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Ian Savage was a relatively normal kid - introverted and definitely a loner, but normal. His parents never really seemed to get him, but they also never really tried. It wasn't malicious per se, but they were definitely convinced that he should fit their mold rather than trying to mold around him. And when Ian came out as gay at 16, they didn't take it well. He left then and moved in with his boyfriend Andy and Andy's older brother Matt. He hasn't talked to his parents since.
Things went really well for him for a while. Matt was a more loving and attentive guardian than his parents ever were, and Ian and Andy were able to figure each other and themselves out at their own pace. They continued going to school and living normal teenager lives. But they lived in a less-than-ideal part of uptown Gotham, and it caught up to them when a bully from school caught them walking home together. He pulled a gun on them and shot Andy in the chest. He made to shoot Ian as well, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of Robin.
Andy died before he reached the hospital, despite attempts to revive him by Robin, the police, and EMTs. His killer was arrested and put on trial, but the case dragged out until he was 18, and by then Gotham corruption had done its worst and he was not convicted. Enraged by the injustice of it all, Ian tracked him down to handle it himself. He found out where he lived, where he worked, what his daily routine was, until he could finally corner him alone and without witnesses. Ian murdered him with a knife, because he didn't deserve to be killed the same way Andy was. It was personal, and he wanted to make sure he knew it was personal.
Ian was never caught, but it didn't curb the pain and guilt. It wasn't enough to just get revenge. He had to make sure no one else had to watch the people who hurt them walk away. He left home to live on the street, hunting and killing murderers, rapists, and other especially heinous criminals. He did so for years, all the while feeling guilty for sinking to their level, and for taking a path Andy would have been ashamed of, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. People on the street began calling him Switchblade, and he adopted it.
Finally his killings caught the attention of Nightwing, the same Robin who had saved him years earlier, and the two started a surprisingly long game of cat and mouse. Tim Drake (the current Robin) got involved and actually caught him, but he escaped police custody, then did the same again with Nightwing. Come winter, Nightwing still hadn't caught him, but did find him shivering on rooftops a few times and took pity on him, helping to warm him up. One night he found him in the early stages of hypothermia and took him into one of his nearby safehouses to treat him for it. They built up a gradual but mutual understanding that turned into a tentative friendship. Ian was struggling with his guilt over seeing someone other than Andy, and Nightwing with his own morality and seeing a known murderer.
Curious about him, Nightwing followed Ian to Slim's, the bar that Matt owned. He went in undercover with an alias and visited several times over a couple of weeks, getting to know Ian and his friends as people independent of Switchblade. Eventually Nightwing let slip to Ian that that was him, and Ian was furious. The ensuing argument led to a headbutt interrupted with a kiss, followed by several days of mixed signals and confused feelings. Eventually they caved, and they started seeing each other intentionally. Ian convinced Nightwing to reveal his identity as Dick Grayson.
Some time later, Batman finally caught wind and brought Ian in to Blackgate himself (cuz yknow that's how that works lol). He did his best to keep his head down, but a few inmates recognized him from the street and harassed him at every available opportunity, usually violently. Dick was able to get Ian out on bail and brought him to stay with him until his trial. Existing mental health issues exacerbated by new trauma from Blackgate, Ian was quickly losing hope for his future, knowing full well he didn't stand a chance at the trial. He waited until Dick went on patrol for the night and left. If he was going back to prison anyway, there was no reason to sit around and wait for it to happen. Nightwing found him a few days later and tried to convince him to come back, but the police interrupted. Ian surrendered and was brought back to Blackgate.
His second stay was far worse. The usual suspects tried to attack him again, but this time another inmate came to his defense. Once the fight had broken up, he introduced himself as Leo and said he'd watch Ian's back. A few days later, another inmate approached Ian and made sexual advances, and when Ian rejected him, said he'd paid for him to Leo. Ian stormed off to find Leo, who explained that he expected something in return for his protection - namely, he would rent him out to whoever would pay, and those who paid would have to follow his rules and treat his "property" well. He tried to explain that if Ian didn't agree to the arrangement, it would happen anyway, but without his terms to protect him. Ian refused regardless, and Leo forced him into submission and "taught" him how to behave hands-on.
The constant violation and dehumanization broke Ian. He was a hollow shell going through the motions each day. He had no friends inside, no visits from Dick to look forward to, and no hope of ever leaving. So when Leo gifted him with a knife for self-defense, it didn't take him long to use it in a suicide attempt. Leo found him shortly after the first cut was made and called medical, where they stopped the bleeding, wrapped the wound, and kept him on suicide watch.
When he was returned to gen pop, another inmate approached him. He introduced himself as J, and said that Dick sent him to break him out after hearing about his attempt. He also bought him from Leo, permanently, with no intention of ever touching him. J orchestrated a transfer, masqueraded as a guard, killed the transfer driver and blew up the truck, leaving an unidentifiable body in Ian's place, and revealed himself to be Red Hood. Ian was relieved to have his first real freedom since his first kill, but didn't think himself worthy of going back to Dick. He was convinced he was more trouble than he was worth, and asked Hood to let Dick and his friends think he had died for real. Hood agreed, offered to let Ian stay with him until he could get back on his feet, and also offered him a job in his gang. Ian accepted and took up the new alias of Edge.
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