We know Jason Todd as the second robin and also the second ward of Bruce Wayne. He is also known as the Red Hood. Jason Todd was introduced after the first Robin Dick Grayson joined the Teen Titans and eventually became their leader. Initially, the origin story of Jason Todd is very similar to that of Dick Grayson. In this article, we will look at the relationship between Jason Todd and Bruce Wayne over the years. And how Batman felt that Jason’s death was his greatest failure. He even put Jason’s costume on display in the Batcave as a reminder of that failure.
The initial iteration of Jason was very popular among fans. But after the revamping of the character, he became one of the most unlikable characters in the history of comics. And is the first character to be killed off on the basis of the results of a poll conducted by the studio.
The popular opinion was in favor of Jason being killed by The Joker. And this article will also look describe the origin story and a brief history of Jason Todd in addition to the Jason Todd and Bruce Wayne Dynamic.
Origin Story Of Jason Todd
Jason was introduced in a very similar way to that of Dick Grayson. He was also the son of acrobats who were murdered by a villain named Killer Croc. He is adopted by Bruce Wayne and develops into a fine sidekick.
But after the character was revamped after the Crisis On Infinite Earths. His origin story is also changed and he is now an orphan boy who steals tires for a living in this new continuity. His father is a petty criminal who dies when a crime goes bad and his mother is a drug addict. After his father died he is left with his mother alone but sadly she also dies due to a drug overdose some time later.
And he turns to stealing tires to feed himself. Jason Todd even meets Bruce Wayne for the first time when he is fighting crime as Batman and Jason tries to steal the tires of the Batmobile. He even manages to steal a tire and is coming for the other ones when he is caught by Batman.
Batman takes Jason Todd under his apprenticeship and believes that if he does not help him he will become a part of the criminal network of Gotham.
Jason Todd As Robin
Batman takes the young Jason Todd under his wing and teaches him different skills. He also teaches Jason to use his rage in a more controlled manner and to channelize that anger in taking down criminals.
This new iteration of Jason Todd represented the new generation of that era. He was rebellious and did not take any kind of authority seriously. Jason used excessive violence while capturing the criminals.
And when he discovers that it was Two-face who murdered his father he confronts him and nearly beats him to death. But lets him live and allows the authorities to arrest him instead. This was the moment that made Batman proud because his protégé has learned to control his anger.
Death of Jason Todd
We see the death of Jason Todd in “A Death in the Family” storyline. In this story Jason discovers that his mother was not actually his biological mother. And he starts searching for her. After a long and tiring search that involved multiple leads he is successful in finding his mother in Ethiopa.
It is soon revealed that she is being blackmailed by Joker into giving him certain drugs. She is also involved in the embezzlement of funds from the company she works at.
Jason comes to her mother as robin and she hands over her son to The Joker to save herself. But The Joker kidnaps both of them and ties them up in a warehouse with a time bomb. before activating the bomb he beats up Jason Todd with a crowbar very badly.
Batman could not save them from the explosion and arrives after the explosion takes place and could only hold Jason’s lifeless body in his arms. Bruce Wayne considers the death of Jason Todd as Batman’s biggest failure and has been tormented by his loss ever since his death.
After the death of Jason Todd, Batman becomes more reckless and violent in his grief. He is also seen struggling with the temptation to kill the Joker.
Revival of Jason
Jason’s revival was revealed in the “Under the Red Hood” storyline. A movie of the same name was also made. In this movie, it is shown that a new vigilante has come to Gotham that has taken over the drug trade in Gotham.
This new masked vigilante calls himself The “Red Hood”. He is very violent in his ways and uses lethal force in all of his encounters with criminals often using guns as well. When Batman encounters this vigilante he notices that Red Hood is familiar with Batman’s fighting technique and his gadgets as well.
On further investigation, he finds that the buried body of Jason Todd is fake. And on confronting Ra’s al Ghul it is further revealed that Ra’s blamed himself for the death of this child. Because he employed Joker to complete a task during which he kills Jason. To rectify what he did, he has Jason’s body exhumed and tries to revive him with the help of a Lazarus Pit.
Although Jason comes back from the dead his mental state is altered. This is because of the exposure to the Lazarus Pit. This exposure drives him to the brink of insanity. After his return to Gotham, he locks horns with Black Mask and is nearly killed. But Batman saves him in time and incapacitates his captors but Jason shoots one of them with Batman watching in horror.
Black Mask employs The Joker to kill Red hood but Jason captures him and beats him up with a crowbar in revenge as well. Batman comes to rescue The Joker and the two have a fight. Jason is upset that why Batman did not kill the Joker to avenge his death. To which Batman replies that if he kills even once then he can not stop himself.
Aftermath
A fight ensues between the two and Batman defeats Jason but Jason sets off a time bomb. And Batman subdues the Joker before attempting to save Jason. The bomb explodes with Batman and the Joker surviving but no sign of Jason.
Jason returns back to Gotham after a year and takes on the persona of Red Hood with a Batlogo on the front indicating his willingness to work with the Batfamily.
Jason Todd And Bruce Wayne
No matter how strict Bruce is but he loved Jason like a son and was shattered on his death. Jason’s death defined Batman’s actions in the future and he realized that he was wrong to not help Jason more both emotionally and physically.
Conclusion
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