#Faye Gunn

[thecruellestmonth]

Jason Todd + references

Batman #408 || Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Detective Comics #574 || Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Batman: A Death in the Family || A Death in the Family by James Agee

Batman Annual #25 "Icarus and Daedalus: The Return of Jason Todd" || Icarus as depicted in The Lament for Icarus by H. J. Draper

Batman Annual #25 || Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Red Hood: The Lost Days #6 + Nightwing (2016) #42 || Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #7 || Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer: Superwoman/Batwoman + Detective Comics #1042 || James Dean, star of Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden

plugging @thekillingvote

[orange-s-mario]

Wayne Family Tree Version 4(?) I forgot about like 2 characters and ALSO apparently silencer is a clone???? anyways this should be it... No more batfamily secret relatives please still not including future descendants, sorry Helena Wayne, and others

[leoruby-draws]

Practicing hair textures, and I figured the best way to see that was with white hair. So I decided to make a game to see how many DC characters have white hair, and apparently there's a lot of them. I also wanted to practice faces as well, since I'm a little worried that I'm starting to suffer from same face syndrome. I can be pretty lazy tbh.

Here's a list of the characters names, first page:

(Top row)- Dolphin, Slade Wilson (Deathstroke), Lyta Hall (Fury), Eddie Bloomberg (Red Devil), Essence.

(Bottom row)- Tora Olafsdotter (Ice), Abby and Tefe Holland, Rose Wilson (Ravager), White Rabbit, Nathaniel Adam (Captain Atom), Nura Nal (Dream Girl)

Second page, top row- Dawn Granger (Dove), Daniel Hall (Dream), Toni Monetti (Argent), Flatline, Silver St. Cloud, Silver Banshee, Faye Gunn II, Olive Silverlock

Made a few mistakes here and there, like the black stripes in Abby's hair. But I'm fine with this drawing, except for poor Nathaniel Adam. I was trying to copy the artstyle from his 1987 series but well, I'm not happy with the result. Sorry Captain Atom!

Anyways, hope you like it!

[desperatecheesecubes]

Imagine meeting Batman and he cheerfully drops you off to get beaten up

[dcbinges]

Batman #409 (1987) by Max Allan Collins & Ross Andru

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Batman - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jason Todd & Willis Todd, Jason Todd & Original Character(s), Willis Todd & Faye "Ma" Gunn Characters: Jason Todd, Willis Todd, Faye "Ma" Gunn Additional Tags: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Foster Care, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Father-Son Relationship, Young Jason Todd, Bad Parent Willis Todd, Good Parent Willis Todd, mentioned Sheila Haywood, Family Feels, Family Issues, Single Parents, Strained Relationships Summary:

Willis Todd is arrested before he can cheat Two-Face and be murdered in this AU. He regains custody of his twelve-year-old son, Jason, and they rebuild their relationship. Can Willis make up for his mistakes, or is he doomed to repeat history?

(The title comes from a line in the poem, Remember, by Christina Rossetti).

[absoulute-best-absolute-worst]

Since everyone in DC is apparently related, I'm putting forth that Jason Blood is Jason Todd's paternal grandfather.

My reasoning is as follows: both have had black or red hair depending on the comic, both have that white streak, both have lived in Park Row, both have some connection to magic, and finally Iin cannon Jason shares his name with his paternal grandfather.

Therefore, I think it's possible Jason Blood met a young Ma Gunn and fathered Willis Todd.

[drpepper280]

I heard Jason in Gotham Knights comment about how his grandmother was the one to teach him cooking. And I know Gotham Knights most likely isn't one of the universes where Ma Gunn is Jason's grandmother.

But

I just think it'd be hilarious if it was. If this big criminal mastermind who trained kids to crime and be recruited to do more crime just took some time out of her day to teach her darling grandson how to cook and knit and sew and other valuable life skills the older generations have widely neglected to teach us.

[dctable]

How long was Jason in Ma Gunn's school in Rebirth? It's at least months that Bruce can sneak in to make burger and one of his friends was shot, recovered, then run away

Also how long was Jason in Fox Youth Center in New 52 and was that before or after he was found by Bruce?

Trying to create an amalgam timeline

[lacrimosathedark]

I think some of the Latino Jason headcanons come from the fact that writers used to have Jason throw around spanish words a lot. I know a lot of Latine fan who support the headcanon so I think peoples reasons for the headcanon can come from non racist areas. I like to image if Ma Gunn is his grandma her husband could have been Latine or Basque like in Bombshells and Americanized his name. Sheila could be a white passing mixed woman with a westernized name of Asian or middle eastern heritage.

