Oh there are so many versions of Jason out there, my dear anon 🙂
But I will introduce you to the most important versions of him in this post.
Pre-Crisis Jason (underappreciated gem):
“I’m Robin, and being Robin gives magic”
The First Jason, the one with acrobats parents who were killed by Killer Croc and then got adopted by Bruce Wayne. He was playful kid, kinda bratty, insecure and you can’t help but feel as proud as Bruce when you see him mature through the run. He had a better life than the other Jasons and better relationships. He also got the best Batdad ever (seriously, pre-crisis Bruce was the best batdad you will ever see).
If you guys ever wondered what Jason would be like without all these tragedies, then just read Pre-Crisis Jason’s stories and you will find out.
Dark knight Returns Miller’Jason:
“But The Joker is out there….there’s no telling what he’ll do”
The first one who started the “Jason has to die in every universe” circle and his death pushed Bruce to retirement. We unfortunately don’t know much about his parents or how did he meet Batman. He was extremely brutal (There would be no criminals left in Gotham if this Jason got the chance to grow up) and protective of Batman. He was also trained to be the next Batman, but unfortunately died before he could take the mantle.
Post-Crisis Jason (the one tumblr is in love with):
”Try and catch me, you big boob”
The one who died by a vote and then returned as Red Hood. He was a street kid with a criminal father and addicted mother. He met Batman when he tried to steal the batmobile’s tires and become Robin later. He was killed by The Joker after his real mother betrayed him (and stayed died for almost 20 years) and then return later after digging himself out of his grave.
Flashpoint Jason:
“Father Todd, but you can call me Jason”
Ever wondered what would have become of Jason if he never meet Batman? Well, we got the answer in Flashpoint, a world where Bruce died instead of his parents. Jason ended up falling in with the Church of Blood run by Brother Blood. He mysteriously still died and resurrected and his hair bore a white streak suggesting that he was brought back by a Lazarus Pit. After his resurrection, Jason was taken in by the church where he turned his life around and became a priest.
What interesting (and sad) about this take is it proves that Jason would have been better off if he never meet Bruce. That Bruce actually doomed him.
New 52 Jason (another
underappreciated gem):
“You can’t tell, but I’m shedding a single tear underneath this hood”
The one with harsher home life and better relationship with the Batfamily. Like PC Jason, his father was criminal and his mother was addicted. But unlike the other versions, Jason’s father was abusive toward him and his mother. He trained under Batman, LoA and All Caste (he’s seriously strong). Teamed up with Kori and Roy for awhile (and become one of the top ten most wanted criminal in the world), Started a company with Roy and now he’s teaming up with Artemis and Bizarro.
He is the current version that being used in the main DC universe and honestly? I’m pretty fond of him 🙂
Arkhamverse Jason:
“It’s personal, very personal”
The one who never died, but you will wish that he did (seriously, his life freaking sucks in this universe). Jason was kidnapped by the Joker and tortured both physically and mentally for a year. The Joker brainwashed Jason to hate Bruce and even get close enough to telling him Batman’s identity before Joker shot Jason and send the video to Batman making him think that Jason was dead. After The Joker died, Jason become Arkham Knight and worked with Scarecrow to takeover Gotham and break & kill Batman. He formed a militia and had Deathstroke as his right hand.
At the end of the game and after Bruce defeated Jason and stopped his army, Bruce was kidnapped by Scarecrow which resulted in a broken Jason saving him.
Honorable mention: Bombshells’ Jason
“If all the good people left Spain, then who would be left to fight for her?”
In this version, Jason was taken under Kate and Renee care. He was born during a war and refused to leave when everyone did to protect his country. He was described as cunning and clever who helped out Kate and Renee a lot. He died later in Kate’s arms which affected her and Renee deeply.
Yay, another long post and I’m tagging this because I was planning to do a post about different versions of Jason anyway.
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Superheroes that are like “if we kill them we’re just as bad as they are uwu” ? Micro dick energy
The only exception is Aang, whose whole “I’m not gonna kill him if i can find another way” thing is less false moral equivalency and more “I’m twelve and I have been through way too much bullshit this year to add ‘commit my first murder’ to the list.”
I do respect superheroes who don’t kill, and I really think “we’re as bad as they are if we do it” is a terrible oversimplification of why someone would come to that moral conclusion.
Three reasons why a hero might not kill:
1. They are not granted by their society a “licence to kill.” Many (not all) people accept that a soldier or a judge might need to kill a wrongdoer in the course of their duties. Those people (should) act under strict rules and processes to determine when a death is just. A society, to be peaceful, usually functions under a guarantee that people won’t on their own judgement decide to off people. Vigilantes don’t usually have state-sanctioned authority, but they do rely on public goodwill to be counted as heroes and not menaces or even villains. A hero, especially an independent, self-proclaimed one, may lack the authority or judgement to serve as executioner. Most just societies require a trial before delivering a sentence.
2. They don’t need to. Paradoxically, or maybe not so much so, the stronger a hero is, the less they need to kill. One of the most common defenses for a murder is “self defense,” the idea that the person making the plea was in so much danger from the deceased that killing them was justifiable. But once you’re a swordsman swift enough to cut bullets or a muscleman strong enough to lift trucks, who’s that big a threat? As your control over your power and your ability to master an opponent both increase (and barring completely wild or uncontrolled abilities, these two are very linked) the easier it becomes to hold back, to subdue with the minimal amount of damage and to render even the worst villains neutralized without going nuclear.
3. The power to kill is bad for their mental health.Not everyone can perform even a “just” killing with a clean conscience. A hero might fear the trauma of killing, and seek to avoid the damage. Or a hero might introspect, and realize that, should they kill today, tomorrow the choice will be easier. Killing an opponent, rather than subduing them, is often the easy way out, and a hero who comes to rely on that solution might find themselves killing more and more, Even if killing isn’t addictive, a hero might still fear that mindset.
Now, a common version of this problem is Batman, who wouldn’t kill the Joker even if the Joker is at maximum edge, dealing out huge terrorist acts and body counts. The best reason for Batman not to kill him isn’t “I am as bad as the Joker if I kill,” but more, “I am a man who uses superheroism as a trauma coping mechanism, and if I start committing extrajudicial killings my mental state and my loose alliance with the police will both deteriorate.”
Ignisfilimundi 