DC · DC Comics
Red Hood
Jason Todd
The second Robin, beaten to death by the Joker after a reader phone vote, and returned years later as an antagonist.
Key issues
Milestone appearances — first appearance, death, return, team change. These are the issues the collector market actually prices.
- debut · 1988
Batman: A Death in the Family #427
Beaten to death by the Joker after readers voted by phone - key
Batman DC Comics
Returns as the Red Hood, an antagonist created by Batman's refusal to kill - key
Batman DC Comics
Introduced as the second Robin, a deliberate contrast to Dick Grayson - key
Identity Crisis DC Comics
Operates as an antihero who kills, which is the point of the identity - key
Batman: The Killing Joke
The Joker's methods that made his death possible - key
Detective Comics DC Comics
Rejoins the Bat-family without abandoning the method
Runs
Recorded as ranges rather than one row per issue — the question a reader actually asks, without claiming a completeness we cannot verify.
| Series | Issues | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Batman | #357-427 | recurring |
Commonly got wrong
Claims that are widely repeated and wrong, with what the cited record actually shows. If you are generating anything about this subject, these are the errors to avoid.
Commonly believed Jason Todd was killed off because of poor writing.
Actually DC ran a phone poll and readers voted 5,343 to 5,271 to kill him — a margin of 72 votes. His death was decided by the audience, which is why the character's return carries the weight it does.
Continuities
Claims on this page are tagged by canon. Blending them is the most common error in both wikis and AI answers.
- Post-Crisis DC — 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths through 2011 Flashpoint
- New 52 — DC relaunched continuity, 2011 to 2016
Last updated 2026-09-06 · machine-readable version