I don't think Latino Jason headcanons are inherently racist, just for some reason the one post I saw stuck with me. I noticed him throwing around bits of Spanish too, and I think it's cute. To be fair though I too adopt foreign words and phrases into my everyday lexicon. I actually found a few JayRoy fics where Jason was teaching Lian Spanish and ow my fucking heart I love it.

The thing about Faye Gunn is since her son was Willis Todd, at least one of her partners would be named Todd, which is a Scottish name. But depending how far back the family is immigration-wise, I could see that side of his bloodline being mottled. Willis Todd doesn't really have a consistent appearance, but he is general relatively non-descript.

Sheila just looks so incredibly white I can't really see her as anything else but pure European descent. Like, the most ethnic my brain thinks of her as a possibility is Australian, and that is solely because I associate the name Sheila with Australia because of Spyro the Dragon. Also I think that was my Australian PE teacher's daughter's name if I remember right.

But I know Bombshells plays with ethnicities and countries of origin in nifty ways and changing appearances slightly. It would be really cool for Sheila to be mixed in that world!

[softboyshaven]

Cutting out the Ma Gunn plot in Jason's origin undermines his character's morals and sense of justice. It also changes why Bruce would have picked him to be Robin, changing not only their relationship as characters but also as the Dynamic Duo. It reinforces the angry Robin trope,in this essay-

[sinlillith]

if any of you like cleo sol, bryson tiller, the smiths, westside gun, sza, the alchemist, elliot smith, duster, kanye west, ella fitzgerald, hozier, deftones, madvillian, brenda lee, faye webster, boards of canada, and converge pls follow and or message me I need more friends with my music taste

[orange-s-mario]

Wayne Family Tree

going to post this again later but in higher quality..........

[cologona]

If you won some sort of lottery contest and DC allowed you to write a comic run for any character, any topic, no limits, what would your comic be like?

What kinda plot and characters would you want to etch into official DC canon? (Or would you prefer to write an elseworlds kinda thing?)

-redhoodinternaldialectical from the "main" blog

Sorry it took a while to answer this, I got pretty carried away! Jason is my favorite character and the character I know most about, so of course I'd write about him. This is going to be pretty long winded and fanfic-y, hope you don’t mind!

First things first I’m making both UTRH and Lost Days mostly canon again. Jason was a crime lord who did Mean Crime Lord Things for a while and that’s what I’ve decided everyone is referring to when they gesture vaguely to his villainous past.

I’m also bringing back the original “big boob” backstory where Jason makes Bruce laugh on the anniversary of his parents’ death. Catherine was an opioid addict due to illness, Willis was the person who taught Jason about cars (and thus how to jack tires) and Faye Gunn is no longer Jason’s grandma. (I really disliked Ma Gunn’s “redemption” in RHATO.) Just in case, I’m also reiterating Sheila’s role in Jason’s death.

Here’s a few lines I came up with for the Todds:

Jason keeps the letters Willis sent him from prison - the ones Ma Gunn hid- in the same picture frame that holds his Robin graduation photo with Bruce. He loved and resented Willis in equal parts, but mostly he regrets not having gotten more time. It’s all the same with fathers.

Catherine is curled up in bed, her expression is half a grimace. She asks Jason, who is reading a picture-book by her side, to get her ‘medicine’ for her. Jason doesn’t know how else to help her feel better so… that’s exactly what he does. In a moment, he returns with a small heart shaped box and a cup of microwaved soup.

If I can imply in some way that Catherine is in denial about the possibility of her dying I’d like to do that too.

I’m also doing a total overhaul of the All-Caste.

Essence is getting proper Tibetan braids, Ducra is going to wear a khampa chuba instead of her current old coat, and the Acres-of-All are getting reimagined as a towering Ziggurat with all the murals, pillars, curtains, and ornate trim befitting a monastery! The All-caste of memory will be bright and fantastical, but the ruins of the present will be dark and spooky.

Some references for what I'm talking about.

I’m also reframing the “Absolute Evil” part of the All-blades’ description to be an epithet for the Untitled. The sword is not literally judging Goodness and Evilness anymore; now they cut through negative psychic energy Jujutsu Kaisen style. I don’t think I need to spell out a justification for Jason being able to summon them whenever, but for any sticklers I’ll just say it’s because Jason- like the Untitled- has a lot of bad feelings and trace amounts of Dionesium in his system (among assorted other chemicals.)

Since Lost Days is being brought back that means instead of spending an entire 3 years with the All-Caste, Jason only spent a few weeks with them during his world-wide training arc. Ostensibly because a little magic would give him an edge over Batman. Ducra wouldn’t normally just give away powerful magic weapons to any chump with a free weekend, and she knew Jason was dangerous, but since the All-Blades are so specific and the ritual to attain them nigh-unsurvivable she saw an opportunity to use Jason. Sure she's one of the Good Guys, but she's not called a conniving old witch for nothing hoohoo!

