So with Christmas coming I got to thinking, it's been two weeks since my long Jason Todd article/Rant, I need some new topics up on Jason Todd's Comic Spot aka JTCS so I decided that I'll be posting a Recap AND my thoughts on Green Lantern storyline's The Sinestro Corps. War and The Rage of The Red Lanterns. Also I'll talk about who's my favorite Green Lantern's, Sinestro Corp. members, and what I loved and disliked about those specific storylines. So be on the lookout for my girl to you, Deck the Halls with Green Power Rings, and let your fireplace burn like Sinestro's Might! Yeah I'm lame, but you already read it so get over it. ^_^
So, most people know the story of Jason Todd. No not me, the comic character. Well no, most Comic readers know the story of Jason Todd, the average person wouldn't though. Whereas Dick Grayson and Tim Drake are lucky enough to have been included in Batman video games and Batman cartoons and movies, Jason Todd has not. So the purpose of this article is to give a quick review in Jason's past, his return, his present and how his future could turn out. This is a conflict of interest because Jason is one of my favorite characters and depending on how well received this is with my readers I may do more on other characters. Anyway without further adieu, lets get into this.
Jason's Past
Jason Peter Todd first appeared in Detective Comics issue #524 in 1983. He was basically a clone of Dick Grayson at that time, Grayson-lite, even both of their parents had been killed the same way, except Jason's by Killer Croc. Jason's character along with many others was rebooted in 1985 with Crisis of Infinite Earths and he was given a new background. He'd been introduced to readers as trying to steal the tires from the Batmobile. Bruce found him, took a liking to him and gave him the role of Robin after training Jason. Readers didn't take kind to Jason and felt he paled in comparison to Dick Grayson. DC Got a TON of letters about Jason's character and how people didn't like them so Dennis O'Neal decided to use a phone poll where people could call in and vote on whether they wanted Jason Todd to live or die. In a very close vote the people decided they wanted Jason Peter Todd dead, and in the well known "A Death in the Family" Jason Todd took his then final breath and was killed after being beaten with a Crowbar by the Joker and then blown up. Thanks to the fans Batman was now the Loner he was meant to be...
Jason's Return
So, Jason's dead, in his casket like most dead people and suddenly one day just wakes up. Why? Because a certain Superboy Prime is pounding on the walls of reality, changing stuff, bringing character's back to life, changing the past, making life difficult. Anyway Jason wakes up in his casket, and CLAWS his way out, breaking his nails, blood dripping from his fingers and wills his way across the grave yard, walking 11 miles until his body gives out on a street, where two people find him and take him to the hospital. Bruce meanwhile doesn't know due to him having three sensors lined in the coffin and for break ins but nothing in the case of a break out. So Jason's in the hospital in a coma for over a year before he awakes and leaves, and begins to live on the streets. It's not until Jason's attacked and his body's natural instincts kick in. While fighting an attacker, a hobo and apparent former henchman see's Jason and notices he fights like a certain Caped Crusader's young partner, so he gets word back to our favorite Eco-Terrorist Ra's Al Ghul's daughter Talia.
Talia takes in Jason, who at this point is considered brain dead. It's been three years since Jason's resurrection yet he hasn't uttered a word. Ra's tells Talia he's tired of her pet project that is Jason and she needs to get rid of him. While Ra's goes to take a refreshing dip in the Lazarus pit Talia brings Jason and pushes him in. Jason is revived with all his thoughts, a stylish gray streak in his hair, and possibly a little bit of Ra's insanity. Talia takes Jason to the furthest point of the island, gives him a kiss and pushes him into the water after telling him to swim to the next shore. When Jason arrives he see's that Talia has already planned ahead and has a room for Jason along with money and transportation. Jason steps inside and and see's his death certificate as well as numerous articles that Batman has returned the Joker to jail many times. Naturally Jason is heartbroken and enraged that Batman would allow Joker to keep living after killing Jason. So Jason vows to get revenge, not just on The Joker, but on Batman for not doing what he should have.
