Robin & Batman: Jason Todd #1 and Batman and Robin: Year One #8 both came out in June. Both are retellings of the early days of a Robin. And most interestingly to me, both have examples of a Robin crossing a line, and Bruce's response - and while the former is, I think, pretty similar, the latter is very different.
In RABJT, Bruce and Jason are pursuing criminals. Bruce gives Jason a command ("Stay behind me!"), and Jason disobeys. Bruce then tells Jason it's okay to pursue the leader, Cuckoo, by himself, but Cuckoo gets away and Bruce tells Jason it's not his fault. Jason is angry at himself, though, and when one of the tied-up henchmen mocks him, Jason kicks the restrained man in the face.
Bruce tells him his actions are unacceptable and sends Jason to wait in the car, but when the the already bleeding henchmen mocks him again, Bruce punches the still-restrained man in the face.
They return to the Batcave. Jason is still upset - not because he was reprimanded, but because "I know I messed up. I'll do better" and because not being perfect "could get me or you or some innocent killed." Alfred decides this is the perfect time to give Jason a lecture about speaking more respectfully to Bruce, and when Jason gives him some "you're not my real dad" sass and leaves, Alfred tells Bruce that there is something "not right" with Jason and that they should get rid of him:
So that happened.
Meanwhile, in BARYO, Bruce and Dick are fighting criminals. Bruce gives Dick a command ("Don't taunt! Grill!"), and Dick disobeys. One of the criminals pulls a gun on Dick, and Dick takes the gun and points it at the criminal.
Bruce tells him his actions are unacceptable, slapping the gun out of his hand and yelling at him for three pages.
In the next scene, Bruce asks Commissioner Gordon for parenting advice. Gordon asks if Robin is giving him trouble, and Bruce says no, that Robin is a good kid.
So to be clear, in both comics:
Batman tells Robin to stop doing something he shouldn't be doing, and is ignored.
Robin loses his temper and escalates violence to an inappropriate level.
Batman tells Robin his behavior is unacceptable. Robin is defensive but obeys.
Batman discusses the Robin in question with an older mentor figure, one meant to represent wisdom and moral authority.
And yet the conclusion drawn by the adults in these respective comics are that Dick is "a good kid," while Jason is "not right." This despite the fact that in RABJT, Bruce literally crosses the same line Jason does - except in Bruce's case, it's worse, because he's a highly trained adult who should and does know better.
It's also worth noting that Jason states repeatedly that it's his fault, that he needs to keep trying, that he needs to be better, that he doesn't want anyone dying on his watch.
Meanwhile, Dick's motivation? That he was trying scare his opponent and it's hard to do in a costume like his.
Oh, also at the end of each issue, when the Robin in question is in danger, Alfred runs into the room in panic over whether Dick has been hurt, while Bruce immediately accuses Jason of murder.
I'm withholding judgment on RABJT as a whole until we have a few more issues, because frankly Bruce is so breathtakingly hypocritical here that I find it hard to believe Lemire isn't aware of it. And in general, Bruce is quite warm with Jason in that book - he repeatedly reassures Jason that it's okay to still be learning, that any blame lies with Bruce. If anything, it's gruesome character assassination for Alfred, who comes off like the villainous headmaster in a children's movie, insisting they send a child back to the orphanage because he isn't polite enough. (I mean, seriously. Jason is upset because he doesn't want to get anyone killed and Alfred's response is "You need to be more respectful"? What???)
And I really don't want to turn this into the usual endless cycle of "DC is doing this because they hate Jason! Because of classism!!!" DC does not hate Jason. DC loves Jason. Jason makes DC lots of money. I think arguments that boil down to "they write this character bad because they don't like them because they're bigots" are facile and honestly pretty silly. No one is trying to make a bad comic. It's possible there is some unquestioned classism churning under the surface of RABJT, but again, I'd like to see where they take the recurring motif of drug use and Jason's trauma over his mother's death before writing it off entirely. It's only been one issue.
Mostly I just wanted to point out that DC published two extremely similar scenes a week apart, and drew extremely different conclusions from them. Both books have the same group editor, too, so there's not much excuse here, either for the repetition or the inconsistency.
