The second season of Titans is fast-approaching to pay off on the cliffhanger that had Dick Grayson in dire straits, and that was very bad news for Raven and his other teammates. The whole first season was pretty rough on good old Dick, and his identity crisis wasn't helped by his Robin costume going up in flames after being replaced by a new, younger, and much more violent Robin in the form of Jason Todd.
While Dick losing his Robin costume was rough on him, fans everywhere began to hope that the time was finally coming for him to give up the Boy Wonder mantle and seize his destiny as the masked vigilante known as Nightwing, just as Dick did in the comics. It didn't happen in Season 1, but comments from Titans executive producer Geoff Johns indicated that the transformation is on the way, and with Titans set to kinda sorta tackle the legendary "Judas Contract" arc from DC Comics, Season 2 will definitely see him because Nightwing sooner rather than later, right?
Not necessarily. The first trailer for Season 2 didn't show Dick wearing blue and black (or even red and black), and actor Brenton Thwaites wasn't among the cast members showing new looks at their suits for Season 2, even though he didn't hold back from sharing set pics on social media ahead of the first season. So, what gives? First, let's look at the sneak peeks at the Season 2 suits from Thwaites' costars.
Here's the new suit reveal from Anna Diop, who plays Starfire:
Kory Anders/Koriand'r/Starfire
Hello, Starfire! In Season 1, Kory Anders' look was big hair, bright purple, impractical footwear, and a fair amount of skin showing, which was close but no cigar to Starfire's comics look for some fans. Her new look, as shared by Anna Diop on Instagram, shows Starfire in pants with a bare midriff and sleeker hair, although no less fiery red. Of course, her necklace is still part of the look. The purple is deeper, and almost appears black from a distance.
All things considered, the updated suit seems much more practical for crime-fighting in my book, even if her powers do mean that she doesn't have to deal with the same kinds of physical demands as her non-superpowered peers. It's also not any closer to Starfire's traditional comics look, but Titans isn't especially close to the comics either, so why not give her a fantastic new look that's all her own?
Now, let's take a look at Conor Leslie, a.k.a. Wonder Girl:
Donna Troy/Wonder Girl?
In Titans Season 1, Donna Troy was technically the former Wonder Girl, childhood best friend of Dick Grayson and previous sidekick to Wonder Woman. She gave up the superhero life but didn't abandon the fight for justice, as she used her work as a photographer to battle bad guys in her own way.
She did return to the action when Dick needed a hand and Starfire lost control, and the new pic courtesy of Conor Leslie shows Donna suited up as Wonder Girl once more... or so it seems. Will Donna be back in the mix as Wonder Girl in Season 2? Or has she realized that she's outgrown Wonder Girl and become Troia, as her comics counterpart did? The stars on the suit in the picture are much more similar to the traditional Troia outfit.
Rachel Roth/Raven
After a hellish first season, Raven seems to be getting an updated look as well. She doesn't exactly look sleeker or more dangerous like some of the other heroes, but that's a fresh raggedy sweater, at least. Her hair is a bit longer, a bit curlier, and appears at bit lighter, although the image (posted by Jason Todd actor Curran Walters on Instagram) isn't the most brightly-lit photo, nor a full-body shot. The accessory on her forehead is a new addition as well.
Still, it's better than nothing, and maybe it indicates some scenes with Raven and Jason in Season 2! Curran Walters doesn't seem to be suited up as Robin when he snapped the pic, so maybe they're hanging out in civvies. Does this count as a new look for Jason? He's in his Robin outfit when he shouts the most iconic line of the new trailer, and it looks pretty much the same as his Season 1 Robin suit.
Now, this leads us to a bit new question:
What About Dick Grayson?
Color me confused about what's going on with Dick! After he lost his Robin suit -- which was already outdated, compared to Jason's -- in Season 1, he visited Donna and got some advice about moving on from being Boy Wonder.
Honestly, I'm not sure why he's needed so much pushing to abandon the mantle of "Boy Wonder" when he's pushing 30 on the show, but hey, I wasn't raised to be a vigilante by a brooding billionaire after a bloody circus incident. Seriously, though, what's going on with his superhero identity?
His conversation with Donna in Season 1 on top of a bunch of other developments, including the introduction of a new Robin, really seemed to suggest that Robin was out and Nightwing was on the way in for Dick sooner rather than later. Yet there has been no sign of a Nightwing suit on Brenton Thwaites, either via an official promo pic or a social media release.
Even more confusingly, the trailer seems to show Dick back in a Robin outfit to fight in Season 2, including against Jason in his Robin suit. Did he pick up a new suit while visiting Bruce, as seen in the trailer? If so, was it left over from his time as Robin, or did he steal one of Jason's and modify it to fit him? Why is he still Robin? Is Titans just going to give Jason Todd his comics fate and keep Dick as Robin indefinitely?
Take a look at Dick in the trailer:
Admittedly, there's more of Dick in civvies and shirtless (meeting Krypto, of course!) than back in Boy Wonder mode, but I still have to wonder what's going on and why he seems to be backsliding into Robin rather than moving forward into Nightwing.
Hopefully he will give up the R and cape to pick up the escrima sticks as Nightwing. Maybe Titans just wants to build to that development for the character who is arguably the protagonist of the series, even if Titans is technically a series about a team.
At least the wait to see what happens after that crazy Season 1 finale cliffhanger is almost over! Titans Season 2 premieres on DC Universe on Friday, September 6. It's one of the earlier fall releases, and hits the airwaves far earlier than any of the DC series on The CW, so be sure to tune in if you're in the need of a DC TV fix.
