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In 1988 DC readers famously determine against keepingBatman ’s secondRobinalive , taking part in a fan vote where they could pick out whether or not to killJason Toddoff at the end of the classic storylineA Death in the Family . To the jounce of many , in a airless voteit was decided that Jason would dieat the hand of the Joker . And while it may seem like a spot of cruelty on the part of the fans to vote to kill a young boy , in both the short condition and the long terminus they made the veracious call .
Jason was first introduced in 1983’sBatman # 357by Gerry Conway , Don Newton and Alfredo Alcala as a replacement Robin after Dick Grayson coin out on his own and became Nightwing . Jason originally had almost the exact same origin as the first Robin : he was part of a household of circus acrobats who was pick out in by Bruce Wayne after his parents were killed . After the events ofCrisis on Infinite Earths , Jason ’s bloodline was revampedinBatman # 408by Max Allan Collins and Chris Warner . He was now depicted as an orphan from the street who got catch trying to steal the tyre off the Batmobile . After first direct him to a school day for wayward male child that reverse out to be front for a condemnable endeavor , Bruce contract Jason into his own family . Despite having vowed to never train another sidekick after Dick , the male child eventually takes on the mantle of Robin .
Related : Red Hood prove He ’s Just As Good As Batman ( And Could Be Better )
The death of Robin inBatman # 428by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo has been revisit many times in DC Comics , both from the outcome that it had on Batman , as well as from Jason ’s own perspective after he returned from the dead . Sincecoming back to life history and becoming Red Hood , Jason has been something of a calamitous sheep in the Bat - Family . He initially look as a baddie seeking revenge against Batman for not defeat the Joker . He later became a vigilante who was not averse to using accelerator pedal and lethal methods to take down criminals . And while his current part in the Bat - Family has been recently reexamine through titles such asFuture State : GothamandBatman : Urban Legends – as well as his unrecorded - action mechanism debut in theTitansshow – his real prison term as Batman ’s son Wonder and the reason why comic Scripture fans chose to kill him has not received as much attention .
Jason Todd and Dick Grayson are Night and Day
Dick Grayson premiered on the funnies page in 1940 with a big grin on his face and became notable for his “ Gee hotshot ! ” posture in both the comics and on boob tube . He was introduced asa way to appeal to childrenand give them someone they could relate to : a tyke their age who tagged along with his hero and help keep the day . Even though he had a tragical backstory that interpret his parents murdered in front of his heart , most stories sharpen on Robin were rather light , in fitting with the tonicity of Batman funnies in general at the time . As the ‘ seventy rolled around , he finally began to grow up , and at long last struck out on his own as the submarine Nightwing .
Once Jason was re - introduced followingCrisis on Infinite worldly concern , he could not have been more different from Dick Grayson . Instead of being vivid eyed and shaggy-haired tailed , he had a bit of an edge to him . He came from the unseasonable side of the tracks , grow up in Gotham ’s Crime Alleywhere Batman ’s parent were murdered . He was a streetwise kidskin who lived on his own , smoke cigarettes and committed crimes . He had an mental attitude and by the fourth dimension he was taken under Batman ’s wing , he was less patient than Dick and was excessively eager to get out on the street and start raid heads . The ‘ 80s differentiate a time when comics began to move into grittier and highly strung territory , and Jason very much reflected the trend of the time .
Why Did DC Fans Want to Kill Jason Todd?
Fan chemical reaction to the new Robin was mixed . This explains why the vote to belt down him was so close ( only 72 more people vote to kill him than voted to relieve him ) . But depend back at Jason ’s brief time as Robin , and it is light to understand why he might have rubbed some readers the wrong room . He was , in a word , vexing . While account tried to depict him as a rebellious vis-a-vis to Dick Grayson ’s more Boy Scout nature , his constant push back against Batman and Alfred could often add up off as bratty . Given Dick ’s tragical loss of his parents , it made common sense that he would attempt to be a hero and help others from experiencing the same grief that he had to stand . With Jason , though his father died while work for Two - Face , his motives come off as less heroical . He was presented assomeone who wanted to punish criminalsand have an self-justification to struggle bad guys , rather than someone looking for justice or to protect others .
Related : DC Teases How Nightwing Almost Became Red Hood alternatively
Jason expose many personality traits that would by and by play out after he was resurrected as the Red Hood . From early on on , Jason seemed to have no problem kill opposition . When an imposter was go around dressed as Batman and murdering criminals inBatman # 402by Max Collins and Jim Starlin , Jason questions if it ’s such a big thing that he ’s kill people . InBatman # 424by Jim Starlin and Doc Bright , one of the final plot line decently before his death , it is intemperately involve thathe kills a criminalnamed Felipe Garzonas . enraged when Felipe walks free after abusing a woman so badly she commits self-destruction , Jason corner him on the fire escape of his apartment . As Batman arrives on view , he sees the villain plump to his death . While Robin claims that the man fall , Batman is not so sure , and by and by expresses his incertitude about keeping Jason on as his buddy .
Jason Todd’s Death Paid Off So Much Better Than Fans Could Expect
While fan might have desire to just get free of a teenage sidekick they did n’t wish , the voting ended up pay dividend for Batman narrative for decennary . Jason ’s dying haunted Batmanfor much of the ‘ 90s . His Robin costume pay heed up in the Batcave for years , serving as a admonisher for Bruce of the cost of his state of war on law-breaking . During key moments in storylines likeKnightfall , Bruce is haunted by the retentiveness of Jason ’s death and the thought that he could have done something different to save his young ward . Getting rid of Jason also launch the door to a novel Robin in the frame of Tim Drake , a graphic symbol who proved to be much more popular with sports fan and has been acknowledged by many characters to bethe good Robin that Batman ever had .
For eld Jason Todd was one of the few characters who it was ruled should stay stagnant . Joining the rank of Uncle Ben and Bucky Barnes ( who would later generate to aliveness himself as the Winter Soldier ) , it was an recognized formula that Jason should stay deadened , as a admonisher of the cost and a failure for Batman . But that dominion changed in the 2005 storylineUnder the Red Hood . After facing the villainous Red Hood vigilante , Batman is shocked to discover that it is Jason himself , returned to life using Ra ’s al Ghul ’s Lazarus Pits .
This kicked off a compelling arc for the character that has been more rewarding than simply pass on him bushed would have been . Jason struggled to understandwhy Batman continued to let the Joker live , and was furious that his death was n’t enough to finally convert the Dark Knight to put down the Clown Prince of Crime for good . In the years that followed , Red Hood stay on the outs with the rest of the Bat - Family , who look down on his deadly methods . He himself has struggle to find his seat and see how much of a hero he really is . late storylines likeBatman : Three JokersandBatman : Urban Legendshave catch him cope with his human relationship with Bruce and memory of his own slaying . next State : Gothamdepicts him die undercover as an agent for Batman against their foe , with the residue of theBat - Family believing him to have turned two-timer .
It ’s hard to hump how the preceding 30 years of Batman story would have wager out if more lover had voted to keep Jason Todd animated at the end ofA Death in the Family . But there have been plenty of great stories and theatrical role moment that have come from this decision . It re - establish Joker as a dangerous and homicidal villain . It made Batman struggle with his theatrical role as a father figure and a reformist for justice . It opened the room access for Tim Drake and other future Robins . And it madeJason Toddone of the most interesting and three - dimensional character inBatmancomics . And it all come about because a bunch of fans decided to killRobin .
Next : Red Hood ’s Greatest Fear Is Becoming The Next Joker