But it's also a good reminder that when you argue that Batman is always such and such way, or Batman is this or Batman is that, that Batman is a character who can react to the exact same circumstance in a completely different way within the span of a week. A better question is: what story is this creative team trying to tell by having Batman act this way? And that's not a question we can answer until the story runs its course.
you know it’s always going to be funny that Duke seems to have unneeded beef with Jason, but if you think about it, it does kinda make sense. Jason’s legally dead and pays his way through life via the income of a crime lord. I’m pretty sure he’s the only batfamily member to not have a day life at all. Tim Dick and Bruce work, Damian has school, Steph has college, Cass is just sensible enough to have A Life outside of being a bat. Jason on the other hand literally has fuck all to do when he isn’t out as Red Hood.
what I’m saying is that there’s no way he doesn’t get bored during the day and decide to piss Signal the fuck off like, three times a week. Duke’s beef with Jason isn’t unwarranted, it’s just that nobody’s around to witness the countless times that he’s been minding his own business trying to help out Gotham as Signal, only for this fucking skunk-headed legally dead mother fucker, to pop up FOR THE FOURTH TIME THAT DAY, just to make his life harder.
Jason: Signal
Signal: *ignoring him*
Jason: yo Signal
Jason: Siggy boy
Jason: my guy Sigs
Jason: brother-beloved
Jason: Signal
Jason: ok i WILL set another fire-
Signal: JESUS FUCKING CHRIST W H A T
Jason: i dropped my keys under my car and my phones dead so i don’t have a torch. can you start glowing so i can see where they are?
-
Signal: finally, some peace and quiet as i begin this incredibly important stake out that will take at least four hours-
Jason, climbing over the lip of the building: thought you fuckin’ lost me, didn’t you? well i got news for you, i have a whole pizza and nowhere to be until 1AM so we are going to HANG OUT-
Signal: JASON P L E A S E
-
Signal: *hears screams and the sound of gunshots*
Signal: *rushes to help*
Jason, standing in an alleyway with a speaker playing noises from a fight he was at two weeks ago: THERE you are,
Signal: oh my GOD-
Jason: look at this sick drawing i did-
-
Nightwing: why has Duke been glaring at you all night?
Red Hood: no clue.
Duke is the only bat on the day shift and Jason has been using that as entertainment for the past six months.
Red Hood continuing to be a crime lord and borderline villain even after making up with the bats specifically to keep his ties with the Gotham rogues so that he can freeze out Tim from joining the criminal underworld every time he crashes out and decides to cause shit.
Tim, storming into Two-Face’s secret base after not sleeping for three days and being pissed off by Bruce one too many times: look alive Dent, i need to punish people and i’ve decided we should work together-
Harvey: no can do, Red. sorry.
Tim:
Tim: excuse me?
Harvey, shrugging: i’m an ally of the Red Hood. one of his rules is specifically ‘don’t give Red Robin the time of day’
Tim:
Tim: are you fucking serious right now?
Harvey, returning to his newspaper: dunno what to tell you kiddo, we’ve all been warned under penalty of beheading not to work with you.
Tim:
*across Gotham*
Jason, supervising a weapon shipment: and put those crates in that truck over there, yeah-
Tim, breaking in through the ceiling: HOOD. STOP TELLING VILLAINS NOT TO FUCKING WORK WITH ME, I’LL KILL YOU-
Jason, not looking away from his spreadsheet: and those ones in that locker, thanks- Red shut the fuck up im working here- that truck leaves in like ten minutes so we gotta be quick,
Tim: I HAVE A CROWBAR HOOD-
Jason, waving off his goons concern: it’s fine he just needs some valium-
Jason, reaching an arm out to catch the crowbar being swung at his head: -can you fucking chill? this is why i had to blacklist you from the criminal peanut gallery.
Tim: *incomprehensible screeches of rage*
Jason, pulling the crowbar out of his hands and tugging him against his chest: shhhh, shh baby bird, we’ll get you in a rage room for an hour or two and you’ll be back to normal by the morning- oh and those guns are to be sent off tomorrow not next week, we got moved up-
Goon: …are we supposed to ignore him?
Jason: yes.
Tim, limp in Jason’s arms: *muffled by his chest* B ate the fucking cinnamon roll i was saving.
dick and jason being antagonistic siblings. no more soft shit let them punch each other at 7am bcs jason ate the last of dicks cereal. dick loses a tooth and they’re banished to opposite sides of the house until they agree to apologise to each other. they’re not allowed to sit next to each other on the couch/during meetings bcs they always end up trying to shove each other off their seats. one time jason came all the way to the manor, walked in, shot dick in the face with a water pistol, and then went back home to crime alley without saying a word. the first time red hood was asked to join the jla for a briefing on the watchtower nightwing ended up sumo-slamming him into the table and the entire jl were so freaked out by the uncharacteristic crash out that they thought nightwing was compromised by mind control, only for batman to tiredly inform them that it was because red hood had just messaged nightwing in the family groupchat that he ‘looked like a little bitch with that new haircut’.
theyre assholes with a baffling childhood bond let them act like it
i do love the whole gimmick of Jason using his death as an excuse to continue his bad habits (i.e “you shouldn’t smoke, it will kill you” “well i’ve already died once and it wasn’t the nicotine that did it, so i think i’ll take the risk”), but i think it would be funnier if instead he started using his death to scare other people out of the things they like by alluding to it having something to do with his death.
