Caution: spoilers ahead for Titans season 3

Bruce Wayne claims to have finally killed The Joker in Titans season 3 – but is it genuine, or part of a larger ruse? Titans advertised Jason Todd’s transformation into Red Hood well ahead of time, with Curran Walters’ masked supervillain enjoying a major presence in season 3’s marketing. It’s no surprise, then, that the opening episode begins with Jason receiving a brutal beating at the hands of a crowbar-wielding Joker and is officially pronounced dead. Much more surprising is Batman’s response. The Caped Crusader takes a crowbar of his own, pays a visit to Arkham, and exacts bloody revenge on his eternal nemesis before disappearing without a trace.

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Though Bruce Wayne is rarely one to wear emotions on his sleeve (especially Titans‘ Iain Glen version), his initial reaction to Jason’s death is shockingly blasé. Robin II is buried without fanfare, and Bruce is already lining up his next sidekick, with various young candidates already scouted (including Carrie Kelley and Stephanie Brown). A less-than-impressed Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon criticize Bruce for weaponizing youngsters and leading them to their deaths, but in an escalation of events that’d shock even Ron Burgundy, Dick awakens in the middle of the night to find a bloody Bruce claiming to have offed Joker, lamenting a life full of regrets, and leaving Gotham under the protection of Nightwing. Joker’s demise is confirmed by the authorities soon after.

Batman’s Titans season 3 revenge is a stark contrast to the original DC comics. Following Jason Todd’s demise in “Death in the Family,” Batman does venture down a darker, more violent path, and he’s very obviously tempted to kill Joker, but the most Gotham’s Clown Prince gets is a thorough beating. Batman’s self-discipline (and Superman’s insistence) prevent him from exacting revenge on Joker. When Jason Todd eventually resurfaces, he actually takes issue with how Bruce never broke his moral code. Batman murdering Joker, disappearing, and leaving the entire mess for Dick Grayson to clean up is an invention solely of Titans season 3.

Even in the bat-poop-crazy world of Titans, Bruce Wayne killing someone is shocking stuff, but enough hints are peppered throughout season 3’s opening episodes to suggest deception is afoot. The audience never see the act, nor do they witness the finished result. Bruce’s word alone isn’t enough, and since both he and Joker are perfectly capable of faking a corpse, neither is the GCPD’s. Then there’s the dramatic midnight entrance in Dick Grayson’s bedroom – a very un-Batman thing to do. If Jason Todd’s death really did push Bruce to kill Joker and skip town, the Dark Knight would’ve done so without a word to anyone. Bursting in on a sleeping Grayson, crowbar in hand, is such an over-the-top display for a usually stoic and reticent superhero, it has to be orchestrated.

Then there’s the issue of Jason’s casket – confirmed empty in Titans season 3’s third episode. Dick seems to assume Jason’s body was either lifted from the ground after Batman buried him, or that Bruce unknowingly buried an empty coffin. But what if the reason Jason Todd’s “funeral” was rushed ahead without the Titans was because Bruce knew there was no Jason inside. And, of course, if he knew Jason wasn’t really dead, Batman is left without a motive to kill Joker.

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But what possible reason could Bruce Wayne have to fake Joker’s death? Assuming Jason’s decline into villainy is genuine (and it certainly seems to be), Batman might believed Dick Grayson is the only person who can get through to Jason and halt his Red Hood crime spree. By going along with Jason’s death and then inventing an excuse to go missing, responsibility for the situation falls squarely to Dick. As for Joker, Batman probably took him along, keeping the villain restrained without breaking his long-held moral code. Alternatively, Batman might’ve deduced that Joker’s “death” was the only way to bring Jason Todd and his real accomplice out into the open. Either way, there’s more to Batman killing Joker than meets the eye in Titans season 3.

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About The Author


Craig Elvy
(3624 Articles Published)

Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig’s interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally came into its own.
Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS.

Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly as a features writer.
Jim Carrey is Craig’s top acting pick and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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