How to Draw Jason Todd

Jason Peter Todd first appeared in Batman #357 (1983) and became the second Robin, sidekick to the superhero Batman, when the previous Robin, Dick Grayson went on to star in The New Teen Titans under the moniker of Nightwing.

Though originally popular, following a revamping of his origin by Max Allan Collins, the Jason Todd version of Robin was not well received by fans. For 1988's Batman: A Death in the Family story-line, DC Comics held a telephone poll to determine whether or not the character would die at the hands of the Joker, Batman's arch nemesis. The character was killed off by a vote of 5343–5271. Subsequent Batman stories dealt with Batman's guilt over not being able to prevent Jason's death. However, in 2005's story arc Under the Hood the character was resurrected, eventually becoming the second Red Hood and assuming a new role as an antihero who resembles Batman in many ways, except with a willingness to use lethal force and weapons.

Beginning in June 2010, Todd starred in "Red Hood: The Lost Days," a six issue miniseries that was timed to coincide with the release of the DC animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, which was a movie adaptation of the comic series Under The Hood. The story, written by Judd Winick, concentrated on Jason Todd's lost years of globe-trotting and training after his death and resurrection before his return to Gotham.

History

Pre-Crisis History

The initial version of Jason Todd had an origin that was a similar origin to the first Robin, Dick Grayson. Originally, like Grayson, Jason is the son of circus acrobats (the Flying Todds) killed by a criminal (Killer Croc) and is later adopted by Bruce Wayne. Distinguished by his red hair (as opposed to the black hair of Dick Grayson), Todd is unfailingly cheerful, wearing his circus costume to fight crime until Dick Grayson presents him with a Robin costume of his own. At that point, Jason dyes his hair black, and in later stories blossoms under Batman's tutelage.

Following the revamp of the Batman mythos due to Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jason Todd is recast as a young street orphan who first encounters the Dark Knight while attempting to steal the tires of the Batmobile. Bruce Wayne sees to it that Jason is placed in a school for troubled youths. Jason earns the mantle of Robin a short while later by helping Batman apprehend a gang of thieves. However, Todd does not wear the Robin costume (an improved version of) until after six months of training. Batman realizes that while Jason doesn't possess Dick Grayson's acrobatic skills, he can become a productive crime-fighter by channeling his rage. He also believes that if he doesn't help the boy, Jason will eventually become part of the "criminal element." Jason also aided Batman while Gotham City was temporarily overrun by Deacon Blackfire.

Post-Crisis History

Unlike Dick Grayson or the pre-Crisis Jason, the post-Crisis Jason is impulsive, reckless, and full of rage.

Jason Todd was the child of Willis and Catherine Todd, being raised in Gotham City. His father was a petty crook who ended up serving a prison sentence, and even after the sentence was served, his father did not return to the family. That left Jason alone with his drug-addicted mother, who he tried to take care of by ripping off car parts such as tires for cash. Sadly, his mother would soon die of an overdose and he would be left alone. He fended for himself just as he had taken care of his mother before, by continuing to rip off car parts. One night, Jason came across the Batmobile, which was parked in an alley. Batman had recently put new tires on the vehicle but had not replaced the hubcaps with the redesigned ones yet. This created an opportunity that Jason could not pass up. Batman caught him when he had already stolen one of the tires and was coming to take the others.

Batman tried to put Jason in a boarding school for troubled kids, but this did not work out for Jason as the owner of the school was actually running a training ground for youthful criminals. Batman instead decides that perhaps the boy's anger could be channeled against criminals as Robin, or else the boy would likely end up a criminal himself. This is how Jason Todd became the second Robin. He was not the acrobat Dick Grayson was, but he was a strong kid with skills from life on Gotham's streets.

On their first official mission as Batman and Robin, it was discovered that Jason's father was killed by the criminal Two-Face. Furious at the knowledge and the fact that Batman knew of it, Jason went on a rampage until at last, he confronted Two-Face. Rather than kill Dent, however, Jason mastered his anger and let Dent be arrested, much to Batman's pride.

While Jason soon proved to be one of Batman's most enthusiastic students, he was also the most troubled. Brash and impulsive, Jason's former life on the streets had left him with an ambiguous sense of right and wrong. This often placed Jason in opposition to the values his mentor was trying to teach him. Jason often uses excessive force to subdue criminals. In one adventure, asked to "hold off" villains, Jason instantly takes to firing at them with a gun, despite Batman's abhorrence for firearms. The most dramatic of these moral clashes, however, happened when Jason tracked down Felipe Garzonasa, a foreign national who had raped a young woman and later drove her to suicide. Moments after Jason arrived, Garzonasa plunged to his death from his apartment balcony. While the truth is still unknown, there is a distinct possibility that Jason pushed Felipe off the balcony, thereby breaking Batman's strict code against ever taking a life.

Afraid of Jason possibly murdering someone, Batman asks Barbara Gordon, to come out of retirement as Batgirl, and work with Jason on a case, hoping that she might gain a better insight into Jason's behavior. Although the pair work well together, Barbara is unable to deny darkness in Jason, which she later warns Bruce about.

A Death in the Family

Jason later discovers his mother was not his biological mother and runs away to find the woman who gave birth to him. After following a number of leads, Jason finally tracks his mother, Sheila, to Ethiopia, where she works as an aid worker. While Jason is overjoyed to be reunited with his real mother, he soon discovers that she is being blackmailed by the Joker, who is using her to provide him with medical supplies. Sheila herself has been embezzling funds from the agency and as part of the cover-up, she hands her own son, who arrives as Robin, over to the Joker. The Joker brutally beat the boy with a crowbar, and then left Jason and Sheila in the warehouse with a time bomb.

