Jason Todd

**Jason Peter Todd** (ジェイソン・ピーター・トッド, *Jeison Pītā Toddo*), also known as **Red Hood** (レッド・フード, *Reddo Hūdo*), is a fictional character and deuteragonist from the *DC* series. He was originally the second boy to serve as the second **Robin** (ロビン, *Robin*); the "boy wonder" sidekick of the Batman, following Dick Grayson's retirement from the role, Jason's heroic career was cut short when he was kidnapped, trapped and brutally beaten by the Joker, who sent Batman a video of the event and lied by telling Batman that Jason was dead. Batman fell into a deep depression over Jason's "death".

However, it was discovered that Jason was alive and bent on destroying his former mentor. He had then created the identity of **Arkham Knight** (アーカム・ナイト, *Ākamu Naito*), a mysterious antithetical military version of Batman, who lives to strive only but revenge, until his redemption and forgiveness of Batman and decided to assist him once again. Jason has taken Joker's previous alias for his own and now dispenses his own lethal brand of justice as the "Black Sheep" of the Bat Family.

"*How long did you wait before replacing me, huh? A month? A **week**? I **trusted** you... And you just left me to **die**! You always told me, focus on what I want to achieve... and it'll happen. Well guess what I want now, Bruce... I want you **dead**.*"

—Jason, as the Arkham Knight.

## Appearance & Biography

*Voice actor*: Cameron Bowen (English), Not Known (Japanese), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (German), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Poland), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (Canadian French), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), [Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)
*Voice actor (Arkham Knight)*: Troy Baker (English), Taki Satoshi (Japanese), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (German), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Poland), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (Canadian French), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), [Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

### Biography

Jason Todd once served as Batman’s second protégé "Robin" before being brutally murdered by Joker. Years later, Jason takes on the mantle of the Arkham Knight and leads a South American militia, where he quickly earned himself a fearless reputation amongst Gotham City's leading criminals. Jason Todd had once sworn to kill Batman and will stop at nothing until he is dead.

However since vanquishing his Arkham Knight persona, Jason was able to lay down his vengeance against Batman and begin to heal thee damage that was inflicted on him at the Asylum. He now uses the mantle of the Red Hood to wage a lethal war on crime, Jason's willingness to kill will forever keep them at odds.

### As the Arkham Knight

The Arkham Knight dons a militaristic version of the bat-suit meant to mock Batman's appearance. The inside of his helmet gives him a heads up display of his troops throughout Gotham and the ears relay his commands to his troops. By using the Arkham symbol on his chest plate he inflicts psychological warfare on Batman reminding him of the past Arkham events. The chest plate also acts as a countermeasure to the Batclaw. After revealing his identity as Jason Todd before his final battle with Batman, he wears a red bowl-shaped helmet later used by the Red Hood, another of Jason's alter-egos.

Panels on his upper arms and lower shins, and his chest plate glowed dark blue as the Knight, and when he discarded the visor, the under-helmet and aforementioned panels glowed red.

### As Red Hood

* Hair Color: Black
* Skin Color: Not Known
* Eye Color: Green
* Age: Not Known
* Birthday: Not Known
* Height: 6ft 1in
* Weight: 200lbs

### Attributes:

* Weapon Master
* Marksmanship
* Tactical Analysis
* Intimidation
* Peak Human Physiological Systems, Reflexes, Agility, Strength, Speed, Stamina, Healing & Longevity
* Stealth
* Master Martial Artist
* Indomitable Will
* Master Escape Artist
* Master Acrobat
* Genius Level Intellect

## Personality

Jason Todd was the second incarnation as Robin. He cared for his mentor, Batman, wanted to live up to his potential, and to stop crime and protect Gotham City. However, Jason possessed an explosive temper with numerous incidents of him going too far in his actions as Robin despite his natural talents and aptitude under Batman's guidance, with hints in his behavior that he might one day kill instead of use restraint.

After Jason was tortured by Joker, his mental state started to deteriorate, and he hoped that his partner would come to rescue him. In time, (due to Joker showing him a photo of Batman with a new Robin); Jason lost hope and started to hate his mentor for leaving him to die. After he escaped, Jason became vengeful and wanted to kill Batman. As shown in the Arkham Knight's persona, he was ruthless, calculating, and appeared to be somewhat apathetic to the "weak" that Batman protected. Underneath this cool persona, however, he was also shown to be emotionally unstable due to the Joker's earlier torture of him, frequently changing his emotions in apparent randomness. This was especially evident by his final encounter with Batman, where he at one moment adopted his cool demeanor, but then the next minute started screaming in fury at Batman before adopting the cool demeanor shortly afterward. During his fight against Batman, he also mentions that he can still hear Joker laughing in his head, implying that he suffered from PTSD as a result of the Joker's torture of him.

