The Psychology of Jason Todd, as told by a professor of Psychology
So, I recently purchased a book called Batman and Psychology. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a book written by Travis Langley (professor of psychology at Henderson State University) that examines the characters of the beloved Batman franchise to try to explain the psychological conditions of each character.
One of the chapters was on Jason Todd, and I thought it was interesting, so I decided to share the psychological disorders that Langley theorizes about.
“When Batman first meets the boy, Jason shows behaviors associated with conduct disorder, a repetitive, persistent pattern of violating societal norms and the rights of others, but of no more than moderate severity. On the one hand, Jason chooses his lifestyle of fending for himself rather than becoming a ward of the state, while on the other hand, he is not out to hurt anyone. Severe conduct disorder would involve acts of cruelty or inflicting considerable harm- behavior more heinous than truancy, running away, or stealing to get by.”
“At first, Jason readily adapts to his new role as Batman’s partner and Bruce Wayne’s son and no longer shows ant disruptive behavior disorder, but over the next year he becomes ‘very moody, resentful, reckless,’ with ‘a dangerously high level of aggressive energy to work off’ and Batman worries that Jason’s attitude ‘is about to get him killed.’ Batman tells Alfred he ‘may have started Jason as Robin before he had a chance to come to grips with his parents’ deaths.’ Bouts of crying over his parents’ photo yet refusing to talk about it, together with his moodiness, may indicate that Jason has developed post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“Anger and aggression may be the tools he’s using to repel depression or feelings of guilt over having replaced his parents with his adoptive dad. The overall pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior fits oppositional defiant behavior- like conduct disorder, one of the disruptive behavior disorders- and this stubborn, disobedient pattern gets him killed.”
“Technically, the grown Jason fits the criteria for antisocial personality disorder through his aggressiveness, deceitfulness, repeated unlawful behavior, and lack of remorse, although we have to evaluate these in the context of the world in which he lives. Superheroes, like spies and undercover police, use aggression and deceit as trick of trade… judging him by the standards of normal society [however] even comparing him to other superheroes, he still seems fairly antisocial.”
“..Jason redefines himself to be like others: at different points in his life, he replaces Dick Grayson as Robin, assumes the Joker’s old Red Hood identity, dons the Nightwing costume and name, traipses the Multiverse in the costume of Earth-51 Batman’s late partner Red Robin, and tries to win the right to wear his Batman’s cowl when people think Bruce is dead. After Dick.. becomes Batman with.. Damian as Robin, Jason transforms his Red Hood outfit into a more traditional superhero costume and gets his own sidekick, a girl called Scarlet. Later, as Bruce resumes his place as Gotham’s one and only Batman, Jason follows and distorts another chapter from Bruce’s life when he leads the Outlaws, the anti-hero equivalent of the Outsiders superteam Batman sometimes leads… Jason’s repeated efforts to recast himself to fit other people’s molds shows some similarities to borderline personality disorder, a condition involving a vague, poorly formed identity. While Jason may be too consistent in his acts, manner, and moods to fit that particular disorder well, spending much of his youth brain-damaged and comatose has made him miss out on critical personality development.”
“…Jason’s defining moments, the events we always think of in connection with him, are of a boy stealing tires from the Batmobile and a clown, the same clown who shot the commissioner’s daughter, later beating the boy to death with a crowbar. Just as readers cannot leave these moments behind, Jason, with no powerful redefining moments, also surely never will.”
I’m not a psychologist/psychiatrist but I feel like some kind of Anxiety Disorder and PTSD can pretty much explain all of his symptoms without bringing anything else into it. Especially if we believe his more out of character and psychotic moments are a result of the Lazarus Pit. Most of the really psycho stuff he did isn’t very consistent with anti-social disorder of you take his Under the Hood portrayals into account Because even if you say he’s selfish and narcissistic and doesn’t care about others rights/feelings and manipulative like anti-socials are, that doesn’t explain his wild megalomaniacal moments. Jason is just too smart for that kind of pointlessly reckless behavior, as demonstrated in Under The Hood, so even with that diagnosis it doesn’t explain everything. In comparison to him in his debut, he really just seems psychotic in some of those comics. Compared to his careful planning there, later schemes seem slapdash, like something is getting in the way of his normally rational thinking.
