Featuring the first appearance of Jason Todd and Killer Croc. The Squid arrives in Gotham City, intent on taking over its underworld and trap the Batman.
It was a familiar story. A circus owner was threatened by a mobster offering crooked protection. Refusing to give in to the criminal's demands, the owner unwittingly put a target on the heads of his star performers, a husband and wife trapeze act. A few days later, a young boy discovered that his parents had been brutally murdered. Taken in by the sympathetic millionaire Bruce Wayne (Batman) the boy submitted himself to a rigorous training schedule and soon joined his new mentor's side as Robin, the boy wonder. It was a familiar story indeed, but this time it didn't belong to Dick Grayson. This time it was the copycat story of Jason Todd, the second person to become Robin.
Red haired and cheerful, Todd made his debut in a circus scene in this issue. As the youngest member of the Sloan Circus high wire act known as the Flying Todds, Jason enjoyed his life in front of an audience alongside his parents, Trina and Joseph. On that fateful night when Jason was to lose his parents at the hands of gang boss Killer Croc, Dick Grayson had attended the Todd's circua act, but he and Batman were too caught up in the gang war between their adversaries the Squid and Killer Croc to prevent history from repeating itself and the Batman from gaining a new tragic partner.
Jason Todd initially wore his circus costume while fighting crime with Batman, until Dick Grayson presented him with his Robin costume. Todd would later dye his hair black in order to match the original Robin and even have his origin revamped entirely, but readers never really bonded with Jason and he would not reach the heights of popularity of his predecessor.
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