Could the Jason Todd saga be told in the BATMAN '66 universe? How?

[Buried Alien]

The BATMAN '66 comics have incorporated many of the Batman-mythos developments from the comics of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 21st Century into the continuity of the old Adam West BATMAN TV series. We've seen the BATMAN '66 version of Dick Grayson moving on from Robin to Nightwing. We've seen a characteristically lighter-hearted take on Bane and KNIGHTFALL.

It makes me wonder: would it be possible to do a BATMAN '66 version of the Jason Todd saga, covering how Dick Grayson abandoned the Robin identity, how Batman met, recruited, and trained Jason to replace Dick as Robin, and inevitably...Jason's death and return years later as the Red Hood? How would you adapt those ideas for a BATMAN '66-friendly retelling?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

The BATMAN '66 comics have incorporated many of the Batman-mythos developments from the comics of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 21st Century into the continuity of the old Adam West BATMAN TV series. We've seen BATMAN '66 versions of Dick Grayson moving on from Robin to Nightwing. We've seen a characteristically lighter-hearted take on Bane and KNIGHTFALL.

It makes me wonder: would it be possible to do a BATMAN '66 version of the Jason Todd saga, covering how Dick Grayson abandoned the Robin identity, how Batman met, recruited, and trained Jason to replace Dick as Robin, and inevitably...Jason's death and return years later as the Red Hood? How would you adapt those ideas for a BATMAN '66-friendly retelling?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

The first part of the saga is easier to do. Its just Bruce dealing with a more unruly/cynical kid. I don't see them killing him off/ressurecting him tho. Maybe make his turn to Red Hood as an act of rebellion?

[Aahz]

They made a Lego Version of Under the Red Hood (Lego DC Batman: Family Matters) so a Batman '66 Version should be possible.

[Jackalope89]

Its doable. The death and resurrection part is too dark for the setting though. Could be a thing unrelated to Joker. Him going his own way, adopting a red hoodie or something, and going from that.

But nabbing the wheels origin is an absolute must.

[Alan2099]

Instead of being brutally murdered by Joker, we have a gang of Joker's henchmen (let's say four or five of them) surrounded Robin and then fade to black.

The story picks up weeks later and Robin is still missing. Maybe Joker mails Batman Robin's mask or something to hint that he's "taken the Boy Blunder out of the picture for good!"

Then we can have the Red Hood appear. Let the viewers at home know it's Robin but keep it secret from Batman and Joker for now. We can say he was recovering in the hospital for a while. We could even give him a little scar to show he's meaner now.

[Lee Stone]

I've liked an idea I had where Dick and Barbara both moved to California for college to set up a West Coast Titans (which would be sort of inspired by the teen beach movies of the '60s).
This would leave room for a new Robin, with Jason being the likely candidate.

But I agree... the death and return thing would be too dark for the universe.

Someone else could be referenced as having died prior, and have them return from the dead... For example, Solomon Grundy could've been possible, especially if done for a Halloween episode.
But a character appearing first on the show, then being killed and resurrected would be too much.

I think the first story from Batman '66 was probably as dark as it got. Bruce mentioned his parents killed by 'dastardly' villains, while it didn't screw him up in the head like it did in the comics post-1986.
And Molly, one of Riddler's henchmen, falls into the reactor in the Batcave. Batman cracks a pun when she died, and later reflected on her thoughtfully.

[charliehustle415]

He gets bonked on the head by Joker and gets amnesia and becomes Joker's number 2 henchman The Dastardly Crimson Hood.

[bat39]

He gets bonked on the head by Joker and gets amnesia and becomes Joker's number 2 henchman The Dastardly Crimson Hood.

That would work!

[Aahz]

The first part of the saga is easier to do. Its just Bruce dealing with a more unruly/cynical kid.

I think Jason's origin story as Robin is anyway the one that is the easiest to adapt into any type of Batman elseworld story.

And Jason as Robin can be anything from goofy to really dark without that it would really dark without that it would be out of character.

[Jim Kelly]

I plead ignorance, as I haven't read that much of Batman '66 or most of the comics about Jason Todd's return to life. From what I know second hand, Batman '66 is kind of like the "New Look" Batman in the 1960s. And the basic plot description of how Jason came back to life sounds like crib notes borrowed from the story of the Outsider.

