I agree with this but I’m gonna elaborate why we focus on Jason’s death so much
There used to be a common phrase
“No one in comics stays dead except for Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben.”
Dick has died during crisis events
Tim in elseworld, crisis worlds, alternate universes
Damian and Cass were revived within a year or two of their deaths
Bruce has never died without the entire universe resetting (time stream doesn’t count)
But Jason’s death wasn’t only a long term choice
It was a vote
People hates this kid so much they killed him off on a vote
There was never the expectation that he would come back, much less grow up.
It’s also one of the only times DC actually revived a character WELL.
Because Donna Troy came back that the same time right? And we never talk about her.
Jason’s death isn’t the interesting part
It’s the fact that he came back
His death was such a fundamental part of his character that his life is startling
(Until he was rewritten his death was also the most interesting he did lol)
Anyway I still think he’s a loser (affectionate)
ok guys i have a DC/batfam opinion that i might be jumped for ☹️☹️
DC and DC fans milk jason’s death SO bad. like don’t get me wrong, he’s a very interesting character and i like him and appreciate his story arc, but damian, cass, tim, stephanie, bruce, alfred, richard and (i think?) duke have literally all died. damian and cass especially, i think like 3 times each? and alfred is literally actively dead like why are we not shedding light on this. i get that jason dying was literally his whole character but oh my gosh it’s actually NOT that serious. “pit madness, pit madness! joker warehouse blah, blah, blah!!” OH MY GOSHH WE GET IT. HE LITERALLY DIED IN THE 80S, CAN WE JUST NOT?? 😭🙏
and we don’t even acknowledge literally everyone else’s death(s) even a little. every single robin has died, SEVERAL TIMES. i hate to be the one to tell you, but jason todd is not special even a little bit. 🙏
some of y'all fundamentally misunderstand my favorite characters but im being sooooo normal and mature about it. i haven't even killed anyone yet
saw someone said dick should apologize to jason in the comics for having putting him in arkham
i am sorry i think the f*ck not 😭 like i love jason as much as the next guy dmw but come on guys
“Jason was in Arkham”
“Dick wanted to put Tim in Arkham”
I sincerely apologize to my whump friends but I fear yall don’t know Jason Todd’s game
First let’s not talk about the fact the only person Dick put in Arkham who was miserable was himself. We aren’t gonna talk about it. Or the Arkham reform thing he was doing a the time or the other 600 things that were going on
Hell I won’t even talk about what Jason did in blackgate (WHWRE HE WAS INITIALLY) b4 he killed a hundred people to end up in Arkham we don’t need to talk about it
I won’t talk about the menace that is the hottest version of red head Jason Todd okay we have, as a society moved past that.
But genuinely for a second can you imagine that conversation
Dick guilt ridden: Jason, I- I owe and apology
Jason cleaning his crowbar: ….
Dick: I never should’ve put you in Arkham I’m so sorry being near the joker-
Jason: was literally part of the whole plan? Why the hell do you think I TRIED to get into it
Dick: exactly! I shouldn’t have indulged your worst impulses, fuck I should’ve brought you home or kept you with a league member
Jason: I would’ve killed Tim and kidnapped Damian to use as a barter tool with Ra’s Al Ghul. You know this. I need you to tell me that you know this
Dick: fuck Jay you were nineteen! That’s basically a fucking child
Jason: I’m so sorry weren’t you ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED AT 19? Didn’t you run the league for a couple months at 18? Do you think you could do more than I could at 19 dickface.
Dick: No Jason you don’t understand-
Jason: oh perfect Grayson just because I chose to become a crime lord and YOU decided to do the cringe fail hero gig. Which was really. Cringe and fail since it’s so obvious you either wanted to be dead or a supervillain
Dick: wha-that’s not true!
Jason: sure sure go say hi to Donna Troy’s grave for me
Dick:…..
Jason: ANYWAY just because I spent my teenage years outside of spandex building a criminal empire DOESNT MAKE IT LESS IMPRESSIVE THAN YOUR STUPID TITANS GROUP R I C H A R D
Dick quietly: I’mstillsorry
Jason: well im not sorry for the fact i strung you and damain up nude to reveal your identities, im also not sorry for stealing your suit and killing people in it, while we’re on that topic im also not sorry for STEALING BRUCES SUIT, im not sorry for beating tim up that shit was funny as fuck and I’m also not sorry for laughing when bludhaven blew up.
Dick: ….
Jason: so shut your fucking ass up talking about ‘oh I’m so sorry Jason’ like we didn’t spend the past decade trying to ruin each others lives
Dick: I NEVER TRIED TO RUIN YOUR LIFE
Jason: MY LIFES DREAM WAS MURDER ERGO YOU NOT LETTING ME DO THAT RUINED IT.
