Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

Dick Grayson & Jason Todd are adoptive brothers, allies, and occasionally enemies in various Batman media. Dick Grayson is the superhero known as Nightwing, once known as the original Robin, sidekick to Batman. Jason Todd succeeded him as the second Robin, and later became the antihero known as Red Hood. They are brothers through their adoptive father, Bruce Wayne.
Overall, Dick has several closer, longer-lasting, and more significant relationships within the Batfamily and within the Titans—though Dick is one of the few notable characters with whom Jason has had a connection both before and after his death. Despite the relative infrequency of their meetings in canon, the Dick & Jason relationship is very popular among fans and in transformative fan works; on the Archive of Our Own (AO3) as of this writing, "Dick Grayson & Jason Todd" is the most-tagged gen relationship for both characters, and one of the most-tagged gen relationship within the "Batman - All Media Types" fandom tag, with over 6.5 thousand works as of this writing. 
==Canon==
===Comics===
For an overview of their relationship Post-Crisis through Rebirth, see Re: "Do Dick and Jason get along in comics? I'm kinda new to the batfam and I'm just trying to learn more about characters and their relationships with each other." answered by hood-ex (10 October 2019).
====Pre-Crisis: The Last Flying Grayson and the Last Flying Todd (1983)====
Robin, Dick Grayson, encountered a family of acrobats called the Flying Todds at the circus. Mr. and Mrs. Todd are killed by Killer Croc; Dick, feeling responsible for their deaths, resolved to adopt the newly orphaned Jason Todd, but Dick's guardian, Bruce Wayne, decided to adopt the child himself. Dick later decided he had outgrown the Robin mantle and voluntarily chose to become Nightwing, passing the Robin identity down to Jason.Dick becoming Nightwing (pre-Crisis v. post-Crisis)When Jason replaced Dick as Robin – the abridged version
====Post-Crisis: Nightwing & Robin (1985)====
In this continuity, Dick left Batman and Gotham on strained terms after being fired as Robin. After adopting the new identity Nightwing during his time with the Teen Titans, Dick is hurt to suddenly discover through the newspaper that Bruce had adopted a new son and trained him to be the new Robin. While they were set up to a rough start, Dick ends his first visit with Jason on good terms, and the two have a positive relationship in their following interactions.
Robin II had few opportunities for adventures and team-ups outside Gotham in his few real-life years of Post-Crisis existence. Meanwhile, Nightwing rarely returned to Gotham, due to his strained relationship with Batman, establishing himself as an independent adult, and the busy careers of the Teen Titans. Thus the two characters had limited interactions within the short window of time before the Joker murdered Robin II in A Death in the Family (1988), though some later publications—such as Joker: Last Laugh and Nightwing: Year One—retroactively added a few more interactions through flashbacks. 
Dick was very upset upon learning that Jason had been killed and buried while the Titans were on an off-planet mission (New Teen Titans #55 - 1989). He was haunted by Jason's death for years after, impulsively breaking his no-kill rule to beat the Joker to death temporarily for gloating about Jason's murder (Joker: Last Laugh)—and hallucinating Jason's ghost at various times, such as in Gotham Knights (2000) and in Nightwing: Secret Files & Origins (Dixon, 1999). 
Bruce legally adopted Dick in Gotham Knights #20 and #21 (2001), making Dick and posthumously Jason into legal siblings. 
====Post-Crisis: Nightwing vs. Nightwing, DickBats vs. Red Hood (2006-2011)====
Jason's return to life was not a joyous family reunion. Following the high-profile Batman: Under the Hood storyline (Winick 2005-2006), Jason—now the murderous Red Hood—popped up in various DC comics, with a different personality every time. Harsh words were exchanged, stabbings were attempted, explosions occurred, tentacles got involved (and not the good kind)… Suffice to say, things got ugly, though Dick continuously offered mercy to Jason,Dick tries and they did cooperate on some occasions such as Outsiders #45 (Winick 2007).
====New 52 (2011), Rebirth (2016), and Infinite Frontier (2021)====
Dick and Jason are pretty much buddy-buddy and explicitly consider each other brothers.
===Young Justice (2010 animated series)=== 
Jason became the second Robin and died within the five-year time-skip between the first season and the second. Showrunner Greg Weisman has stated that Dick and Jason were "close".https://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=19092Archived The third season, Outsiders (2019), introduced a mysterious Red Hooded Ninja who recognizes "Grayson" despite suffering from amnesia, leading fans to anticipate that the two would have a dramatic reunion in a future storyline.
