Batman #424: Is It Really That Bad?

Perspective-defying cover art!

If Jason Todd's tenure as Robin was controversial, issue #424 of Batman probably did little to ease the fury that was starting to boil in the hearts of fans. The issue itself has become a bit infamous amongst the comic community, specifically the Batman community, and I can see why that would be the case. There's a lot of interesting, dark, and unforgiving subject matter to be found in these few pages and more than one of them I can see not settling well with readers, even amidst the dark-and-decrepit 80's comic culture.

I purchased a copy of this issue within the last few days because my ever-growing curiosity and love for retro comics is still going strong, and because I also wanted to see the entire story for what it was, in context, rather than just looking at scans of the controversial last two pages and then reading a synopsis.

The story itself centers around the playboy son of a diplomat, Felipe Garzonas, who sexually assaults a woman named Gloria Stanson. Twice. Batman and Robin arrest him after his second assault (the other one is not part of the story but is mentioned to the cops by Gloria), but because his father is a diplomat, Felipe possess diplomatic immunity and can't be held in custody. Evidence for the assault was also limited to Gloria's testimony and a black eye, both of which are discredited by Garzonas. The rest of the story focuses on Batman and Robin's plan to bust Garzonas on drug charges--in particular cocaine--which will be enough to have him deported back to his home country.

I'll discuss the infamous final two pages in a minute, but I first want to look at the rest of the comic, as there's a lot in here that is really good.


What I liked about this story (aside from, you know, Jason Todd) was the realistic nature of the crime. Rather than some over-blown government sabotage plan, an alien invasion, or the complicated and outrageous evil scheme hatched by the villain-of-the-week, this crime is something that is close to home. This kind of atrocity happens all the time, and the worst part is that it does often go unreported or the offender is never convicted. In fact, Gloria's answer to the female cop when she is asked why she didn't report the first attack is a common one:

"I was...so ashamed...I wanted it...to all go away...wanted to forget it..."

Like many victims of sexual assault, there's a bit of blame that Gloria places on herself and those feelings of shame and guilt prevent her from going to the police.

I won't go into too much detail here, as my knowledge in this subject is limited, but I'll explain later on why I think this type of crime works for the story.

The artwork here is solid. Bright does great work with faces and movement, though the standing poses tend to be a bit stiff and awkward. I'm glad that he managed to make Bruce and Jason--who share many of the same physical features like hair color, hair texture, and skin tone--look different from each other. From what I saw in the Death in the Family arc, artists had a tendency to make Jason (and I'm sure Dick as well) not much more than a Bruce clone:

...so I'm grateful that here he had a distinct face from Bruce. Comic book artists in general seem to have a hard time drawing convincing child characters, but for the most part Jason looks like he could be fourteen or fifteen and not twenty-five.

I also think it's kind of hilarious that Garzonas is a wealthy socialite with nothing better to do during the day than sleep and spend his nights high. Granted Bruce never did drugs, but it's obvious that Starlin was paralleling the two characters:

"Felipe lives the life of the truly idle rich. He does absolutely nothing useful with his time."

You know, like dressing up as a bat and fighting crime with a teenage boy.

There are some things in the story that make little sense, such as why Batman and Robin would be sitting in and listening to Gloria's testimony to the female cop and the fact that Robin could hear a woman scream from inside her home, but nothing that throws my suspension of disbelief out the window.

Overall, if you're looking for a solid, engaging story, this isn't bad. Maybe a bit on the simplistic side in terms of plot, but it IS a 22-page comic.

And now to discuss the elephant in the room: Jason.

For all of the dislike that Jim Starlin, the writer of the Batman comics at this point in time, leveled at the Robin character (and damn did he say some terrible things), I'm surprised at how little that comes across in his actual depictions of Jason's character. Maybe it's because I have two brothers, one of whom is close to Jason's age here and the other who was Jason's age at some point, that I don't find anything that he does in this story to be uncharacteristic of teenage boys. I mean, aside from dressing up in bright clothes and green underpants and fighting crime.

I believe this story highlights the essence of his character, at least pre-death. After his experiences of growing up on the streets, Jason developed a rigid and intense idea of right and wrong. Based on what's presented in this story, he has a particular hatred of people that victimize the more vulnerable half of society--women. Given his background with his mother, who became his sole caregiver after his father disappeared, and then losing her to drug addiction, this deep-seated level of protection towards females makes sense. He was raised by a single mother who fell victim to the drug trade and before he became Robin, there was nothing he could do about his (or her) situation. Jason fights for the victims because he himself was one for most of his life.

Garzonas not only takes active part in the distribution and consumption of illegal drugs, he assaults a woman for no other reason than because he can. His political connections and the complicated nature of the crime allow him to get off. For Jason, this is like watching the person responsible for every terrible thing that's happened to him walk away and, again, there's nothing he can do. That sense of helplessness leads to frustration and anger. And of course, whenever emotions get involved, things start to get sticky.

