#ComicBytes: How did Jason Todd become Red Hood?
Jason Todd as Red Hood is one of the best and noted anti-heroes in DC Universe. But, before he became a vigilante, Jason Todd was Batman's sidekick Robin, an integral part of the Bat-Family. So, what actually made Jason's entire journey a roller coaster ride? How did he become Robin? What made him take over the moniker of Red Hood? Let's find out all.
To survive on the streets of Gotham, Jason learned how to lie, cheat, and steal. But one day, when he was trying to steal the wheels off the Batmobile, he was caught in the act. Rather than punishing him, Batman admired his resourcefulness and took him in. Jason was later trained and became Robin after Dick Grayson. However, his violent tendencies started bothering Batman.
After being reprimanded for his unruly behavior, Jason found out that his mother, Catherine was alive and went on a secret journey to find her. Soon, he realized that it was Joker's plan to lure him. After beating Jason brutally, Joker left him and Catherine to die in a bomb explosion. Batman reached the scene too late, only to find Jason's lifeless body.
Even though we are focusing on the New 52 DC, in A Death in the Family storyline (Post-Crisis timeline), DC Comics held a telephone poll to determine whether or not Jason should die. The character was killed off by a vote of 5,343-5,271.
Jason was later resurrected with the power of the Lazarus Pit, but the fact that Batman never avenged him, and Joker was still alive, broke his psyche. Believing Batman's justice was ineffective, he became the Red Hood, the identity in which Joker began his criminal career. As Red Hood, he started his journey of a bitter anti-hero, who wanted to punish the criminals.
To pursue his own brand of justice, Red Hood mastered many of the abilities like detective work and hand-to-hand combat strategy, which were once taught to him by Wayne. Even with no superpowers (like Batman), his strength, stamina, athleticism and acrobatic skills made him a dangerous opponent. Jason used non-lethal weapons as Robin. But as Red Hood, he became an expert marksman.