Now a few plot ideas for a vague overall mini-arc.

First, Jason goes to ugly lengths to protect or prevent consequences from finding one of his family. Maybe someone threatens their secret identity…? The ‘opponent’ should be someone innocent and/or noble but not easily bought or fought. Maybe Vicki Vale, another Hero, or some kind of wealthy heir. The point is to cast doubt on if Jason’s return to the Bats is really so unquestionably redeeming. Jason has pretty much chosen to betray his morals for them after all.

Then, Jason chooses not to kill a villain who shortly afterwards victimizes more people and skips town before he can get caught. Basically a rehash of Diplomat’s Son except the Garzonas figure gets away. It’s technically a win for Batman- his presence kept Gotham safe after all. But it doesn’t feel like a win, especially not to Jason.

And finally, Jason frames himself for various murders committed by victims against their abusers. Maybe kick the story off with one of Ma Gunn’s boys killing her and telling the cops it was Red Hood in a desperate bid to avoid jail.

Obviously Jason can’t be allowed to do this long-term. It’s a bad precedent to set, an obstruction of justice, etc… Jason hasn’t broken The Big Rule though, and Bruce can only act so sanctimonious when those same complaints could be are made about him as well. There’s no way this ends any other way than Batman running Red Hood out of Gotham again and they both know it, but neither deviates from the path set before them.

One or two “monster of the week” issues where Jason fights various assassins and bounty hunters sent by his more influential enemies might be good- one should occur right after the above story. A consequence for his “return to form” so to speak. Batfamily fans may appreciate a scene where Bruce says something indicating that he ran Jason out for his own safety as well as Gotham’s. Batman may be able to hide in Bruce Wayne’s skin during the day but Jason’s only identity is that of Red Hood, and at times that makes him vulnerable in a way other heroes aren’t. This + some panels contrasting the generic mercenary look of Jason’s guns and equipment with the Bats’ spandex future-tech will be great for showing how separate Jason is from the Bats.

Now while Jason’s out of Gotham again there’s this detail in one of RHATO’s flashbacks that I want to expand on- that being how he used to be able to summon a lot more All-blades.

Red Hood Outlaw 34

“I had a lot of soul back then” - implying that he has a lot less soul now…!?

Jason’s been through a lot, in life sure but also more recently. Fight scenes where the All-blades take the form of daggers would not only be cool and evocative of the wavy dagger Talia gifted him way back when, they’d be good visual sign of his declining emotional state.

Later on as his soul ‘shrinks’ further, I’d give him a pair of mystical guns through which he can channel his All-blades into bullets. If it’s another gift from Talia I’m thinking dark brass revolvers with paisley filigree and a red Endless Knot charm hanging from each handle. If they’re from Essence or S’aru I’m thinking black lacquer and silver cloud-patterned ornamentation, with red coral embedded on either side of the gun. Beautiful Bayonetta-style guns with glowing red veins and a cowboy flair!

antique guns which inspired me

As for what he’s using the All-blades (All-bullets?) for, I think it’d be fun to have Jason exorcising some ghosts. He can solve various murder mysteries, figure out why this place or that person is haunted, and get into fights with horrific otherworldly creatures. Jason is an interesting character to do this premise with because he might just determine that some some spirits should get their revenge, and act on behalf of a ghost rather than erasing it.

I’m not sure whether I’d want to have Essence join him or not… On one hand it only makes sense that Jason would help Isabel and Essence find a way to free themselves from the Blood Blade, and that goal would provide his character with some direction. Then again, Essence/Isabel could be cool as antagonists. Jason might see some ghosts as valid but Essence probably wouldn’t see any merit in appeasing manifestations of lingering resentment. She’s similar to him in that she also turned her back on her family, but she’s different in that she did it because she believed so wholeheartedly in their cause. She’s old and sort of a Jedi, but she’s hot-blooded and she’ll never not be Ducra’s daughter in the same way it seems Jason can never escape Batman’s shadow. I bet she has some real juicy sunk-cost fallacy type thinking too, that’d be fun to dig into.

Anyways I think this is a pretty good set-up to explore the politics/morality of forgiveness. What makes the difference between an injustice and a hatchet that ought to be buried? When is forgiveness empowering and when is it coerced? Who is it that must forgive? Justice vs Revenge, that whole kind of thing.

Other than the supernatural stuff I want Jason working with Talia, and I’m reintroducing Sasha to the post-52 continuity. Duela is getting nixed.

