We cover the second Robin, JASON TODD, at the request of Patron Ariel! How did he go from being Dick Grayson 2.0 to one of the angriest members of the Bat-family? Doc unveils one of his most inventive treatment methods yet, plus we finally get an answer to the age-old question of how the Joker got away! (No reason why Batman smells, though.) Listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

• Intro

  • Doc wrote a guest column for Adventures in Poor Taste

  • She-Hulk & Moon Knight shows on Disney+

  • Shoutout to Drop Anchor

• Background (7:18)

  • Jason Todd created by Gerry Conway & Don Newton in Batman #357 (March 1983)

  • Jason was the second Robin, after Dick Grayson left to become Nightwing

  • Originally the son of circus acrobats who were killed by a criminal, he was adopted by Bruce Wayne in the pre-Crisis continuity

  • Post-Crisis, he was revamped to be an orphan attempting to steal the tires off the Batmobile

  • Batman takes him in as protege to prevent him from becoming a criminal

  • A Death in the Family – Jason is searching for his biological mother, but she's blackmailed by Joker to draw him out – Joker beats Jason and blows up the warehouse, and Jason dies

    • This was voted on by fans, as Jason was not a popular character among the fanbase

  • Years later, revealed that when Superboy-Prime altered reality, it brought Jason back to life, although he suffered amnesia – Talia al Ghul takes him in and used a Lazarus Pit to restore his health, although it affected his mind

  • Begins to plot his revenge on both Batman and the Joker – Joker for killing him, and Batman for not being able to save him

  • Becomes Gotham crime lord known as the Red Hood – beats Joker within an inch of his life, but spares him to use against Batman

  • Confronts Batman and wants to know why he never killed Joker – gives Bruce ultimatum: kill me, or I kill Joker – Bruce disarms Jason, and Joker escapes

  • Becomes an anti-hero with no qualms about killing villains, and ends up in Arkham, where he kills dozens of inmates before escaping

  • New 52 – revamped origin again, revealing that Joker was responsible for his parents' deaths – now he heads up the Outlaws, a group of anti-heroes looking for redemption

  • Rebirth – once again Batman takes him in, but realizes he's too violent – he becomes Red Hood after his resurrection, which places him at odds with Bruce – creates new Outlaws group with Bizarro and Artemis

• Issues (16:00)

  • Revenge oriented – both against Joker and Batman

  • Forced into Robin mantle by Batman - dyed his hair like Dick, and was told he became Robin to keep him out of trouble - always living in Dick's shadow (23:50)

  • Troubled youth led to life of crime – also potential BPD and depression – led to suicidal thoughts (34:30)

  • Insanity as a result of Lazarus Pits (40:14)

• Break (45:40)

  • Plugs for Cult of Domesticity & Popcorn Psychology

• Treatment (46:35)

  • In-universe

  • Out of universe (50:31)

• Skit (62:09)

• Ending

References:

• Anthony's guest appearance on Into the Knight (3:36)
• Lonely Island - "On a Boat" (6:46)
• "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" - Doc (08:24)
• Talia al Ghul episode - Anthony (11:32)
• Ra's al Ghul episode - Anthony (12:24)
• Joker episode - Anthony (17:30)
• Chris Rock - O.J. Simpson routine - Anthony/Doc (22:38)
• TV Tropes - Replacement Goldfish - Anthony (25:30)
• Jeremy Whitley - Anthony (71:10)

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