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His name is Jason Todd. A lot of people say he's crazy. Like, say the entire staff of Arkham Asylum. Maybe they're right. I'm hardly in a position to judge. Anyone. But as he pops out of his disguise--blows my chain off my ball--and gives me my bow and quiver? Let's just say Red Hood is my kind of crazy! 
History
Jason Todd is a vigilante anti-hero who is a member of the Batman Family and the Outlaws . Jason became the second Robin after Dick Grayson became Nightwing and Batman was in need of a new sidekick. Jason was trained by Bruce, and was his partner, until his death at the hands of the Joker. He was resurrected due to some issues in the time stream, which left him with a lack of sanity and memory. Those were restored by using the Lazarus Pit. He eventually returned to Gotham City, under the new alias Red Hood using more lethal methods on criminals.
Early Life
Before Batman
Jason Todd is the son of Catherine Elizabeth and Willis Todd, and was conceived unexpectedly in an alleyway. Jason had a troubled childhood due his parents constantly arguing; his mother suffered from depression and drug addiction, and his father had been "showing him the ropes of thievery and conning," at a young age, which led him into trouble.
Unbeknownst to Jason, he earned the attention of the Clown Prince of Gotham, who wanted to create and destroy a Robin to get to Batman. Because of the Joker's actions, Jason's father wound up in prison, where he would soon die. This left Jason to protect his mother for a short time before she succumbed to an apparent drug overdose. In actuality, the Joker poisoned her, having her only appear dead, without Jason's knowledge. This left Jason an orphan, stealing to survive.
Eventually, Jason was severely beaten as a result of his thievery and found himself in a hospital where he met Dr. Leslie Thompkins. She showed him kindness and he repaid her by stealing prescription drugs. He was caught by the Batman, but Leslie convinced him to not give Jason to the police. Instead, he was sent to Wayne Manor where Bruce adopted him and revealed his identity as Batman. He then offered Jason the recently vacated role of the Robin. Jason agreed. [1]
Robin
Jason Todd as Robin
After six months of intensive training, he was out on the field as the second Boy Wonder. Jason was determined to live up to the legacy of Robin that Dick Grayson put in place, but it became apparent that Jason was troubled. He fought recklessly, seemingly haunted by the memory of his father. Jason received mentoring from Nightwing on various martial arts and fighting techniques, and met Roy Harper, offering to be his friend in the future should he be in need of one.[2]
Death and All-Caste
Being put on monitor duty due to his unruly behavior, he one day finds a picture of his mother, Catherine, who is surprisingly alive. He used all his skills to make his way to the middle east without telling Batman, reuniting himself with his mother. It soon became apparent that Catherine was being blackmailed by the Joker, and had lured her son there for him. Jason learns that most of his major life events were orchestrated by The Joker, who then brutally beats the boy with a crowbar, and leaves him and Catherine to die at the hands of a time bomb. Batman arrives too late to save them due to Jason's skills in covering his tracks, and is only able to hold Jason's lifeless body in his arms. [1]
However, Jason is revived through the time stream, though he retains lasting brain damage from his death. Ra's al Ghul discovered him and kept him in his compound; only to have his daughter Talia al Ghul restore Jason's sanity and memories with the Lazarus Pit. She also goes to Ducra, the ancient instructor of the All-Caste, and begs her to train the boy. Jason would develop a romantic attraction to Essence during the time.[2]
League of Assassins
After leaving the All-Caste, Ducra wanted Jason to let go of his rage and move on. However, Jason thought the only way to get revenge for what the Joker did to him was by rejecting his philosophies and teachings. He eventually joined the League of Assassins, where he would be trained by Bronze Tiger and Lady Shiva. However, he disliked the fact the group he joined was not interested in justice like he was, but were more interested in self gain. He would eventually leave the League of Assassins and pursue justice elsewhere.[2]
Red Hood and the Outlaws
Main article: Red Hood and the Outlaws: REDemption
Jason Todd formed a freelance mercenary team with Roy Harper and Starfire, called the "Outlaws". They set up base in the Caribbean.