Sheila and Robin try desperately to get out of the warehouse but are still inside as the bomb goes off. Batman arrives too late to save them and is only able to hold Jason's lifeless body in his arms. The bodies are taken back to Gotham City for burial. For the next decade's worth of stories, Jason's death haunts Batman, who keeps Jason's costume on display in the Batcave. Batman considers this his greatest failure: not properly training Jason in his role as Robin, and failing to protect him from the Joker. In the years to come, he would erect a memorial in the batcave made from Jason's uniform.

Return from the grave

Clayface impersonating Jason Todd during Batman: Hush. The design served as real-life template for Jason Todd designs following.

Years later, while trying to discover the identity of a mysterious figure plotting against him (who turns out to be Hush), Batman discovers that Robin (Tim Drake) has been kidnapped. When he confronts the kidnapper he discovers, much to his surprise, that the kidnapper is apparently an adult Jason Todd. Batman subdues this mystery "Jason" and discovers that it is Clayface impersonating Jason.

It is later revealed that Jason indeed had died at the hands of the Joker, but when Superboy-Prime alters reality from the paradise dimension in which he is trapped (six months after his death), Jason is restored to life and breaks out of his coffin (with his bare hands), walked away from the graveyard (approximately 12 miles) before collapsing and thereafter is hospitalized, as the injuries inflicted by the Joker had not fully healed. After spending a year in a coma and subsequently as an amnesiac vagrant, he is recognized by a petty criminal who soon informs Talia al-Ghul. After some time, Talia restores his health and memory by immersing him in a Lazarus Pit in which her father Ra's is also bathing. It is suggested at that time that exposure to the Pit's energies together with Al-Ghul might have affected Jason's personality. On Talia's advice, Jason determines his death was never avenged and prepares to confront Batman by traveling across the globe in the same path of training as his mentor.

When Batman expresses no remorse for sparing the Joker's life after Jason was killed, Jason is further enraged and takes up the mantle of the Red Hood.

As the Red Hood

Shortly after the events of War Games and War Crimes, Jason Todd reappears in Gotham City as the Red Hood, hijacking a shipment of Kryptonite from Black Mask. In the midst of a battle with Batman, Nightwing, and Mr. Freeze, the Red Hood gives them the Kryptonite back, and tells them he has gotten what he truly wanted: a "lay of the land." Shortly afterward, the Red Hood finds the Joker (driven out of Gotham by Hush) and beats him with a crowbar just as the Joker had once beaten Jason. Despite the violent beating, Jason spares the Joker, intending to use him later against Batman.

The Red Hood assumes control over several gangs in Gotham City and starts a one-man war against Black Mask's criminal empire. Overall, he strives to cleanse the city of its corruption, such as drug dealing and gang violence, and to kill the Joker in revenge for his own death. Because of his anti-heroic activities, he repeatedly comes to blows with Batman and several of his allies. A Robin mask was found in the Batmobile, which never belonged to Dick or Tim, but it was of the style that Jason wore as Robin. Around this time, Batman discovers that Jason's coffin has always been empty, and he begins to question whether or not Jason had actually died. Despite his return, Jason's Robin costume remains in its memorial display case in the Batcave; when Alfred asked if Bruce wanted the costume removed, Bruce replied that the return of Jason "doesn't change anything at all."

Knowing that Tim Drake has not only replaced him as Robin but is reportedly a better Robin than he had been, Jason breaks into Titans Tower to confront Tim. Wearing an altered version of his own Robin costume, Jason quickly immobilizes the other Titans and strikes him down in the Tower's Hall of Fallen Titans. Furious that no memorial statue was made for him (despite his short tenure as a Titan), Jason demands that Tim tell him if he is really as good as Jason has been told. Tim says "Yes" and passes out. As he leaves, Jason tears the 'R' emblem from Tim's chest. In the Epilogue, Jason has apparently developed a grudging respect for his replacement as he states, "I'll admit. He's good." Jason is also left wondering if perhaps he would have been a better Robin and a better person had he a life like Tim's and friends like the Titans.

Jason's return crescendos when he kidnaps the Joker and holds him hostage, luring Batman to Crime Alley, the site of their first meeting. Jason asks Batman why he has not avenged his death by killing the Joker, and Batman tells Jason that he will never cross that line. An enraged Jason explains that even ignoring all the people he's killed and the crippling of Batgirl, he believed that after his death at the hands of the Joker, he'd finally be able to kill him, "doing it because he took me away from you". Despite this, Batman explains that it is not too hard for him to kill the Joker, it would be too easy; he has never once not fantasized about taking the Joker somewhere private and torturing him for maybe weeks before finally killing him, but refuses to go to that place. Jason offers Batman an ultimatum: Jason will kill the Joker unless Batman kills Jason first. Holding the Joker at gunpoint, Jason throws a pistol to Batman and begins to count to three while standing behind the Joker, leaving Batman with only a headshot if he wants to stop Jason pulling the trigger. At the last moment, Batman throws a batarang that cuts down an object and slices Jason's neck. The Joker takes advantage of the situation, detonating nearby explosives that engulf the platform they are on and send them plunging into the bay.

One Year Later and Countdown

Jason resurfaces one year after the Infinite Crisis patrolling the streets of New York City as a murderous version of Nightwing. Jason shows no intention of giving up the Nightwing persona and continues to taunt Dick Grayson by wearing the costume and suggesting that the two become a crime-fighting team. Grayson refuses to join his side and methods of crime-fighting. Not long after the two Nightwings meet up, Jason is captured and imprisoned by unknown mobsters. Rescued by a reluctant Grayson, the two join forces to defeat the Pierce brothers. Jason leaves New York City and the Nightwing mantle to Grayson, along with a telegram telling Grayson he has returned to normal and still considers them family.

