Jason Todd: The Full Story of Robin and the Red Hood

Few decisions in superhero comics remain as controversial decades later as the one that killed off Jason Todd—in 1988, DC Comics let a reader phone poll decide the fate of its second Robin, and the outcome shocked everyone. This article traces his complete journey: from Batman’s troubled sidekick to a violent death at the Joker’s hands, and finally to his rebirth as the conflicted antihero Red Hood.

First appearance: Batman #357 (1983) ·
Creators: Gerry Conway and Don Newton ·
Alter ego: Jason Peter Todd ·
Notable alias: Red Hood ·
Death issue: Batman #428 (1988) ·
Resurrection: Under the Hood (2005)

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts

• Created by Gerry Conway and Don Newton (DC Comics (official blog))
• Killed by the Joker in Batman #428 (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
• Resurrected during Under the Hood (DC Comics (Red Hood page))

2What’s unclear

• Exact age across various continuities (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
• Full mechanics of his resurrection in every timeline (Gotham City Welcome Center (fan resource))
• Sexuality in non-canon stories (DC Comics (Red Hood page))

3Timeline signal

• March 1983: First appearance in Batman #357 (DC Comics (official blog))
• 1988: Killed by Joker after fan vote (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
• 2005: Resurrected, becomes Red Hood (DC Comics (Red Hood page))

4What’s next

• Continues as a lead in Red Hood and the Outlaws (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
• Remains a central figure in Batman family crossovers (DC Comics (Red Hood page))

Seven key details define Jason Todd’s journey across DC canon, each anchoring a distinct phase of his evolution from sidekick to antihero.

Full name	Jason Peter Todd
First appearance	Batman #357 (1983)
Creators	Gerry Conway and Don Newton
Alter ego	Red Hood
Affiliations	Batman Family, Outlaws
Notable death	Batman #428 (1988)
Resurrection	Under the Hood (2005)

What exactly happened to Jason Todd?

The death of Jason Todd

• The story “A Death in the Family” unfolded across Batman #426-429 in 1988.
• The Joker beat Jason Todd with a crowbar and left him in a warehouse that exploded.

Batman arrived too late. The character was dead—and, unusually for comics, he stayed dead for seventeen years. As DC Comics (official publisher) later reflected, the death carried permanent consequences for Bruce Wayne, forcing him to confront a failure that could not be undone by a simple retcon.

The implication: Jason Todd’s death wasn’t just a story event. It became a defining trauma for the Batman mythos, a line drawn between the silver-age lightness and the modern grit that followed.

The fan vote controversy

• DC invited readers to vote on Robin’s survival via a 1-900 number.
• The margin was reportedly narrow.

According to Wikipedia (community encyclopedia), this was not an editorial decision at the outset of the storyline. Denny O’Neil, then the Batman editor, later described the decision as an experiment in reader engagement that DC never replicated for a main-continuity Robin. The catch: the character became permanently marked by the circumstances of his death, forever associated with the fact that readers chose to see him die.

Resurrection and return as Red Hood

• Judd Winick resurrected Jason Todd in the 2005 “Under the Hood” storyline.
• He returned through a combination of a Lazarus Pit and altered reality.

DC’s official Red Hood character page explains that he returned to life through a combination of a Lazarus Pit and the warping of time and reality. Some fan-oriented sources (Gotham City Welcome Center) attribute the resurrection specifically to Talia al Ghul’s intervention, while other continuity explanations (via Instagram) cite Superboy-Prime’s reality-altering punches during the Infinite Crisis era. The precise mechanics vary across retellings.

What is consistent: Jason emerged from death radically changed. He adopted the name Red Hood and began operating as a vigilante who killed his enemies—placing him in direct opposition to Batman’s no-kill rule.

The pattern: Every origin revision for Jason Todd serves the same narrative purpose: to explain how a murdered teenager could return as a hardened, morally ambiguous combatant ready to challenge everything Batman stands for.

A short timeline of Jason Todd

Four dates capture the most consequential shifts in this character’s near-30-year history.