-at the watchtower-
Green Arrow: *eating*
Red Hood: those pickles?
Green Arrow, mouth full: *nods*
Red Hood: *sighs wistfully* i always loved pickles…
Red Hood: then i died.
Green Arrow:
Green Arrow, who isn’t caught up on the Ethiopia lore and is now wondering what the fuck pickles did to Batman’s son: *slowly stops chewing*
~
Jason, after finding out Jon has a crush on Damian: i give you my blessing, but i’ll tell you from personal experience that unprotected sex can lead to horrible consequences.
Jon, terrified and confused: u-uhm don’t worry mr hood! we learnt about that in health class years ago, s-so-
Jason, lifting his shirt to show his autopsy scar: i should have worn a condom.
Jon:
Jon, two hours later, to a bewieldered Damian: i think we should wait until marriage.
Damian: i have got to stop letting you speak to Todd.
~
-casually talking on a stakeout-
Roy: i’ve never actually eaten a spring roll, y’know?
Jason: what, ever?
Roy: they’ve just never been put in front of me, i dunno,
Jason: i’ve eaten spring rolls before. just once, when i was abroad.
i just know Jason must have been having Ra’s STRESSED in the league. his daughter dips a Wayne kid in the Lazarus pit and then trains him to the point where he becomes worthy of the fucking all-blades, and then he just is??? chilling in Nanda Parbat for a while??? wandering Ra’s base and loudly planning his scheme to manipulate his adoptive father into killing some circus clown???? there’s no way that Jason didn’t have Ra’s blood pressure through the roof. in british terms, Ra’s was Prince Philip and Jason had a bottle of sprite.
Ra’s: what do you WANT, Jason?
Jason, having just burst into Ra’s chambers holding a plate of toast: THERE you are, finally. i just needed to be in your presence to do this
Jason: *summons the all-blades*
Ra’s: WH-
Jason: cool it; not gonna stab you. just needed pure evil around so i can butter my toast.
Ra’s:
Ra’s, subtly cancelling the four bodyguards he’d just summoned: …mhm.
Jason, mouth full: anyway, you’re old,
Ra’s: …
Jason: been around a while, huh? what’s the most annoying torture you’ve ever seen or experienced?
Jason: because there’s that new Robin i need to make regret taking my place, and i’m trying to be creative about it. so? most annoying torture?
Ra’s: i have a feeling your intrusion on his life will do just fine.
Jason: aw, so supportive. thanks evil-grandpa.
Ra’s: get out of my room.
Jason: gEt OuT oF My RoOm- hey do we have any spare dynamite? i wanna put a bomb on my helmet
second funniest part of utrh movie is the death in the family short where bruce is explaining everything that happened in utrh to clark in that diner and he’s talking about how all the clues were slotting together about who the red hood is and he goes ‘and now we had reason to believe that the red hood might even know my identity.’ as it shows the clip of red hood outright looking batman in the fucking eye and going ‘oh hey bruce how’ve you been’ and then speeding off on a motorcycle. bruce tries to save face with superman so bad and jason is just not letting him have it
Jason should kill the Joker and just not tell anyone. like, lets be real here, if he were to silently slip in and kill the Joker in his sleep, are any of the workers at Arkham really going to give enough of a shit to say anything??? with the paperwork they’d have to do, and the attention they’d get once the media caught wind of the break in/murder, i bet all Jason would have to do is leave like, a basket of muffins next to the dead body as a thank you and the staff would just dispose of the body and shut the fuck up about it.
i bet you he could get through a solid six to eight month period of being weirdly happy and interactive with the rest of the family before Dick finally asks why he’s been in such a good mood lately over family dinner
Jason, casually: i dunno, i guess i’ve just had a weight lifted from my shoulders; there’s less to drive me away now.
Bruce, thinking he’s finally done something right: aw Jaylad, i’m so happy you’re feeling more comfortable!
Dick, the only batkid around when Jason was Robin, remembering all the times Jason would transform into the happiest kid on the planet only for them to find out a week later it was because he’d pushed a bully down the stairs at school and fractured his wrist: hold on B.