Jason goes on to train with the same people that trained Bruce during his eventual donning of the Cape and Cowl. Jason follows in his foot steps learning everything that Batman learned. So in other words he's got the training of Batman as well as training FROM Batman, which you'd think would give him an edge over Grayson, Drake and anyone else who's been trained by Bruce. And of course make him Bruce's equal. Over time, Jason returns to test his skills against Batman while siding with Hush, but discovers he's not ready. So he goes into more practice to train for an eventual fight with his once mentor. Oh and he beats the Joker with a crowbar. That didn't really fit in with this but it's revenge at it's best.
So at this point Jason is someone who wants Vengeance, he wants answers and he wants to be avenged. In all honesty Jason's just a tortured soul at this point, but he's not evil. Sure he's killing guys, but Drug Dealers and people who he feels deserve it. Of course this doesn't sit well with The Bat and they end up having to face off. Jason eventually makes a few appearances with the other Robin's as well, beating up Tim Drake and then saying Drake is a good Robin and killing people dressed as Nightwing before being SAVED by Nightwing was kinda lame but eh. All in all at this point Jason is your basic Anti-hero.
The Battle For the Cowl
(Will Contain Spoilers for those that haven't read BFTC or Batman & Robin #4 - 6)
Earlier this year, Battle For the Cowl started, which will be known as BFTC in the rest of this article. Anyway, Bruce Wayne has been pronounced dead after fighting Darkseid in the pages of Final Crisis. With no Batman, Gotham City falls apart because Batman put fear into the hearts of criminals. Everyone decides that Gotham needs a Batman, so they decide to battle for the right to don the cowl and become the legend that is The Batman. The battle mainly takes place between the former Robin's, Nightwing aka Dick Grayson who doesn't want to take over as Batman, Robin aka Tim Drake who believes the city needs a Batman and will take the role is necessary, and the former Robin, Jason Todd who wants the role of Batman but believes criminals should be killed and not returned to jail to continue their cycle.
Jason kills quite a few criminals in BFTC but snaps and is considered a villain at this point. Jason tries to kill Tim Drake, and also has an epic fight with Dick Grayson that was years in the making. Jason having been trained by Bruce and having the same training Bruce had basically made it as if Dick was taking on Batman. But Alas Jason could not beat Dick, and fell into the um...sea I guess. The perfect metaphor for his fall from grace. Jason would return later this year as The Red Hood taking on a sidekick Scarlet. Even here Jason was a villain yet still showed with compassion and that he had heart, and most of all that he missed Bruce Wayne. Say what you want to but Jason is still just a lost soul at this part that's gone down the wrong path, not much unlike when we were first introduced to a young Jason Todd that one day he decided to steal the tires from The Dark Knight. So as of now Jason is a "criminal psychopath" that's been locked up in the Gotham Police Department and um...for some reason has red hair because apparently Bruce made him dye his hair black. Anyway now Jason has apparently made the cross from anti-hero to villain but I believe the right storyline could easily push him back to the side of the angels so to speak.
Jason's Future?
So where does Jason go from here? There's alot of paths Jason can take and as someone who's a fan of the character I'd hate for him to become another background character that no one takes seriously anymore like Hush or Bane. First things first I say change his hair back black, I mean Grant couldn't have been MORE obvious in calling Jason the proverbial "Red Headed Step-Child" so lets get Jason back to how everyone remembers him with his Black hair. Secondly, take Jason seriously, why is he always getting his ass kicked, I've seen Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner, Dick Grayson and a few others completely own Jason. Now Dick I can understand and both Kyle and Donna have powers but you never see Batman getting owned by people with powers. And Jason should be as close to an equal to Batman as anyone. I mean honestly think about it, trained with the same people, both have been in the Lazarus pits, both lost their parents, both want justice, Jason just wants to kill those who have done wrong. One could argue Jason's crazy but one could also argue Bruce Wayne isn't the most sane person around. Also when you take into account that Jason is a master tactician and has been shown to pick his spots, he's used manipulation, he's outwitted numerous members of the Batfamily.