Jason appears once more in several issues of Green Arrow alongside Brick as part of a gun-running organization, which brings Batman to Star City. Jason's true motives are shown in the third part as he kidnaps Mia Dearden (Speedy) in an effort to convert her to his side, feeling that they are kindred spirits, cast down by society and at odds with their mentors. The two fight while conversing but when Jason is unsuccessful in his bid to turn Mia, he settles for blowing up her high school. Mia is deeply troubled by what transpired between her and Jason but ultimately decides to stick with Green Arrow.

Jason temporarily dons the mantle of Red Robin

At the start of Countdown, Jason Todd resumes his persona as the Red Hood and rescues a woman from Duela Dent (aka Two Face's Daughter). After a Monitor shoots and kills Duela, he attempts to kill Jason but is stopped by a second Monitor. This second Monitor apologizes to Jason before they both disappear, leaving Jason alone with Duela's body. Later, at Duela's funeral, Jason hides until all of the Teen Titans have left except Donna Troy. Jason tells her what happened the night of Duela's death, and about the dueling Monitors. He knows that both he and Donna Troy have come back from the dead, and wonders which of them is next on the Monitor's hit list. The two are then attacked by the Forerunner, but before she can kill them, the apologetic Monitor stops her, and recruits Jason and Donna for a mission to the Palmerverse (a section of the Nanoverse discovered by Ray Palmer), in an attempt to find Palmer. During the trip, Jason takes it upon himself to name the Monitor "Bob".

On Earth-51, Jason meets that world's Batman. It was shown that this version of Batman had begun to use lethal force when his Jason died. Jason Todd of New Earth is then given a new costume and the codename, Red Robin. Earth-51 Batman had originally planned to give those to his Jason, but he died before it was time. During a final confrontation on Earth-51, Batman is killed, much to Jason's fury. After landing on Apokolips and battling against Darkseid's forces, the team returns to New Earth, Jason once again turns his back on life as a costumed hero, and returns to his old ways of dealing with crime.

Batman R.I.P.

Following Batman's disappearance during the events of Batman R.I.P. Jason begins manipulating the Gang Wars in Gotham, so as to take control of them. Unfortunately, Jason's approach leads to more blood shed and violence. With both Nightwing and Batman unavailable, it falls to Tim Drake to deal with the mess Jason created. Jason however, asks Tim to join forces with him, though Tim, of course, refuses on the grounds that Jason's methods are too questionable.

This leads to a confrontation between Jason and Tim Drake, which is interrupted by the arrival of another Red Robin, whose identity is initially a mystery but later turns out to be Ulysses Armstrong. Due to a combination of Red Robin's involvement and a gun-toting gang member, Jason was shot in the leg and arrested by police. Upon the resolution of the gang war in Gotham, Tim Drake - under a pseudonym visited Jason in prison to give him the Justice League access code to release himself from prison, due primarily to the fact that Tim believes that Jason should be given another chance at redemption. Following his escape, Jason continues on the mend and is summoned by Tim to come to the Batcave, where Batman has left his Last Will and Testament statement for him. After hearing the statement in private, Jason prepares to leave, not revealing what he was told, although he does pause before his old costume and the tattered remains of Batman's.

It is later revealed that the message left for Jason was Bruce admitting that of all his failures, Jason was the biggest. Bruce states that he regrets never offering Jason any help or feeling for his obvious emotional hardships, but instead dressing him up as Robin and putting him in constant danger.

These words, however, only cause Jason to snap completely, leading to the events of the Battle for the Cowl.

Battle for the Cowl

Following his escape from prison, Jason apparently decided to put a bid in for the Bat-mantle. He wore a black and grey Batsuit with two handguns, various other weapons and a mouth-plate. He is also living/operating out of an abandoned Gotham subway system. His inner monologue demonstrated that he'd always had a desire to eventually replace Batman, and his displeasure with Batman becoming a public figure, rather than an urban legend.

Jason begins his war on crime using lethal tactics and leaving slips of paper saying "I AM BATMAN".

After Jason manages to take down a group of thugs, he then escapes only to have Nightwing and Damian Wayne on his tail. Nightwing deduces that the impostor is Jason Todd. After a short quarrel, Damian is shot by Jason. At the same time, Tim Drake begins a search to stop the impostor and dresses as Batman in order to demonstrate how the real Batman would have acted. Tim finds Jason Todd's "Batcave" in a subway station and is saved from a booby trap by Catwoman, who knows Tim is behind the mask. Jason ambushes them, disposing of Catwoman, and then getting into a fight with Tim before impaling him in the chest with a batarang, exclaiming "One more to go".

After questioning himself, following Damian's near death, Nightwing goes forth against Jason, intending to take down Todd once and for all. The pair battle, all the while with Jason claiming that Tim is dead, unaware that Tim survived and was saved by Damian and the Squire. The battle accumulates to Nightwing kicking Jason off a speeding train.

When Dick attempted to help Jason, the other man refused and fell to his supposed death, though claiming they would see each other again soon. This allowed Dick to officially assume the mantle of Batman.

Revenge of the Red Hood

Jason survived his fall and gave up his claim to Batman's mantle. Dick was Batman now, and Jason set out to become Dick's direct competition. He reworked his Red Hood identity to be more dramatic and attention-grabbing by creating a costume for it, a costume very similar to the original Red Hood outfit the Joker had used. Also, he stopped dying his hair black and allowed it to grow red again with a small gray streak left by his previous exposure to a Lazarus Pit. To complete his transformation, he even found himself a sidekick. This was Scarlet, the daughter of a criminal and the victim of Professor Pyg's practice of mutilation. His intent was for them to become Gotham City's new dynamic duo, supplanting the old one.

