The newly released teaser for Titans Season 3 reinforces that Jason Todd’s transformation into Red Hood will be a a key storyline, continuing the drama’s deconstruction of the Batman Family. However, rather than a straightforward adaptation of Jason’s comic book death and rebirth, it appears Titans will combine two of the Dark Knight’s biggest stories
The first is 1988’s “A Death in the Family,” by Jim Starlin, Marv Wolfman, Jim Aparo and George Pérez, in which the Joker infamously beats Jason Todd, the second Robin, with a crowbar before blowing up the warehouse in which the Boy Wonder was being held. The death of his sidekick shattered Batman, who had to rebuild in the wake of the tragedy, never anticipating Jason would return years later as Red Hood. He was resurrected by Talia al Ghul and the Lazarus Pit, and became a bloodthirsty killer.
Titans signals that story’s influences through the shadowy glimpse of what appears to be the Joker beating Jason with a crowbar. Later footage depicts the bloody crowbar on the floor of Wayne Manor.
Whether Jason actually dies or is hospitalized for his injuries, naturally, remains to be seen. But from shot of him in the Red Hood costume, it’s clear he’s going to embrace the darkness within. The same way his death destroyed Bruce and his team, in this case, it will no doubt hit home for the Titans. Family and trust are big themes for Dick Grayson’s team, so Jason’s presumed arc dovetails nicely with Nightwing questioning whether he can ever step out of Batman’s shadow.
Secondly, there’s a surprise influence from The Killing Joke, the influential 1988 story by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. The teaser shows Jason entering an amusement park and finding a cop who’s been Joker-fied. The sense of horror and dread is enhanced, because this is where Joker beats Jason in the footage.
The park holds immense significance, because it’s where Joker held Jim Gordon hostage in The Killing Joke. He kidnapped the commissioner after assaulting his daughter, Barbara Gordon. Batman arrived, only to find the Clown Prince of Crime torturing his longtime friend and ally. It’s a horror story, and it holds a lot of weight, in no small part because the Joker’s attack left Barbara paralyzed. Considering that she appears in Season 3, as Gotham’s police commissioner, a lot of traumatic memories could emerge if this park is indeed linked to the events of The Killing Joke.
The dilapidated amusement park also matches Titans‘ tone perfectly, as it represents a spot where Batman saw Joker being the worst monster he could possibly be. Also, because the ending of The Killing Joke left fans to debate whether Batman strangled Joker to death, it could hint at the moral dilemma to come.
Titans stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson, Anna Diop as Kory Anders, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth, Ryan Potter as Garfield Logan, Curran Walters as Jason Todd, Conor Leslie as Donna Troy, Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger, Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall, Joshua Orpin as Superboy, Vincent Kartheiser as Jonathan Crane, Damaris Lewis as Blackfire, Savannah Welch as Barbara Gordon and Jay Lycurgo as Tim Drake. Season 3 premieres Aug. 12 on HBO Max.
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