Warning: Contains spoilers for From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives! #3!The Robin's head, haunting him and driving him forward, sometimes in the most reckless ways. Jason is not freed from his influence or terror in life or death, and the clown warping the second Boy Wonder into his own sidekick proves that he can tap into his nightmares like no other.

From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives #3 by J.M. DeMatteis and Rick Leonardi continues to chronicle Jason Todd's experience in a timeline where he survives the Joker's assault in Ethiopia and eventually murders the grinning clown. Though Jason didn't succumb to his injuries, he's still fighting for his life in a different way - by throwing himself into an unending battle against his own fear.

Jason Todd as Robin stands in front of Joker, dressed as a clown, and Joker names him Jokey the Boy Lackey.

In his quest to prove himself, both to his mentor and to himself, he goes on his own to confront the Joker, who is prepared for the encounter. The Joker transforms Jason from Robin into the clown-inspired "Jokey the Boy Lackey."

Joker Cruelly Twists Jason Todd Into Jokey the Boy Lackey

From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives! #3 by J.M. DeMatteis, Rick Leonardi, Rico Renzi, and Taylor Esposito

Jason Todd as Robin freezes in front of Joker before he's knocked out by a boxing glove.

Jason's intended confrontation with Joker begins well enough, with the young vigilante dispatching animatronic guards, but the instant he reaches his true target he's paralyzed with fear. It's the perfect chance for the Joker to definitively strip away the thing Jason is trying to prove he deserves - his role as Robin. By adorning him with a red, green, and yellow clown suit and naming him Jokey the Boy Lackey, he makes a mockery of the child he's terrorizing. Jason was already struggling to regain control of himself in the face of stacking trauma, and instead, the Joker has taken that control for himself.

Jason ends up more akin to a puppet on a string rather than a capable vigilante, and the Joker is a wicked puppeteer.

While Gotham's worst clown didn't manage to kill Batman's sidekick in this timeline, he left him mentally and emotionally scarred. As Jason often does, he opts to jump headlong into confronting his fear at the source. He intended to defeat the Joker and simultaneously prove that he's worthy of retaining the Robin title and is stronger than the things that terrify him. When it comes to Gotham's resident green-haired terror, that's rarely been the case. Jason ends up more akin to a puppet on a string rather than a capable vigilante, and the Joker is a wicked puppeteer.

Joker Takes Control By Transforming Jason Todd Into His Unwilling Sidekick

Robin’s Worst Fears Are Made Into Reality

Jason Todd as Robin Fights Animatronic Guards

This timeline's Joker is more unhinged than calculated, and yet he still seems perfectly prepared for this moment with Batman's protégé. His claim that he left breadcrumbs around Gotham for Robin to follow highlights the idea that he's plenty in tune with what will impact the boy most. Unfortunately for Jason Todd, that's frequently the case, and the Joker manages to get under his skin like no other - sometimes without trying. He's an inescapable force in his life, even during the moments he's not physically present. Knowing that the story ultimately ends with the Joker's death is unlikely to change that, either.

By transforming Jason into this deranged "Jokey" character, the Joker is staking his claim on Jason's psyche. All of his fighting and lashing out hasn't purged the laughing monster that lurks in his mind yet, and the image of himself as in the clown suit will likely persist, in some way, for the rest of his life. He tries to escape his fears by going after the Joker, only for them to be given a name and a physical form. It is the rotten cherry on top of an unwanted cake. In creating Jokey the Boy Lackey, the Joker harnessed Robin's deepest fear.

From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives! #3 is available now from DC Comics.

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