Titans: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Jason Todd
Let's take a look under the Red Hood...
When a second Robin made his presence felt on DC’s Titans, he brought a smile to the faces of many comic book fans. Showing up to assist Dick Grayson, the newcomer revealed that he had replaced him as Batman’s teammate, declaring himself as the official Boy Wonder. This new hero was none other than Jason Todd.
Excited and jumpy, Jason initially seemed to possess all the eagerness to be a hero that Dick himself once did. However, as things progressed, it soon became apparent that not all was right with the new Robin, as he took great pleasure in disobeying orders, starting fights and beating up innocent police officers. To the untrained eye, his behaviour was undoubtedly quite shocking. But to comic book fans, it was everything that they expected (and so much more).
Jason Todd has been involved in countless major comic book storylines over the years and it's safe to say that he was renowned for his his reckless behaviour and bad attitude. While his infamous death may have become his most well-known storyline, there is so much more to the character than just A Death In The Family - most of which you (probably) didn't know.
10. His Initial Backstory Was Quite Different
Jason Todd may be renowned for being Batman’s moody and rebellious sidekick, but he wasn’t always like that. In fact, when he was first introduced into DC Comics back in 1983, he was actually a lot more like his predecessor.
With the original Robin, Dick Grayson, having a permanent role in DC’s New Teen Titans comic series, Batman was without a full-time sidekick and this made it challenging for the writers to get information across (Robin always acted as a sounding board and gave the Caped Crusader someone to constantly interact with). Thus, Gerry Conway and Don Newton created a second Robin to solve the problem and fill the void that Dick Grayson had left behind. This was Jason Todd.
Todd’s original origins were incredibly similar to his predecessor: he came from a family of circus acrobats (that were even named The Flying Todds) and his parents were also murdered. The tragic events eventually led Bruce Wayne to repeat history and adopt the heartbroken boy.
With the exception of his blonde hair, Jason was basically just a rehash of Dick and although it was rather unnerving, it strangely worked. It allowed Batman to gain a new sidekick while keeping the original Robin with the Titans.