Red Hood and the Outlaws
An old acquaintance, Essence, contacted him to warn about the coming danger of The Untitled.[3] They soon found the Untitled had already annihilated former teachers of Jason's, the All-Caste, in one of their bases in the Himalayas.[4] Vowing revenge, the trio headed to the All-Caste's headquarters, seeking out the Chamber of All. In this pool of history, they learn more about their opponent.[5] Here, they are told to supply S'aru, a four millennia old proctor, with a cherished memory before entering. Jason's memory is revealed to be his time as Robin, particularly a evening he and Bruce took off due to Jason being too ill to fight. The trio then fight a rather large monster, and dispose of it with a fair amount of ease due to their building ability to work together.[6] Upon leaving, Jason was offered his cherished memory back, however, he chose to leave it behind. Later, they found and destroyed a member of the Untitled in Middleton, Colorado. Essence then returned that evening, revealing to Jason that she betrayed the All-Caste in favor of the Untitled due to her mother, Ducra, being possessed by them. However, she is swiftly defeated by the Outlaws as they return to their quest.
Night of the Owls
Shortly after defeating Suzie Su in Gotham, The Outlaws intercept a transmission asking all Batfamily members to help in taking down the Court of Owls. Jason reluctantly agrees and soon finds a Talon attacking Mr. Freeze. He breaks up the fight but the Talon escapes while he and Mr. Freeze confront each other. Jason tracks down the Talon to an empty Haly's Circus lot, where he 'has a heart-to-heart with a reanimated assassin.' The Talon introduces himself as Xiao Long, and asks Jason to end his life. Starfire and Arsenal defeat Freeze and Jason delivers him to Batgirl, leaving Gotham soon after.[7]
Death of the Family
Jason, like the rest of the Batfamily, was requested by Dick Grayson to meet up at the Batcave for a briefing. A few members expressed concern toward him being invited, namely Damian Wayne, though Dick was quick to defend him. Bruce then informed them that the Joker had apparently discovered all their identities and was planning on attacking them privately. Jason left, but was soon ambushed by the Joker and held captive, along with Tim Drake, at an unknown location. Here, Jason discovered that Joker had effectively been torturing him all his life. Apparently, the Joker had wanted to create a Robin who would cross the line Batman was unwilling to cross. Refusing to give further information, Joker then knocked the duo out. Later, they awoke with the rest of the Batfamily in the cave where they were gassed to kill each other. However, they all managed to become immune from his mind control through the love and trust they shared with each other. Scarred by what he had learned from the Joker and the events that had unfolded, Jason refused to meet up to find out whether Alfred was safe. Despite this, Jason and Bruce had finally reconciled their differences after he discovered Bruce had waited by his bedside after Jason had a particularly dangerous and almost deadly chemical reaction to the Joker's gas.
Batman Incorporated
Jason Todd as Wingman
Feeling his former protégé deserved a second chance, Batman offered Jason a place in Batman Incorporated as the second Wingman, only asking that he do not reveal his identity to the others. He teamed up with Damian Wayne, who operated under the name Redbird, though Damian was unaware of this. Upon finding out who his partner all this time had been, Damian became hurt and confused. This was doubled by the fact that Bruce then informed him that he was to be benched as Robin until further notice. Despite the fact he was now apart of Batman Incorporated, Jason barely got involved with the team and was not present when Damian was killed. After this, Jason did approach Bruce upon learning of the fourth Robin's demise and attempted to sooth whatever pain he was feeling. However, upon finding his old mentor surrendered to the cruel emotionless drive in his grief to bring Damian back, Jason once again cut himself off from the Batfamily.
