How Titans’ Season 3 Finale Makes Hank’s Return Possible

A brief flash in the Titans season 3 finale suggests that with the help of the Lazarus Pit, Hank Hall might be alive again and could potentially return to in the future. Titans has already played fast and loose with the concept of death and the idea it isn’t permanent. In Titans season 1, after Beast Boy seemed to have been beaten to death, he slithered back as a snake, while season 3 saw the resurrections of Jason Todd, Donna Troy, Tim Drake, and Dick Grayson.

Hank Hall – who went by the alter ego of Hawk and was played by Alan Ritchson – had a sometimes-tumultuous relationship with Dawn Granger/Dove (Minka Kelly) and struggled with anger and substance issues. While Titans season 3 saw him at peace with some of these problems, he was drawn back into the fray when Batman left Gotham after the death of Jason Todd. In Titans season 3, episode 3, he is killed after being blown up by a bomb planted by the resurrected Jason Tod/Red Hood. Titans season 3, episode 9 “Souls” then showed him in the afterlife as he helps Donna (Conor Leslie) and Tim (Jay Lycurgo) to escape from Hades’ minions. While they are able to return to the land of the living, Hank is trapped behind but is shown to be reunited with his brother Donnie and they continue to do superhero work together in the afterlife.

While Titans season 3, episode 9, seemed to close Hank’s arc and give him a happy ending, a moment at the end of season 3 finale “Purple Rain” suggests he could have already been resurrected. Raven analyzes the Lazarus Pit and announces that it absorbs the fears of everybody who has been through it. She later feeds the Lazarus Pit to Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum, torturing him with the fears of others, and viewers are shown key clips of other characters’ fears. Some include Jason falling from a skyscraper from Titans season 2 which is regularly used to represent Todd’s fears. Dick is shown dressed as the Joker beating Jason to death, which is taken directly from the fears Dick had to go through in the Lazarus Pit. However, the final shot that flashes up quickly is of Hank at his moment of death. The only people present to see this moment were Superboy (who has not been in the Pit) and Hank himself. This could mean he is somehow resurrected by the Lazarus Pit between the events of “Soul” and “Purple Rain.”

There are some issues with this, based on the rules established by Titans about how the Lazarus Pit and Afterlife work, however. The Lazarus Pit would require some part of his body to have entered the pit and it seems unlikely there was anything much left after the scale of the explosion. There is also no evidence there was anything to bury in the wake of his demise. Additionally, it is unclear who would have had time and the knowledge of the Lazarus Pit to resurrect Hank but would also want to keep it secret, unless it was Jason or Scarecrow in a fit of remorse. However, comic book adaptations are often willing to bend the rules of death when it becomes convenient.

Ultimately, it is unlikely that Hank Hall will return to Titans. While Alan Ritchson has said that he would be willing to return to Titans (via EW), he feels like the storyline provided Hank closure and it would be fine if the character did not return. With that in mind, it is possible the appearance of Hank in the Lazarus vision was intended as a representation of Dick’s fears as leader of the Titans; however, the choice of that particular image was a strange one. Titans season 3 certainly leaves the door open for Hank to come back in one way or another if the showrunners wish to pursue that storyline and Ritchson wants to return, if only for a brief cameo or a small Titans Easter Egg.

About The Author

Faefyx Collington
(487 Articles Published)

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Faefyx Collington (They/Them) is a senior features writer for Screen Rant. They’re a British writer of both fiction and non-fiction, focussing on science fiction, fantasy, and mystery for the former and on culture, gender, and current affairs for the latter.
Never content to settle to one thing, Faefyx is also a co-host and producer of the podcast and video series “Unramblings,” and can occasionally be found making music around the internet as well.
Having acquired degrees on both sides of the Atlantic, Fyx has settled (for the moment) in the southern United States where they live with their spouse and an entirely appropriate number of cats.

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