Detective Comics #1052 proves that Jason’s issues with authority were an issue from the very beginning of his partnership with Batman.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Detective Comics #1052, now on sale from DC Comics.
Often referred to as Batman’s greatest failure, Jason Todd presented a challenge to the Caped Crusader’s psyche in life and death (and life again). While most often focus on Jason’s brutal death at the hands of the Joker in 1988’s A Death in the Family, the truth is Todd challenged Batman frequently with his temper and violent impulses. Even today, his propensity towards brutal acts as the murderous vigilante known as the Red Hood keeps the two at a distance.
Although Jason didn’t officially become the Red Hood until 2006’s Under the Red Hood, his willingness to defy Batman’s orders and strict moral code always defined their relationship. Although fans often link Jason’s rebelliousness to the gradual evolution of his character, Detective Comics #1052’s “House of Gotham: Chapter Six” (by Mathew Rosenberg, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire, and Rob Leigh) proves that Jason’s issues with authority were an issue from the very beginning of his career as Robin.
Jason first debuted in Batman #408 (by Max Allen Collins, Chris Warner, Mike DeCarlo, Adrienne Roy, and Todd Klein), in which Batman caught him attempting to steal the wheels off of the Batmobile. Hoping to prevent the young man from becoming a criminal, Batman adopted Jason and trained him as the second Robin, but issues quickly arose within their partnership.
Having survived on his own for several years after the death of his father and stepmother, Jason had developed an independent streak. As a result, he frequently clashed with authority, particularly Batman’s. He repeatedly disobeyed Batman’s orders by recklessly engaging criminals before the Caped Crusader could survey the situation and form a proper strategy. These incidents also revealed that Jason had a nasty temper that fuelled his rebellious tendencies.
Perhaps the most defining moment of Jason Todd’s tenure as Robin occurred in Batman #424 (by Jim Starlin, Mark Bright, Steve Mitchell, Adrienne Roy, and John Costanza). Batman and Robin attempted to take down a serial rapist named Felipe Garznoas. Although the Dynamic Duo managed to gather irrefutable evidence of Felipe’s crimes, his status as the son of a diplomat allowed him to avoid going to prison. After one of Felipe’s victims completed suicide to prevent a future attack from the criminal, an enraged Jason snuck off and confronted Felipe at his high-rise apartment. By the time Batman arrived, Felipe had already fallen to a brutal death on the streets below, and a remorseless Jason refused to clarify whether or not Felipe’s death was accidental.
While the incident with Felipe often gets cited as the moment Jason became the “rebellious Robin,” his actions in “House of Gotham: Chapter Six” prove that he began disobeying Batman much earlier than that. While visiting an ice cream store one afternoon, Jason encountered an old acquaintance named Elliot, as well as the boy who will one day become Nero XIX. After learning that both work as enforcers for the Penguin, Jason relayed this information to Batman. The latter expressively forbade Jason from accompanying him out of fear that one of the young men would recognize him and expose his secret identity.
Ignoring those orders, Jason arrives at the Iceberg Lounge in time to catch Nero as he attempts to escape, and just like Batman predicted, the young man recognized Jason as the boy he’d met earlier that day. While Jason ultimately subdues Nero with ease, their interaction causes the young man’s view of Batman to become even more twisted than before. While Nero couldn’t figure out Jason’s identity, he did recognize Todd enough to realize that Batman had more than one Robin. As a result, the police drag him away as he loudly accuses the Dark Knight of using child soldiers.
Jason’s encounter with Nero is just one of the many moments where his eagerness and temper end up doing more harm than good. Driven by his hatred of crime and his desire to prove himself to the Dark Knight, Jason failed to internalize the lessons that Batman was trying to teach him, eventually leading him to become the very criminal that Batman always feared he would.
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