A Death in the Family (comics)
"A Death in the Family" | |
---|---|
Publisher | DC Comics |
Publication date | August – November 1988 |
Title(s) | Batman #426–429 |
Main character(s) | |
Creative team | |
Writer(s) | ISBN 1401232744 |
"A Death in the Family" is a 1988 storyline in the American comic book Batman, published by DC Comics. It was written by Jim Starlin and penciled by Jim Aparo, with cover art by Mike Mignola. Serialized in Batman #426–429 from August to November 1988, "A Death in the Family" is considered one of the most important Batman stories for featuring the death of his sidekick Robin at the hands of his archenemy, the Joker.
"A Death in the Family" begins when Batman relieves Jason of his crime-fighting duties. Jason travels to the Middle East to find his biological mother, but is kidnapped and tortured by the Joker. Batman #427 ends with the Joker blowing Jason up in a warehouse. Starlin and Aparo prepared two versions of the following issue: one that would be published if readers voted to have Jason survive, and another if he was to be killed. A narrow majority voted in favor of the latter, and Batman #428 features Batman discovering Jason's lifeless body in the warehouse ruins. The storyline ends when Batman and Superman stop the Joker from killing the United Nations General Assembly.
The story was controversial and widely publicized; despite Jason's unpopularity, DC faced backlash for the decision to kill one of its most iconic characters. Jason's demise had a lasting effect on Batman stories, with Batman's failure to save him pushing the comic book
Publication history
Background
[The fans] did hate [Jason Todd]. I don't know if it was fan craziness—maybe they saw him as usurping Dick Grayson's position... It may be that something was working in the writers' minds, probably on a subconscious level. They made [Jason] a little bit more disagreeable than his predecessor had been. He did become unlikeable and that was not any doing of mine.
Dennis O'Neil on Jason Todd's unpopularity[1]
Originally, Jason's origin story was virtually identical to Dick's; like Dick, Jason was depicted as the son of circus acrobats, who became Batman's sidekick after his parents were murdered.[5] Dennis O'Neil, who wrote Batman and Detective Comics throughout the 1970s and became the Batman group editor in 1986, said that Conway and Newton "[weren't] worried about creating a new character. I think they thought, 'We've got to have a Robin in the series so let's go with the tried and true. This Robin has worked for so many years, so let's do him again.'"[1] Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985–1986) crossover event, which rebooted the DC Universe,[a] Batman writer Max Allan Collins was asked to reintroduce Jason.[4] Batman #408 (June 1987) began a four-issue story by Collins and artist Chris Warner that reimagined Jason as a street delinquent whom Batman attempts to reform.[6]
The revamped Jason was unpopular among readers, who disliked his rebellious, impulsive nature.[7] A scene in Batman #424 (June 1988) in which Jason seemingly breaks Batman's no-kill rule and lies about it was particularly controversial.[8] After Collins quit over creative differences, writer Jim Starlin and penciler Jim Aparo took over Batman.[4] Starlin did not like Jason and initially avoided featuring him, but began to use him in stories at the request of O'Neil. Starlin "decided to play on that dislike" in his stories.[9] By 1988, the Batman creative team knew Jason presented a problem that needed to be resolved.[1]
Development
O'Neil decided that Jason either needed another personality revamp or to be written out of Batman.
O'Neil decided that Jason was "the logical candidate to be in peril", as he was unpopular and placing him in such a situation would have massive ramifications.
Six months after Starlin proposed killing Jason, O'Neil asked him to start working on a potential story.
Starlin and the artists prepared two versions of Batman #428, depending on the outcome.
The poll received 10,614 votes and 5,343 voted for Jason's death over 5,271 for his survival—a margin of just 72 votes.