With his new partner, Jason resumed his brutal and lethal methods of dealing with criminals, but now there was a twist. Using the media and Internet, he exposed his methods to the public and actively marketed them as the way things should be done. Public opinion was actually at least somewhat in his favor, especially after he showed Batman and Robin protecting the Penguin from him and Scarlet. He was able to keep ahead of Batman and Robin, getting to criminals first and evading their attempts to apprehend him. That lasted until he tracked down a criminal who got away from him to finish what he had started. Batman and Robin arrived to stop them, and the two duos fought. The fight went in Jason's favor. Instead of the two heroes capturing him, he captured them, stripped them naked, and locked them out of his way for the time being. His plan was to reveal to the world on a Twitter webcam, the identities of Batman and Robin if the public offered enough attention to it.

It was then that Jason and Scarlet were ambushed by an assassin called Flamingo. He took two shots from a sniper's rifle, shattering his helmet. While Batman and Robin escaped from his trap, Todd and Scarlet attempted to combat against Flamingo. However, both of them proved inferior to Flamingo's skills, and it was only with the timely arrival of Batman and Robin that they were not killed. Jason used the Dynamic Duo as a cover, proceeded to crush Flamingo with a truck, while Damian threw himself in front of an attack to save Scarlet, leaving him crippled. Scarlet escaped, and Jason was again taken into police custody. As he was dragged away, however, he shouted at Dick that if the Lazarus Pits could revive him from the dead (a half-truth), then why hadn't Dick done it for Bruce?

Reform?

Jason is accepted back into the Bat-Family after an uneasy team up with his "brothers"

Jason files an appeal to be moved from Arkham Asylum where he's been held for observation for the last several months. Bruce Wayne as Batman visits him there to inform Jason he's in Arkham for his own protection. Jason points out he's passed all the psychological tests repeatedly and there is no reason to keep him in what he calls Batman's "kennel of freaks". Jason is transferred to a Gotham prison and upon his arrival, the suicide rate spikes amongst top incarcerated crime figures there. Several homicides occur due to many botched attempts on Jason's life by inmates with a grudge against the Red Hood's tactics. Jason escalates things further by poisoning the cafeteria, killing 82 and sickening 100 more inmates. He is immediately transferred back to Arkham but is broken out of the paddy wagon by a group of mercenaries. The mercenaries reveal they are under orders to bring Jason to the person that hired them and that he is in no danger. Jason breaks free and fights them off all the same as Batman and Robin arrive. Once the hired guns are subdued they reveal their employer has captured Scarlet, Jason's former sidekick. Dick, Damian, and Jason go to one of the Red Hood's weapon caches where he assembles a composite costume made from his biker and "superhero" Red Hood attire. The three intend to rescue Scarlet. After Batman and Robin defeat the mercs, Red Hood rescues Scarlet and escapes using the helicopter. Batman and Robin attempt to chase him, but Red Hood tells them that he planted bombs over Gotham City months ago. Scarlet desires to stay with Red Hood as his partner. Red Hood and Scarlet head toward an unknown destination. Dick does nothing, surmising Jason was bluffing, and that though he's on the road to reforming, he'll only rejoin the Bat-Family when he is ready.

The New 52

Jason leads the Outlaws, and wears the Bat Symbol to show he's on the way to reformation.

Jason attempted to make up for his sins by leading the Outlaws, a team of wayward heroes including Arsenal and Starfire. The red symbol on his chest is now changed to a bat, representing his uneasy reconciliation with the Batman Family. Interestingly, the costume itself is acquired by Jason from a collection of costumes identified as having belonged to Dick Grayson, including the original Nightwing costume, implying that this particular outfit belonged to Dick as well. He acquires it shortly after meeting Starfire, who had it in her possession. It is also apparent that as of the reboot, Jason's relationship with Tim is at least cordial, as Jason visits Tim on at least one occasion (recounted via flashback in Red Hood & the Outlaws #8), during which the two exchange information before Tim invites Jason to stay for breakfast, and the two share a joke about Alfred's waffles, which Tim describes as tasting "like paste". The conversation implies that the relationship between Jason and his erstwhile mentor, however, remains strained, if not hostile.

Though he retained his aggressive style of fighting, it is clear in the first issue of "Red Hood and the Outlaws" that he has continued to use lethal force against his adversaries. In said issue, Jason used his firearms in an act of self-defense to kill three mob members, and he did so with little hesitation or empathy. In issue two however he feels compassion and respect for his former trainers who he was forced to put in their zombified state, implying he decides to use lethal force on a case by case basis, not hesitating if he sees no other option, similar to the Huntress. At the end of the same issue, he feels that he finally has a team, and has finally picked a side. He also sacrificed his most treasured memory from his days as Robin, realizing his that his conflicting emotions were preventing him to do what needed to be done for the "Greater Good".

DC Rebirth

The DC Rebirth introduced the revival of Red Hood and the Outlaws with a second volume released in August 2016. Jason Todd's backstory is altered to resemble his original meeting with Batman occurring while trying to steal tires from the Batmobile. Jason's mother is already dead by now and his father is serving a life sentence in prison, so he has been living on the streets. Batman at first tries helping him by enrolling him in Ma Gunn's boarding school, trying to give him a home. However he does not realise that Ma Gunn is actually using the school as a cover to recruit young delinquents into her own criminal gang. When Batman discovers this, he takes down Ma Gunn, with help from Jason.

Batman then takes him in and raises him as the new Robin, though realizes early on that Jason has a violent streak. After Jason is killed by the Joker and resurrected in the Lazarus Pit, he goes on to become the Red Hood, straining his relationship with Batman.^[1] The new team consists of Jason Todd as Red Hood, the disgraced Amazon warrior named Artemis, and the Superman clone called Bizarro. This team is referred to as DC's "Dark Trinity" in comparison to the new Trinity series included in DC Rebirth which follows Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The team would stay together until Red Hood and the Outlaws #25-26, where Jason went solo after his team disappeared and the title was changed to Red Hood: Outlaw . He also later appears in Year of the Villain and Event Leviathan #2.