Jason: we WERE assholes to each other past tense and I will 100% be taking advantage of your raging guilt complex to pretend those things are equivalent to each other and now that we are all happy family bygones will be bygones whatever I can fully abuse you to get out of league level shit.
Jason: anyway what are you gonna do next? apologize to Tim for Red Robin
Dick guiltily: he’s the next stop
Jason: omg your actually doing an apology tour
Dick: I FEEL BAD OKAY
Jason: dude you know what I’ll indulge you, go try and apologize to Tim but when he LAUGHS you out of the room for being a fucking dumbass I’ll be there with popcorn
Dick grumbling: Steph accepted my apology to HER
Jason: yeah because everyone in this family was a dick to Steph and she deserved better.
Dick: yeah she was a phenomenal batgirl i wish we worked together more now that she’s spoiler
Jason: did she really hit Tim in the face with a brick
Dick: yep
Fanon Tim Drake: everyone hates me, my entire family has abandoned me and they will all rue the day that they abandoned me. The only one who truly understands me is the red hood because he too was abandoned I haven’t slept in 3 months 2 weeks 11 days and 21 hours
Canon Tim Drake: wow this dude is hardcore goth
Also canon Tim: *fell asleep on a rollercoster*
Also canon Tim: *actually reaches out for help when he needs it*
Also canon Tim: *doesnt resent Dick Grayson for taking away Robin*
Also canon Tim:*mocks Jason Todd violently bc wtf was that Robin costume*
Listen any normal human should and would act like fanon Tim but I fear this is the bat family they try to murder each other and then go get burgers together.
It’s their deal
Canon Tim is a funny lil guy
I love canon Tim sm
Let him be happy
If yall RUIN CANON TIM FOR ME like Tom Taylor did canon Grayson I will never forgive you
Well it’s less direct comic panel and more a lot of implicit stuff but I have a few saved and a few that I remember things vaguely happening
But Jason Todd canonically resents Nightwing for being the perfect son
And for following Bruce’s teachings which he deems frankly ineffective and useless.
As well as feeling that he will never be able to live up to Nightwings legacy
(Feat Jason’s hallucinations)
But Dick Grayson is another story
Because Nightwing is Batman’s pride and Joy. Proof the the concept of the child hero and one of the first second gen hero’s who got justice league level respect without taking over a mentors titles
Meanwhile
Dick Grayson is his brother
And sometimes these two come into conflict like in under the redhood
You can see in the image here that when bludhaven got destroyed
Initially Jason wasn’t happy, his face was shadowed and he was genuinely upset and then Bruce screamed Dicks name and Jason immediately remembers himself and returns to taunting Bruce
Jason’s relationship is bad with nightwing bc he sees nightwing as another hand in Batman’s crusade
Dick has been Jason’s hero since long before he put on the uniform
And here is where I struggled to find more images
But Jason Todd and Dick Grayson have a completely separate relationship
Despite dick and nightwing being the same guy it’s very obvious when Jason is talking to Dick his Big Brother and Nightwing Batman’s lil perfect solider
They can insult each other and joke around and be supportive with one another
And Dick Grayson will always have Jason Todd’s back if not the red hood
There was a panel in I think the Nightwing 2021 annual where Jason was accused of murder and Dick goes to talk to him and Jason immediately goes “I didn’t do it” and Dick replies I believe you “just like that?” “Just like that”
And of course there was the iconic Nightwing and Batman fight during Gotham war with my boy did so well in he should’ve won
Anyway Dick and Jason are friends and brothers
Nightwing and red hood despise each other
Thank u for coming to my ted talk
I love how severely Jason refuses to differentiate between Bruce and Batman while also refusing to acknowledge that Nightwing and Dick Grayson are the same dude
Au where time travel shenanigans occur and a younger nightwing is shot from the past smack dab in the middle of the battle.
And (after the fight) takes everything… surprisingly well
I mean it’s nightwing
His whole thing is adaptablity
He’s sees Jason first and he’s a little teary but more so insanely elated that his little brother is okay and that he’s so happy they’re both still around to be spending time together. And Jason gets super choked up bc it’s sweet and happy but like he’s a tough guy they’re both crying super masculine tough guy tears.
He’s friendly if a little distant around the rest of the bats and birds but it’s all okay ya know. If he shoots Steph a weird look once in a while after she mentions that her and Cass have both been batgirl… well worse things have happened.
And then more shenanigans occur
And Dick has to interact with the wider league/ hero community
And bro sees
Donna Troy
Alive and well.
And he just loses it
Full on breaks down and clutches at her like she’s about to disappear. All that perfect grace and poise handling his and Bruce’s repaired relationship, his new role, the 50 new robins and bats, bludhavens destruction and rebuilding, the collapse of many of his very valuable relationships (romantic and platonic)
Gone
Because Donna is here and she’s okay and she didnt die under his leadership lookshesrightthere and it’s 1000% too much for him. His knees have turned into jello everyone else doesn’t matter, her arms are the only thing keeping him from collapsing too the ground.