Publication
"A Death in the Family" was published when Batman was surging in popularity. Following the success of The Dark Knight Returns and the "Year One" (1987) storyline, monthly sales for Batman were at their highest level since the early 1970s, and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) feature film was in production.[4] DC announced "A Death in the Family" shortly after the release of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke in 1988; according to author Chris Sims, the Batman letter column immediately "broke out into debate" over whether Jason should live or die.[8]
Batman #426, the first issue of "A Death in the Family", was released on August 23, 1988, and Batman #427, the second, was released two weeks later, on September 6.[4] Fans voted to determine Jason's fate between September 15 and 16, and Batman #428, which featured Jason's death, was released on October 18.[4] The storyline concluded with Batman #429, on November 29.[4] The last two issues contained a guest appearance from Superman.[4]
After the first three issues of "A Death in the Family" sold out, DC compiled the storyline into a
For many years, the version of Batman #428 in which Jason lives remained unpublished, though the pages remained housed in DC's archives in Burbank, California.[17] Batman Annual #25, published in March 2006, used one of the alternate pages Aparo had prepared;[16] some panels were released by Les Daniels in his book Batman: The Complete History (1999) and by Polygon journalist Susana Polo in 2020.[17] In March 2020, the DC Daily web show unveiled all of the pages to the public for the first time,[18] and the artwork was published in the 2021 deluxe edition.[16] A physical fauxsimile issue of the alternate pages, including the original advertisements and letters column, was published on December 12, 2023.[19]
Synopsis
While eavesdropping on a child pornography ring and awaiting police backup in Gotham City, Jason Todd (Robin) ignores Batman's orders and attacks the criminals. Batman chastises Jason and asks if he considers crimefighting a game; Jason replies that life is a game. At Wayne Manor, Batman decides Jason is emotionally unstable and relieves him of his duties as Robin; an enraged Jason storms off. Meanwhile, the Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum. Batman discovers that he has obtained a nuclear weapon and plans to sell it to terrorists, and tracks him to war-torn Lebanon.
Walking through his old neighborhood, Jason meets a friend of his late parents, who gives him his father's old documents. Jason discovers that his mother's name on his
Batman and Jason travel to
Traumatized, Batman takes Jason and Sheila's remains to Gotham and holds a burial with
During his speech, the Joker attempts to poison the chamber with Joker venom, but Superman intercepts it. Batman pursues the Joker onto a helicopter sent by his sponsors. During the resulting struggle, one of the Joker's henchmen opens fire with a machine gun and shoots the pilot, crashing the helicopter into the sea. Superman saves Batman, but the Joker disappears. Batman laments that everything between him and the Joker ends unresolved.
Reception
Initial
The first three chapters of "A Death in the Family" sold out quickly,[4] and according to Starlin, the storyline was DC's bestselling comic of 1988.[20] The storyline drew coverage in news outlets including USA Today, Reuters, and the Deseret News.[21][22] Many reports did not mention that Jason was not the original Robin.[21] As an editor at Marvel Comics, O'Neil had received angry mail from fans when characters such as Phoenix and Elektra were killed, so he was prepared for reader backlash to Jason's death. However, "A Death in the Family" created much more controversy, as Robin was one of DC's most iconic characters and the Marvel deaths had occurred during a period of recession in comics.[21]
O'Neil spent the days following Batman #428's publication "doing nothing but talking on the radio. I thought it would get us some ink here and there and maybe a couple of radio interviews. I had no idea—nor did anyone else—it would have the effect it did".
