#A death in the family

[ghost-bxrd]

So… about that audio…

[ditzybat]

bruce: i just want to make sure you’re safe

tim: you microchipped me like a dog!

bruce, showing affection the only way he knows how to by planting a tracker in tim’s neck: exactly, safe.

[galaxymagitech]

HERE LIES JASON TODD...again—wait no he's back—

(I don't actually know how many times Jason has died, but here are the dates I used:

1983 - Jason is introduced 1988 - A Death in the Family 2005 - Under the Hood begins 2006 - The Batarang (after which the Superboy Prime Punch Effect is seen again, so...he almost definitely died here) 2021 - I'm 99% sure Jason dies in Task Force Z and is brought back in the next issue. 2024 - Jason is killed by Zur en Arrh and brought back by Lazarus Resin.)

[frownyalfred]

Jason coming back from the dead angry and out for revenge using a crowbar as his weapon of choice only to bash in someone’s skull with one well-placed, Lazarus Pit-fueled swing and suddenly getting hit with a flashback of gargling his own bloody teeth and fucking losing it on the cobblestone of a random alley somewhere in the Narrows send tweet

[horsechestnut]

The dichotomy between Jason dying because he disobeyed Batman and Stephanie dying specifically because she was trying to follow his rules is so good, and yet so under utilized.

[sparkoflena]

My favorite part about Jason Todd and Tim Drake in the comics is that Jason has consistently used the same language regarding Tim from even the Titan's Tower origin.

Jason says that it's impossible for Tim to have found out Bruce's identity without it being intentional. "You can't be that good" and Tim literally hits him back with "I am." Then at the end of the fight Jason stands over a broken and bleeding out Tim and goes "do you think you're that good now?" and this guy chokes out "Yes."

During and after the attack, he sees what he missed before – that Tim is Robin in spirit (and not just because he happened to be "chosen" by Bruce like Jason assumed)

It becomes pretty consistent language. (Highly paraphrased) "Would I have been as good as him if I made those friends? Would I have been that good of a Robin/person if I was more like him?" And it is a very quick shift into admiration that grows throughout the different versions of their friendship (depending on which storyline/universe you refer to).

During the Battle of the Cowl, Jason wanted Tim to be his Robin – a job he knows would require a lot of time and trust from both of them. Anytime Tim is introduced in Jason's point of view, Tim stands out as either being "better than the other Bats" (some of the time it's just "the only one who doesn't make me want to puke" but I'll count those here too) or as being similar to Jason "both of us are outsiders together."

My favorite example, however, is from the DCeased Universe/story.

"Tim Drake: Friend. Robin. The Best of Us."

They absolutely have their terrible sniping and semi-hateful moments, but Jason's always seen Tim past the intelligence and for the Robin spirit – and admires him for it.

[allthegothihopgirls]

reminder that bruce was PREPARED to help jason find his birth mother!!! he travelled with him across countries to find her!!! yes bruce had previously prioritised pursuing the joker over jason, but the second he was reunited with him, he made the decision to stick around!!!!

screaming. JASON WAS NOT IN ETHIOPIA ALONE!!!!

[ultimate-marysue]

There's a lot you can do with the memory of a dead child. You can sanctify him, build a shrine to that boy in your heart. Ditch the flaws and edges that made him who he was, those are not needed anymore. He's no longer a person, just the idea of one, why not make it a perfect one? It'd be nicer to him, to only speak about the good stuff and forget the bad and grey.

You can also exonerate yourself through him, he's not going to mind. It's always a tragedy for one to be lost so young, the living are grieving enough as they are. Why turn this tragedy into a blame game? You can just push it onto him, he won't feel bad about it. He won't feel anything at all, not anymore.

Before you judge this, think about it. The grieving father is inconsolable, a pain so indescribable nothing can make it right. Would you point out his shortcomings at this trying time? Of course not! It's best to alleviate his guilt. If the kid was alive, well then it'd be different. The awful victim blaming of a kid trying to do good. But there's no victim here, just a corpse. You can share the responsibility with him.

A dead kid is an awful, unholy thing, but it is also a convenient one. Certainly, much more convenient than a living man, with human flaws and desperate for justice. Graves are perfect for burying things, but ghosts are a wrathful force. They'll haunt the narrative, they'll haunt your dreams and if you'd be so unlucky to offend them, they'll hunt you for sport.

[tsuyakiku]

[ghost-bxrd]

Figured out the colors :))

[ditzybat]

tim, on day three of no sleep, and reaching the point of zero filter: tbh, your death was easily avoidable if you just hit your mom up through, like, email or something - i still don’t understand why you thought flying to another continent was a good idea

jason: …

tim: maybe i should learn to keep my mouth shut…

jason: oh really replacement? how’dya figure that one out?

[glitter-stained]

Dc writers be like yeah sorry this character was doomed by the narrative there was nothing we could do, like my brother in christ you ARE the narrative

[donnatroyyyy]

Jason Todd’s death storyline was perfectly executed because they killed him figuratively (killed his innocence) before actually killing him. It’s a tragedy because he died in two separate ways. And the reason his resurrection is just as much a tragedy is because only one of the things killed can be brought back and it wasn’t the thing that made Jason who he is (his innocence and kindness).

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

There are so many tragedies that come into play with Jason's death. From being doomed from the beginning by the writer, to how it happened, to no one ever finding out the truth about Sheila.

But the aspect I want to focus on is his funeral.

There were only four people attending.

Bruce, Alfred, Jim and Barbara.

Four.

This is sad in and of itself, especially considering that Bruce hadn't even contacted Dick so he wasn't there either.

But also because usually superhero funerals are big. The community comes together.

During Superman's funeral, the Justice League were carrying his casket. When Spider-Man died in the Ultimate universe, the entire church was full, with even J. Jonah Jameson attending to pay his honours.

But I think one of the best examples to compare this to is the death of Bart Allen, aka Impulse aka Kid Flash

The funeral is in a stadium. All the ranks are full, as shown in the background.

Bart was never meant to be long term, because the plan was always to bring Barry back. Bart was supposed to bridge that gap. Then sales tanked and they chose to kill him off sooner.

He was beaten to death by the Rogues.

So you have the doomed from the beginning aspect, they were both children when they were murdered, they were both in hero outfit and were both killed by a rogue/villain. And yet, Bart got this treatment of being recognised and honored by the hero community while Jason didn't. No big speech, no people coming up, telling tales or paying their last respects.

Just Bruce, Alfred, Jim and Barbara.

And you could make the argument "Oh, but Central City and Keystone love the Flash! They have a Flash museum! Even a Flash Day, honoring the Flash!"

But Gotham is also proud of having Batman. That's their protector, and Robin has been by his side for almost just as long.

[gameraboy2]

The Incredible Hulk (1977), "A Death in the Family"

[browsethestacks]

Comic - From The DC Vault: A Death In The Family: Robin Lives! #03 (2024)

Art by InHyuk Lee