In brief, Alfred died in DETECTIVE COMICS 328. Meanwhile, a mysterious mastermind appeared behind the scenes who was only known as the Outsider. When the T.V. show cast its own Alfred, the pressure was on Julie Schwartz to bring back the butler. This was done by hijacking the Outsider story and having him be Alfred--but Alfred as a Tapioca-Pudding Man in a plot borrowed from H.P. Lovecraft. Even after Alfred was cured of his death condition, he was still haunted by his Outsider existence.

However, I realize the 1966 T.V. series was a lot more upbeat than the contemporary comics--so maybe Alfred's death scenario wouldn't fit that mood with a Jason Todd character.

[godisawesome]

Batman comes out to the car to see his tires have been stolen, but uses his Bat-Rubber Detector to track them down to where Jason, a young leather-jacket wearing hoodlum with a good heart who acts like Brando in The Wild One, is selling them to a Car Thief-Themed Original Villain who want to make a better car than the Batman. CTTOV pays off Jason with a motorcycle and then captures Batman and arranges a car themed death trap (as you do), only for Jason to come to the rescue on his motorbike, earning himself the new Robin gig.

Joker gets wind of this, and plans to “steal” Robin, eventually capturing him and using some fancy-shmancy invention prop to brainwash Jason into his own sidekick!

The Joker dresses up in the classic Red Hood outfit as his own disguise, and gives Jason a “Hoodlum” costume to wear, and they have a crime spree of robbing banks, stealing candy from babies, and all the toupees in town, or something like that. Batman himself is easily ousted and defeated several times, while Red Hood and Hoodlum establish their own “Hood Cave” in a warehouse.

Batman, desperate to find Robin, realizes that Hoodlum is subconsciously sending him Morse Code messages of “Help!”, and sneaks into the Hood Cave, but is ambushed by Hoodlum, who he can’t bring himself to fight once he tears off his mask to reveal Robin’s! However, Batman does manage to sabotage the brainwashing device so that when Red Hood/Joker tries to use it on him, it instead frees Jason’s mind… but instead of rushing to save Batman, Hoodlum simply punches out the unmasked Joker and swears he’ll take it from here.

Now recostumed in a greaser version of his own Red Hood costume, Jason spends an episode trying to take over all the themed gangs led by the various super villains, and organize them into a corporation, to “control crime…” albeit in a campy way where you pay his business to not rob you! He’s also repaired the brainwashing machine, and is using it on some of the villains as punishment, which ironically leads to Batman recruiting these forcefully “reformed” members of his rogues Gallery to attack Red Hood.

A fight ensues, and Batman breaks the machine for good, which frees the villains to be themselves, but doesn’t “cure” Jason, who *does* help Batman round up the crooks, but then puts them on another death trap as a distraction while he escapes for his own crafty, but not nefarious, goals.

[Mutant God]

He gets bonked on the head by Joker and gets amnesia and becomes Joker's number 2 henchman The Dastardly Crimson Hood.

I was going to say ends up in hospital and then runs-away to become a vigilante but I like this idea more

[charliehustle415]

That would work!

I was going to say ends up in hospital and then runs-away to become a vigilante but I like this idea more

thanks!

I love Batman '66 and I figure it has to be the silliest, funniest, and zaniest thing you ever see.

[witchboy]

I would have Jason revealed to be the brief, secret first Robin. He could've been presumed dead in an explosion and he's since been held prisoner by the Joker (with henchmen keeping him alive during Joker's prison stints), and he's hypnotized to become a bad guy.
That would allow Jason to return while Dick is still the current Robin so the set up of Bruce and Dick doesn't have to be changed to bring in Jason.

[Restingvoice]

Batman 66 puts Arkham in as a more friendly mental hospital slash jail. So to work in Death of The Family, instead of murder, you can have Todd fall off a helicopter into the ocean while chasing after Joker.

Something like that. Kinda like Newmar Catwoman presumed death by falling to the ocean in one of the episodes


The grief and mourning will be real, but there will be no dead body, blood or gore. Imagine Disney Death.

Then he can return as a brainwashed villain or angry for r for lack of retribution, but it will end on a hopeful note that one day he will come to realize that Bruce still loves him.

Batman 66 doesn't shy from the word kill, they just don't actually kill