“Jason Todd” is about two very different Robins. However, each of these Robins – Dick Greyson and Jason Todd – has a very dark past. This broadcast looks at their baggage.
This airing sees Dick Greyson return to a childhood funeral, in his memory. With that, we learn it’s his parents funeral. However, not long after this funeral, he goes back to a memory where he learns from police that someone killed his parents.
Meanwhile, the broadcast shifts to the present time, where Dick meets a new Robin who ends up saving his life. His name is Jason Todd. “Robin 2.0, right man. It’s an honor to meet you,” Jason Todd tells Dick Greyson.
Over a period of bonding, Dick and Jason talk about new modifications in Robin’s suit. “The old version was a little outdated.” Todd says about the new Robin suit, which is bullet proof.
It’s this episode where we learn Batman implanted both Robins with a secret tracking device. Apparently, both Robins have a tracking device in their arms. However, this tracking device was put in Dick’s arm without his consent or knowledge.
As the broadcast continues, we learn about Batman’s safehouses, which are all over Gotham City. “Bruce has a bunch of places like this. He calls them safehouses. More like condos,’ Jason reveals to Dick.
While in one of these safehouses, Dick and Jason have a chat about Nicolo Machiavelli, an early statesman and political strategist. “If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance should not be feared. Severity should be dealt all out at once so that their suddenness may give less offense,” cites Dick regarding Machiavelli’s way of governing to Todd. “Benefits should be handed out drop by drop so they may be relished the more.”
Meantime, Dick is not particularly fond of Batman’s tracker. “I am not Robin anymore… Cause we’re not animals in Bruce Wayne’s private zoo,” says Dick about Batman’s tracking device aka infringement on his privacy.
During Todd’s meeting with Dick, Todd shows Dick some disturbing photographs, which Batman asked Todd to do. Apparently, they are all photographs of murdered friends of Dick. These friends were all from Haly’s Circus, which Dick worked at with his parents as the flying Greysons.
Another thing, that comes out in this segment, is Todd really does not like police officers in Gotham City. “The cops are a joke. There are two kinds: useless and dirty,” Todd says to Robin about not going to police with photos.
After a brief talk with Todd, Dick talks to Kory over the cell. “He worked for something called ‘The Organization’. They seem to have people everywhere,” Dick explains about Dr. Adamson’s secret employer.
Towards the end of this segment, we see some of Dick’s dark past. We learn that Dick, as a young Robin, refused to help a crime boss who killed his parents. That refusing to help led to the death of the crime boss, because Dick wanted revenge for the killing of his parents. However, Dick played the judge, jury, and executioner- so much for due process aka justice.
Not only that, we learn Dick resents being Robin. “He was turning me into a weapon. His weapon! And he may have you convinced that you can get everything you every wanted, but you can’t unlearn what he teaches you. And you can’t control it. Believe me, the price is too high,” Dick warns Jason Todd about Batman.
At the end of “Jason Todd,” we learn that Jason Todd beat the hell out of a bunch of police officers. “That’s the coolest part about being Robin- wearing a mask. I can do whatever the f..k I want,” Todd says to Dick about beating up cops.
In summary, this episode “Jason Todd” is really dark. We get into the personal history of Dick Greyson and Jason Todd. At the ending of this episode, we learn Dick and Jason have very different ideas about their role as Robin and the police.
