WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Batman: The Adventures Continue #9, by Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Ty Templeton, Monica Kubina and Josh Reed, on sale now.

Ever since the start of Batman: The Adventures Continue, Jason Todd has been lurking in the shadows of Gotham City. While Batman fought such villains as Lex Luthor, Bane and Deathstroke, Jason has kept his distance, merely observing the Dark Knight. Of course, given Todd's history, it seemed all but clear that he was in town for revenge. After all, in the regular DC Universe, Jason was the second Robin, who was dead for years, until he came back to Gotham as the Red Hood with a score to settle.

However, this isn't regular DC Universe continuity. This is the DC Animated Universe that began with Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, where Batman only had two Robins: Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. However, the return of a twisted Jason Todd led us to believe there was a hidden chapter in-between the two television series.Now , Batman: The Adventures Continue #9 finally reveals Jason Todd's DCAU origin -- and it confirms his place as the Dark Knight's second Robin.

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Batman Adventures Continue Jason Todd Robin

In The Adventures Continue #9, an adult Jason Todd gets in a fight with the Joker at Amusement Mile and the commotion gets the attention of the police. After finding one of Jason's guns, Bruce finds his former sidekick's fingerprints and realizes the truth: although he thought Jason was dead, he's back somehow, and he's the one who has been examining his team for some time now. Upon hearing about Jason, Tim starts asking questions, and Alfred reveals the DCAU origin of the second Robin.

Through a series of flashbacks, we are taken back to a time where Batman was once again alone following the departure of the first Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson. Batman soon found himself on the trail of a street gang known as the Wolves. Jason Todd's older brother had joined the gang to make some money, but he fell prey to the gang's methods. After his death, Jason attacked the Wolves, demonstrating superior fighting skills that allowed him to take them all out. Batman arrived in time to see the fight. After seeing Jason's passion, skills and situation, he eventually agreed to give him a purpose and a home.

Jason trained with Bruce alongside Barbara, but it soon became clear he was less restrained and more dangerous than Dick Grayson. For that reason, Bruce held off on making him Robin, but Jason didn't wait for his approval. Instead, he stole Dick's costume, put it on and joined Batman in the middle of a fight with Firefly.

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For the time being, we don't know what happened next -- only that something terrible took place and Jason was believed dead. It's important to note that, during these flashbacks, Batman has a different costume that is more in line with what he wore in Batman: The Animated Series, which confirms that he met Jason Todd before the events of the sequel series, The New Batman Adventures.

Jason's origin is a bit different in the regular DC Universe -- but there are plenty of similarities. There, Jason was a young boy who lived on the streets, and Batman first became aware of him when he caught him stealing the Batmobile's hubcaps. After this, Jason helped Batman take down a group of thieves, and that's when Bruce decided to make him his new partner.

In The Adventures Continue, there is no incident with the Batmobile, but Jason does take down a gang of thieves. But while Batman made him Robin in the regular Post-Crisis DCU, it appears Jason took that decision for himself in the DCAU. While the rest of Jason Todd's time as Robin remains a mystery for the moment, this stint as Batman's sidekick presumably plays a role in his death. However, it's not clear if the Joker the one responsible, but it certainly seems that way, considering Todd's fixation on the villain.

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