Warning! The following article contains spoilers for the Robin: 80th Anniversary special!

Batman and Jason Todd have long had a fractured relationship after the former Robin was killed and brought back to life. Jason harbors understandable resentment towards Bruce Wayne, but it’s clear he still cares – apparent by a heartbreaking gift he just gave to Batman.

Jason famously was murdered at the hands of the Joker in Batman: A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, and Mike DeCarlo. The Clown Prince of Crime tortured Robin with a crowbar and then killed him by detonating a bomb. Todd would later be resurrected and assume the mantle of Red Hood, a vigilante who wasn’t afraid to kill to accomplish his goals. As the Red Hood, Jason despises Batman for not killing the Joker and ultimately blames him for his death. Their relationship has been rocky ever since.

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In DC’s Robin: 80th Anniversary celebration, a collection of stories involving all of the different Robin’s features a particularly heartbreaking story starring Jason and Batman. Judd Winick (who penned the original Red Hood story), Dustin Nguyen, John Kalisz, and Steve Wands contribute the Red Hood story “More Time.” The story features little dialogue and focuses on the past and present of the duo’s partnership.

In the past, a young Jason explains to Batman that he’s got him a gift for his birthday. Jason gifts Batman Thomas Wayne’s old broken watch that he attempted to fix. As Alfred explains, Jason was working on fixing it for months, finding old parts and almost making it work again. It’s an emotional gift for Batman, who gives the watch back to Jason to continue to fix. While the watch wasn’t in full-working condition just yet, Jason put in a ton of hard work in trying do bring it back to life. In the present, an older Jason drops a small box on a batmobile. When Batman opens up the gift, it’s the same watch, only this time it’s ticking. Watching from a pillar above, Jason tells Bruce “Happy birthday.”

The story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Despite all of their differences later in life, Jason didn’t forget about fixing Bruce’s father’s watch. While he didn’t feel comfortable giving the gift to Bruce face-to-face, the fact Jason gave it to him years later shows that he still cares and kept his promise from when he was a kid. Batman and Jason Todd’s relationship will never be what it once was, but the moment shows that slowly, just like the old watch, it can be repaired (at least somewhat) over time.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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