Powers and Abilities

Lazarus-Enhanced Capabilities: As of his perfect resurrection by the Lazarus Pit, he no longer ages & regenerates from injuries at a very fast rate, allowing him to perfectly cheat death on several occasions. His strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, durability, and metabolism/immune system have been enhanced even further.
Peak Human Conditioning: Through years of intense and extensive training, special dieting plans, and meditation techniques from Batman plus training after his resurrection, Jason is at the very peak of human potential and perfection. By matching his former mentor in combat he has proven that he is far superior to Olympic-level athletes, just as Batman is. His strength, speed, agility, reflexes, stamina, durability, endurance, healing, and senses are practically superhuman; near the limits of a super-soldier's inhuman capabilities. He represents the pinnacle of human physical potential/perfection much like Batman and Nightwing.
- Peak Human Strength: Jason's strength is at the peak of human potential. He is strong enough to break through a submarine hull with a single punch, effortlessly lift a man over his head with one hand and throw him several meters through an airplane window, casually kick an airplane door off the hinges while it's flying, send Deathstroke flying with a kick, break the neck and arm of a superhuman Talon, throw an alien with one hand, flip Susie Sue on her head (she weighs over 600 lbs), hold the roof of a collapsed building and support the weight of a enormous cruise missile for an extended period of time. Red Hood's strength and brute force is comparable, if not equal to Batman's and is practically superhuman; showcased when he cut a dinosaur's head off with one slice, overpowered a large group of Venom-users, struck Lobo to the floor, leg flipped Bane on his head even Supergirl commented that "he is far stronger than any human" and "no human should be this powerful". This type of strength also extends to his legs, allowing him to jump very high heights and leap long distances. Using highly effective muscle control, Red Hood can apply practically superhuman force in his physical attacks to match Meta-human super-soldiers like Ravager (who easily has the strength of 10 men, possibly a dozen or more).
- Peak Human Speed: He can run and move at incredible speeds comparable to the finest human athletes, much faster than normal humans. He has outran a moving vehicle and hit Green Arrow before he can even react. While unarmed Jason once blitzed an entire GCPD SWAT team before anyone could even pull the trigger. Red Hood has been noted to have superior combat speed than Tim Drake, as he admitted that Jason is a faster fighter than himself. Jason's speed allows him to be more than fast enough to stab Onyx so fast she didn't even notice. His fastest feats of speed to date is accurately shooting a gang of thugs faster than the eye can follow, despite guns already being aimed at him, and evading superhumanly fast spear strikes from an ancient-enhanced martial artist so fast he formed multiple afterimages behind him. He is faster than Batman but not Nightwing.
- Peak Human Stamina: His highly trained and developed body generates considerably less fatigue toxins and is much more resistant to fatigue toxins than normal humans, granting him exceptional endurance and lung capacity. His lung capacity is so great that he can hold his breath underwater for extended periods of time with little to no strain at all. He can exert himself at peak capacity without slowing down for several hours before showing signs of fatigue or began tiring, even if he is extremely exhausted physically and mentally.
- Peak Human Agility: Jason's agility is greater than that of a Chinese acrobat and superior to any Olympic-gold athlete gymnast that has ever competed. He can coordinate his body with flawless balance, equilibrium, flexibility, bodily coordination and dexterity. This agility allows him to have a lot of midair maneuverability and perform gymnastic and acrobatic moves that would be very difficult or impossible for normal humans, such as easily front-flipping through a narrow window and flipping around gunfire as a teenage Robin. Jason can vertical jump at least 10-15 ft in the air without a running start, possibly more when pushed. Red Hood has been shown keeping up with an acrobatic-Talon that possesses speed and agility to that of Nightwing. He used gymnastic and acrobatic agility to survive a fall Starfire surely thought would kill him. Even Batman made a mental note to himself; commenting that he isn't just fast, but agile as well.
- Peak Human Reflexes: Similar to his speed, his reflexes and reaction time is honed to an extraordinary rate and is seemingly superhuman; and is far superior to normal humans. He is capable of quickly reacting and dodging rapid gunfire at point-blank range from multiple gunmen while evading simultaneous attacks from multiple enemies on many occasions, though he can get hit if there are to many to evade. Jason's reflexes allow him to casually weave through machine-gun fire on a regular basis and block an arrow with his knife.
- Peak Human Durability: His muscles and bones are far tougher and vastly denser than ordinary humans; making him extremely durable to certain degrees, enough that he can tolerate massive amounts of physical pain and damage. His physique which is rigorously trained to the uttermost human limit and is extremely tough and resistant to damage, which allows him to survived dangers that would have killed most other people, like being slammed straight through thick reinforced concrete with little to no injury. He is able to withstand being stabbed and shot multiple times. He's survived being blasted with a bazooka, multiple nuclear explosions underwater, being set ablaze by a flamethrower, and withstood blows from superhuman opponents such as Deathstroke, Frankenstein, Bane (on venom) and more.
Master Martial Artist: Jason Todd is a highly skilled combatant, due to having been rigorously and extensively trained by Batman - who has mastered every single form of hand-to-hand combat and martial arts known to man. Although he was always more of a brawler as Robin, following his resurrection he traveled the world to continue his training, learning every form of martial arts he could, just as Batman did. Later on, his combat skill was further improved, as he was also trained by Lady Shiva, Bronze Tiger and the All Caste and was considered their most successful pupil. Demonstrating himself to be far more skilled than before, he is capable of defeating multiple opponents such as a room full of Russian-mobsters, a room full of ninjas, Spyral trainees, undead Talons, and Metahumans simultaneously by manipulating or breaking limbs or spines, and can even fight blind. He was even capable of holding his own against Batman and Nightwing to a standstill and fought Batman a second time for a very long time but was ultimately defeated. Jason held his own against the Green Arrow, Deathstroke, Ra's al Ghul and also managed to overpower Tim Drake and the Teen Titans at the Titans Tower. Red Hood has also defeated a group of aliens in just seventeen seconds while holding back. Jason's fighting style focuses on brutality, strength, and speed; he is shown to have mastered over half-a dozen fighting styles and has proven to be a master of Aikido, Capoeira, Karate, Ninjutsu, Savate, Krav Maga, Kickboxing, and Tae Kwon Do. He has effectively combined the martial arts he has mastered into a unique harmonious style that suits his strengths. He also knows a unique technique taught to him by Talia al Ghul and an old punching technique that'll take someone's supernatural/magical enhancements and powers. Even Damian Wayne, who doesn't have a very high opinion of Jason, called him in Event Leviathan one of the great master fighters of all time. As part of his training as Robin, Bruce taught Jason a technique called "language of combat," wherein he can communicate with others while fighting. With these skills, he maintains his place as one of DC's top martial artists and combatants.
