Batman famously began his path to becoming a costumed crime fighter following the death of his parents at the hands of criminal Joe Chill, and subsequently it seems as though every member of the Batfamily over the years has experienced some kind of family trauma or loss – but only one managed take the surprising step of forgiving his parents killers, when Red Hood made peace with Killer Croc.
Dick Grayson lost his parents to Tony Zucco, and Tim Drake lost his father to Captain Boomerang. Jason Todd, the second Robin, lost his parents to a criminal as well, the infamous, monsterous Killer Croc. Introduced as a carbon copy of Grayson, Todd has since gone on to become the anti-heroic Red Hood, and over time, has managed to forgive Killer Croc for his actions.
Jason Lost His Parents To Killer Croc
In his original backstory, Jason's parents were taken from him at a young age by Killer Croc. However, Crisis On Infinite Earths changed this, giving Jason Todd an entirely new origin story, with his parents now a negligent drug-addicted mother and a criminal father. Nevertheless, in the years since, the character's interacts with Killer Croc have always carried with them the tension of this lost connection between the two. Jason, now known as the Red Hood, is in fact depicted as being on fairly good terms with Croc, as seen in Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 by Scott Lobdell, Dexter Soy, and Veronica Gandini.
Jason and Killer Croc are Friends
When Red Hood and the Outlaws worked with the Suicide Squad, readers were given insight into Red Hood and Killer Croc's amiable relationship, with Jason even refers to Croc as "a friend of a friend." While the original, bloody connection between the pair was erased by Crisis, it remains notable that writers would put the two characters in situations like this together, especially without seeming to consider the dramatic potential this could have were Jason's original backstory to be reintegrated into DC canon. There are many things that distinguish Jason Todd from the rest of the Batfamily, but forgiving his parents' murderer would be an especially potent point of divergence.
Bruce Wayne has never forgiven Joe Chill, and recently, Nightwing worked hard to put his parents' killer Tony Zucco back in prison. Despite Jason Todd's reputation as the Robin who resorts to violence, underneath that is a character who is understanding and caring, something his fellow Robin points out when he says Jason is the Robin who feels too much. Red Hood is known for his fury, but he's shown time and again the ability to either forgive or at least work with his villains. Jason has no issue working with Killer Croc, Two-Face, and even Black Mask, in stark contrast to how Batman and the rest of the family operate.