And he’s just apologizing to her violently bc this is DONNA and bc of flaws in his plan, in his execution he’s had to live without her and he’s just… so happy that’s not forever. He doesn’t have to live without Donna forever, just a little while longer and he gets his sister back.
And ofc bc it’s Donna and Dick she’s 100% not having the apologies and telling him that her death is 100% not his fault and she’s so sorry anything about her has hurt him like this.
Anyway it’s very soft and sweet and teary and they collapse in a puddle of omgmysiblingiloveyou goop. Dick is like fully passed out like an infant after a really good crying session. And Donna is clutching at Dick because he’s here and alive and misses her and doesn’t have the weird glint future Dick has where it looks like he’s looking at her corpse every time they meet eyes.
They could be alone or it could be in front of the batbabies or Batman and Superman or the fab 5 or Kori&roy outlaws or just Roy outsiders, or just Bruce or just Jason
Dealers choice
I just need everyone to know how important Donna Troy is to 1 dick Grayson
When hes recovered from experiencing emotions ™️ he just keeps holding her face between his hands and double checking everything’s okay
Does she have what she wanted in life
Is she happy?
Are her relationships good
He won’t touch Bruce’s money but if she needs an apartment let him know. It’s worth it for this
Is anyone on the league giving her shit (he graduated from the bat university of contingency planning he can help if super strength isn’t enough to take em down)
So on
It’s very cute
It’s very sad
I want you to visibly tell that even however long it’s been since this event (ur choice) Dick Grayson never could have wholly survived Donna Troy’s death, and the longer she was gone the more pieces of himself he lost.
Bruce being startled by laughs and cackles of mischief he though had long been buried
Dick being more of a sibling and less of a parent
The bat neurosis being just so so much lighter
He wasn’t as good or kind of a person when gone but it wasn’t that obvious to anyone. Now that this young Dick Grayson has barely had to move through life without her, has seen that she will come back. His whole image is softer. Everything from the way his eyes assess the world to the tense lines in his back is just softer. More forgiving almost
Anyway
Dick and Donna hours with everyone and their mother understanding just how much these two love each other
Thank you bye bye now
More opinions!
I love love love love love Jay and Tim brotherisms
(bad siblings dick Grayson/ Damian Wayne and everyone hates them and abandons them and they must protect each other EXCLUDED)
They are so bully each other brother shaped to me
Just imagine someone (Steph) being like I’m not fucking working with the red hood??? He hurt Tim????
And Jays like fuckkkk am I gonna have to apologize? Damn
And Tim is like “OKAY LISTEN IT WAS A FIGHT I LOST… NOT THAT BADLY BY THE WAY” (his poor ego)
Steph: HE WROTE A MESSAGE IN BLOOD ON UR WALLS AND TIRED BEAT YOU TO DEATH
Jay: okay first of all, if I tried to beat him to death he would have died
Tim: a) fuck you very much no I wouldn’t have B) it was fine I was fine it was a couple bruises not that bad C) I was too distracted by the party city costume
Steph: what party city? What are you talking abou-
Jay: SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH DRAKE
Tim: I HAVE THE PHOTOS SAVED OFF THOSE CAMERA TODD FUCKING TRY ME
Steph to Dick: should we intervene
Dick pinching the bridge of his nose: no I just think this is how Tim bonds with people
Damian wrinkling his nose: writing a message in the victims blood is so trite Todd
Jason who has been tackled by Tim and is now fighting him on the floor: SHUT UP DAMIAN OR YOURE NEXT
Damian: oh the horror
They’re the siblings when mom/dad yells at one for bullying the other. You both gotta start being like “dad no don’t yell at him we were just goofing around”
“Yeah dad it’s just roughhousing dwdwdwdw we good”
And then attempt murder on one another as soon as the responsible people are gone.
Now they can GO to each other for help and it ends with an awkward “you know I love you right? “yeah..yeah I do don’t worry” and like a weird shoulder hug that they never mention ever again
But they’d both prefer to go to
A) the biggest brother bc he’s too old to violently bully the way they do B) it’s less embarrassing C) he’s less likely to bring it up to mock you D) that’s kinda what he’s there for
B) the bestie gc: they have friends outside if it’s not a Gotham issue, Kon is hearing about it first (if he’s alive), Bizzaro and Artemis are now a therapy gc for Jay post Gotham visit
C) honestly and truly they’d rather die (again) than ask anyone for help so truly all of these are last resorts.
At first, Hua Cheng mostly gives off the impression of a normal over-protective broody love interest in a romance novel, overly paranoid over anything that might potentially hurt Xie Lian, but then you get to the White Clothed Calamity arc and realize, oh god, oh fuck, that’s actually a completely reasonable response to having to watch someone go through that, he’s actually showing remarkable restraint by allowing Xie Lian to go off and do his own thing as much as he does
the reason I hate the "Tim doesn't trust Dick after Damian/spyral/ric" is because they are besties your honour.
