3. The Return of Jason Todd via Superboy Prime's Reality Punch

Originally: Dick Grayson having graduated from being Robin to being Nightwing, DC found Batman solo once again, and a desire to fill the void soon came. In stepped Jason Todd, whose origins even begin with a retcon in and of itself. In the beginning, Jason was a circus orphan just like Dick that eventually followed in the latter's footsteps and became Batman's sidekick. However, this origin was retconned following Crisis on Infinite Earths and Jason became a street urchin that Bats caught trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile. So obviously, one thing led to another, and he became the second Robin. Of course, Jason was a hot headed character that lacked the gravitas of Dick, and was brash and impulsive. Ultimately, this would lead to his death at the hands of the Joker in "A Death in the Family", where readers called a 900 number (and had to pay) to vote if Jason would be killed or not. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if readers actually vote to KILL a character, particularly a Robin, don't you think the publisher would opt to keep him dead?

The Retcon: Writer Judd Winick is responsible for a hell of a lot of schlock. There is no writer, in my opinion, in the modern age of comicdom that is more capable at writing a painfully mediocre superhero comic. Generic in every sense of the word, and usually quite boring. Yet, he is also one of the few big name writers able to hit his deadlines and get things out on time, thus encouraging publishers to give him work. And that is how we get to the return of Jason Todd. Winick saw fit to cancel the memory of Jason as Batman's biggest failure, and instead give him a ludicrous return story, which was revealed in Batman Annual #25. In it, the hissy fit of super-whiny Superboy-Prime caused him to punch the walls of the dimension he was trapped in following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths (and leading into Infinite Crisis), thus sending a ripple through the reality of the main DCU, and resurrecting Jason Todd only months after his death. He clawed out of his own grave, was discovered by Talia al Ghul and placed in her father's Lazarus Pit, and subsequently was retconned to have existed for all of the 15 years previous.

The Impact: If Bucky's return was the epitome of how a controversial resurrection should be handled, then Jason Todd's was the complete antithesis. The character returned in 2005, and in 2009 there have been absolutely no decent attempts at including him into the DCU. Initially, in Winick's "Under the Hood" storyline in Batman, Jason was out to get back at Batman for never avenging his death, as well as get revenge on the Joker, and harass his successor as Robin, Tim Drake. Who, in a bit of fourth-wall-breaking irony, is a fan favorite, which - could he see beyond his panels - would only add fuel to the returned Jason's fire. Winick attempted to paint Jason as a loner out for himself, but instead just made us waste our time. During "One Year Later", DC tried setting Jason up as a foil to Dick Grayson in Nightwing, which proved only to further convolute Jason's purpose for returning. Beyond OYL, Jason was a main player in Countdown to Final Crisis, as one of the hunted anomalies of the Monitors, as well as donning the Red Robin costume. Of course, Countdown failed to inspire any sort of interest in the character, and left him floundering for a purpose once again. Currently, Jason is a homicidal Batman "replacement" in Battle for the Cowl, once again fighting for a purpose to exist. DC has done nothing of importance with this character, especially considering that he was more effective to the Batman mythos dead than he is alive.