What if one of the darkest hours in Batman's crime-fighting career never happened?

In 1988, the pop culture world was rocked when comics readers were given the opportunity todecide the outcome of one of the medium’s most controversial quandaries: Should the Boy Wonder die? While history has taught us one answer to that question, a second answer is now told—What if Robin lived?

Jason Todd, the second teenager to wear the mask of Robin, survived a brutal beating at the hands of maniacal Joker, but his wounds run deeper than flesh. The already volatile Jason is haunted by what happened to him and is unwilling to confront his demons, so Bruce Wayne brings in a psychiatrist to talk to him. Can Jason recover from his ordeal? Is the Batman ultimately to blame? And then there is the question on everyone’s mind: who killed the Joker?

Writer J.M. DeMatteis (Justice League International) and artist Rick Leonardi (Nightwing) spin the story of what would have happened if the fans had chosen differently. From the DC Vault: Death in the Family: Robin Lives! collects the entire four-issue miniseries along with Batman #426, #427, and #429 and the faux-simile issue Batman #428: Robin Lives! that lead up to this momentous elseworld.