Also this view on killing being outside of social norms and indicating anti-social doesn’t take into account that he was IN THE LEAGUE OF ASSASSIN’S FOR OVER A YEAR. Where killing and scheming isn’t just acceptable it’s expected, so like…I know Jason doesn’t think of himself as brainwashed but let’s be honest…being in an environment where murder was actively encouraged and rewarded obviously had an effect on him. Maybe there is an ‘acquired’ version of antisocial but my understanding was it was the sort of thing you are born with and as a kid he really just doesn’t show much indication of it IMO, so I don’t think he had it as an adult either. It’s all just PTSD giving him mood-swings and so much fear of being hurt that he feels the need to be violent at times and lash out to protect himself.
Ghost mourns the death of Simon Riley to this day. When Simon Riley faked his death and switched his dog tags with the ones of the colleague who killed his entire family, he burnt his family home and Ghost was born. His arm sleeve has a tattoo of dog tags, which belong to Simon though the engraving is not visible.
Unlike some may think, Ghost isn't cold or rude. Throughout the entire campaign he remains polite and even cracks jokes with Soap to help both of them to calm down, something that certain spec ops do in real life as well during tense missions to ease the tension.
He doesn't enjoy killing, his voice lines in multiplayer show it. He's quiet, reserved, and gets the job done simply because that is the path that he chose.
Ghost isn't completely averse to touch despite his trauma, though touchy people could easily make him uncomfortable unless he knows them and feels comfortable around them. Pats on the shoulder, handshakes, and maybe even a quick hug are some of the things Ghost doesn't seem to mind.
Contrary to popular belief, Ghost/Simon would never lay a hand on you or be too rough during sex. Even Ghost, the rough around the edges soldier, would never slap you, degrade you, or even roleplay CNC/dubious consent scenarios with you. This man has been raped and sexually assaulted by men and women multiple times, and he literally has nightmares in which he's violent sexually towards women- he would never let those nightmares become true.
When and if he's ever comfortable having sex with someone, he'd be gentle, asking multiple times for your consent and testing your reactions to see if you're into it. At the first hint of hesitation, he'd stop. It would take him months and maybe even years to feel comfortable touching someone in that way, and it would never be just a random person- it'd have to be someone very close to him, likely a partner or a teammate.
Simon/Ghost is not aggressive. He'd never be abusive and quite honestly, it's frustrating seeing all the headcanons about this man possibly being abusive or putting his hands on his partner when he's mad. This man has been abused his whole life, both as a civilian and as a soldier- he'd rather die than become an abuser like his father or Roba.
Horribly afraid of losing the few people he trusts. His entire family was murdered, he's scared of getting close to anyone just for them to meet the same fate.
He knows how to stay calm extremely well, he's an experienced soldier and even when he's about to die- he manages to be calm and gentle, as heard on his voice lines in multiplayer.
Anyway. This man is a gentle and caring soldier, despite the fact that he's rough around the edges and extremely reserved, always keeping it professional. Befriend him and you'll find a loyal companion for life.
while were on the subject how long was jason dead for / how long before came back to gotham
Alrighty boys it's time for some MATH by a person who is very bad at math:
First things first, Jason died on April 27th at the age of fifteen.
Batman: A Death in the Family
He remains dead and in the coffin for six months. (There is a comic that shows Jason in heaven, but this comic came out in 2001 which is long after Jason should have been up and about if we follow the timeline, but I’m chocking this up to Jason still being dead as far as the writers knew at the time.)
