I've often heard on the Comic Vine podcast as the staff have talked about how a series can't have a villain as a primary protagonist. The rationale behind the statement is that they feel that an audience can't get behind a hero that kills. If you're talking about psychopathic villains, I agree. However, I also I fundamentally disagree. It all comes down to the motivation of the character and the courage of the publisher.

Jason Todd is a prime example of a character that has lost much of his potential and what made him unique before he was attached as the lead of his own series. What made Jason interesting is that he disagreed with Batman's approach. He lived and experienced the flaw of the "never kill" mantra. When you look at it from Jason's perspective, he makes a lot of valid points. Keeping certain criminals, such as the Joker, alive is just slowing the tide. He just breaks out to kill more people. All to show Batman that he can. Think of how many innocent people would still be alive if the Joker was dead -- really dead. Who is Batman protecting in this situation, the mother/father that may never get to go home again or himself?

Ultimately, Jason became popular, and the character that was willing to cross the line that Bruce refuses to was lost. Once DC made him the lead of his own title, Jason suddenly started shooting people in the hands and feet. He lost what defined him. The character that saw the flaws in Bruce's methods has been reduced to just a slightly more violent version of Batman. There are enough Batman clones. That isn't redemption. That's a betrayal of his very ideals and beliefs. Here's a little lesson in biology to the audience. A gunshot anywhere on the body is potentially fatal.

Audiences can support a hero that kills. Just look at action movies, such as DIE HARD and INDIANA JONES; or video games along the lines of the TOMB RAIDER and UNCHARTED series. These are heroes that are remorseless killers. Yet people cheer every kill. It's based around how it's done. Killing in the name of defense and protection is an entirely different beast than for personal vengeance or wealth.

Now, as I've been reading the manga series TRIAGE X, from Shoji Sato. I can't help but notice that this series has one of the strongest "comic book" vibes I've ever seen in a manga series. You have a town filled with corruption, and a group of masked vigilante killers that work outside of the law. I'm not going to drone on into a synopsis of the series -- go read the wiki for that. I'm here to talk about TRIAGE X's protagonist, Arashi Mikami.

Arashi makes me think of what Jason could be if the publisher hadn't lost their nerve. He doesn't aim for the hands, he aims for the head. He's the latest member of the Black Label team that kills the worst of the worst of the criminal element. There's an evaluation process, and if these killers or mobsters are judged to have no redeeming qualities. They are looked upon as a cancer to be excised.

Even Arashi and Jason's origins have some interesting similarities. When Arashi was eight years-old, he was caught up in a terrorist bombing. He sacrificed his own body shielding his childhood friend, Ryuu. As result, much of his body was devastated, and Ryuu was hardly injured, except for the trauma to his head. Ryuu was brain dead, and his father made the difficult choice to donate his own son's limbs and heart to save Arashi. Arashi wasn't as lucky as Jason to be dipped into a Lazarus Pit. He had years of difficult physical therapy. In Volume 2, Arashi talks about the first time he took a life, and he explains how he can kill and still have a conscience. I'm not going to go into details, but it's impressively deep.

I can't really say if Jason Todd influenced Shoji Sato in the creation of Arashi. I actually find the idea highly unlikely. However, I would like to point out that Arashi's sawed-off shotgun is called the "Double Joker". Take of that what you will. The ways Arashi and Jason are different is that Arashi isn't arrogant and angry. If anything, he's rather emotionally detached. Which comes across as much more believable for someone who's lived through such a trauma at such a young age. He's a person who nearly died and trying to learn what it means to be alive. That makes him a great straight man for the crazy cast surrounding him.

If you're the kind of reader who's tired of a toned down characters. I could recommend TRIAGE X. Sato's art is well known for his detail. and he brings his A game to this one. However, to be able to kill so often means the series has a Mature rating, in Japan it's categorized as a Seinen series. It has some rather graphic violence and some nudity. There are three volumes of the series out in English. I've reviewed the first two volumes.

• TRIAGE X Vol. 1 Review
• TRIAGE X Vol. 2 Review

I hope you enjoyed another in my series of connecting the dots between manga and comics. There is another series that I could recommend that proves you can have a running series about villains, but that's an article for another day. If you have any questions. Feel free to post them in the comments.

-Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek.- Follow for news updates: @ FoxxFireArt