Robin,
the greenhorn with Attitude.
Jason Todd Post Crisis
Born c.1972. (adjusted to c.1978 by Zero Hour)
Started career c.1985. (adjusted to c.1991 by Zero Hour)
First comic book published in 1986.
Young Jason Todd was a street kid struggling to survive in Crime Alley when Batman found him. It appeared that the boy was functionally orphaned, with his father in prison, and his mother dead of illness. Bruce Wayne took Jason in, and soon revealed that he was the Batman. Jason began training to replace Dick Grayson (who'd moved on to become Nightwing) as Robin.
Soon Jason learned that his father was not in prison, but was actually dead. Murdered by the gangster Two-Face. Going after Two-Face became Batman and Robin's primary concern. Batman worried that Jason was letting his rage get the better of him, but would be relieved when Robin got Two-Face at his mercy and *didn't* go over the edge.
But capturing Two-Face didn't bring Robin peace. He began to get violent and reckless. A known rapist who'd escaped prosecution through diplomatic immunity died under suspiscious circumstances in Robin's presence. Batman began to worry that he'd made a mistake in making Jason the new Robin.
Then Jason discovered that the woman he'd known as his mother was actually his step-mother. His real mother might still be alive, and Jason began to track her down.
Bruce was too busy to keep track of what Jason was doing, as his most insanely dangerous enemy, the Joker, had escaped from Arkham Asylum, and Batman had to track the madman down.
It turned out that Batman and Robin's seperate hunts brought them together thousands of miles from home, as Jason's birth-mother was involved in the Joker's criminal scheme in Africa. Left alone while Batman raced to save hundreds from a Joker death-trap, Jason disobeyed Batman and tried to save his mother from the Joker. She betrayed him, and Robin took a nasty beating from the Joker. Jason's mother's loyalty was poorly placed however, as the Joker then blew her up her along with the semiconscious Robin. (The Joker always carries at least one bomb for just such an occassion.)
[The writers tried to use the Crisis as a chance to rewrite the insecure, "whining" Jason Todd character into a tougher, meaner version with more edge. Even so, readers didn't warm to him. The decision on whether or not Jason would survive the Joker's bomb was actually made by reader via a dial-in vote. Poor Jason Todd got the thumbs-down.]