Working relationship with the Batfamily & Jokers' cunning

Just my thoughts on this recent article on Comicvine. It explores the idea of Jasons' place with the family (if he would still have one, etc.) It also bringing up the idea of the Joker being a mastermind in a situation that kind of fell into his lap.

EDIT: Both the article and my thoughts on it was written prior to RHATO #0 so all the talk on DOTF is based on the pre-relaunch version.

"When Joker set his plan in motion, Jason immediately took the bait when it meant being reunited with his real mom. He was quick to run off despite Batman's warnings. This allowed him to fall into Joker's trap which resulted in getting beat with a crowbar and blown up."

The Joker didn't set a plan in motion to trap Robin. He didn't know Shelia was Jasons' birth mother or that Jason would trust her. (The two never shared a scene together in front of him prior to her betrayal.) She's shocked to learn her son is Robin before she lies to him and hands him over. The whole thing is set in motion because Shelia decides to make an attempt to save herself by giving Joker something he wants (a way to hurt Batman.) She doesn't seem to realize how far it'll go until it's too late but none of this was planned, certainly not by the Joker. It just happened and he was only too happy to go to extremes.

Another nitpick, Jason never techically suffered amnesia. After returning to life his wounds prior to his death reopened (one of which was a serious head wound.) Because it took them so long to take this John Doe to the hospital he went into a coma. When he woke the brain damage made Jason mute and withdrawn from the world. He only seemed to react to basic intincts (eating, sleeping, etc.) and physical contact/fighting made him respond due to muscle memory. He did have memories he just had trouble accessing them. Jason would respond emotionally to certain things (i.e. crying) and showed empathy/connection towards others.

I like to ignore the Nightwing, Battle for the Cowl stuff since it really doesn't fit in the relaunch (and their not written well.) But the writer of this article does have a point. The family (except Tim) was able to forgive and forget about Damians' attempt at murdering Tim Drake. If their able to get over that, not to mention three times he killed as Robin surely it's not a hopeless cause for Jason.

"When he went to Gotham with Roy and Starfire to deal with Suzie Su, he stuck around long enough to answer Alfred's call when the Court of Owls sent the Talons out to assassinate several citizens. He could have easily left town but deep down he felt the responsibility to help out."

Not quite. They were on their way out of town right after dealing with Suzie when Roy asked to stay because he's never been to the bat cave. Their ship can eavesdrop on communation lines based off of voice commands. This linked them into Alfreds' call (from the bat cave) to the bats. Tim realized Jason was listening in and asked him to help. Since Tim was the only one who made an effort to be there for Jason and forgive him Jason decided to stay. While conflicted it's never made clear what his choice would have been if Tim hadn't called.

I don't think Batman and Robin had a good grasp on Jasons' relationship with the family. Despite the way it's presented Tim was the only one he felt comfortable around and the reason he wasn't asked to be in the painting is because he's not close to the others. If the previous stuff is still canon these guys let him rot in prison. If it's not then the last time he spoke with Bruce was when he slit his throat to save the Joker. He has no reason to think they care about him and most of them think of him as a criminal. They've worked together but that doesn't mean anything. Bruce hasn't talked to him once since the relaunch. If there's going to be a change that talk needs to happen and Bruce needs to get over his emotional baggage. Jasons' already said his piece.

If he comes back to the fold it would take away from the idea of a Batman like figure that kills when needed. There needs to be a way to keep that if he did return. But since Morrison invented Damian they seem to have trouble grasping that black sheep nature.

"It feels like we're seeing Jason lean towards letting go of his anger. The fact that he still holds onto the memory of being with Bruce says something."

Except Jason HAS let go of his anger. This was stated in Red Hood and the Outlaws #5 during his fight with the Untitled. He realizes that it doesn't matter anymore. Also, he doesn't still hold onto the memory of being with Bruce. Yes it was his most cherished memory but he still willingly gave it up. Literally. He doesn't have it anymore because he let that go too. Likely because it hurt too much to keep.

 "Yet his current activities tell us he is willing to forgive everything."

Not really. I mean he's not angry at them, more hurt, but he doesn't believe they give a damn about him. During his first meeting with Starfire Jason thinks about his teachers in life. He truly thinks that Bruce pretended to love him like a son. He honestly doesn't believe Bruce (or most of the family for that matter) care about him. Do I think there's a place for him in the family? Yes but I don't think that should be explored for awhile. If it is it has to be in a way that keeps him as the only bat that kills. I have some ideas of how that could work but Jasons' also been shown as a information expert. That's a great opening for stories. If they don't want to use Barbara as Oracle then let Jason be the one providing information.