Jason is an emotionally driven character--meaning that his actions and motivations are dictated largely by his emotions rather than logic or reasoning--and I think that's where the line starts to form in the sand for people. Many readers want a Robin who always has his head on straight and does whatever Batman tells him to do because that's safe and easy. But to look at the character as strictly that--a second pair of hands for Batman--overlooks the purpose and potential that Robin has. He was created to be a companion for Batman: someone to talk to, someone to share the burden of their lifestyle with. Where Robin shines best is when he is a foil to Batman; when he (or she) can challenge what's been given or ask questions where no one else would ever think to do so or didn't have the ability. Jason's emotional attachment to people and the work that they do, as well as his willingness to question Batman and his methods, makes him the perfect type of character to stick next to the stoic, rigid Caped Crusader.

In my opinion, Jason manifests all of the emotions and thoughts and desires that Bruce experiences but can never let himself give into.  Even in the artwork, Jason's intensity is obvious:

Starlin hints at Jason's emotional side by having Batman state, "You've apparently become too emotionally involved with this case, Jason" before explaining that Garzonas was stoned when they caught him at Gloria's apartment and therefore have another route to take in order to bring him to some level of justice.

The emotional side of Jason makes sense when combined with his high moral compass. Jason sees crimes as existing on levels rather than a flat plane. Those that commit more heinous crimes, such as sexual assault, are deserving of harsher punishment than someone who, say, steals apples from Walmart. This is standard amongst humans; it's why shoplifters aren't sentenced to death and serial killers don't perform community service for six months before being sent back into the world. Batman feels this way as well, but unlike Jason, he doesn't allow himself to get caught up in that desire for just punishment. Jason even says, after Batman tells him they can get Garzonas on drug charges and have him expedited out of the country:

"That's not much of a punishment."

He's right. It's not. These types of crimes are the ones that go under reported and even when they are, the person responsible often gets off with little punishment or none at all because the evidence isn't always solid against them. And that's frustrating, even in the real world.

Yet his emotional reaction--which escalates as things continue to fall apart and get worse--is often cited when people try to pin him as "the angry Robin."

Well, wouldn't you be angry in this situation?

I think Grant Morrison, given that he seems to have extensive knowledge of comic books and references dozens of decade-old ones in his own books, played off of this when he wrote the second story arc for his Batman and Robin run that featured Jason as the resurrected Red Hood (which I have plenty of issues with, but that's another article for another day):

It's also important to note that Jason is still a child. His impatience (which stems from his anger) is nothing out of the ordinary. Human beings in general are not patient--we have to learn to wait for things. It's ten times harder as a teenager when there are already a thousand things going through the mind and body at that age. Not to mention Jason has tons of emotional and psychological baggage that he carries which this particular case feeds into.

To Jason's credit, when they do corner Garzonas in an old apartment building, he asks Garzonas to resist arrest because he wants a reason to beat the crap out of him. When Garzonas goes willingly, Jason still doesn't attack him. Instead, they have him booked, and Jason watches as the man uses the phone to call and threaten to rape Gloria a third time.

Jasons' reaction was pretty much the same as mine when I read it:

Add to that the fact that he's the one who finds Gloria's body after she commits suicide, and it makes complete sense that Jason would want to send Garzonas over that balcony. It's like he's discovered the body of his dead mother all over again, and even when he had the chance to do something about it, he still wasn't able to prevent tragedy.

In regards to the last two pages, I don't think it matters whether or not Jason pushed Garzonas. Either way you look at it, there's still a level of condemnation on Batman's part when he asks what happened. Jason's face screams "it doesn't matter" not because Garzonas' death wasn't serious, but because he knows that Batman is going to come to the conclusion that Jason pushed him, no matter what he says. I'm not saying that if Jason pushed him, it was the right thing to do. It wasn't. But based on the events of the story, it's understandable that he would want to do it.

The situation is the exact same one as Batman finds himself in with the Joker, who stands for everything that Batman is against, like Jason and Garzonas: death, destruction, anarchy, and chaos. Batman has been presented, on multiple occasions, with the chance to kill him. There was even a point in Hush where he comes close, admitting that:

"It is what should have been done a long time ago."

The difference is that Batman doesn't ever act on it, but again, there's also not enough solid evidence to prove Jason pushed Garzonas. Regardless, they both share that desire--a desire that is human. To argue that Batman is a better person or hero than Jason because he would never kill is not only inaccurate, but it takes away some of what makes him compelling as a character.

So does this infamous comic damage the image of Robin or Jason Todd? I don't think so. The strongest element of Jason's character is that he always has motivation behind what he does. That doesn't mean reason or thought, but people are reactionary creatures, and that's what motivation is: reacting to situations. Strong motivation makes for a strong character, and while he was never perfect, Jason had purpose.

Yes, even if that means he pushed a serial rapist off of a balcony.



Images and quotes taken from the following graphic novels and comics:

*Batman #424, 1988 (Written by Jim Starlin)
*Batman: Hush, 2002-2003 (Written by Jeph Loeb)
*Batman and Robin, 2009 (Written by Grant Morrison)
*Batman: A Death in the Family, 1988 (Written by Jim Starlin)