Last week’s episode of Titans on DC Universe ended with a massive cliffhanger as Dick Grayson and Starfire went up against Deathstroke, all while the fate of the current Robin Jason Todd hung in the balance. And just when it looked like they were about to save him, Deathstroke sent Robin plummeting to his death while Dick could only watch, and the episode cut to black. This week’s episode of Titans was a major detour, focusing on the debut of Superboy as a young clone freshly escaped from the science facility that created him.
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So when the finale of the episode saw these storylines collide, it was a major surprise to see just how Superboy’s debut affected Jason’s ultimate fate.
Spoiler warning for Titans episode “Conner” below:
The episode jumps back months before the fight over Robin’s fate, beginning in Metropolis with Superboy’s escape from Cadmus Labs. But it shows his eventual arrival in San Francisco, with the Kryptonian clone walking down the street with his dog Krypto and happening upon the battle taking place.
As Jason Todd plummets toward certain doom, Superboy just happens to be walking by the commotion when he looks up and sees the body falling. He springs into action, using that skill of “leaping tall buildings in a single bound” to intercept Jason before his fall, and taking the brunt of the impact.
Throughout the episode, Conner is faced with hard truths about his existence. It is explained that he has the emotional intelligence of a two-year-old child, so all of his experiences are occurring for the first time. But he also has genetic memories, so he is able to recall some of the events that took place both of his parents lives — those being Lex Luthor and Superman.
Because of this, he is constantly struggling with Luthor’s inherited darkness, while also burning with a desire to do what’s right from Superman. So that’s what compels him to save Jason Todd from certain death.
However, in this moment he puts his guard down, and agents employed by Lex Luthor wound Superboy by shooting him with Kryptonite bullets. As he lay there on the verge of death, Jason Todd informs Dick and Starfire that this mysterious new metahuman saved his life.
While we don’t think Titans would just introduce Superboy and kill him right away, effectively making him a plot device to save Robin’s life, it’s hard to put anything off the table when it comes to this show. We’ll learn Superboy’s fate when the next episode of Titans debuts next Friday on DC Universe.
