Back in 1988, DC pulled an unprecedented stunt– it invited comic readers to call one of two 1-900 phone numbers to vote on the outcome of the storyline “A Death in the Family.” Readers gleefully voted that Robin, Jason Todd, should die at the hands (or rather crowbar) of The Joker. The ploy gained major mainstream press attention, although much of it was negative, as it was perceived as being too bloodthirsty. Robin was a teenager after all, and most adults at the time had grown up with the wide-eyed, “Holy Everything!” Dick Grayson version of the character, whether in the books, played by Burt Ward on TV series, or on cartoons.
And while Jason Todd stayed dead for a good long while, like most dead comic book characters, he was eventually revived and (as far as I know) is still alive, operating under the codename Red Hood.
But if you are too young to have been alive in 1988, or… y’know, to have ever used a rotary telephone, you can experience the joy of killing Robin yourself… or of saving him!
Warner Brothers is releasing an interactive animated version of the “A Death in the Family” storyline, and YOU will be able to control how the story unfolds, similar to Netflix’s ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’ and other “choose your own adventure” type projects.
According to the trailer, this is a short, so don’t expect to get a ton of bang for your buck, but if you want to give it a whirl, it will be released on Blu-ray and Digital HD this Fall. It appears to be a repurposing of the 2010 direct-to-dvd movie ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’, but there will obviously be more material added to accommodate the alternate storylines.
If you want to watch the trailer, click below. If not, scroll past. (See what I did there?)
One element that is obviously brand new is the idea of Jason returning to Gotham as Red Robin, a more violent vigilante who, it seems, sets out to kill Two-Face. Whether or not he succeeds will be up to you!
Since this is a short, the release will also include the previously released animated shorts ‘Sgt. Rock’, ‘Death’, ‘Adam Strange’, and ‘The Phantom Stranger’.
Will you be embarking on this interactive adventure?
Source: IGN