Jason's death divided fans at the time.[8] Many readers celebrated, some hoping it meant that Dick could become Robin again. Others lamented how bloodthirsty comic book readers were.[8][23] O'Neil and the Batman team received hate mail and angry phone calls; according to O'Neil, the calls ranged from "'You bastard', to tearful grandmothers saying, 'My grandchild loved Robin and I don't know what to tell him.'"[1] Frank Miller was critical, calling the story "the most cynical thing [DC] has ever done ... fans can call in to put the axe to a little boy's head. To me the whole killing of Robin thing was probably the ugliest thing I've seen in comics".[24] NPR cultural critic Glen Weldon found the criticism ironic, as it was Miller who came up with the idea of the Joker killing Jason in The Dark Knight Returns.[25]
Retrospective
Critics have agreed with the decision to kill Jason in retrospect.[8][25][26] Sims wrote that killing Jason was "unquestionably the right decision" and made for a far better story.[8] He opined that allowing the Joker to defeat Batman enhanced both characters: the Joker became "a deadly threat ... whose actions have lasting consequences", while Batman had "a motivating loss at a time when new readers were coming in".[8] Hilary Goldstein of IGN and Jamie Hailstone of Den of Geek praised the story's handling of Jason's death for its emotion and portraying the dangers of superheroics.[26][27]
Retrospective reviewers have faulted "A Death in the Family" for its plot.[26][27][28] Hailstone described "A Death in the Family" as "the ultimate 80s epic": "brasher than Top Gun, louder than Hulk Hogan and more implausible than The A-Team".[27] Both Hailstone and Goldstein found the plot hard to believe,[26][27] and Hailstone said that it veers into nonsense when the Joker is appointed as an ambassador.[27] Charles Prefore, writing for Screen Rant, said the story "can't decide if it wants to be fun or dark"; while Jason's torture and death at the hands of the Joker is quite somber, elements like the "globetrotting nature of the story" and the Joker becoming an ambassador for Iran are evocative of the goofy Silver Age of Comic Books. Prefore said the story's grim moments, which caused "A Death in the Family" to gain a reputation as one of the darkest Batman stories, overshadow the rest of its outlandishness.[28]
"A Death in the Family" remains a popular story among readers,
Analysis
Despite Robin's status as one of the most famous sidekicks in comic book history, there has been little literary analysis of "A Death in the Family".[34] According to literary critic Kwasu Tembo, it is generally only discussed "as either a case study within a broader discussion of Batman's ethics, or as a case study of DC's editorial decisions and socio-historical engagement with its readership".[35] The story's message is that Batman cannot save everyone,[8] and it portrays Jason as a tragic figure whose sympathetic journey ends in death.[36] Tembo contended that the death leaves the reader to ponder Jason's nature as "Batman's greatest failure, as an orphan betrayed, and/or as a careless and overzealous lost boy who reaped what he had so impulsively and thoughtlessly sown".[37]
Tembo theorized that Jason's death, as voted for by readers, "can be more thoroughly understood as a complex form of
Depiction of Islam
"A Death in the Family" has been criticized as Islamophobic for its portrayal of Arab terrorists. The terrorists are portrayed as anti-American, anti-Israel fanatics who seek to violently take over the Western world.[44][45] They are referred to as "bandits-in-bedsheets" and depicted as unshaved and always holding weapons, while Jamal, the terrorist leader, is overweight and perpetually sneering.[46] In a 1991 study of Arab terrorist depictions in comic books, Jack Shaheen wrote that "A Death in the Family" conflates Arabs, Muslims and terrorists, and equates them to the Joker, an insane supervillain.[46] Jehanzeb Dar and Shaheen cited the Joker's speech to the General Assembly as a particularly egregious example of Islamophobia in "A Death in the Family".[46] Before he attempts to poison the chamber, the Joker gloats:
I am proud to speak for the great Islamic Republic of Iran. That country's current leaders and I have a lot in common. Insanity and a great love of FISH. But unfortunately we share a mutual problem. We get NO RESPECT. Everyone thinks of Iran as the home of the TERRORIST ZEALOT! They say even worse things about ME, would you believe? We've both suffered unkind ABUSE AND BELITTLEMENT! WELL, WE AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!! You'll no longer be allowed to kick us around. In fact, you aren't going to be able to kick ANYONE around ever again!
— The Joker, Batman #429
Dar described the Joker's speech as blatant Islamophobia disguised as humor.[43] Shaheen and Dar argued "A Death in the Family" promotes the idea of "Them vs. Us", pitting the Arab and Western worlds against each other as diametrically opposed in values.[43][46] The story contains errors in its depiction of the Middle East. Starlin writes Batman as speaking Farsi, the Persian language, in Beirut (where Arabic is actually the commonly spoken language), and the Joker dons a traditional Arab headdress and robes as the Iranian ambassador, although Iran is not an Arab country.[43] Dar concluded that "[Starlin]'s and [DC]'s disregard for cultural, religious, and political accuracy simply points to a crude and racist generalization: Arabs, Iranians, and Muslims are all the 'same' and 'hate' the West".[43]
Legacy
"A Death in the Family" was part of the American comic book industry's trend towards "grim and gritty" comics in the late 1980s,
Although "A Death in the Family" sold well, it harmed Starlin's standing at DC. DC's licensing department was infuriated over the death because of the amount of merchandise—such as lunchboxes and pajamas—that bore Robin's likeness. According to Starlin, "everybody got mad, and they needed somebody to blame—so I got blamed".[20] Work quickly declined for him, and within six months he departed DC and returned to Marvel Comics, where he wrote The Infinity Gauntlet (1991).[11]
Effect on future stories
"A Death in the Family" is regarded as one of the most important Batman comics for its effect on future Batman stories.