===Titans (2018 TV series)===
===Other=== 
*DC Animated Universe (1997) - Nightwing and his successor Robin respectively play the roles of a protective big brother and an eager younger brother in The New Batman Adventures and related media. Some fans argue that this version of Tim Drake is effectively an adaptation of Jason Todd, and point to this story as an example of how Dick and Jason's relationship would've naturally developed in the comics if the two were given more interactions. Others argue that having a good relationship with Dick is exclusively characteristic of Tim Drake comics.
*Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) - Dick and Jason both exist in the Arkhamverse, but their relationship, if any, is not elaborated upon or explored. Still, the setting provides fodder for fan works.
*Injustice franchise (2017)
*Batman Ninja (2018)
*Batman: Death in the Family (2020)
*Gotham Knights (2022)
==Fanon and meta==
*Post-Crisis: In line with the rest of the present-day Batfamily fandom as of this writing, the Post-Crisis continuity is often considered the default canon continuity, unless otherwise noted. 
*Not Brothers - According to many fans, Nightwing and Robin II never managed to form a meaningful relationship. Fan works detail how Dick feels hurt by Jason taking his place as Robin and as a son, while Jason sees Dick as the golden child to whom he can't measure up. Dick's attachment to Jason's memory is based in guilt and nostalgia rather than a true personal connection. 
**Example: "One Bird, Two Bird, Red Bird, Dead Bird" by greneknyght
* Instant family - Alternatively, many fan works portray an established brotherhood between Nightwing and the second Robin from the very start. 
**Commentators and meta analysis writers point out multiple occasions that show Dick feeling fondness for Jason, and grief and anger over his death, despite their sparse interactions compared to some of Dick's other deceased Titans comrades. Reciprocally, after Jason's disastrous attempt to reckon with Bruce in the Under the Hood storyline, Dick is the next target of Jason's twisted attempts at bonding. 
**Fan works may expand their interactions in canon; fans point to various pieces of evidence hinting at more interactions than were explicitly shown, such as a ski trip.
**Even if they weren't particularly close during Jason's Robin years, the two may still deeply cherish what relationship did they have, as little as it was. 
***Example: "the long lost art of killing it dead" archived via WBM by dustorange
*Drama
**According to a retcon in Batman: Year Three (1989), the Robin costume was designed with the signature colors of the Flying Graysons. According to a retcon in Robin Annual #4 (1995), Dick personally created the Robin identity using the pet name that his mother called him. Many fans explore the insensitivity of Jason appropriating the Robin mantle, or Bruce giving him the Robin mantle, without Dick's consent.
**Fans exaggerate Dick's standoffishness and Jason's feelings of rejection in their early years.
**Fans exaggerate Jason's brattiness and entitlement.
*Hug Monster Dick Grayson and Tsundere Jason Todd - In canon, Dick isn't especially hug-oriented or emotionally open, while Jason—depending on the writer and circumstances—can be rather sentimental and receptive to affection. In fanon, Dick Grayson is very lovey-dovey with no sense of personal space when it comes to physically and verbally expressing affection and concern, while Jason Todd is a massive tsundere. 
**In fan works, Dick may serve as the catalyst or bridge for Jason finally reconciling with a Batfamily member (or with the Batfamily as a whole) armed with the patience, emotional competency, prioritization of family, and inherently lovable personality that Bruce apparently lacks. In return, Jason is fiercely protective of Dick.
*Little Big Brother, Big Little Brother - Official publications list Jason as taller and heavier than Dick. Fan works use Jason's post-resurrection growth spurt for comedy and/or angst.
*Nicknames - Jay or Jase, little wing, and Dickie and Dickie-bird are canon nicknames, though not always used affectionately. 
**As with other members of the Batfamily, fan creators go completely hog wild with the use of nicknames in fan works. In addition to constant use of the sparsely used canonical nicknames aforementioned, fanon Dick often refers to Jason as Jaybird, while fanon Jason rather rudely refers to Dick as Goldie (short for "golden boy"), Dickface, Dickhead, Dickwing, and—more affectionately—Big Bird.
*Brothers in sister cities - Dick is often portrayed as protecting Bludhaven as a solo vigilante during Jason's Robin tenure, despite being based with the Titans in New York at the point of the timeline in post-Crisis canon comics.
*"Fuck Batman!" - Dick and Jason bond over difficulties in their relationships with Bruce. Fan works may feature some degree of Bruce bashing, or at least Dick and Jason supporting each other in their shared experiences with Batman's parenting.
