Jason Todd

Jason Todd is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Jason first appeared in Batman #357 (March 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 initially popular, following a revamping of his origin by Max Allan Collins, the Jason Todd version of Robin as written by Jim Starlin was not well received by fans. For 1988's Batman: A Death in the Family storyline, 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 to 5271. Subsequent Batman stories dealt with Batman's guilt over not having been able to prevent Jason's death. However, in 2005's "Under the Hood" story arc, 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.

In June 2010, Jason was featured in Red Hood: The Lost Days, a six-issue miniseries to coincide with the release of the DC animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood. The story, written by Judd Winick (who also wrote the film), concentrated on Jason's lost years of globe-trotting and training after his death and resurrection before his return to Gotham.

DC Comics announced in June 2011 that Jason would lead a group of antiheroes in the monthly series Red Hood and the Outlaws, which debuted in September 2011.