Jason was likely to be replaced as Robin regardless of his survival.[58] O'Neil wanted to wait a year for a successor, but DC management demanded a new Robin immediately. O'Neil and Wolfman began developing the character of Tim Drake, who debuted in the 1989 storyline "A Lonely Place of Dying" by Wolfman, Pérez, and Aparo. O'Neil arranged for a nuanced introduction that explained why Batman would need a new sidekick after Jason's death, and Tim was designed to appeal to both Jason's fans and detractors.[59] Tim proved popular and starred in several limited series and a 1993–2009 ongoing series,[59][60] until he was replaced by Damian Wayne in 2009.[61] Damian shared Jason's willingness to go against Batman's wishes and use lethal force;[62] Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving's Batman and Robin #13 (2010) featured a scene in which Damian beat the Joker with a crowbar, paralleling Jason's murder.[63]
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Jason's death was one of the few
In other media
Elements from "A Death in the Family" were incorporated in the 2010 DC Universe Animated Original Movies film Batman: Under the Red Hood, an adaptation of "Under the Hood" directed by Brandon Vietti.[70][71] In the film, Ra's al Ghul (Jason Isaacs) hires the Joker (John DiMaggio) to distract Batman (Bruce Greenwood) and Jason (Jensen Ackles) while he destroys Europe's financial districts. They follow the Joker to Bosnia, where he kills Jason in similar fashion to "A Death in the Family".[72] An interactive film adaptation, Batman: Death in the Family, was released in 2020. The film is a sequel to Under the Red Hood, Vietti again directing and the cast, with the exception of Vincent Martella replacing Ackles, reprising their roles.[71][73] Similar to the voting system from the comic, the film allows viewers to determine if Jason lives or dies, leading to different scenarios that see him become Red Hood, Hush, or Red Robin.[74]
"A Death in the Family" is referenced in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), a shared universe of superhero films based on DC characters. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) features a damaged Robin suit on display in the Batcave,[75] while Suicide Squad (2016) reveals that Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) helped the Joker (Jared Leto) murder him.[76] Zack Snyder's Justice League (the 2021 director's cut of Justice League (2017)) features a scene in which the Joker mocks Batman (Ben Affleck) for Robin's death.[77] Though Warner Bros. and Suicide Squad director David Ayer stated that the dead Robin was Jason,[78][79] Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder later said he had intended it to be Dick, unlike "A Death in the Family".[79] Snyder had planned to explore Robin's death in detail in his Justice League sequels before their cancellation.[80] Before the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, Snyder proposed a comic book prequel to Batman v Superman that depicted Robin's death, but DC turned it down.[81]
In "Emperor Joker", a 2010 episode of
Notes
- ^ The DC Universe is the shared universe that most of DC's comics, including those related to Batman, take place within.
- ^ Marvel would revive Bucky in 2004 as the Winter Soldier.[66]
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Works cited
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- Franklin, Chris (May 2011). "Dead on Demand: Jason Todd, the Second Robin". ISSN 1932-6904.
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- Manning, Matthew K. (2011). The Joker: A Visual History of the Clown Prince of Crime. ISBN 978-0-7893-2247-0.
- Pearson, Roberta E.; Uricchio, William, eds. (1991). The Many Lives of The Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and His Media. ISBN 0415903475.
- Shaheen, Jack G. (1994). Browne, Ray B. (ed.). "Arab images in American comic books". ISSN 0022-3840.
- Taylor, Robert Brian (February 9, 2008). "Keeping It Real in Gotham". In O'Neil, Dennis; Wilson, Leah (eds.). Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City. ISBN 978-1933771304.
- Tembo, Kwasu (July 25, 2021). "72 Votes: Theorizing the Scapegoat Sidekick in Batman: A Death in the Family". In Andrew, Lucy; Saunders, Samuel (eds.). The Detective's Companion in Crime Fiction: A Study in Sidekicks. S2CID 238023732.
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