Green Arrow (2001) #7
Six months after Jason’s death, he is resurrected when Superboy-Prime punches reality in Infinite Crisis and unravels certain events in time, one of these events being Jason’s death. Instead of changing it so the death never happened, Jason’s decaying corpse is reanimated.
Batman Annual #25
Jason wakes up in the coffin and digs himself out with a belt buckle from his funeral suit.
Batman Annual #25
Jason still retains the injuries from the crowbar and explosion, so he suffers from some pretty intense brain damage which has him stumbling around Gotham for twelve and a half miles, completely catatonic. Some people find him and take him to the hospital where he falls into a coma.
Batman Annual #25
Jason stays in the coma for a year before he wakes up. Still relatively brain-dead, his instincts kick in and he escapes from the hospital.
Batman Annual #25
Then Jason spends a year (or five months, if you prefer the timeline established in Red Hood: The Lost Days) on the streets, running entirely on instinct from both his Robin training and from the years he spent on the streets before being adopted by Bruce.
Batman Annual #25
Talia al Ghul gets word of Jason being alive and has him taken to the League of Assassins compound. He stays there for another year, still catatonic and running solely on instinct. His body is in perfect fighting shape, but his mind is mush.
Batman Annual #25
To restore his mind, Talia dunks Jason in the Lazarus Pit, healing all of his injuries (and erasing all of his scars, according to RHATO).
Batman Annual #25
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #50
Jason spends further time with Talia, studying from a multitude of trainers Talia hires to prep Jason for when he confronts Bruce. We can assume this takes a year or so? It’s said that Jason spends more or less a month with each trainer, so I’m going with a year. Over this time, Jason hones his skills and stokes the fire of his resentment for Bruce not avenging him by killing Joker/replacing him with a new Robin.
Red Hood: The Lost Days #2
Red Hood: The Lost Days #4
Then there’s that weird thing where Jason and Talia sleep together, but we’re ignoring that. Jason takes off for Gotham to go beat up his dad. He meets up with Hush and teams up with him in exchange for telling him Batman’s identity. This is a moment fans tend to get confused about: Jason was there for the 2003 Hush storyline. Yes, Clayface was pretending to be Jason, but only for the end of the fight with Bruce. Everything before that was all Jason. He kidnapped Tim, confronted and fought Bruce, and then fled, leaving Bruce to assume that the whole thing was a ruse and Jason was still dead. However, Bruce knew from this point on that Jason’s grave was empty and his body was missing.
Batman #618
Jason lies low in Gotham for a bit before the Under the Hood storyline starts in 2004, which I assume is anywhere from six months to a year in canon? It’s unclear exactly how long the gap is, but Hush happened a year prior in real time, so I’m working around that. It’s finally revealed to everyone that Jason is back from the dead, he confronts Bruce, tries to kill the Joker, etc. And the rest is history.
Batman #648
Taking all of this into account, we can determine that Jason regains consciousness roughly 3.5 years (or just 3 years if you go by the RH:LD timeline) after his death, he returns to Gotham 4.5 years after (or just 4 years), and Jason being alive is revealed to everyone around 5-5.5 years after his death, which would make him roughly 19-20 years old.
while were on the subject how long was jason dead for / how long before came back to gotham
Alrighty boys it's time for some MATH by a person who is very bad at math:
First things first, Jason died on April 27th at the age of fifteen.
Batman: A Death in the Family
He remains dead and in the coffin for six months. (There is a comic that shows Jason in heaven, but this comic came out in 2001 which is long after Jason should have been up and about if we follow the timeline, but I’m chocking this up to Jason still being dead as far as the writers knew at the time.)
Green Arrow (2001) #7
Six months after Jason’s death, he is resurrected when Superboy-Prime punches reality in Infinite Crisis and unravels certain events in time, one of these events being Jason’s death. Instead of changing it so the death never happened, Jason’s decaying corpse is reanimated.
Batman Annual #25
Jason wakes up in the coffin and digs himself out with a belt buckle from his funeral suit.
