DC’s Titans Takes Superboy on a Killing Spree

DC’s Universe’s Titans is coming to the backend arc of season 2, and in episode 9, “Atonement” the various Titans team members each find themselves facing some very hard choices that come with very serious consequences. In the case of Connor / Superboy (Joshua Orpin), the entire concept of choice proves to be a very uncertain concept, as Gar / Beast Boy (Ryan Potter) discovers to his horror. When Gar tries to let the young Superman clone out in the world for a bit, things quickly spiral out of control, and Superboy ends up going on a killing spree that’s going to leave him marked as a major fugitive (if not worse).

WARNING: SPOILERS for DC’s Titans season 2 follow!

Superboy has woken up from his coma after being shot with a Kryptonite bullet by Lex Luthor’s henchwoman Mercy Graves (Natalie Gumede). Having barely lived a day of his life outside of a Cadmus growing tube, Connor is still woefully unfamiliar with the world or even how to be a person – aside from an uncanny ability to recall anything his donor “fathers” (Superman and Lex Luthor) knew. At first things like video games are enticing and exciting for Connor, as is the city of San Francisco, when Gar finally let’s him outside of Titans headquarters. The purpose of the excursion is noble enough: Gar is explaining to Connor what it means to be a hero, and how the Titans help those who are need. Unfortunately, Gar’s explanation of heroism is naively simplistic and binary, so when Connor sees a man being detained by the police calling out for help, he immediately thinks that it is prime opportunity for a hero to intervene.

Superboy quickly thrashes the cop detaining the man, which immediately sets off the other cops in the squad to try and bring down Superboy. Connor quickly becomes exasperated and confused about what’s going on: in his childlike mind there’s only one association for the uniformed men swarming him and trying to capture him: the Cadmus forces that have been hounding him and trying to recapture him since his escape. That connection sparks a serious “Fight or Flight” response in Superboy, with heavy emphasis on the “fight” part. Connor begins mercilessly (and fatally in some cases) taking out the cops, and when reinforcements arrive with a fleet of squad cars, Superboy unleashes his Heat Vision and turns the cars into rolling infernos. Even Superboy’s dog Krypto gets in on the carnage, tackling a cop and tearing him apart.

The scene ends with Superboy looking horrified and/or awed by his own destructive power, while Gar, ever the coward, runs away from the scene and any accountability for the Frankenstein he’s unleashed.

DC’s Titans Season 2 continues next Friday with Episode 10.