Like there's a post going around that I cannot for the life of me find that says Dick is Tims trusted adult and they are so right fr ong.
Because despite what Fanon believes Dick is a pretty chill guy and people take one look at him and go "let me unload my emotional baggage on you"
There's like a very famous panel (that im too lazy to find or remember the name of the run its in okay don't yell at me) where Tim basically goes "soooo my girlfriends pregnant" and Dick nearly falls off the roof.
Tim is calling Dick for the dumbest shit imaginable to the world ending and so are the rest of the batkids.
so I have taken the Canon that Dick knows if not all but most and generalised it to hell.
-------------------------
Jason has been on a team with like 80% of OG titan members
they're having gossip session
Jason in a war zone dodging bullets with his bat travel mug in his hand: And THEN! Kori and Roy shared this look and you know the look they give you when they're judging you for bat reasons and you're like tell me why you're mad I was raised by a crazy person my normal levels are skewed.
Dick in NYC with a blueberry bagel In one hand, his Turkish coffee in another, just finished meeting up with Donna who gave him THAT exact look: No REALLLLL why are they like that, just tell me which one of the creepy traits I internalised as a child is bothering you.
Jason: omg you get it anyway so I grab the bomb and start playing soccer with it because its round and im bored and starfire takes it away like idk what im doing? bro ive been bombed I know how to work with a bomb..
Dick: hmmm and then what happened
Jason: and then.....
--------------------------
Tim: Dickkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
Dick: yea Tim
Tim: Kon is being a dick
Dick: oh?
Tim: yeah and its really starting to bother me man
Dick who knows Kon is dead and Tim is either hallucinating or drugged to be more susceptible to manipulation and is already on his way: hmm tell me more babybird whys he upsetting my lil brother
Tim about to tell Dick what is a fever dream bc he contracted pneumonia and is loopy off his ass on painkillers:
---------------------------
steph does this more with babs in the hero scene but its just... so easy and totally gets into the habit of it after Dick is her Batman for a bit and now she uses him as her civilian life therapist
Steph on her way back from campus: and then this bitch looks me up and down and pours her coffee cup down my shirt!
Dick on his way back to blud after decking bruce in the face: hold on hold on hold on she did what??
Steph nodding vigorously even though he can't see her: pulls my whole ass sweater away from my body and pours her peats coffee down my goddamn shirt Dick.
Dick: omg she didnt
Steph still nodding: she DID and then I found out from Jonny who found out from Vivian that someone told her I made out with her boyfriend at Leos house party
Dick who has no idea who any of these people are: wait but you were at Leos for like an hour max last week. we has smoothies after.
StepH: exactly so I had proof that I wasn't there and confronted her and went like. I don't want your crusty ass alt white boy whose favourite 'indie' band is the neighbourhood. I dated Tim fucking Drake the OG crusty ass white boy and I don't do repeats
Dick choking on his coffee:
Steph: anyway we are besties now and planning on getting her boyfriend back because apparently he cheated on her with this drop dead gorgeous girl and im high key a lil complimented she thought we were the same person.
Dick who initially called for casework and is actually so happy one of the people he calls siblings is actually like living a life outside of vigilantism: tell me more
Steph: you sound a little teary
dick: don't worry about it
-------------------------
Damian: Richard
Dick: Damian
Damian: so I might be skipping patrol with father
Dick:? what you love patrol??
Damian: and school
Dick: Dames? what's going on:? is everything okay? you can talk to me
Damian: I am volunteering at a hospital
Dick: kid
Damian: Listen before you sAY anything I know what we do is important but I think I can help in another way and -
Dick had brown parents and was training for the olympics at 8, totally knows what its like to have insane expectations and rebel with a day job: kid kid calm down okay? you wanna be a doctor? is that it?
Damian: well? I dont really know but I just? there has to be another way to help people. besides what we do I mean-
Dick: Alfred left me Thomas waynes journals I initially thought they were to bash your fathers head in when he was being stupid but it seems the old man was looking out for us. Wanna take a stab at your other grandpas legacy when you come over next weekend. I'll tell Bruce we patrolled so you get a few more days off.
Damian: you're the best
rogue fans and nightwing fans need to unionize bc i truly cannot stand the inordinate obsession with their asses anymore. we need to start killing people
if i had a nickel for everytime a favorite comic character of mine is shown being killed in almost every universe but the main one because the writer really hated them, i'd have two. which is weird that it happened twice.
I write bad Dick Grayson and TMA fanfiction on ao3 follow me @imtired_likerllytiredI literally keep creating and deleting accounts on this hellsite lurker since age 8
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