Jason also was blinded by rage for Batman leaving him to die, as shown when he cost Scarecrow's toxin machine to be dismantled by the Batmobile. Despite his hatred for Batman, Jason still showed genuine care for both Oracle and Alfred, and at one point asked the former how the latter was doing. He also deliberately avoided revealing Batman's true identity to Scarecrow.

Once he snapped out of it, Jason showed some emotion, was ultimately driven by justice, forgave Batman, and helped his former mentor stop Scarecrow and was dedicated to preserving peace in Gotham City.

## Relationships

### Friends/Allies

* His Henchmen
* Outsiders
* Young Justice

### Family

* Willis Todd (father; deceased)
* Catherine Todd (mother; deceased)
* Batman (adoptive father)
* Nightwing (adoptive brother)
* Red Robin (adoptive brother)
* Black Bat (adoptive sister)
* Robin (adoptive brother)

### Neutral

* Gotham City Police
	+ James Gordon
* TYGER
	+ Hugo Strange

### Enemies

* Joker
* Scarecrow
* Two-Face
* Penguin
* Harley Quinn
* Poison Ivy
* Killer Croc
* Deathstroke

## Abilities and Powers

### Abilities

* **Acrobatics**:
* **Firearms**: Jason is proficient in the uses of firearms, specifically his custom pistols that combine into a sniper rifle.
* **Gadgetry**: Jason has a variety of gadgets at his disposal. He retains the grapple gun from his time as Robin, along with a controller for a sentry drone.
* **Leadership**: As the Arkham Knight, Jason showed great leadership; he was able to command the complete loyalty and respect of his troops.
* **Interrogation**: Jason was trained by Batman to get his enemies talking about their plans by playing on their egos.
* **Intimidation**: As the Arkham Knight, he is merciless, which inspires fear.
* **Martial Arts**: Jason was rigorously trained to fight with multiple no-lethal techniques and fighting styles by Batman.
* **Escapology**:
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat** (Advanced): After hiring Deathstroke, Jason mastered everything he could about lethal combat forms from him. By the end of his training, Jason was able to inflict immense pain to his opponents without actually hitting any vital points.
* **Military Protocol**: Jason was taught by Deathstroke in military strategies, tactics, protocols and about how to go about commanding troops. Though Jason does add his own flair to his orders, he always makes sure to speak in military terms.
* **Peak Human Condition**: Jason has trained his body's physical functions to the peak of human potential. Due to his rigorous training, Jason is capable of practically superhuman feats of strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and endurance. Effectively equal with Batman's physical abilities, his reflexes are so great he is capable of dodging bullets.
* **Stealth**: Jason was trained by Batman in the art of stealth. By the time he returned as the Arkham Knight, Jason's stealth abilities were even greater than Batman's as he could constantly surprise him.
* **Tactical Analysis**: Jason has a good eye and is a quick learner. When his opponent is using the same tactics over and over, he will adapt to the situation to make their tactics moot. Knowing of Batman's Detective Mode, Jason devised suits that made the wearer invisible to it.
* **Throwing**: Jason is able to use shurikens.
* **Weaponry**: According to Jason, he makes his own ammo.

### Weapons

* **Dual Handguns**: Jason was equipped with two dual action guns that he could use in a firearm combat.

## History

### Early Life

Jason was born on a rooftop to Willis and Cathy Todd, a pair of methamphetamine addicts who were in debt to Carmine Falcone. Willis tried to sell his newborn son to Falcone to settle his debt, but was instead beaten by Sal Maroni. As Jason grew up, Willis frequently told him that he was so worthless that he couldn't even give him away and frequently assaulted him.

Willis and Cathy were both executed by Maroni when Jason was thirteen. It was Jason who told Maroni where to find where their hiding place, but in exchange, the Maroni Family gave Jason his own patch in Gotham City where he could commit crime without the interference with any of their business.

### The Second Robin

Jason had his first encounter with Batman when he was a witness to a fight between him and the Joker at fifteen shortly after a successful robbery. Jason saved Batman's life by pushing him, unconscious, out of the way of Joker's machine gun fire. Incredibly, Jason stole Batman's Grapnel Gun and used it to defeat Joker. Batman came to and knocked Jason's Pistol out of his hand with a Batarang before he could shoot Joker point-blank in the head. The Joker warned Jason that he would never forget his face before Batman knocked him out.