Memory Loss
After the events of Death of the Family, Jason went back to the temple of the All-Caste and had all painful memories erased from his mind by S'aru. This ultimately resulted in Jason having no recollection of his friends, enemies, allies, and experiences. Roy takes him back to their base of operations, where he discovers what he's done and believes himself to be nothing more then a killer. Green Arrow arrives on their island to warn them of a large bounty on the Outlaws heads, but Roy begins to panic, fearing that Oliver had led their enemies to them. Cheshire attacks them after seemingly killing Kori and confronts Jason, saying "We've got a bigger destiny for you." Before she can capture him, Kori attacks her and carries her off the island, followed by Cheshire teleporting away. In the midst of the battle, Jason runs off in an attempt to find out who he really is.[8]
League of Assassins -vs- The Untitled
While Roy visits Hugo Strange for therapy, Jason continues to drive off, but is attacked by several members of the League of Assassins. After his initial defeat, they ask him to go with them and assure him that they won't kill him. He agrees, thinking that he may receive the answers he is looking for. They take him to 'Eth Alth'eban, the city of the League of Assassins, and Bronze Tiger tells him this is where his new life will begin as the new leader of the League of Assassins. Jason begins to explore the ancient city. They gather and tell him that only he knows how to save the League from the Untitled, but he tells them that his memory is gone, therefore he doesn't remember how to defeat the Untitled. Lady Shiva threatens to take control, but as she does so, Roy arrives in the name of the Untitled to destroy the gates to the city. Roy initially seems to have the upper hand, but Jason and the League engage and defeat him. Roy destroys a wall of rock, revealing the "Well of Sin". Jason agrees to lead them provided the League does not kill his friends. The Untitled breach the city soon after and begin to engage the League. As the battle continues, Jason confronts the leader and throws him into the well of sins, taking his power away. He is killed and Lady Shiva rounds up the other members. As Jason displays his disdain for Shiva's killing, the last member of the Untitled reveals himself to be Ra's al Ghul, and he resumes control of the assassins once more.[9]
Ra's al Ghul
Jason is captured and chained soon after. He apologizes to Roy and Kori for all he'd done and, as his friends are going to be executed, he gains his memories back. He and Cheshire free the Outlaws and Jason enters the well of sins to face Ra's al Ghul. After initially being outmatched, Jason defeats Ra's and takes his power away. Essence arrives and helps the Outlaws escape the city, arriving in the Chamber of All. She expresses her thanks and asks if Jason would join in the rebuilding of the All-Caste, but he declines and the three leave the temple.[10]
Batman Eternal
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Red Hood and Arsenal: Heroes for Hire
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After Joker's Endgame
Main article: Batman: Endgame
When the Joker returned to Gotham, healed from having his face cut off and seemingly immortal, he raised the stakes in his battle with Batman by infecting the entire city with deadly Joker toxin. With everything on the line, Red Hood and the rest of the Batman family, as well as a group of Batman's rogues, came together to help the hero stop the Joker from destroying the city. However, Batman and the Joker were seemingly killed beneath the streets of Gotham together, leading to a new status quo in Gotham.
Batman and Robin Eternal
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Robin War
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The New Outlaws
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Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Escapology[11]
- Criminology[12]
- Firearms: Unlike most of the Batman Family, he's one of few who has no problems with the use of firearms. He's a highly skilled marksman when in use of firearms.
- Intimidation
- Investigation
- Multilingualism[13]
- Martial Arts: Jason Todd has received training from numerous martial arts masters such as Batman, Nightwing, Bronze Tiger, Lady Shiva and the All-Caste. He was considered their most successful pupil earning him respect and secrets only he has been able to unlock.[14]
- Peak Human Condition[15]
- Stealth[16]
- Swordsmanship: Jason Todd has shown himself to be a very proficient swordsman, able to ultimately defeat Ra's Al Ghul.[14]
- Thievery[1]
- Tracking[1]
- Weaponry
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Red Hood Costume: after meeting Starfire, Jason dons an older suit, originally belonging to Nightwing found in her possession. The suit shows a figure closely resembling a bat-symbol colored red, placed in the center of the chest. It has a built in taser used to get people off of him when necessary.
- Venom (Formerly)[17]
Weapons
- All-Blades: a pair of mystical blades made out of copper that can kill the Untitled. The blades are powered by the blood of the wielder. Jason once believed that the blades were indestructible, until Essence broke them.
Notes
- Jason Todd was created by Gerry Conway and Don Newton first appearing in Batman #357. Red Hood was created by Bill Finger and Lew Sayre Schwartz first appearing in Detective Comics #168. Jason Todd's version of Red Hood was an adaptation from the original Red Hood and first appeared in Batman #635. The latter version of the character was adapted and introduced into the Prime Earth continuity, first appearing as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort.
Trivia
- Jason Todd has a confirmed kill count of 83.[18]
Related
- 447 Appearances of Jason Todd (Prime Earth)
- 323 Images featuring Jason Todd (Prime Earth)
- 85 Quotations by or about Jason Todd (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Jason Todd (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Red Hood and the Outlaws #0
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Red Hood and the Outlaws #20
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #1
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #2
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #3
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #4
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #9
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #24
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #27
- ↑ Batman & Robin Eternal #15
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws: Rebirth #1
- ↑ Batman Eternal #18
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Red Hood and the Outlaws #27
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #8
- ↑ Supergirl (Volume 6) #35
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws #39
- ↑ Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual #1
  This character is or was an incarnation of or an ally of Batman, and a member of the Batman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the "Batman Family members" category. |
 League of Assassins member |
 This character is or was primarily a member of the anti-hero team known as the Outlaws, in any of its various incarnations. They are a group of outcast heroes led by Red Hood, who fight against evil and do what bigger groups like the Justice League will not. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outlaws members" category. |