Batman Annual #25
Jason still retains the injuries from the crowbar and explosion, so he suffers from some pretty intense brain damage which has him stumbling around Gotham for twelve and a half miles, completely catatonic. Some people find him and take him to the hospital where he falls into a coma.
Batman Annual #25
Jason stays in the coma for a year before he wakes up. Still relatively brain-dead, his instincts kick in and he escapes from the hospital.
Batman Annual #25
Then Jason spends a year (or five months, if you prefer the timeline established in Red Hood: The Lost Days) on the streets, running entirely on instinct from both his Robin training and from the years he spent on the streets before being adopted by Bruce.
Batman Annual #25
Talia al Ghul gets word of Jason being alive and has him taken to the League of Assassins compound. He stays there for another year, still catatonic and running solely on instinct. His body is in perfect fighting shape, but his mind is mush.
Batman Annual #25
To restore his mind, Talia dunks Jason in the Lazarus Pit, healing all of his injuries (and erasing all of his scars, according to RHATO).
Batman Annual #25
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #50
Jason spends further time with Talia, studying from a multitude of trainers Talia hires to prep Jason for when he confronts Bruce. We can assume this takes a year or so? It’s said that Jason spends more or less a month with each trainer, so I’m going with a year. Over this time, Jason hones his skills and stokes the fire of his resentment for Bruce not avenging him by killing Joker/replacing him with a new Robin.
Red Hood: The Lost Days #2
Red Hood: The Lost Days #4
Then there’s that weird thing where Jason and Talia sleep together, but we’re ignoring that. Jason takes off for Gotham to go beat up his dad. He meets up with Hush and teams up with him in exchange for telling him Batman’s identity. This is a moment fans tend to get confused about: Jason was there for the 2003 Hush storyline. Yes, Clayface was pretending to be Jason, but only for the end of the fight with Bruce. Everything before that was all Jason. He kidnapped Tim, confronted and fought Bruce, and then fled, leaving Bruce to assume that the whole thing was a ruse and Jason was still dead. However, Bruce knew from this point on that Jason’s grave was empty and his body was missing.
Batman #618
Jason lies low in Gotham for a bit before the Under the Hood storyline starts in 2004, which I assume is anywhere from six months to a year in canon? It’s unclear exactly how long the gap is, but Hush happened a year prior in real time, so I’m working around that. It’s finally revealed to everyone that Jason is back from the dead, he confronts Bruce, tries to kill the Joker, etc. And the rest is history.
Batman #648
Taking all of this into account, we can determine that Jason regains consciousness roughly 3.5 years (or just 3 years if you go by the RH:LD timeline) after his death, he returns to Gotham 4.5 years after (or just 4 years), and Jason being alive is revealed to everyone around 5-5.5 years after his death, which would make him roughly 19-20 years old.
I know it was probably said like a million times since the movie came out, but my favourite detail in the whole movie is in the DNA numbers with Red Hood's 635 being the issue number when he appears under that name while Jason's 428 is for the issue in which he dies
Edit: since there seems to be some confusion about all the AU Jasons, here's a list of where they're from.
From Left to right
Red Hooded Ninja: Young Justice cartoon
Red Hood: Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016), DC comics
Arkham Knight: Batman: Arkham Knight video game
Red Robin: Death in the Family interactive movie
Father Todd: Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #2, DC comics
Let’s begin with a question a psychologist might ask to break the ice: “Tell me about your relationship with your mother.”
There’s a reason why so much page time was devoted to Jason’s relationship with his mother in the same issue he met Talia for the first time (RHatO 2011). Despite everything, Jason loved his mother; his father was imprisoned/died so he became her caretaker until she died from an overdose. It’s also not a coincidence that she looked just like Talia here. The mother figure is a reoccurring theme throughout their relationship.
Before Jason was taken in by Bruce, he met Talia while she was on a mission in Gotham. During this brief first encounter, she saw potential in him, and Jason…well, he was simply in awe with her. (image heavy under cut)
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