Batman had Jason arrested for his crime, but he was charged as a minor because he had managed to avoid leaving anything probative behind in all of his other crimes. A Wayne Industries project that placed troubled teens into schools ensured that Jason did not serve his full sentence. Jason was an A student, an excellent athlete, and he attracted the personal interest of Bruce Wayne. A few months after he was released, Batman appeared in Jason's dorm, handed him his own Grapnel Gun and a Robin costume, and told him that he had one night to impress him. He did.

Months later, Gotham County allowed Bruce to take Jason in as his ward. Bruce had another entrance to the Batcave built into Jason's bedroom.

### The Joker's Torture

Like Dick Grayson before him, Jason assumed the role of Batman's sidekick, Robin. While Jason enjoyed being a hero and had an aptitude for it, he also had difficulty with his temper, recklessness, and self-control, and he frequently disobeyed Batman's direct orders. Reprimands for that behavior rankled the new, headstrong Robin - he expected to be treated as a partner to Batman and a son to Bruce, but instead felt like a mere assistant.

It was at that point of time that Joker formed several of his successive plans into a gruesome campaign to target Batman's closest allies, and started with the second Robin. While Joker adored and defined himself through his battles with Batman, the villain had nothing but contempt for the hero's allies, and believed that they spoiled his game of cat and mouse with Batman.

Joker had abducted, tortured, murdered, and dismembered an entire Kindergarten class, knowing of Jason's empathy for children, stitched their body parts together in horrendous and mocking formations, and left a trail of blood from the crime scene to an abandoned, underground wing at Arkham Asylum. As Jason watched a mother cry and attempt to put her son back together, he noticed the blood trail and followed it to the forgotten Sanatorium at Arkham Asylum, and turned off all his communications and equipment in order to ensure that Batman did not track him and attempt to prevent Joker's death.

When Jason entered the wing, intent to kill Joker once and for all, this played directly into the villain's hand, who then knocked out Jason with a crowbar, which knocked out several teeth and broke his ankle in the process, and abducted and entrapped the teenager within the wing in order to torture him over the course of a year. The forgotten halls of the asylum served as the perfect grounds to torture and humiliate Jason as, even when locked up, Joker had access to the wing thanks to several guards on his payroll, and Batman never suspected that Jason was just below the surface of the fully functional institution.

With plenty of time, access, and resources, Joker crudely tied Jason to a wheelchair with barbed wire and rope within the filthy and abandoned wing, regularly beat him within an inch of his life with a crowbar, brutalized him with electrical and surgical implements, and convinced him that Batman had forgotten about him by showing him a picture of his new sidekick in training, Tim Drake. As his torture continued throughout the months, Joker eventually strung Jason up by his arms from the ceiling and branded him with a red-hot iron rod, in the shape of a 'J', on his face to signify that he belonged to him.

After he filled Jason with raw emotion and rage toward Batman, Joker finally had him sit in front of a camera and voiced his hatred of the Dark Knight before he asked him for the man's true identity. As Jason prepared to answer, Joker quickly shot him in the chest, which seemingly murdered him, and sent the footage to Batman to further torture the hero, and blamed Jason's death on the Dark Knight.

However, the truth was that Joker had kept Jason alive and continued to torture him for several more months, and deceived Batman into believing the young man to be dead, as he felt Jason's hatred of his former mentor was too good of an opportunity to kill off. After he abducted a doctor from the asylum, Joker had the unfortunate man patch Jason up, his armor had felt the blunt of the bullet impact, and then immediately murdered the doctor after his usefulness had served his purpose. True to Joker's prediction, Jason eventually fled from Gotham after his final days of torture some months later, created a new identity for himself, eventually became the Arkham Knight, and planned his revenge on both Joker and Batman and eventually kill him for failing to save him from the psychopath and apparently replacing him with Tim Drake.

## External links

* Jason Todd *Wikipedia*
* Red Hood *DC Database*
* Red Hood *Batman Wiki*
* Jason Todd *YJ WIKI*
* Red Hood *Arkham Wiki*

## Notes & Trivia

* Jason Todd first appeared in *Batman #357* (March 1983).
* Amongst the events in his pain-filled career, Batman considers the death of Jason Todd as his single greatest failure. He rates it next to the deaths of his parents and his inability to move on or prevent those who are close to him from being consumed in the same obsessive darkness that consumes him.
* While he was briefly a member of the Teen Titans, a memorial statue was not been erected for Jason at the Titans Tower following his death. In direct contrast of it, Batman had a memorial case erected in Jason's memory within the Batcave; positioning it so that it would always be within his eyesight; to remind him of his failure and to serve as a sobering warning to the other members of the Bat Family of the dangers their chosen paths have placed them in.