Spoilers for From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives! #1
Summary
- Jason Todd holds Batman responsible for his near-death experience, not the Joker.
- The guilt of Jason Todd's survival and Batman's failure haunts them both in a new "Jason lives" timeline.
- Batman's no-kill rule is criticized as it nearly cost Jason Todd his life.
Jason Todd has had many experiences with death, from Robin to Red Hood. In From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives! #1, by J.M. DeMatteis and Rick Leonardi, this alternate-timeline tale imagines instead that current Robin Jason Todd lived through his Joker experience, essentially erasing the need for Red Hood, but putting a different kind of emotional weight on Jason Todd and Bruce Wayne.
As Jason comes out of a coma, it's clear that he's not the same Boy Wonder that went out to fight crime that night. When Jason catches Bruce Wayne consulting a psychologist, Jason tells him the truth: that it's all Batman's fault.
We're Calling It: This Single Red Hood Page Is Already a Classic, Heartbreaking Jason Todd Moment
Red Hood isn't often given the spotlight he deserves, but one new comic gives him an instantly-classic moment that will define the character.
Is Batman to Blame for Jason Todd's Near-Death?
Jason Todd Is the Second Robin
Robin Lives! deals with the trauma of survival and also the guilt of not being able to save loved ones from a traumatic event. Even in mainstream continuity, Batman is haunted by Jason's death, terming it his "greatest failure" even as he permanently reconciles with Red Hood. Yet in this "Jason lives" timeline, this issue shows that were Jason to survive, the guilt and the grief would still live with both of them, showing that to survive a catastrophe can be just as difficult as the catastrophe itself.
The Joker only had a crowbar and a bomb — but Batman gave Jason Todd the Robin suit.
While the Joker delivered the near-killing blows, Jason never once blames him. Because if Jason Todd had never met Batman, he would never have met the Clown Prince of Crime in the first place. As the final s of the comic issue ask,"Whatever possessed him to bring a child into the Batman's world?" The Joker only had a crowbar and a bomb — but Batman gave Jason Todd the Robin suit. The culpability must lie with Batman from the very start, as Bruce Wayne put Jason Todd in the very situation that almost took his life.
For Once, the Joker Isn't the Bad Guy
Batman's No-Kill Rule Harmed Red Hood
While the Joker has done more than enough to terrify Red Hood, the line that separates him from Batman has always been thin. Batman has his no-killing rule, but this rule has no good use if a boy nearly dies because of it. It's not the near-death that will haunt both of them; it's the crime of bringing a boy into this life that Batman must always live with.
Jason Todd was the first ever character voted to die by DC fans in a 1988 poll.
No one survives a near-death experience like Jason's and goes back to normal. As bleak as it is, at least in this world, Batman gets the opportunity to do something about his guilt and to rectify his greatest failure. He can save Jason Todd the next time. And if the only thing he can do is hold a living Jason in his arms and tell him just how sorry he is, that might be enough. In another timeline, where Red Hood completely changes the emotional game, Batman doesn't get to do that at all.
From the DC Vault: Death in the Family - Robin Lives! #1 is available now from DC Comics!
FROM THE DC VAULT: DEATH IN THE FAMILY - ROBIN LIVES! #1 (2024) |
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Jason Todd is a complex figure known for his tumultuous journey as Batman's second Robin. Initially impulsive and rebellious, he's resurrected after a tragic death, becoming the vigilante Red Hood. Armed with intense combat skills and a moral ambiguity, he challenges Batman's methods, navigating a path between heroism and anti-heroism in Gotham's unforgiving streets.
