WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Titans Season 3, Episode 1, “Barbara Gordon,” available now on HBO Max.
The Season 3 premiere of Titans starts with a bang following the brutal murder of Jason Todd (Curran Walters) at the hands of the Joker. It’s never been a secret that Gotham is home to some of the most demented and dangerous criminals in the DC Universe. However, it’s often difficult to see them all in live-action because there are so many to choose from. Titans cleverly sidesteps this limitation when Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites) returns to Gotham to check on Bruce Wayne (Iain Glen). On his way into the Batcave, viewers are treated to some of Batman’s trophies that callback to his most dangerous villains.
The scene only shows up briefly, but it confirms how big the Titans universe actually is. The season adds to this by acknowledging more classic villains and even showing a few of them throughout the episode. Thankfully, the season premiere gives just enough hints to figure out who is still active in Gotham City.
Gotham Villains Shown In Titans’ Batcave
Early in the season premiere, fans see Bruce’s Batcave and many of the features within it. The most nostalgic aspect of the scene is his trophy room, which features callbacks to his many adventures like the T-Rex from Dinosaur Island and the penny from one of Batman and Two-Face’s many confrontations. There is also a massive Joker card hinting at how prevalent the Clown Prince of Crime is in Batman’s life. Other nods are shown through paraphernalia like the Penguin’s umbrella resting by an archway, the Mad Hatter’s hat and Harley Quinn’s mallet. However, while Titans confirms these characters are present in the universe, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are still in custody.
Unconfirmed Gotham Villain Teases in Titans’ Batcave
The Batcave also has artifacts whose owners are a bit more difficult to decipher. However, some give enough context to speculate. For example, by the Penguin’s umbrella is a black bike that could belong to Catwoman as no other major villains traverse through Gotham City on a bike. There is also the outline of a skull that could potentially be a nod to Bane’s mask. However, the colors on it are much brighter, making it harder to confirm fully. But villains like Doctor Light from Season 2 prove that not all enemies look exactly like their comics version.
Finally, there is a revolver at the end of the walkway. At first, it could be a gun that Two-Face uses, but since there’s already a massive penny to signify him, the gun may also be the one that killed Bruce’s parents. In most iterations, the gun is melted down. However, this version of Bruce may have kept it for himself. There are other smaller artifacts that are harder to make out in the cave, but it’s possible there could be a closer look at them in later episodes.
Villains Mentioned Elsewhere in Titans
Aside from the Joker killing Jason and Jonathan Crane in the trailer, the Season 3 premiere also mentions two more classic Batman villains. Both are brought up during a dinner between Barbara Gordon (Savannah Welch), Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne as they dine in memorial to Jason. During the dinner, Barabara mentions how the Mad Hatter was utterly taken aback at how Jason cursed him out since Dick Grayson never did that when he was Robin. The second villain comes up when Barbara chastises Bruce for thinking that her father’s death was only a sacrifice. In reality, she reminds Bruce how her father died from a heart attack following being frozen by Mr. Freeze. For now, there’s no confirmation if any more villains will appear in Titans, but if the Season 3 premiere has proven anything, it’s that anyone could make an appearance.
The first three episodes of Titans Season 3 are available now on HBO Max. Episode 4 will release on Aug. 19.
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