Batman Annual #25 is an issue of the series Batman Annual (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2006. It was published on March 1, 2006.
Synopsis for "Daedalus and Icarus: The Return of Jason Todd"
Jason Todd, now the Red Hood, reflects upon the events that brought about his resurrection. Years ago, Todd had been brutally murdered by the Joker. During the Infinite Crisis, Superboy-Prime began punching holes into the timestream, which caused a ripple effect, correcting certain historical events that should not have taken place - one of these was the death of Jason Todd. The time ripple caught up with Todd six months after his death and resurrected him. Jason Todd was reborn inside his own coffin and had to claw his way to freedom.
Though alive, Jason was but a shell of the boy he once was. He suffered severe brain damage and amnesia. He was taken in by the staff of the Huntington Convalescent Home and spent months recuperating. He escaped from the hospital and spent a whole year surviving on the streets of Gotham by sheer instinct.
One of Batman's oldest adversaries, Ra's al Ghul, discovered Todd and had him brought to his compound. He spent years with Ra's daughter, Talia, who after many failed attempts to bring Jason's sanity and memories back, decided to push him inside the Lazarus Pit. The restorative powers of the pit completed Todd's recuperation. Todd and Talia left the care of Ra's al Ghul and Talia gave Jason enough resources to survive and get up to date on what has happened to him after his death. Jason discovered that Joker, the man responsible for his death, was still alive and commiting all sort of crimes.
Some time later, Jason learned from Talia that there was a new criminal in Gotham by the name of Hush and after meeting with him, they planned an attack on Batman that caused the vigilante to be aware of Jason's return.
After this, Jason decided to get revenge on the Joker and Batman for not avenging his death. Jason took upon Joker's former alias, Red Hood and started a crime spree against The Clown Prince of Crime and Gotham's Dark Knight.
Appearing in "Daedalus and Icarus: The Return of Jason Todd"
Featured Characters:
- Jason Todd (Flashback and main story)
Supporting Characters:
- Batman (Flashback and main story)
- Talia al Ghul
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Doom Patrol (Flashback only)
- Joker (Flashback only)
- Sheila Haywood (Dies in flashback)
- Superboy-Prime (Flashback only)
- Thomas Carbone (a thug) (Single appearance)
- Derek Brantley (Single appearance)
Locations:
- Ethiopia
- Timestream
- United States of America
- Gotham City
- Gotham Cemetery
- Huntington Convalescent Home
- Gotham City
Items:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Batman: Under the Hood Vol 2 and Batman: Under the Red Hood.
- This issue had a 2nd printing, with a new cover illustrated by Shane Davis.
- This issue is the first Batman Annual to be published since 1999.
- This issue explains how Jason Todd survived his apparent death at the hands of the Joker in Batman #428 and how his resurrection is intricately tied to "Infinite Crisis". Todd was brought back to life six months after his death.
- This issue contains the one-page alternate ending to "A Death in the Family" by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo, chronicling Jason Todd's survival.
- There are flashbacks to the issues Batman #428 and Batman #618.
Trivia
- The cover to this issue is a pastiche of the original Jim Aparo illustration from the cover to the Batman: A Death in the Family trade paperback.