The upcoming Titans TV show will hit the DC streaming service with none other than Robin (Brenton Thwaites) in charge of a band of superheroes. Now, Batman has had a number of sidekicks going by Robin over the years in DC Comics, but Dick Grayson is the first and best-known of the Boy Wonders. According a new report, however, Dick may not be the only Robin to appear on Titans. Jason Todd could have a part to play as well.
Jason Todd -- a.k.a., the second Robin -- seemed like an unlikely DC character to appear on Titans after the announcement that Dick would still be in his Robin persona on the show, but TitansTV reports that the seventh episode of Titans Season 1 will be titled "Jason Todd." While the episode title has not yet been confirmed, it's probably enough to get DC fans pretty excited. The introduction of Jason Todd would likely mean an appearance from Batman, some time spent in Gotham, and potentially Dick Grayson's transition from Robin to Nightwing.
I can't speak for anybody else, but I know I was disappointed when I learned that the 28-year-old Brenton Thwaites would be playing Boy Wonder on Titans when the Nightwing persona was an option. The introduction of Jason Todd could be what motivates Dick to give up the cape and shift into Nightwing. Besides, Jason Todd is arguably the second best-known Robin in DC Comics lore, although not for the happiest reason.
The second Robin was brutally beaten to death by the Joker in a decidedly dark comics run that changed Batman forever. Jason's tragic story was adapted into the animated Batman: Under the Red Hood movie in 2010, touched upon in Batman v Superman in 2016, incorporated into the Arkham Knight video game, and hinted at in Young Justice. Admittedly, Batman: The Animated Series skipped Jason and went right to Tim Drake for the post-Dick Grayson Robin (presumably to avoid the darkness of the Jason Todd stories) and the recent string of animated Batman movies has skipped both Jason and Tim in favor of Damian Wayne becoming the second Robin, but Jason Todd is still a name that a whole lot of people know as one of the Robins.
If Titans does introduce a young Jason as the second Robin, it could be a sign that the show will be relatively faithful to DC Comics history. We probably wouldn't need to worry about him either, as surely the show wouldn't introduce a new Robin just to kill him off sooner rather than later, especially since Titans isn't Batman's show. Assuming Jason does appear on Titans, my money is on his character being used to push Dick into moving into the next stage of his superhero career and taking on a mantle that doesn't necessarily scream "Batman's sidekick."
We can only wait and see. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in superhero news. We already know of a second superhero team coming to Titans, as well as a well-known DC Comics villain. Be sure to take a look at our rundown of all the TV shows planned for the DC streaming service, and check out our midseason TV premiere guide and Netflix premiere schedule for what you can watch while we wait for the service to debut.