I don’t really have any specific plot ideas for Talia, but I would like to establish Jason as one of her associates. With Lost Days back they have basis for an actual relationship again. They’re not always on the same side but Jason can sometimes do tasks for Talia (outside the purview of Ra’s and the LOA), and Talia can occasionally support Jason with various social power-play type moves.

An instance of Jason getting into a fight with one of the Bats because he’s doing a favor for Talia would be great! I wouldn't write Talia as an evil evil bad horrible dragon lady, so it shouldn’t be a huge blow to Jason’s status as a Good Guy. Also I like the idea of Jason and Talia’s relationship mostly being inferred through their actions supporting one another, rather than directly showing much ‘on-screen’ interaction between them.

Also it’ll be interesting to go into Bruce, Dick, and Damian’s reaction to finding out that they’re not the only ones Jason is loyal to. Bruce thinking Talia was a bad influence on Jason (like fanon), silently frustrated because what he really wants is for Jason to be a full Bat-Believer (like the good old days…). Dick being fine with Jason never falling fully in-line with Bruce, provided that at the end of the day his loyalty belonged to his family.

-brief topical detour to talk about Sasha-

The new timeline of events is that Jason and Sasha met as fellow patients while Jason was in his Vague Villain era. They escaped the hospital building together (Sasha in her bloody dress, and Jason naked save for his skimpy hospital gown dhoti) and having no one else they stuck together. They got close but at some point Sasha lost her memories, giving her a chance at a fresh start. This was around the same time Jason “redeemed” himself and so just like Max Dawkins, ‘Numbers’, and Gabby Christiensen -Sasha became another person from Jason’s past that he didn’t let himself have a relationship with.

Sasha was just old enough that she didn’t have to be sent into foster care, so with some help from Wayne Foundations she got her GED and her feet underneath her. Now… she goes to work, goes to her physical therapy appointments, fights with her mother over the phone, and yes- sometimes she goes to the club.

The new Sasha still has spiky red hair but her face looks entirely normal save for a subtle scar tracing around her jawline and chin- the edges of where her mask used to sit. She wears dark makeup and even darker clothes. She’s prone to false memories and dissociation. She’s lost most of her ability to feel pain. She can’t watch certain shows she used to love anymore because they trigger her. She never returned to Russia. She doesn’t have many friends.

Since this is comics, her reintroduction will come by way of a dramatic fight. Sasha will regain her memories one day and show up out of the blue to fight Jason, angry and heartbroken that he abandoned her. He tries to explain himself but she just says look what they did to my face, referring to the facial reconstructive surgery she was given while amnesiac. She’ll be difficult to fight, not only because being a partial Dollotron gives her enhanced strength but also because she’s being reckless and the longer they fight the more strain and damage her body accrues.

After Jason apologizes and they reconcile (they will both cry) Sasha can become a recurring side character that Jason visits, keeping him grounded and up to date with Gotham. I think it'd be cute for her to bid him farewell by saying she’ll hold the city hostage until he comes back. (Is Sasha going to become Jason’s love interest? No. If I give Jason a love interest it’s going to be Numbers.)

--Going back to the previous topic, I want Sasha’s return to be part of this greater arc of Jason addressing his "shrinking soul" problem. My brain is a little fried now so I’m not exactly sure how but she is related. I think she ought to be.

Jason wants Bruce to be right. He would like for his problem to be fixed by going home and saying sorry. But at the end of my run I want him to face the reality that it’s not about that.

...Perhaps it should be about Jason 'abandoning' Gotham? I don’t really want the final thesis of my run to imply that Jason’s soul would just be fixed if he killed Rogues though, and Jason always came back whenever a big disaster was happening so it doesn't quite fit anyways… Jason does believe in the value of “pure” heroes it’s just not what he’s supposed to be. Whatever his problem's “about” , it ought to prompt Jason to stop taking Bruce’s shit. I'm saying the man is literally breaking Jason's spirit.

I’m sympathetic to Bruce but I wouldn’t write him as a nice father. I would also have scene where a younger Bat accuses Jason of being overdramatic despite 'not even having it the worst’. I don't know who 'has it the worst' but I want to make a statement that you don't need to win the pain-race to be fed up.

Ah anyways, now my brain is really fried. I hope this post was coherent all the way through, I neglected to edit and organize my thoughts as much towards the end. Thank you for asking me such a great question, I had a lot of fun thinking about it! :D

[desperatecheesecubes]

I’d like to extend a personal apology to everyone who told me Jason’s introduction is funny because I did not truly believe

[dcbinges]

Batman #409 (1987) by Max Allan Collins & Ross Andru