Batman Is Reteaming With the Best Robin

Gotham City's Dark Knight is taking to the streets with his most controversial kid sidekick.

With the threat of the serial killer known as Memento looming ominously over Gotham, the eponymous duo of Batman and Robin #17 have plenty to worry about before ever thinking of the wedge that has been driven between them. Although seeing Damien leave him behind certainly pains Bruce, it doesn't mean that the Dark Knight is without a partner. In fact, Damien's absence as Robin opens the door for a whole new iteration of a classic team-up and Jason Todd, better known as the Red Hood, is more than happy to help however he can.

Batman and Robin #17

• Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
• Art by JAVI FERNÁNDEZ and CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO
• Colors by MARCELO MAIOLO
• Letters by STEVE WANDS
• Main cover art by JAVI FERNÁNDEZ & DAVE McCAIG
• Variant covers by SIMONE DI MEO, DUSTIN NGUYEN, and MIKE PERKINS & MIKE SPICER

First seen in the pages of 1983's Batman #357 by Gerry Conway and Don Newton, Jason Todd was the second young hero to take up the mantle of Robin after Dick Grayson moved on from his time under that particular moniker. Though Jason was a competent fighter and skilled detective in his own right, he carried a brutal mean streak that often drove him to take unnecessarily violent action against any given opponent. Eventually, Jason became the central figure in DC Comics' infamous A Death in the Family storyline, during which readers were given the opportunity to vote for themselves on what the fate of the second Robin should be.

Unfortunately for Jason Todd, his presence was so universally loathed by fans that he was subjected to a brutal death at the hands of the Joker. The loss of Jason proved to be a major motivating factor for Batman in the decades that followed, though that alone would not be the sum total of his legacy. Unbeknownst to Batman, Jason's body was stolen away by Talia al Ghul, who resurrected Jason through the use of the infamous Lazarus Pits. It wasn't until the events of the "Batman: Hush" storyline, well over a decade after Jason's apparent demise, that the truth of his resurrection was revealed.

In the years since, Jason has largely played the role of an antihero under the historically villainous mantle of the Red Hood. Despite being at odds with Bruce and the rest of the Batman Family at numerous points, Jason has effectively stepped back into an updated version of his old role. Of course, his continued use of firearms and his overtly violent methods have continued to draw Batman's ire, yet nothing that Jason has done has driven his old mentor to the point of taking the new Red Hood out of commission entirely.

Batman and Robin #17 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Source: DC Comics