Questions Titans Season 4 Needs To Answer | Screen Rant
Titans season 4 is set to take the series in some interesting new directions, but there are still several major questions that need to be answered before the HBO Max series can fully move forward. Titans season 3 featured the culmination of several of the show's longest-running arcs: Dick Grayson's journey to find his inner Nightwing and learn how to finally be a good team leader; Jason Todd's fears and insecurities slowly manifesting in the Red Hood; Starfire's search for identity in season 1 coming full-circle with the realization that her sister Blackfire is the real victim of their complicated family drama—for instance.
In addition, Raven now appears to have almost full control of her powers after training on the Amazon island of Themyscira. Beast Boy has long been a criminally underrated member of the team—not to mention an actual teen Titan—but in season 3 he finally received his second animal transformation, opening the door for Gar to be a much more versatile superhero in the coming season(s). Even Titans version of Bruce Wayne came back from the brink of death with a whole new perspective.
With season 4 now officially confirmed, the series has a chance to apply a fresh coat of paint as the Titans return to San Francisco in the most recognizable version of the super-team to date. While unexpected allies like Hawk, Dove and comic book OG Teen Titan Donna Troy have been largely welcome additions to the roster since the beginning, fans of the modern animated characters will agree there's just something right about Nightwing, Robin, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire loading into that RV at the end of season 3. This should allow Warner Bros. to deliver a more "classic" Titans adventure going forward, but there are still quite a few questions left unanswered that will need to be addressed first.
Gotham's original Robin, Dick Grayson, has consistently proven himself to be a flawed leader for the titular team of Titans throughout the show's first three seasons. Early on it is his complicated relationship with Bruce Wayne and the weaponization of his childhood that keeps him from growing and maturing, but even after seemingly moving on from Batman and donning the Nightwing costume, Dick struggles to learn the same lesson over and over again. He is constantly leaving the other Titans in the dark, and runs off on his own so many times that it's fair to question why he even started the team in the first place. In Titans season 3, just when it begins to seem like Dick has learned from his mistakes, he incapacitates Superboy (and Kyrpto) with Kryptonite dust, just so that he can arrogantly run off to stop Scarecrow on his own—a poor decision that immediately results in him being shot, beaten and killed.
While the show's writing has, at times, simply felt like a bad characterization of its lead protagonist, the HBO Max series is clearly taking its time in establishing Grayson's rise to the head of the table. It's possible that actually dying and confronting his inner demons inside the Lazarus Pit is exactly what he needs to finally be an effective leader. One of the first things he does after coming back to life is tell Rachel and Gar to unite the Titans, executing a plan to take down Scarecrow that not only utilizes the entire team, but also ropes Red Hood (aka Jason Todd) back into the loop and begins the slow healing process the characters need to move forward following his betrayal earlier in the season. That said, fans have seen Dick seemingly overcome his issues in the past only to immediately fall back into his old ways. Titans season 4 needs to either firmly establish Nightwing as the leader he is meant to be, or move him aside once and for all for the sake of the other heroes.
Iain Glen has done a tremendous job putting a fresh spin on one of the most adapted heroes in comic book history. While only a supporting character in Titans, Bruce Wayne has been an occasional mentor to the team and a surrogate father figure for both Dick Grayson and Jason Todd—and it's clear both proteges have some severe baggage as a direct result of that relationship. Titans season 3 heavily revolves around the rise of Red Hood, a masked Jason Todd who aligns himself with Scarecrow after being beaten to death by the Joker. Unaware that the Lazarus Pit has been used to bring Jason back to life, Bruce snaps and finally breaks his all-important rule, brutally murdering the Joker for revenge.
Wayne goes largely unseen for the remainder of the season, leaving Gotham in the hands of Dick and the Titans. During this time, Scarecrow is able to utilize his relationship with Red Hood to infiltrate Wayne Manor, setting up the mansion and the Bat Cave as his personal base of operations. The brooding billionaire isn't seen again until Donna Troy shows up at the very last minute to save Batman from committing suicide. Wayne finally returns home in the Titans season 3 finale, witnessing the damage done to Gotham during his time away, in addition to smoothing things over with both former Robins. It certainly appears as though Mr. Wayne has a newly refreshed perspective, however it remains to be seen whether or not he's ready to suit up as The Batman once again.
Titans season 3 was a whirlwind of a time for Barbara Gordon. In a relatively short span of time the GCPD Comissioner has to deal with several high profile killings, Batman disappearing, the rise of Red Hood, Scarecrow taking over the city, and widespread corruption inside the GCPD that ultimately finds her in handcuffs. By the end of the season, most of these problems are resolved as Barb and "Vee" retake GCPD headquarters while the Titans put an end to Scarecrow's plot. With the Titans presumably returning to San Francisco for season 4 it's possible fans may not see much of Barbara going forward, but the show did make a point to tease her continued work with A.R.G.U.S. and search for the dormant Oracle in the final moments of the finale. This is not the first time Titans has brought up its unique version of Oracle, which largely remains a mystery within the Titan-verse, so it will be interesting to see if/how that plays out going forward.
Titans introduced a whole cast of Dick Grayson's original contemporaries in season 1 including Hawk, Dove, Wonder Girl and Aqua Lad (via flashbacks), as a means to ground the character's backstory while providing the younger generation of up-and-coming Titans with a few much-needed adult role models. Season 3 continues the process of slowly phasing out the old guard, as the finale ends with Donna Troy remaining behind while the rest of the group returns to San Francisco. Donna is on her way to Europe to visit Dove—as she has a message from Hawk to relay from beyond the grave—but there are a number of options for her character. Titans teases Donna joining up with A.R.G.U.S. at some point, which could set up a stand-alone series for the character, but whatever her future holds it's unfortunately likely that Wonder Girl will only be a reoccurring guest on the show going going forward.
Speaking of A.R.G.U.S., the shadowy super-human arm of the U.S. government made its presence known in the Titans season 3 finale, with "Vee" revealing herself as an active member all along. The organization moved into Gotham City pursuing intel that Ra's al Ghul had returned to establish a Lazarus Pit in the area, as part of a much bigger, as-of-yet undisclosed plan. Interestingly, it was very specifically mentioned that Roy Harper—the protege of Green Arrow who later became a full-fledged member of the Justice League as Red Arrow—is a member of A.R.G.U.S., with "Vee" making sure to let Barbara Gordon know that he "sends his regards". Hopefully this is a thread that Titans pulls on in season 4 and beyond, although it's entirely possible HBO Max is planning a spinoff series based on the organization, potentially similar to Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.
With Titans tying up so many loose ends on long-running storylines this year, the series has a chance to take itself in a new direction while potentially telling some classic stories featuring one of the most iconic factions in DC Comics history. That being said, hopefully Titans season 4 also looks back long enough to address some of the more important questions they left unanswered in Gotham City and beyond.