Is Jason Todd the most successful character revival in comics history?

[Buried Alien]

When Jason Todd was introduced as the second Robin in the early 1980s, the character did not exactly catch fire with the majority of fans. Some grudgingly accepted him as the replacement for Dick Grayson, who had moved on to become Nightwing. Others openly hated Jason, and the haters had *just* enough of a margin to vote for Jason's death in 1988.

During the seventeen years that Jason was dead, he remained a controversial and mostly reviled character (more so than when he was alive, oddly). Certainly, in 2003, fans were not clamoring for Jason's revival. When Jason *was* suddenly and unexpectedly revived in the mid-2000s, fans responded with an outcry of distaste.

But here we are, more than a decade later, and lo and behold...something UNTHINKABLE has happened: Jason Todd as the Red Hood is a POPULAR and INTEGRAL part of the Bat-Family. He has more fans today than he did during the first twenty years of his existence as a character in the DC Universe.

Would you consider Jason the most successful revived/rehabilitated character in comics history?

Runner-Up: Vibe (as Cisco Ramon) on THE FLASH TV series.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[The Whovian]

I would have to say either him or Bucky. Jason was voted to be killed off by the fans as Robin. Two decades later he is brought back and is one of the fan favorites in the DCU now.

Same thing with Bucky.

[Exciter]

I too was thinking he'd probably be second to Bucky, as Bucky actually reinvigorated Captain America and has made a huge cinematic impact.

[MykeHavoc]

We're all in agreement now. Jason for DC, Bucky for Marvel.

[Dark_Tzitzimine]

I would have to say either him or Bucky. Jason was voted to be killed off by the fans as Robin. Two decades later he is brought back and is one of the fan favorites in the DCU now.

Same thing with Bucky.

I too was thinking he'd probably be second to Bucky, as Bucky actually reinvigorated Captain America and has made a huge cinematic impact.

Bucky's return hasn't been very impactful on the comics. He has struggled to keep a title despite the multiple changes on direction Marvel has tried and is currently dead after another failed direction leading the Thunderbolts. Bucky does have more presence thanks to the movies but that's more on the sheer strength of the Marvel brand than on actual merits of the character.

Jason on the other hand has headlined a title for more than six years uninterrupted, was a major player on one of the most successful videogames for DC and was the most requested character for Injustice 2.

[Aioros22]

Weird that you don`t mention he had fans all over these years and also the backlash about his death, anyhow.

Yeah, he probably is in the top in that regard.

[Bruce Wayne]

Bucky's return hasn't been very impactful on the comics. He has struggled to keep a title despite the multiple changes on direction Marvel has tried and is currently dead after another failed direction leading the Thunderbolts. Bucky does have more presence thanks to the movies but that's more on the sheer strength of the Marvel brand than on actual merits of the character.

Jason on the other hand has headlined a title for more than six years uninterrupted, was a major player on one of the most successful videogames for DC and was the most requested character for Injustice 2.

Absolutely right. Bucky really hasn't been relevant since Brubaker left the CA book and is a textbook example of how despite a strong start, the launch of a new character can falter even with a strong media presence due to neglect and a lack of a clear direction and plan. On the other hand, Jason despite a weak start has managed to flourish.

[Adset]

hal jordan was about as popular as a wet blanket back when dc swapped him out with kyle rayner, he came back and he helped the GL mania build to the point where dc was publishing 4 GL-related books for the bulk of the new 52.

that revival went alright.

[Aioros22]

Hal became stale and boring but he had already a set seniority within the DCU. I still recall the fandom wars between Hal and Kyle, so I wouldn`t compare him with a wet blaket. That said, he`s definatly one major revival that did wonders for that franchise.

Jason`s case is a tad more situacional: he was divisive and died on a (in)famous stunt but despite his character having placed changes in the mythos, he didn`t stay long enough to be considered by the majority straight iconic. That is what changed.

[lotjx]

I will go with Barry Allen. You have remember Barry wasn't even around after Crisis, so an entire generation didn't know him. Now, he has one of the most successful books on the market. ash is also the anchor for the CW right now more so than Arrow or Supergirl. I would put Bucky over Jason too. That comic run as Winter Soldier inspired an entire movie and now is a critical piece of a billion dollar empire. The Red Hood cartoon movie is excellent, but no one is begging for a Red Hood movie or even Jason to part of this new DCE. People want to see either Batgirl or Nightwing.

[Adset]

re: hal, i don't see why that has anything to do with the success of his revival. 2004-present is the high water mark for a character that at one time dc was willing to turn evil and then kill off.

[Buried Alien]

I will go with Barry Allen. You have remember Barry wasn't even around after Crisis, so an entire generation didn't know him.

Actually, Barry was one of the most omnipresent "dead" characters in comics. From 1986-2009, scarcely a month went by at DC without Barry appearing in either a flashback or time-travel scenario. There aren't too many issues of Wally's twenty-year FLASH run in which Barry wasn't at least mentioned.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Aioros22]

i don't see why that has anything to do with the success of his revival. 2004 - 2004-present is the high water mark for a character that at one time dc was willing to turn evil and then kill off.

I`m not disregarding the success of the revival at all, in fact I said otherwise. I`m saying Hal had it easier because he already had seniority in place.

[Assam]

The Red Hood cartoon movie is excellent, but no one is begging for a Red Hood movie or even Jason to part of this new DCE. People want to see either Batgirl or Nightwing.

False.

Among comic readers, yes, Dick and Babs are in much more demand than Jason. But with casuals? Jason's fanbase is crazy (in size I mean), and much like he was one of the characters most demanded for Injustice 2, from what I can tell, he's also one of the most requested characters for a movie or just an adaptation in the DCEU.

Oh, and of course, there are people like me who don't really want movies with any of these 3.

[Aioros22]

I will go with Barry Allen. You have remember Barry wasn't even around after Crisis, so an entire generation didn't know him. Now, he has one of the most successful books on the market. ash is also the anchor for the CW right now more so than Arrow or Supergirl. I would put Bucky over Jason too. That comic run as Winter Soldier inspired an entire movie and now is a critical piece of a billion dollar empire. The Red Hood cartoon movie is excellent, but no one is begging for a Red Hood movie or even Jason to part of this new DCE. People want to see either Batgirl or Nightwing.

One single trip to YouTube tells me otherwise.

The second part of the sentence is a tad off when the seeds for the character to be used have been already planted in both "Dawn" and "Suicide Squad" so WB is definatly not shy in hinting over the character`s marketability.