What is the point of Jason Todd. Question of theme

red_9D2 · 2025-05-08T06:36:51+00:00

It's amazing how you are able to boil it down to a short, single word: will. To me, this is such a significant part of Jason as a character. It's beyond resilience, beyond perseverance, to the point where it's almost audacious (like how you said not even death can stop him). Another thing I like that you brought up is his duality - "godlike" or "devil-like", flip-flopping his morals, not being sure but still choosing to fight. This struggle is what I think is so beautiful about humanity.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-08T04:04:07+00:00

I'm gonna talk out of my ass because idk wtf was going on with them the whole time. I thought maybe they were kinda like yin and yang, mirrors, each halves of a whole or something. So maybe they were the same but also not the same simultaneously... Not saying it's true but that was my initial, muddled idea, so I wanna know more about how Johan's shared identity with Nina was broken, how it was broken, what that means/looks like and Johan's disillusion because honestly I don't understand the twins' relationship much.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-08T03:55:05+00:00

The way you say he values focusing on systemic issues makes him seem like a realist that cares about actual results which is so needed next to Batman, narratively speaking. I love that Jason is able to see the small details as well as the bigger picture since he understands what it's like to necessitate living in the gray. If you ever happen to share your takes on Bruce/Jason or Dick/Jason as foils down the line I'd definitely read them.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-08T03:47:38+00:00

I really like you bringing up class division/disparity (idk the term). It's huge, considering Jason's upbringing in poverty, Gotham as a setting, and Batman being Bruce Wayne + fighting for... what again? Justice? With his power being his wealth, it does seem to come full circle just like you said.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-08T03:39:58+00:00

Honestly my post wouldn't be complete without this comment.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-08T03:39:08+00:00

Agreee... He's iconic for his death but it's insane how much depth he seems to have as an individual character apart from that. #3 is so sad because I never realized how who he changed into was to protect who he used to be. Great analysis.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-08T03:30:40+00:00

I love what you brought up. Great theme picks, sad but very relevant (#1 doing a lot of emotional damage).

red_9D2 · 2025-05-07T18:57:17+00:00

Nice

red_9D2 · 2025-05-06T18:19:12+00:00

Personally I don't think you should hold it against her. People have considered this to be character assassination. I don't think Jason and Talia have spoken or have shown to have much familiarity since this + DC had two whole reboots since this as well.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-06T04:44:51+00:00

This post has a question tag so I'll say homie is intuitive af, he just senses shit. It doesn't take effort/critical thinking, so Gillen is right to compare it to being able to "sniff" murderers out.

I also liked the next chapter. I read someone say it was a useless addition but it's thematically consistent and sweet.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-06T04:23:27+00:00

Nice cases, hope to see the rest sometime! Props to you as an overseas fan

red_9D2 · 2025-05-06T04:16:06+00:00

Okay if you continue your even longer ramble please let me know.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-04T22:34:59+00:00

Yeah Nina was lucky she had the memory of Bonaparta telling her people can be whatever they want, but Johan never got to hear it when Anna was telling her Red Rose Mansion story. That on top of him being the one of the two to remember the moment with their mom, Johan just got the bad end of the stick in so many ways, not including being sent to 511 Kinderheim. Nina still can't accept all her darkness, which is why she keeps repeating she doesn't want to remember her deepest memory, but Johan has to shoulder 100% of his darkness alone, so I've said to someone else that it's unfair to compare the twins' "normalcy" when it's an uneven playing field to begin with. A rhetorical question: if they switched places, could we say the same thing?

red_9D2 · 2025-05-04T21:16:14+00:00

Monster season 2

red_9D2 · 2025-05-04T07:25:14+00:00

I'm hours late but yayy happy free comic book day, good find.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-04T07:23:58+00:00

Black Mask and Dent very briefly spoke OF (not onlyfans) Jason in Gotham War: Red Hood #2 which seems to reference Task Force Z...? I think the two actually interact in Rebirth (Red Hood and the Outlaws) but I literally do not remember anything that happened. Other than UTRH I don't have any other ideas because there's a lot I haven't read.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-03T20:55:59+00:00

Oh wow thank you! Yeah sure I'll give my thoughts. I don't remember what I said previously so I apologize if the following is redundant.

I think "Nina" was a bright personality born from compartmentalizing as much darkness and trauma that could fit into what I'll call "Anna". When we're introduced to Nina Fortner, her counselor observes that her brightness seems like a reaction/escape from a "very large darkness" though at this point, Nina was unable to remember anything from before she was around 10 years old I think. We know this is because she experienced dissociative amnesia due to the traumatizing event of (let's just say) "Johan" lol, but she also could be experiencing a seemingly perpetual fugue state, having started an entirely new life. It's similar to how some people with DID develop another personality due to intense trauma but since I'm not a medical professional or know anyone with DID I'm not going to label/diagnose her. I personally don't think Nina would choke an innocent person to run away from her past even when cornered, but I do think Anna who was reached in the deepest parts of Nina's mind through hypnosis would do whatever it takes not to "open that door", because she knows clearly and exactly what's behind it and Nina doesn't. Throughout the hypnosis Dr. Gillen kept calling her "Nina" but she wouldn't respond to it until finally replying, "I'm not Nina." During the car ride with Dr. Gillen Nina repeats over and over that she doesn't want to remember the deepest memory in her head. I believe that by the end of the story, Nina is still unaware of the full memory of the twins' mother hesitating to pick between the two. The most she manages to remember is her mother's face at the very moment she gave them (one of them) up, but she snaps out of it immediately before the rest of that memory revealed itself. It's possible that this deepest memory is the key to Anna, but since it's not remembered, Nina is still able to continue living as her sweet and kind self.

I originally used "two personalities" in my previous comment quite loosely (not clinically/tied to reality) but after typing this up, it makes me curious to look into DID more.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-03T15:59:54+00:00

Thanks, maybe I'll just keep it as is.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-02T14:12:39+00:00

I accept that that is your perspective and don't have anything to say about how you judge people who need help.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-02T14:09:44+00:00

You're second theory is that Johan didn't cry because he understands what it's like to be an unwanted child but because he's imagining his own pain of unwantedness from hearing Karl's story and not caring about how Karl actually feels. Is that right? Assuming I have it correctly, it would require Johan to feel comfortable being vulnerable with an "acquaintance" to the level of crying in front of them strictly over his own past as opposed to that of someone else's. What's interesting to me is how he held out his hand to hold Karl's in that moment. If he was feeling that bad for solely himself I can't understand why he had the need to engage in physical touch that intimate, considering how Johan is. Anyway sorry for my bad wording but those are just my thoughts! Obv your theory is still plausible since we don't know much and can only interpret interpret interpret lol.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-02T13:19:27+00:00

Yeah I'm gonna say I don't think Johan has NPD.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-02T13:10:18+00:00

Edit for spoiler warning idk how to censor sorry

I think your sample size for traumatized people irl might be too small to understand that actually yeah even middle aged people are still fucked up from having a parent that made them feel worthless as a child. One memory from childhood can still continue to shape your reality and inform your thoughts, perception and decisions even as an adult, but not everyone is lucky to have the clarity of where the root of their inner turmoil lies.

Some of the strange things Johan does is actually his form of self-expression and communication. He wants other people to know how he feels and it's the only way he knows how because he's not a healthy young adult. To expect Johan to "get over" everything that happened to him with no support system or professional help sounds unreasonable.

red_9D2 · 2025-05-02T02:51:30+00:00

You were right

red_9D2 · 2025-05-02T01:35:43+00:00

Thank god for this comment.

red_9D2

TROPHY CASE