10 Hated Comic Book Characters Who Became Fan Favourites

Many might assume at first glance that Jason Todd was always destined to return as the Red Hood.

Back in 1983, though, this wasn't at all the case, since Jason was supposed to remain permanently dead following the 1988 A Death in the Family story arch. Originally, those in charge of the Batman comics at DC had wanted Dick Grayson to return as Batman's partner, but that wasn't going to happen.

So, instead, creatives had Dick Grayson assume a new identity (i.e. Nightwing) and have his mantle passed on to the newly introduced character Jason Todd.

This wasn't appreciated by fans, however, who saw Jason as a terrible replacement, while others, like writer Jim Starlin, simply hated the idea of a young sidekick all together.

The culmination of this was A Death in the Family - a story (written, of course, by Jim Starlin) that either concluded with Jason’s death or his survival, depending on the results of a call-in voting system. Obviously, Jason didn't survive.

Nevertheless, Jason would be figuratively and literally reanimated in 2005, where a persistent Judd Winick would fight for his return. A return that would see Jason finally become a fan-favourite member of the Bat-Family.