- Master Marksman: Having been trained by Batman, Jason has perfect aim when using batarangs and later, firearms. To increase his skill with firearms he went a step further than Batman on his journey around the world to learn from the masters how to kill a target with different types of guns. His precision and accuracy is superior to Batman's, as he is the best marksman of the Bat-family. He is one of the top 5 marksmen in the entire DC Universe and is highly skilled in throwing projectiles, firearms, and archery; almost on par with Deadshot's. Red Hood is equally skilled in marksman with throwing projectiles such as shuriken, throwing knives, and batarangs, as they could be utilized in intense or time-dependent combat situations. He is capable of shooting a man at a long distance, whilst being physically attacked by several other opponents. This evidence further proves him as one of the best marksmen in the DC Universe. Jason rarely ever misses his targets 9 times out of 10, unless it is inhumanly difficult or outmatched.
- Weapon Master: He can use every type of blade, firearm, explosive and heavy military weapons like pistols, shotguns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, grenades, tasers, and rocket launchers. He uses also knives, shurikens, throwing knives, swords, sticks, staffs, and batarangs and can even turn something as simple as a pen into a deadly weapon. Jason has even showcased high proficiency with whips against an opponent with superhuman speed.
- Skilled Swordsman: Jason has been shown to be skilled enough to hold his own against the Green Arrow in a sword fight until he ultimately lost but in the New 52 he fought him again and won this time. He was also able to keep up with Ra's Al Ghul and match him for an in a sword battle extended period of time.
Expert Acrobat: In his training as Robin, he had been taught acrobatics and gymnastics routines. He further practices his abilities as the Red Hood even going so far as to chase the Bat Family around just to test his speed.
Genius-Level Intellect: After being adopted by Bruce, Jason received an excellent education and tutoring from both private tutors and Bruce thus, has deep knowledge in many subjects, including Science, Math, Medicine, Geography, Criminology, World History and English. He has also proven to be a highly efficient criminal strategist and organised as the Red Hood. Jason is shown to be highly skilled in mechanics, as he was performing maintenance and upgrading his motorcycle, car, and helicopter, Bat-Gordon's exoskeleton. He also is proficient in business management which was seen by formerly runing, owning, and managing Penguin's Iceberg Lounge Club/Casino. He has a college GPA of 94.8, can understand/study the Tamaranean language, and is even smart enough to track Starfire's alien spacecraft while it was cloaked.
- Expert Tactician & Strategist: Although contradictory to his once childish nature, Jason's learned to survey his targets before attacking and killing them. He spends long hours scouting targets and assuring that they deserve his brand of justice. He is well-versed in military-grade tactics, strategies, and protocols. He also orchestrated a plan to manipulate crime lords of Gotham, taking control of gangs, starting gang wars all to having the Joker escaping form Arkham Asylum and having a final showdown with Batman.
- Master Detective: Being trained by Bruce Wayne, Jason has shown some expertise as a detective. He also led the detective team consisting of some of the best detectives of all time like Batman, Lois Lane, the Question and Damian Wayne the right way to understand who Leviathan is after and why. Jason is highly skilled in observation, forensic investigation, and inductive and deductive reasoning of the highest caliber; surpassed only by a handful.
- Expert Computer Hacker: Having been heavily taught by Bruce Wayne in computers and networks, then drastically improved by Tim Drake, Jason was easily able to hack into LexCorp computers in less than five minutes, bypass the US government's military database, break into Batgirl's advanced security networks. His skill in computers, networks, and technology is on par with Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake, but the still have edge in superiority.
- Expert Inquisitor: Jason is adept in the use of interrogation techniques, employing anything from law enforcement methods to outright torture. Several techniques have been seen, include hanging a person over the edge of a building by one leg or chaining a person upside down and beating them. All of which are techniques he picked up from Batman. He usually just plain uses his frightening appearance to get answers.
- Expert Escape Artist: Jason was once heavily chained, held at gunpoint by two men and surrounded by a total of four armed men plus Captain Boomerang and managed to slip free. When his body was securely chain-locked in place by Ra's al Ghul, he still escaped in plain sight without much effort. He was also sure of himself that he could breakout of Belle Reve the most secure place on the planet.
- Master of Disguise: He was trained by Batman himself and the All-Caste and the League of Assassins to blend in anywhere and become anyone.
- Expert Vehicular Driver: Jason has expertise in evasive driving and combat piloting a variety of vehicles from motorcycles, cars, boats, airplanes, and helicopters to being trained in the Middle East by an ace pilot to fly helicopters and planes.
- Expert Bomb Assembly and Defusal: Taught by a world renowned bomb expert in Russia, Jason is able to assemble and defuse a wide variety of conventional explosive devices, from improvised to military grade designs. It is yet to be determined whether or not he can diffuse Nuclear devices, in contrast to Batman and Damian's demonstrated ability.
- Expert Tracker: Trained in hunting and tracking techniques by Batman and League Members from African Bushmen (the Ghost Tribes of the Ten-eyed Brotherhood, among others).
- Expert Leader: Jason lead both versions of the Outlaws for a long time without problems and even helped Roy Harper and Starfire with their relationship, which shows also a emotional intelligence to him.
- Occultism: Jason, through his training with the All-Caste, is knowledgeable on various mystical concepts.
Expert Intimidatior: He was able to intimidate Gotham mob bosses and Black Mask. He is also very feared by the thugs on the streets of Gotham. He is also famous in the organized crime all around the world for his ruthlessness and brutality. Although Batman has the edge in the 'fear' category, he is still highly intimidating due to his Batman-like mental and physical prowess plus the willingness to kill.
Indomitable Will: Jason is able to function while tolerating massive amounts of physical pain and won't stop a mission until it's done.
Master Spy: Due to his training with Batman and his further training around the world he is a master of stealth, espionage, infiltration, disguise and sabotage. Jason is capable of breaching very high-security facilities with ease and without being detected. He is skilled enough to infiltrate Tim Drake's hideout without his knowledge, also he has shown enough stealth prowess to track down and scout Batgirl's top secret hideout, despite her intelligence. Jason has proven capable of infiltrating the Black Hawk Organization, the Spyral Organization, a terrorist airplane, even broke into Supergirl's apartment and snuck away from her while she was using her super-hearing.

