hasn’t fully unlocked it (and could definitely use Bao’s experience with it as research), he has figured out how to draw it out of people. Handing Bao his bat back, Red Robin explains that he’ll be back on his feet and good to go in a few days. Notably, unlike the other members of the Bat-Family who Bao spoke back to or criticized openly, the young man is surprisingly grateful to Red Robin. He even asks of Red Robin would like his help, which the experienced hero embraces with a smile.
It’s potentially the biggest step Clownhunter has made towards actually joining the Bat-Family. Even with Jason Todd, Bao only left the possibility of a team-up as a potential path he could take. But here, he seems encouraged and enthusiastic about joining up with Red Robin and fighting back against the Scarecrow together. The pair serve as unique contrasts to each other — both in terms of motivation and methods and could prove to be an interesting partnership.
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