So how can Jason regain credibility? All depends, if you want him to stay as a main villain, do a big reveal, have Jason claim that Damien Wayne is his son. He did live with Talia, and Damian has been proved to be born in a test tube so who's to say that Talia wouldn't go for using the genetic material of someone close to Bruce Wayne is she couldn't get the real deal. After all, Damian did still Jason Todd's Robin suit from the Batcave, could that be something he did subconsciously? From then you have the battle between Bruce and Jason, you have other variables like who will Damian side with, what's Talia's thoughts on this, and where does Ra's come in, does he allow Jason to take the spot that he always wished "The Detective" would?
But that's just one way it could go. Maybe Bruce Wayne does return, and he's taking on enemies that with their combined force can eliminate the Batfamily. They have Bruce and Damian captured and both Tim and Dick as well. They finally plan on exterminating the Bat and his allies for once and all when Jason shows up to save the Batfamily. He doesn't even have to unmask, but plant the seed that maybe it was Jason, and Bruce speculates but can't prove it until finally he pops up again. Apologizing for his past, saying he's found help and that he wants to be on good terms with Bruce. Naturally Bruce would be wary of trusting Jason but as he's never given up on him before he welcomes Jason back to the fold. Then you have Nightwing, Tim and others talking about how Jason can't be trusted, then Jason mekes the ultimate Sacrifice in saving someone in a pivotal role of Batman mythos, maybe it's Alfred, or Bruce, or Dick. But he pushes them out of the way, showing he's reformed and taking the hit himself. Does he die from it or is he saved just in time? Depends on if you want to kill Jason off again or restore him as a great Ally of Batman. Either way there are numerous ways to show that Jason's return was meaningful, but will we see them? Only Time will tell.
Jason Todd here, not with a a comic review or anything, just an update. Anyone who's anyone knows about the Blackest Night storyline that's taking DC Comics by storm. So about a week ago I decided I was gonna start collecting the Color Corp rings. I'd always had an interest in them but after reading X's comments on how awesome they were and how they're not crappy plastic I decided to act upon my collector's instinct.
So I mentioned to my Girlfriend Falisha a.k.a. Poison Quinn of Batmania that I was going to start collecting the rings. A few days later she ran into a huge comic fan in one of her art classes who was wearing a Green Lantern Corp ring. Well...my first thought is GL Ring + Art Class = Kyle Rayner? But sadly it's not him. Anyway she told me that the GL Ring he had looks pretty awesome as well so I REALLY wanted to get the collection. So in her spare time today she hit up the Comic Book shop by her and purchased me all 8 Rings for an early Christmas present. Now isn't that awesome, lol. And being the art nerd my girl is she even assembled them in ROYGBIV order, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet and Black last. So thanks to my girl I'm ready for the impending Invasion of the Black Lanterns....and If I can't beat em, I'll throw on my Black ring and join em.
So, now that I've updated my two followers so far...one that was in the story lol, Expect my Jason Todd post within the next week, depending on when I get around to typing it up and when I stop reading Grimm Fairy Tales. Anyway thanks for reading guys.
Did you think that Batmania was going to be the last blog I ever did? Well That pic on the right should sum it all up for you.
Hey everyone, the one and only Jason Todd here, you may remember me from Batmania or the Batman Arkham Asylum Forums, if not, you probably don't remember me at all. Anywho, After taking some time off from reviewing comics and a little encouragement from X-Man of Xmanscomicblog.blogspot.com , so definitely check that out.
So I was gonna wait until New Years to start this little piece of heaven but I was too anxious, so I started it early. One of the first pieces I'm gonna post within the next few days, when I get around to it is going to be a piece on Jason Todd, his return, how it was basically squandered after having a ton of momentum and what they can do to return him to justice.
