Season 3 of Titans took the team to Nightwing’s roots and headed back to Gotham. In a season filled with deaths, resurrections, and peculiar choices, fans were left split on their feelings toward including more Batman and Batfamily storylines. While overall, it was a successful season with a lot of great character moments, some parts played out as if the Titans were a second thought.
With the show being focused on the Titans themselves, this made plenty of fans uneasy about including more Batman in future seasons. More Batman means less focus on the team, though less Batman could lead to a lack of viewership and early cancellation.
10 More Batman: Give The Team More Bat-Adjacent Kids
Across the history of Teen Titans, there have been hundreds of members. These members include a plethora of Batman-related teens that haven’t seen screen time in Titans. The show has the opportunity to bring in some of these fan-favorite characters.
Notable members that could come to the show include the previously hinted at Stephanie Brown since Tim is now playing a major role in the series. Additionally, Cassandra Cain, aka Orphan/Black Bat, has seen a recent resurgence in popularity, which could make her a great addition to the show.
9 Less Batman: There Are Hundreds Of Other Members
As stated above, there are plenty of members on the Titans roster that haven’t received their time in the spotlight. This includes several of the earliest members of the team. One major request that fans have been making is to see Wally West’s Kid Flash make an appearance since he was on the original team with Dick, Donna, and Garth.
Fans have also been asking for classic Titans characters like Lilith, Gnarrk, and even Duela Dent. These characters being left out in favor of several generations of Robins has left fans disappointed.
8 More Batman: Batman’s Rogues Are Popular
From the Riddler to Bane, most people can identify Batman’s villains, even if they aren’t fans of comics. This staying power means that not only would most of his rogue’s gallery be able to give the Titans a run for their money, but also bring in wider audiences.
With The Joker dead, a vacuum of chaos opened which Jonathan Crane filled for a time, but so many other villains could have a chance at the spotlight. Some could also look to San Francisco as a new battleground.
7 Less Batman: The Titans Do Have Their Own Villains
While Crane and Joker are iconic villains, the Teen Titans have always had a plethora of enemies to combat. With a Deathstroke story already out of the way, the next biggest threats are H.I.V.E., the Fearsome Five, and Brother Blood.
These villains might not have the name recognition that Mr. Freeze does, but their impact on the comics has been felt by the fans. With most of the Fearsome Five already introduced at the beginning of Season 3, fans are expecting the Titans villains to be their own in Season 4.
6 More Batman: Robins Are Almost Always Titan Members
Unlike many other teams in the DC Universe, the Teen Titans have almost always been tied directly to the Batfamily. Dick started the original Teen Titans and Titans teams, routinely returning to the role of leader across decades. Jason took over the spot, but to a lesser extent in his tenure.
Tim restarted the Teen Titans alongside friends to prove himself as a hero. Damian took over the lead role as a badge of honor. Other Batfamily members including Flamebird, Black Bat, and technically Spoiler have shown up as members over the years.
5 Less Batman: Gotham Didn’t Feel Like Gotham
One of the biggest issues with moving the setting to Gotham for season 3 was just how many hoops the writers had to go through to make the Titans story work. Notably, viewers noticed that, for a crime-riddled city, there was only one bad guy working the usual beat; Jonathan Crane.
A question that is never answered is where are the dozens of other villains that operate in Gotham? Even if the big names like Two-Face and Penguin were in hiding after Batman kill the Joker, the small fries like Firefly and Kite-Man would still be out there.
4 More Batman: The Comics Prove What Can Be Done With More
Every major crossover event of the last 2 decades has featured the Batfamily front and center because they are some of the most popular characters and fans see the more human members of the teams as risk-taking. A Superman story where he is at full power is fine, but there are rarely stakes. With the Batfamily, the stakes are always present.
In almost every adaptation of DC comics, there is a presence of Batman because he is just that useful to the heroes of the world.
3 Less Batman: Superpowers Need Bigger Threats
Another major issue fans had with season 3 taking place in Gotham was the fact that this team was filled with demi-god tier heroes, yet they took a whole season to take down Crane. Obviously, there needs to be a suspension of belief when it comes to superhero stories, but Superboy was sidelined the entire season as the tech expert.
It is always nice to get a look at the Luthor side of Superboy, but that can’t be the only side for an entire season. It wasn’t even threatened that someone had Kryptonite, except the one time it was used by his own teammate Nightwing. These superpowered young adults need to fight at their level, not punch down.
2 More Batman: Batman Sells
As mentioned before, Batman and his family are huge drawing factors for fans and the casual viewer. Simply put, Batman sells, even if the story or adaption isn’t good. There are over eight decades of characters, storylines, and lore to pull from for Batman to keep a hold on the DC Universe.
With this in mind, including more Batman seems like the right choice as bigger plots – and a bigger audience – means the show can continue for longer than it would if it dropped the Batman connections.
1 Less Batman: The Fans Deserve More
While Batman has eighty years of content, the Teen Titans aren’t a new group. They’ve appeared on and off since 1963, making for almost sixty years of their own stories to be adapted. The need to rely on Batman shows a lack of faith in a team that is made up of fan-favorite characters.
The Teen Titans cartoons and movies have found success because, even though there are many nods to the dark knight, they tell their own stories with their own villains. Titans should follow that same format and keep Batman as a nod, not a major focus.
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