Titans: Everything That Happened Between Seasons 2 & 3

What went down in the narrative gap between Titans season 2’s finale, and season 3’s premiere? Titans season 2 concluded in suitably dramatic fashion, with Mercy Graves arranging an auction of Joshua Orpin’s Superboy by having the Superman-Lex Luthor hybrid demonstrate his strength against a transformed Beast Boy in a crowded public space. It took the combined might of the Titans crew, led by a reinvigorated Dick Grayson under his new Nightwing persona, to bury Graves’ scheme. Though successful, victory came at great cost, as Donna sacrificed herself to stop a falling electrical mast hitting Dawn and the assembled bystanders.

As Titans season 3 begins, it’s evident that a time jump has occurred. No main character is quite where we remember them from the end of season 2, and Titans forces the audience to connect the dots themselves by drawing on clues from character dialogue and news reports. Titans‘ season 2 premiere took a similar direction in 2019, more or less starting afresh following season 1’s battle against Trigon, and while the leap from season 2 to season 3 is nowhere near as jarring, there’s definitely a soft reset as the action relocates from San Francisco to Gotham City.

Though it’s not clear exactly how long this time jump lasted, Dick Grayson claims that “three months” have passed since he last spoke to Jason. Assuming the Robins haven’t been sending cat videos over WhatsApp, 3 months is the amount of time elapsed in-universe between Titans seasons 2 and 3. Fortunately, the first three episodes on HBO Max drop enough hints to piece together a broad idea of what happened during those unseen months.

Jason Todd Returns To Batman’s Side

Following his painful brush with Deathstroke and near-death experience, Jason Todd rapidly found himself flying off the rails towards the end of Titans season 2. Striking up a relationship with Deathstroke’s daughter, Rose, even that romance turned sour, prompting Jason to tell his former Titans pals “f**k all of you” before riding into the distance on his motorbike after Donna’s farewell. The opening scene of Titans season 3 reveals that Jason returned to Gotham City, and is once again operating as Robin by Batman’s side. Despite pinging back to Wayne Manor and reclaiming his superhero identity, Jason still hasn’t shaken his Deathstroke demons, and apparently has no contact with the Titans.

The Joker Escapes Arkham Asylum

Titans season 1 established that Joker was residing at the pleasure of Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, having been captured by Batman long before the series began. In order to transform Jason Todd into Red Hood, however, the Clown Prince of Crime was required back on the mean streets of Gotham City. Sure enough, the villain is confirmed to have escaped ahead of Titans season 3’s first episode. Tim Drake and his family watch a news report on Robin’s murder, and the bulletin states that Joker “escaped earlier this month.”

The Titans Are A Super-Famous Superhero Team

Season 3’s premiere uses minor villain Gizmo to establish how the Titans have become famous as a superhero unit since season 2 ended. The group of Nightwing, Starfire, Superboy, Krypto and Beast Boy are now a well-oiled crime-fighting machine, and have the blessing of San Francisco’s police department after being dubbed the city’s “guardian angels.” The time jump becomes even more obvious when a nearby cop asks Superboy for an autograph. Joshua Orpin’s character only made his public debut in Titans season 2, but has now earned celebrity status along with Nightwing, Starfire and Krypto. Not so much Beast Boy.

Jason’s Personality Changes

Returning to Gotham City, Dick Grayson investigates the death of his Robin successor, finding that Jason exhibited several major personality changes upon his return from San Francisco. For one thing, he’s taken up reading. The boy who, in Dick’s words, barely read the back of a cereal box has suddenly taken a keen interest in chemistry. The trail suggests Todd was concocting his own personal drug supply too. He’s spotted inhaling a mysterious serum before tackling Joker, and Dick locates a makeshift loft lab rented out in Jason’s name. Exactly what Robin was cooking prior to his demise, Titans season 3 is yet to reveal.

No Word From Raven

In the final moments of Titans season 2, Rachel decided to accompany Donna’s body to Themyscira, hoping her mysterious demonic powers could somehow bring the fallen Wonder Girl back to life. Rachel doesn’t appear in the opening trio of Titans episodes, but Gar reveals in a sad bedroom monologue that no Titan has heard from Rachel since she departed for the land of the Amazonians. Raven is barely even referenced by the other character, proving Rachel is very much “out of sight, out of mind” (though obviously not for Gar). Teagan Croft will appear in Titans season 3, but what’s taking so long over in Themyscria?

A New Killer In Gotham

When Dick Grayson finally reunites with his adopted father in the wake of Jason’s death, he’s surprised to find Bruce already working on a fresh case. Batman explains that 7 bodies wrapped in cellophane have appeared on the streets, and the culprit remains at large. Meeting with Commissioner Barbara Gordon, Dick learns that the GCPD are already investigating the strange killing spree as a top priority. When Bruce later questions Barbara on the new player in town, he mentions “8 bodies in as many weeks,” revealing the murders have been ongoing during Titans‘ inter-season time skip.

Hawk & Dove Move To DC, Hank Is A Cop

Hank and Dawn have never been DC’s most reliable couple, on and off like a broken light throughout the past 2 seasons. The last time fans saw Titans‘ combustible avian lovers, Dawn broke off the romance, realizing that their relationship was unhealthy for both parties. Nevertheless, both Hawk and Dove were included in the final Titans lineup to close out season 2. The situation has evidently changed since then, as Hank arrives in season 3 sporting suspicious facial hair and riding a police bicycle. Dawn apparently moved to Washington DC following Donna’s death, but retained her superhero persona and a loose association with the Titans. She “allowed” Hank to follow her, but he decided the vigilante gig was no fun after getting dumped, and become a cop instead. Dawn, meanwhile, has started dating again.

Scarecrow Joins The GCPD

As Red Hood rears his head in Gotham City, Commission Gordon reluctantly admits to Dick that her GCPD have been working with a profiling “consultant” on the suggestion of Batman himself. This would-be Sherlock is current Arkham resident, Jonathan Crane, otherwise known as Scarecrow, who has been offering his scientific expertise in exchange for Gotham’s finest weed. The association might’ve started longer than three months ago, but Barbara has certainly been making the most of her brainy asset in recent times.

Blackfire Hasn’t Made Her Move

The final sting of Titans season 2 saw Starfire’s troublesome sister, Blackfire, arrive on Earth and adopt an unwitting human host in a store parking lot. The warrior from Tamaran looked distinctly unhappy, and it seemed she was heading straight for Kori, where a mammoth sisterly duel would commence. Strangely, three months have passed without any sight of Blackfire. With Kori suffering strange blackouts in the first three episodes, however, that could soon change in Titans season 3.

About The Author

Craig Elvy
(3624 Articles Published)

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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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