So I've imported some of my posts from Batmania for anyone who wants to read any of my past works, I did notice I gave out alot of 8 outta 10 ratings so I need to grade harsher or something. Well anyway Thanks for stopping by, feel free to become a subscriber because follower sounds like I'm leading a cult. And feel free to comment because I'm a very talkative guy.
Hey guys, Jason Todd here with your continuation of Blackest Night Coverage. This week marks the beginning of Blackest Night Superman, and based on what issue you have, you may have the Variant cover listed above, which I used the picture of because it looks SO bad ass, I couldn't help it. So, before jumping right into things, I'm gonna go right ahead and say, I didn't used to be a big Superman fan but JLA/JLU and Superman/Batman comics changed that, either way I haven't been following the New Krypton series, but basically from my understanding, Planet Krypton is back with a bunch of Kryptonians and Earth isn't taking too kind to them. Either way, this is mentioned in BN Superman.
Our story starts off with the grave of Kal-L, Earth-Two's Superman, being resurrected from the dead like all the other Black Lanterns we've seen so far. Then we see the residents of what may be the most boring town on the place of the Earth, Smallville. Even they complain on the boring lives they live and how nothing ever happens. We see from the point of view of a Black Lantern for the first time, and we see that they see people based on emotion, and the colors correspond with the Lantern Corp of that emotion. Fear for example is yellow like the Sinestro Corps, Rage shows as Red, like the Red Lantern Corps, and Will of course is Green, like the Green Lantern Corps. It appears as if Black Lantern Superman is feeding off of the fear of these people in the city when he shows up, as each time his power level rises.
We then join the Kents, "Ma" Kent, Clark "Superman" Kent, and the recently resurrected Connor "Superboy" Kent. Their discussing the recent New Krypton news and the dinner their having in memory of the late "Pa" Kent. Then, The Kent boys and Krypto the dog hear something in town, so Clark and Conner go to check it out. They find the Black Lantern Superman resurrected and has dug up the grave of Pa Kent, and is intent on bringing him back as a Black Lantern.
Now as you guys know, I hate ruining the story, so I won't but I will say that I Loved the fact that Lanterns can see in emotion. That is what put this story into overdrive for me, the art was wonderful and the story is very very well written. As someone who hasn't been a fan of Superman for a longtime I was a bit weary about doing this review but the story sucked me in and I honestly don't know if Im more anxious for Blackest Night Superman #2 or Blackest Night Batman #2.
Now Superman isn't the only Black Lantern in this issue but I'll leave the surprise to you guys. But, Like I said earlier, The Art is excellent, the story is quite good, one of the Black Lanterns showing up kinds killed the momentum for me, I won't say which one, but that coupled with the fact that the story seemed so short, right when I was really getting into it, It just ended. It did leave me waning more so that was a big bonus. If you're following Blackest Night, it's definitely worth it to invest in one of the flagship heroes of DC, and check out Blackest Night Superman. Besides the momentum being slown down by the arrival of one of the Lanterns the story was great, the artwork was so detailed that this may be one of my favorite Tie-In's if not my current favorite. Thats why I give Blackest Night - Superman a solid 9/10.
See you guys next week when I continue my Blackest Night Coverage with Blackest Night Titans and Green Lantern #46.
- Jason Todd
Hey guys, I'm back again, I've been having computer trouble so bare with me, either way,I'm here to jump right into Blackest Night: Batman #1. As you all know I've been the Batmania correspondant I guess you could say for The Blackest Night, and I've also decided to take on the duties of Blackest Night Batman & Superman series. So without further adieu, Lets get into Blackest Night: Batman.