Dick: Jay, what weight has been lifted?
Jason, still nonplussed: well i finally got my GED, and the Joker thing really calmed the lazarus rage. also Steph got me into puppy yoga, we go once a week.
Bruce:
Bruce: what Joker thing.
Jason, glancing up from his food: ? d’i not mention that? he’s dead, man.
Bruce:
Dick:
Dick: sorry, what?
Tim: why the fuck am i never invited to puppy yoga?
Bruce, having a panic attack: y- what are you talking about Jay-
Tim: i would LOVE to go to puppy yoga. what the FUCK?
Jason, shrugging: you can come to puppy yoga, replacement, it’s all good
Bruce: the Joker’s dead?
Tim: FUCK YEAH, PUPPY YOGA
Jason: i think they do it with goats too.
Damian: i would be interested in this activity.
Jason: hell yeah family yoga session
Bruce: JASON PLEASE EXPAND ON THE JOKER THING
Jason: no i don’t like your tone. anyway, dick, puppy yoga?
Dick:
Dick, glancing at Bruce’s glare nervously: …i would be down for puppy yoga
obsessed with like, Jason who absolutely refuses to reconcile with the bats. he wants no part in that family and will not talk to them under any circumstances. but he's legally dead with no friends and sometimes he gets sick of being completely by himself and wants to have company. so.
Bruce: hey Alfred have you seen my-
*comes into kitchen to see Alfred calmly preparing dinner while Jason Todd, Killer Red Hood, silently does paperwork while sat on the corner of the kitchen counter*
Bruce:
Bruce: uh-
Tim, doing homework at the table: don't mention it. if you acknowledge him he'll leave. he just likes being around people sometimes.
the bats have to start treating him like a stray cat, letting him go to them and acting completely unbothered by his presence because if they even make eye contact with Jason he'll jump out the window and they 1. won't see him for a month and 2. will start to see a lot more murders cropping up around gotham.
eventually it gets to the point where Dick will come to dinner to see the rest of the family wordlessly ignoring the brick shithouse of a man who is just sat on the floor of the dining area reading a book and he has to just. take a breath and pretend Jason isn't there. calmly stepping around him without acknowledging him. Alfred will silently place a plate of food by the guys elbow while speaking to Damian about school. When they decide to move from the table to the tv room for a movie night none of them can even look around when they hear him eventually follow just to sit in the corner of this room instead.
Bruce: I'm concerned, this is abnormal for Jason. what if he's been drugged with something? or he's trying to gain sensitive information?
Damian: actually he used to do this a lot after he came out of the Lazarus pit. he liked to sit in and watch me train, and occasionally we'd find him sat by grandfathers feet while he ran meetings. Mother says it's important to let him settle, because it's likely that he's simply craving human intimacy on his own terms for once.
Bruce, crying: oh
Jason still refuses to say a word to any of them unless it's in costume, and even then it's the same old 'i'm not your son! i'm not one of you! fuck off!' shtick like normal. they just have to accept him sneaking into the house every now and then too.
one time Tim needs Red Hoods info on a case he's working and since Jason's been sat on the floor against the wall of the bat cave for the past 45 minutes just. staring into space and vibing. he risks sliding the file across the floor towards him before pointedly turning back to the batcomputer, the info he needs marked clearly. five minutes later it's wordlessly slid back, info filled out and Jason refusing to acknowledge Tim's existence again. it's the only way he'll communicate with them.
after a while it gets to the point where Jason will straight up go to bludhaven and break into Dicks apartment just to silently sit in the corner of the room and Be Around A Familiar Person. Tim comes back from his lunch brake at WE to find him sat on the edge of his desk, working through a case. They work in silence for the rest of the day and when Tim leaves Jason just follows. They get a batburger together but the second Tim slips up and asks how his day was he's off like a shot. Damian regularly eats lunch at school on the roof while Jason plays mario kart on a DSI next to him. Batman will be 4 hours into a solo stake out when civilian Jason will silently slide up next to him with a crossword. they never talk. Jason still makes it clear that he's pissed at Bruce. Bruce doesn't know what else to do but let him be and hope eventually, with enough time, things will progress even further.
Dick, whispering so Jason won't pick up on the fact that he's being perceived: are you sure this is normal
Damian: is anything about any of us normal
Tim: he's got a point. at least we know Jason's watching us. I did this shit all the time before I was Robin, and none of you ever noticed me.
Dick:
Tim: sometimes its comforting to be in the same room as people you're familiar with, even if you can't handle interacting with them.