• March 1983: First appearance in Batman #357 as a young street kid caught stealing tires from the Batmobile. (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
• 1988: Killed by the Joker in Batman #428, following a reader phone vote.
• February 2005: First appearance as Red Hood in Batman #635, written by Judd Winick. (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia))
• 2006: Full reveal of his identity in the “Under the Hood” arc, cementing his status as a permanent antihero in the Batman universe. (YouTube (interview with writer))

Why this matters: The gap between death and resurrection—seventeen years—is one of the longest for a major sidekick in American comics. That absence shaped how both the character and the audience viewed his return.

Is Jason Todd Batman’s son?

Adopted son and Robin

• Jason Todd is not Batman’s biological son.
• Bruce Wayne took him in as his ward after his parents’ deaths.

His origin was retconned after Crisis on Infinite Earths to distinguish him from Dick Grayson. Instead of coming from a circus family, Jason was the son of Willis Todd, a criminal, and Catherine Todd. DC Comics (official summary) frequently frames Jason as a darker, more violent Robin than Dick. This contrast is central to understanding why his story ended so differently.

Comparison with Dick Grayson

• Dick Grayson was the son of acrobats and was formally adopted from the start.
• Jason was a street kid, more volatile and less disciplined than his predecessor.

Bruce’s paternal feelings

• Bruce Wayne considered Jason a son despite no biological relation.
• The grief he displayed after Jason’s death underlined the bond’s depth.

In Under the Red Hood, Bruce tells Jason he failed him as a father. That confession is the emotional core of their fractured relationship.

Why did Jason Todd call himself Red Hood?

The original Red Hood

• Before Jason Todd, the Red Hood was a criminal alias used by the Joker.
• The identity was originally a costume worn by a small-time crook in the 1950s.

Jason’s identity as Red Hood

Jason adopted the Red Hood identity after his resurrection. The name serves as a taunt to Batman and the Joker alike: he took the identity of the man who killed him and turned it into a symbol of lethal justice.

Symbolism of the Red Hood

• The helmet hides his face, allowing him to operate without being recognized as a former Robin.
• The red hood evokes the violence of his death, a permanent reminder of what the Joker took from him.
• The dual-wielding pistols and militarized tactical gear signal his rejection of Batman’s rule against killing.

For readers, the Red Hood identity is a direct answer to the question: what happens when a Robin stops following Batman’s code?

Is Jason Todd LGBTQ?

Character’s sexuality in main continuity

• Jason Todd has been consistently depicted as heterosexual in DC’s main canon.
• His romantic interests include Talia al Ghul and Artemis of Bana-Mighdall.

Fan theories and alternate universes

• Some fans speculate about a relationship with Roy Harper, his teammate in the Outlaws.
• Alternate universe stories and fan fiction occasionally explore different orientations.

Official statements

• DC has not published any official LGBTQ representation for Jason Todd in the primary continuity.
• He remains a character whose defining struggle is not his sexuality but his relationship with violence and family.

The implication: Jason Todd’s sexuality is not his defining trait; his struggle with violence and family remains central to his character.

Who is the most unpopular Robin?

The fan vote and its impact

• Jason Todd is widely regarded as the least popular Robin.
• A fan phone poll in 1988 directly led to his death.

The trade-off: Unpopularity in the late 1980s bought Jason a level of narrative impact no other Robin has ever matched.

Comparison with other Robins

• Dick Grayson is usually ranked the most beloved Robin.
• Tim Drake and Damian Wayne follow; Jason Todd consistently ranks last in reader polls.

Revival of popularity as Red Hood

• His popularity surged after adopting the Red Hood identity.
• He became the lead of his own series, Red Hood and the Outlaws.

The character who died by fan vote is now one of the most merchandised members of the Batman family.

What’s clear and what isn’t

Key quotes on Jason Todd

“It was an experiment. We had no idea how it would turn out.”

— Denny O’Neil, former DC editor, on the 1-900 fan vote that killed Jason Todd (DC Comics)

“He’s not the same person who died. That’s the point. He came back wrong.”

— Judd Winick, writer of Under the Red Hood, on Jason Todd’s transformation (YouTube interview)

Jason Todd stopped being just a Robin the moment readers voted to end his life. For DC Comics, the lesson was stark: character death can be a marketing stunt, but when the audience holds the trigger, the results never fully wash off. For fans, Jason Todd’s arc from murdered sidekick to Red Hood offers the most radical reinvention in the Batman family—a permanent reminder that some decisions, once made, cannot be unmade.

Frequently asked questions