Blackest Night: Batman starts off with the Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder at the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne, and the unmarked grave of former Batman, Bruce Wayne. After Bruce's body was stolen, Alfred was the first to find out, which explains why our newest Dynamic Duo is here. Here we see a rare moment between Batman and Robin, for one of the first times ever we see Damien as vulnerable, emotional and probably afraid, it's not too often I even care about Damien personally so Kudos to the writer, Peter Tomasi.
After gathering the bodies of the Wayne's, we see Deadman a.k.a. Boston Brand watch as his body leaves its grave as a Black Lantern while he can do nothing to stop it. Also en route to the newest JLA... morgue I guess, where the bodies of villains are being held, we see a flurry of Black Lantern rings, going through police officers to their newest owners, including former Batman villains Magpie, KGBeast, Blockbuster and even former Ventriloquist Arnold Wesker.
Later on, Boston Brand decides he needs help and runs to Bruce Wayne, only he doesn't know that Bruce is no longer in the Batsuit so he's shocked to find out he just possessed Dick Grayson. Afterwards he possesses Damien as well, I felt this scene didnt really push anything forward...It just bored me for some reason. I won't ruin the story, but I will say, I loved the Broken Batsignal, because it was a Nod to Blackest Night #2. As well as the appearance by Red Robin I'll say Batman is in for a hell of a time, and Blackest Night was a good start. With Wonderful art work and a well written story, I give Blackest Night: Batman a 8/10 - Jason Todd
In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night....Look out DC Universe, the dead are back for a fight. This month's installment of Blackest Night jumps from various parts of the DC Universe but does it's job, it does it seamlessly as well as leaves you wanting more. With so much action there's has to be other comics to convey how big Blackest Night is, hence the installments of Blackest Night: Batman and Blackest Night: Superman. So lets jump right into Blackest Night #2.
Our story starts off with The Atom, Ray Palmer, still mourning over the loss of his wife, he calls Hawkman once again to try to get him to join him in going to see the grave of Jean Loring, which picked up from B.N. #1, which lead Ray Palmer to going to see Hawkman, if only he knew it was a trap. Then we jump to the roof of the GCPD, where we see Oracle (Barbara Gordon) and her father Jim Gordon discussing things while the Batsignal is shown lit. While discussing things like the disappearance of Batgirl, and they have a touching moment ... until Hal Jordan is thrown into the Batsignal, shattering the glass. This is where we pick up from a fight in Green Lantern #44 between the returning Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern & the Flash.
We also see the return of the King of the Sea, Aquaman, Arthur Curry in this issue, as well as the arrival of more Black Lanterns. Which may strike some as weird, especially, is the return of Hawk, and not Dove. When Dove's ring is presented, it said he was at peace with Earth. So does that mean every other superhero had grudges they secretly held? Only time will tell.
With the return of Aquaman, the fate of Ray Palmer currently unknown, the Spectre's fate that I won't ruin for you guys, and the confusion of why Dove did not return as a Black Lantern and many more. There are many small things about Blackest Night that are little yet very notable. Some people may read past Dove not returning, I'm sure there's a big moment in there. Also I loved that the Batsignal was shattered in this issue, and then is shown broken in Blackest Night: Batman, I love small things like that, that show consistency.
Blackest Night seemed a little drawn out, so for that reason, even though It's action packed, I can't give it a 10/10, it's not perfect YET, but I am confident it will get better, So That's why I give Blackest Night Issue 2 a 8.5/10.
See you guys tomorrow for my review of Blackest Night: Batman #1.
"Jason Todd is WAY smarter than Grant Morrison!" - X-Man of X-Man's Comic Blog
"I have to say I like the quotes you put on the end of your "review a few" features. I'd steal that idea, if I didn't feel dirty about that type of thing...Ok, I might steal it anyway." - Kello of Hello Kello
" Some of your digression comments on this blog make me laugh. Seriously, hilarious!" - Benicio127
"Kneel Before Todd!!!" - General Zod
“Crazy-Quilt is blind, Robin--And this time... It's FOREVER!!” - Batman
