Out of all of Batman’s sidekicks, Jason Todd is the most controversial of the group. Batman and Robin are the Dynamic Duo, though the Dark Knight has cycled through a few different Robins. Jason Todd was the second young lad to don the Robin suit after Dick Grayson, and Jason suffered a tragic fate when Joker killed him in the 1988 storyline “A Death in the Family.” Even being resurrected and adopting the Red Hood moniker hasn’t stopped fans from thinking of Jason Todd as “broken.” A new series featuring Batman and Robin will look to investigate this phenomenon.
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Robin & Batman: Jason Todd #1 by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen, and Steve Wands was released this week, and a preview of the issue reveals just how volatile Jason Todd is. We see a montage of Jason suiting up as Robin, telling himself how he finally gets to hurt someone else instead of being the one hurt and hit. The montage is side-by-side with Batman and Robin in the middle of a chase to subdue a group of criminals in a van. Batman is in the Batmobile with Robin riding a motorcycle.
Gunfire forces Robin to jump off the motorcycle. Naturally, Batman is terrified, but Robin lands on his feet and takes out a wheel on the van with a Robin-rang. But instead of waiting for Batman, Robin charges off on his own to stop a runaway criminal. He gets the drop on the bad guy from above, but takes a knife cut to the cheek while the criminal gets away. Batman shows up too late and is concerned about Robin’s cut, but Robin pushes Batman away and says he’s fine. Robin wants to continue pursuing, but Batman says they’re done for the day.
The debate over Jason Todd’s brokenness is an interesting conversation. He’s always shown as the most flawed of Batman’s former sidekicks, with obvious anger management problems and a proclivity to violence. Though Jason has made strides to correct some of his more negative personality traits. For example, he no longer uses real bullets in his firearms, instead going for rubber bullets. Jason has a starring role in “H2SH,” the sequel to Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s “Hush” story arc.
“Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen return to spotlight the early days of a very different Dynamic Duo, with a very different dynamic,” the description of Robin & Batman: Jason Todd #1 reads. “Batman has a new Robin: a rash, impulsive, reckless kid with a troubled past, who Batman was certain he could mold into Gotham’s next crime-fighter. But can the Dark Knight save Jason Todd from the darkness within himself? And when a mysterious new villain sets his sights on Jason, Batman finds himself doubtful that even he has what it takes to train the anger and torment out of his new young ward.”
Robin & Batman: Jason Todd #1 is on sale now. Let us know your thoughts on the comic in the comments below!
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