==Fan works==
===Fan art===
* dick introducing his little brother to other heroes by ninalinovna
* When you get shot but can’t pass up an opportunity to be a dick to your brother by 11thsense
* Untitled fancomic by brawltogethernow
* doodles by kaylabeemarie
* with those costumes stealth is hardWBM by polmcarts (Nightwing: Year One panel redraw)
* 나윙이랑 롭슨이WBM by AN0e0
* my favourite pair of brothers by d-bread-d
* https://ketchup0212.tumblr.com/post/172268844069/
* fan art GIFArchived by h-l-w (2023)
* https://edorazzi.tumblr.com/post/640146845402906624/another-commission-i-got-to-work-on-forWBM
* been thinking about them a lot lately (2024)
* My Neighbor Batman
====Example Art Gallery====
File:7_Sep_2019_restless-arts_Dick_and_Jason_as_Nightwing_and_Flamebird.jpg|Dick and Jason as Nightwing and Flamebird by restless-arts (2021)|alt="Illustration, in the foreground crouching down is Jason dressed in his Red Hood costume, in the background Dick in this Nightwing costume is jumping up into the air"
File:2020 symeona Jason and Dick in Titans Together redraw.png|Titans: Titans Together #1 redraw by symeona (2020)
File:2021-09-07 assbeating Dick Grayson Jason Todd.jpg|bruvers by assbeating (7 Sep 2021)
===Fan fiction===
*Dick & Jason fic recs by thecruellestmonth (2023)
*"Secrets, Siblings, and Cigarettes"WBM by CrimeAlley1048 (2015) - 1k words; A young Jason Todd finds an uninvited guest at Wayne Manor. 
*"Call Me Hopeless"WBM by incogneat_oh (2017) - 3k words, gala fic; “I used to hate these parties,” Dick says, and Jason’s startled into a laugh. At the older boy’s questioning look, he explains, “I just, figured I was the only one.”
*"the long lost art of killing it dead"WBM by dustorange (2021, ongoing with complete standalone chapters) - 13k words, hurt/comfort, secret identity; Red Hood is a criminal, so it doesn't make sense why he would bother dragging Nightwing back to Dick Grayson's apartment and bandaging his potentially deadly gunshot wounds. What makes even less sense is why Hood keeps coming back. (a.k.a. another "Dick redeems Red Hood with the power of affection" fic but with even less mental stability. 
*"Proper Procedures for Undercover Missions"WBM by solomonara (2020) - 4k words, hurt/comfort; Dick gets a text to come pick up a lost phone since his number – filed under N – is the only one in the contacts.
*"like falling water"WBM by naheka (2019) - 5k words, humor, Hurt/Comfort, family drama; All Jason wanted to do was take a nap and pull one over on Bruce. Trust Dick to go ahead and ruin everything.
*"Always Someone Better"WBM by lowflyingfruit (2017) - 5k words; What Jason hadn't known when Batman scooped him off the streets was how much it sucked to be the second and second-best child. Five times Jason felt inferior to Dick, and a reversal he didn't savour like he thought he would.
*The Art of Bird MetaphorWBM by lowflyingfruit (2017) - 26.3k words, AU; Batman works alone. Everyone knows that. What Jason's learning is that he also has a penchant for picking up strays. And while Jason's just your common or garden Gotham street rat, Bruce's other stray, Richard, is an ex-assassin for the Court of Owls. An ex-assassin for the Court of Owls who hates Jason's guts. Adjusting to life in Wayne Manor was hard enough already.
===Meta===
*Jason Todd has trust issues, and so Dick Grayson is a glowing timebomb.WBM by thecruellestmonth (2023)
*Re: "Do Dick and Jason get along in comics? I'm kinda new to the batfam and I'm just trying to learn more about characters and their relationships with each other."Archived answered by hood-ex (10 October 2019)
*Re: "Was Dick mean to Jason when he became Robin in the comics?", Dick & Jason Arkhamverse speculation, and related Jason & Batfamily meta by lananiscorner (2017 & 2018)
*Re: "Just wondering how is Dick Grayson relationship with Jason before and after Superboy's punch?" by northoftheroad (2021)
*Dick and Jason Train Parallel by nightwing-ing-it
*Bruce is lucky that Dick wasn’t around the manor when Jason lived there by nightwingmyboi (2020)
*meta on Dick and Jason both having been buried alive by hood-ex and bigskydreaming (2019)
*Dick tries by nightwing-ing-it
*Dick Put Jason in Arkham! by nightwingmyboi
==External links==
===Archives and Communities===
*Dick Grayson & Jason Todd tag at Archive of Our Own
**Dick Grayson and Jason Todd are Siblings
**Dick Grayson & Jason Todd Bromance
**Dick Grayson & Jason Todd Bonding
**Dick & Jason collection
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Batman Relationships