Strength Level

Jason Todd possesses the normal human strength of a 6-foot, 225-pound young man who regularly engages in intensive physical exercise. Jason is capable of lifting over 1000 lbs.

Equipment

Robin Costume: After becoming Robin, Todd received Dick Grayson's old Robin costume. It includes a fabric tunic, that offered limited protection against bullets and blunt attacks, a yellow cape, green shorts, and pixie-boots. His utility belt carried batarangs, grappling hooks, gas pellets and assorted other bat-related weapons.
Red Hood Costume: After his resurrection and return to Gotham, Jason used the guise of Red Hood. The first costume consisted of Jeans, T-Shirt, Biker Jacket, A domino mask that is held in place by Spirit Gum, and The Red Hood Mask. His mask contains a Radio Transmitter and Receiver as well as Night Vision. He has Gauntlets that contain compartments for his weapons, which are deadlier. His weapons of choice are a pair of customized Jericho 941's, fitted with extra serrations and mini red dot sights, an assortment of shurikens, and a flame dagger, a replica of one of Ra's Al Ghul's weapons. His second costume has the Red Hood Mask, which is still metallic, although it appears to have been modified. He wears a white and Grey costume which also comes with a cape. In the middle of his chest is a Red Skull. He uses lethal force by means of his two red pistols. The third version of the costume is similar to the first with the exceptions of a red bat emblem on the chest, a brown biker jacket and a more form fitting mask with Jason's mouth visible and a distinct absence of a domino mask underneath instead he has a mask like his old Robin mask under the hood. Jason's new outfit possesses tech and weapons inside it similar to the Batman Beyond suit. So far shown are glider wings housed in the forearms and a grappling hook with reticle aimer on the left forearm. Jason's helmet or "hood" provides a moderate degree of protection. When a Talon stabbed it with a knife cracking it, Jason was shocked that a knife was able to do that and stated that no knife should able to crack his hood. Also, Jason used a dosage of Venom while on a mission with Supergirl. His most recent suit consists of the standard biker jacket, jeans and metallic mask. However, he now wears an armor like shirt with the red bat emblem. He also modifies his attire with technology regularly, with one suit containing retractable blades along the arms. His most recent suit has a taser powerful to stun an Amazon while on a low charge. He also wields pistols that fire normal bullets along with other types of ammo such as sedative injectors and anti-tank rounds. In most, if not all instances, Jason usually carries a firearm with him. He usually only carries dual pistols with him, but will use whatever gun he feels suits his purposes.
Red Robin Costume: Similar in some ways to Damian Wayne's Robin costume, this costume offered many of the same protections and functions, although it had added glider capability in the cape, and assorted Robin-esque weaponry.
Batman Costume: Unlike the conventional Batman costume, Jason's version was far more militaristic, with heavier body armor of gray and black. Rather than the normal cowl design, the pointed ears were made to look more like devil horns, and the lenses glowed red giving him a far more demonic appearance. The mouth of the of the mask was covered with a gas mask type device. Rather than carrying the normal non-lethal utility belt, Jason's was filled with assorted lethal weaponry.

Transportation

Motorcycle
Car
Helicopter
Boat

Weapons

Automatic Handguns
Tasers
Grenades/Other Explosives
Batarangs
Electric Wings
Knife
Twin Blade Katanas
All-Blades
Crowbar

Gallery

Mobile link

Notes

Bruce tried to reform Jason by submitting him to treatments at Arkham Asylum under an alias. It was then revealed that Jason is still sane, just willing to do what Batman refused to. He was being transferred to Blackgate Prison when he managed to escape.
Despite his idolization of Bruce, he was angry that he refused to kill the Joker, even after Jason was murdered. As Batman noted, he never understood the Batman Code: never kill. Although Batman did nearly kill the Joker as revenge for Todd at the end of A Death in the Family.

In Other Media

Television

DC Animated Universe

Jason Todd never appeared in the DC Animated universe on-screen with the shows skipping over him as Robin to get to Tim Drake. His memorial is however alluded to in the first episode with Tim Drake, apparently being the suit of Dick Grayson (albeit one not seen until that point in the show).

