Red Hood's Origin Retcon Stole His Heroic Destiny
One of the most beloved yet controversial members of the Bat-Family, the hero Jason Todd, who was once the second Robin and is now Red Hood, once had a more meaningful backstory to inspire his crimefighting, until it was retconned away.
Modern readers are probably much more familiar with Todd's modern origin. Ever since Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jason's parents have been Catherine and Willis Todd, with Catherine dying of a drug overdose and Willis abandoning his family to be a thief and henchman of Two-Face, leading Jason to live alone in Crime Alley. This version of Jason was far more aggressive than Dick, leading Nightwing to think Jason Todd wasn't cut out to be Robin. While this retconned origin story may have been more interesting and set Red Hood apart from Dick Grayson's origin, it was also a massive character assassination of his original parents.
Related: Red Hood's Dark Secret Reveals Why He Came Back as a Villain
Jason Todd first debuted 1983's Batman #357 by Gerry Conway and Don Newton as the son of two circus acrobat performers, Joseph and Trina Todd, an almost exact replica of Dick Grayson's 1940s origin story, except Todd had bright orange hair. In his original story, Joseph and Trina were everyday heroes who were tasked with helping Dick Grayson in tracking down a mysterious gangster, only to tragically be killed by Killer Croc's villainous plans. Joseph and Trina were killed trying to help people, and their deaths inspired Jason to take on the mantle of Robin and act as a hero in honor of his brave, deceased parents. It's clear that Jason's original origin would even make Batman feel lucky. In the Crisis on Infinite Earths universe reboot, DC decided to give him a more original story and journey to
Read more on screenrant.com
