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Though Jason Todd’s death may be the most famous of all the Robins, it isn’t exactly unique – everyone who’s worn the costume has died at some point.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Robin #5, on sale now from DC.
The death of Jason Todd sticks in the minds not only of many Batman fans but of comic fans as a whole. This traumatic event has come to define the character, as well as the rest of the Bat-Family to an extent. However, one family member isn’t too convinced, believing that Jason’s death and resurrection isn’t at all special, or even unique.
Robin #5 by Joshua Williamson, Gleb Melnikov, Luis Guerrero and ALW’s Troy Peteri sees Damian Wayne’s Boy Wonder chased down by his four predecessors. When confronted by Todd, the second Robin, Damian remarks that everyone thinks he’s “so cool” because he’s the Robin who died. However, Damian reminds his brother that every Robin has died at some point or another. Though some deaths, like Jason and Damian’s, are more memorable, others may not be so well known.
Dick Grayson
During Forever Evil by Geoff Johns and David Finch, Nightwing was taken prisoner by Earth-3’s Crime Syndicate and placed in a cruel Apokolytian prison – the Murder Machine. This device, would explode if tampered with and was said to be inescapable, making it the perfect way to stop Batman from saving his original partner. With the machine about to detonate, Lex Luthor deduced the only way to save everyone was to kill Nightwing. Batman obviously objected and began to beat Luthor, who had already managed to stop Grayson’s heart. However, Luthor quickly revealed he wasn’t actually dead, Superman’s nemesis had only made him flatline to stop the detonation. He then injected Nightwing with adrenaline, quickly reviving him.
Jason Todd
The most well-known death of a Robin occurred during the infamous storyline “A Death on the Family” by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo. In the tale, Jason Todd went looking for his birth mother, only to have her give him up to the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime mercilessly beat the Boy Wonder with a crowbar and locked him, and his mother, in a warehouse with a time bomb. Batman failed to save Todd and he and his mother died in the explosion. It was two decades before the character returned in “Under the Hood” as anti-hero the Red Hood, having abandoned Batman’s no-killing rule. The original reason for Todd’s resurrection was Superboy-Prime’s reality-shattering punch but a Lazarus Pit has since been mentioned as an alternative explanation.
Tim Drake
The shocking death of Tim Drake occurred in Detective Comics #940 by James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows. When Jacob Kane’s Batman-inspired militia, the Colonists, planned to take out the League of Shadows with drone strikes, numerous innocent lives would have been lost. Drake hacked the drones to make them all target himself instead. Though he defeated the first wave, the second wave of drones seemingly annihilated him. However, the end of the issue revealed he was not dead, merely kidnapped and imprisoned by Mr. Oz, later revealed as Superman’s father Jor-El. Figuring out his cell was made from Kryptonian technology, Drake bypassed the security and broke free. Aided by an evil future version of himself from the Titans Tomorrow storyline, he made his way back to Gotham where he had to stop his renegade future self.
Stephanie Brown
Although Stephanie Brown proved herself to be a great Robin, this Dynamic Duo had a rocky relationship. This eventually led Steph to strike out on her own in a disastrous way. She attempted to use a plan of Batman’s that would take out Gotham’s entire underworld but, without Batman’s help, things got out of control, leading to an all-out gang war. One of the major gang leaders, Black Mask, captured and tortured Steph. Though she escaped, she died in hospital. It was later revealed that Leslie Thompkins faked Steph’s death, believing that the fourth Robin had suffered enough as a hero.
Damian Wayne
The death of the current Robin happened during the New 52, in Batman Inc. #8 by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham and Jason Masters. With the Dark Knight trapped by Damian’s mother, Talia al Ghul, the Boy Wonder took to the battlefield, against his father’s wishes. The fight ended with Batman’s son being impaled on the sword of his evil clone, Heretic. His resurrection came about when his body was stolen by Darkseid. Upon retrieving his son’s body, the technology of Apokolips gave Batman the power he needed to resurrect his child. This had the unforeseen side effect of giving Damian superpowers. However, it wasn’t permanent and, once the energy was used up, Damian returned to his old self once again.
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