The DC Streaming Service is trying to bring the world of DC Comics into everyone’s homes. This fledgling service is only a couple of months old, but you can already see tons of their animated movies, many classic films like Superman (1978), as well as the Dark Knight Trilogy. You can even read many important issues from DC Comics lore. But, the main reason for this service is to push their all new original series. With shows like Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, and Hawk & Dove in the works, a lot hinges on the success of the first series, Titans. Now, as the first season wraps up next week, a trailer for the final episode has been released, and it will change a lot of opinions on one of DC’s most popular characters.
In the season finale trailer for Titans, we see Dick Grayson facing off his mentor, Batman. Teased throughout the season, Batman will finally make an appearance, but not in a way most expect. Here we his an unhinged Caped Crusader, having finally snapped and become the villain that he has fought against for years. Dick, having recently quit being Robin for good, is the only person who can stop the man who trained him. As you can see from the trailer, Batman decides to go on a killing spree, murdering all of his rogues gallery, including the Joker, Two Face, Riddler, and many, many more.
Having brutally shifted from Gotham’s Protector to Public Enemy #1, Batman is hunted by the GCPD, which he has no problem killing as well. It seems it is up to Grayson to face his former mentor, and see if he can avoid giving into the darkness like the Dark Knight has.
Check out the trailer below – along with some of our discussion below the link:
FROM HERE ON OUT, SPOILERS FROM THE TITANS SERIES! IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED ALL THE EPISODES YET, TURN AWAY NOW!
Now, the key to this trailer is the previous episode. Episode 10 saw Raven tricked by her mother to bring her father, Trigon, back to this dimension. Once Trigon exited his entrapment, he engulfed the home the were in inside some sort of shield. However, Grayson was able to get inside. It stands to reason that all the evil Batman stuff will be more of a living nightmare for Dick, perpetuated by Trigon. Dick has, throughout the season, had major issues with his former mentor, feeling that Batman takes things too far, and made his Robin far too violent. He felt used and abused, and has spent the whole season trying to bury his Robin moniker, including burning his costume.
He even tried to talk the new Robin, Jason Todd, out of staying on as Robin, but Todd loves the violence and freedom of vigilantism. He may have paid the price, though, at least in the “vision” that Grayson is living, as he approaches Dick in a wheelchair and tells him that Batman has snapped. Another clue as to this being a conjuring from Trigon is the fact that it seems Dick is living the suburban life in the trailer. However, even if this is just a vision, it does bring up a key point about the Bat.
So many fans around the world crap all over Superman and praise Batman as the true “Greatest Hero”. They cite all these “What If?” style stories where Supes gives into to his godlike power and becomes corrupt. But, here is the difference. Superman doesn’t ride the line between good and evil. He is True Good. Batman rides that line, as an almost anti-hero. He’s as close to a bad guy that a good guy can get, without killing (like The Punisher). And, his popularity his risen based on this. Society has shifted, and people like the idea of a violent and almost evil good guy.
You can throw the whole “Oh, we like him cause he doesn’t have powers!” But, lets be real. Batman has powers. It’s called billions of dollars to spend on his training and gadgets. It’s easier to be The World’s Greatest Detective when you have all of the state of the art detecting equipment. Now, finally, we’re starting to see stories that show that Batman is not the “messiah” of DC. Between this and the Batman: White Knight storyline in the comics, we see that even a mega popular hero like Bats has his faults.
Batman is a great hero, and a cornerstone of the Justice League. But, this endless debate of who can best who, who is the better hero, blah, blah, blah, needs to stop. What also needs to stop is the Titans series. Man, is it not good. You would think that a show written and produced by one of the creators of the Teen Titans would not butcher these characters beyond recognition. And, I thought that DC was trying to get away from the uber dark Synder-verse style that supposedly killed the DCEU.
But, this series is all about ultra violence and dropping as many F-bombs as they can. Top that with a bunch of actors that don’t even care about the source material (I’m looking at you, Alan Ritchson), costumes that just don’t work, and you’ve got a crappy show with terrible interpretations of beloved characters. Here’s to hoping that they’ve learned from this and do better with their next show, Swamp Thing.
What do you think of a murderous Batman? Have you enjoyed the Titans series so far? Let us know in the comments below!