This lead to some speculating that Jason Todd truly existing in the world as a secret Robin although there was never any evidence to support this with the Robin-suit display being the only allusion to the lost sidekick.

Tim Drake

Many of Jason's attributes can be found in The New Batman Adventures incarnation of Tim Drake's Robin (although apparently by coincidence). Tim is shown to be the son of a dirt-bag criminal from the slums of Gotham City and himself, a very street-wise kid. Tim is also given a connection to Two-Face via him being his father's employer which could be taken as reference to Jason's near murder of Two-Face as Robin (although more likely would be an allusion to Two-Face killing the Flying Graysons in the film Batman Forever).

In the film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Tim is also revealed to have been put through a Death in the Family-esque event. Here being that Joker kidnapped Tim, tortured him to learn Batman's identity, then brainwashed him into becoming, "Joker Jr." to get at Batman. This resulted in Tim murdering the Joker with his own spear-gun before breaking down and retiring from crime-fighting.

Batman: The Adventures Continue

In 2020, it was revealed that Jason Todd's Red Hood would be included in a comics-based expansion of Batman: The Animated Series with a figurine of him being released. This figurine appearing to be modelled after the Red Hood's appearance in Under the Hood with Todd's black hair with a white-streak from Batman: Hush, and his cheek-scar from the New 52.

In these comics, Jason's backstory is revised with him having been brothers with a boy who joined a street-gang called The Wolves on Gotham's East-Side. As a twisted Little Red Riding Hood allusion, the gang would force new members to wear, "Red hoods" and act as lookouts in dangerous positions. Jason's brother died at this job, resulting in the young Jason becoming obsessed with violently destroying the gang.

Jason's adventures lead to him getting taken in by Batman to be trained as his new Robin following the leave of Dick Grayson. Before his training was complete, Jason stole the Robin suit and went out to fight crime alongside Batman as the new Robin. Batman decided to take the boy in as his new sidekick but Jason's past-traumas and violence lead to him nearly brutally murdering the Scarecrow. When fighting Jason on this, Jason kicked Bruce in the jaw and fled the batcave before disappearing.

Four years later, we see Jason stalking the Bat-Family and the Joker. When Batman went to confront Jason, he found only an enemy who rigged an explosive trap to try and defeat him.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

"Emperor Joker!" features a scene where Batman is shown a statue depicting Jason's death in Batman #428 as a part of Bat-Mite's extra-dimensional museum. Bat-Mite then breaks the fourth wall by informing Batman of the vote that resulted in Jason's demise. Batman gives no reaction, as in this universe Dick Grayson was the only Robin Batman ever worked with.

Young Justice

In the episode "Satisfaction", there's a memorial of the fallen heroes where an image of a Robin can be seen. This has been confirmed to be Jason Todd.

Titans

See: Jason Todd (Titans)

Film

Batman: Under the Red Hood

See: Jason Todd (Batman: Under the Red Hood)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

In this film, the Robin memorial is shown in the Batcave. The suit is also vandalized by Joker, who spray painted across it "Hahaha joke's on you, Batman", and alluded to his hand in the death. In Suicide Squad, it is revealed that Harley Quinn apparently had a hand in the murder.

The identity of the Robin was intended to be Dick Grayson as opposed to Jason, a gravestone prop in the former film confirming this. According to its director Zack Snyder, no other Robins, including Jason, have ever existed in the films' continuity.

Video Games

Batman: Arkham series

See: Jason Todd (Arkhamverse)

Injustice series

Although Jason Todd himself does not make an appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us, he is alluded to a few times, namely in relation to the Joker and the Regime version of Nightwing: In both games, Joker's movesets include him beating an opponent with a crowbar, as well as the Injustice version of Nightwing, Damian Wayne, sharing similar traits to Jason such as self-righteous fury and being a counterpart to Nightwing. In addition, one of Joker's intros when fighting Damian Wayne in the latter game has them alluding to Joker's murder of Jason Todd, where Damian tells Joker "I'm no Jason Todd", with Joker responding that Jason was pathetic and calls Damian contemptible, while Damian throws the insult back by calling Joker "both."

Jason appears as the Red Hood in Injustice 2, though as a DLC character. However, he is also mentioned by Damian during the story mode as one of the Joker's victims whom his father failed to rescue; the sequence taking place before they learned of his resurrection/survival. In his arcade ending, Jason, after defeating Brainiac, refuses to join Superman's Regime, despite agreeing their points on the criminals must be punished to death, as he recognizes that the Man of Steel had been twisted by Joker's actions. In his multiverse arcade ending after Brainiac's defeat, Red Hood decide to continue his usual lethal crime fighting business while the Insurgency and Regime are having a conflict again over Braniac's fate to restore the stolen cities and planets.

Jason also features prominently during the prequel comics for the second game. Working for Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins, he impersonates Batman to plant distrust in his mentor's efforts in rebuilding society and takes control of the Suicide Squad. Jason also builds a friendship with Damien and eventually is convinced to leave the League, due to their attacks targeting civilians more than criminals.

Gotham Knights

See: Red Hood (Gotham Knights)

Trivia

Jason's birthday is August 16th.
Jason considers Roy Harper to be his best friend.
Jason Todd has a confirmed kill count of 83.
Jason kept the tire he originally stole from the Batmobile.
Jason was romantically involved with Talia al Ghul, Rose Wilson, Essence, Starfire, Isabel Ardila, Artemis and Barbara Gordon.

Appearances

A Death in the Family
Batman: Under the Hood

References

↑ "DC REBIRTH First Look: RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS Retells JASON & BATMAN's 1st Meeting".

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Source: https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/Jason_Todd