15 Most Notoriously Controversial Storylines In Comic Book History

2. The Death Of Jason Todd

The dynamic duo of Batman and Robin were an integral part of the history of DC comics, but after so many years together writers decided it was time for the original boy wonder, Dick Grayson, to grow up and move past the role of Robin. Dick became Nightwing, and the role of Robin was soon filled by Jason Todd (known as Jay in his earliest appearances). Jason had some huge pixie boots to fill, and a lot of Robin fans to win over. In an effort to move away from Dick Grayson's time as Robin, Jason was given a "street" backstory and attitude that rubbed some fans the wrong way. After trying to make the new Robin work, the time came for a final decision on the character of Jason Todd, which the editors at DC determined in a very unique way. DC gave fans two phone numbers to call and vote on the final fate of Jason Todd, which was to take place in the "Death in the Family" storyline by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo. The fans responded hugely and the voting was very close: 5,271 phoned in to save Jason's life, but 5,343 callers chose to kill off the character. This event received a lot of coverage and controversy, considering children's votes were determining whether or not a character was to live or die. Further adding to the controversy was the extreme brutality of the scene in question, where we watched as the Joker beat Jason Todd viciously with a crowbar before blowing him up. This moment went down in comic book history for a number of reasons besides the death of Todd, including pioneering new methods of fan involvement in the story making process and helping to usher in a new and darker period for Batman.