Throughout the first four issues of Titans, Tom Taylor and Nicola Scott have thrust the team into a variety of situations. Now DC’s most prominent team as the Justice League no longer exists, the group has dealt with both a blood-thirsty cult and a corporation that’s been razing wildlife across Borneo. The latter plot has now led directly into the Titans’ newest member, and it’s a surprising addition at that. Light spoilers up ahead for Titans #5. Proceed with caution if you’ve yet to catch up.
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Beast Boy has taken it upon himself to fix the charred Borneo jungles. To do that, he convinces the rest of the team that they need to reach out to Swamp Thing to help restore The Green on the island. They soon teleport of the apartment of Levi Kamei, the publisher’s latest iteration of Swamp Thing, and convince him to help out.
Once the green begins growing again—much to the thrill of the Titans—they officially extend him a membership offer, which he quickly accepts. Kamei agrees to join the group on the condition it’s a part-time membership, meaning readers probably shouldn’t expect to see him around in every issue, but it’s likely the character will be back before too long at all.
It’s also excellent timing on DC Comics’ part as DC Studios is actively developing a new Swamp Thing movie from filmmaker James Mangold.
“Basically, the second I heard DC was going through some leadership convulsion and James was taking over, I just saw it as an opportunity to throw my hat down in the most — I mean I just called them and I said, ‘In all the stuff you’re doing, if the idea of me making a gothic horror film, origin story of Swamp Thing fits in, tell me,’” Mangold previously said of the film on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
He added, It’s no different speech than anyone else gets with me; I don’t have any agenda for a universe, I’m not building towards someone joining in some future. Have at it, but I’d just be interested in telling, I’ve always been interested in doing a version of Frankenstein, basically, and, yet, I feel, ‘It’s alive!’ has been done enough, but Swamp Thing always occurred to me as this wonderful version of a Frankenstein story, much in the way one of my favorite pop films of growing up, RoboCop, the original one. This guy who just wakes up and he’s been turned into, he finds he’s become this machine, was also something I was fascinated with with Logan, obviously.”
Titans #5 is now available wherever comics are sold.
