Titans Season 2 Unveils First Look At Bruce Wayne
The year of the Batman reveals continues.
The first trailer for the second season of the DC Universe series Titans has been released, and it gives fans their first look at Iain Glen's Bruce Wayne — and, as an added bonus, Esai Morales' Deathstroke, canonically the Titans' most persistent nemesis.
Titans is the inaugural original effort for DC Universe, and its first season racked up accolades for its dark yet humorous take on the Teen Titans, DC's classic superhero team led by Dick Grayson/Robin (Brenton Thwaites). During the first season, the rest of the team included Rachel Roth/Raven (Teagan Croft), Koriand'r/Starfire (Anna Diop), and Gar Logan/Beast Boy (Ryan Potter), and they also crossed paths with Donna Troy/Wonder Girl (Conor Leslie), Hank Hall/Hawk (Alan Ritchson) and Dawn Granger/Dove (Minka Kelly), all of whom can be spotted briefly in the trailer.
Fans had an inkling that Bruce Wayne would be a part of this new season; at the conclusion of season 1, Robin endured an episode-long hallucination in which he, five years in the future, was forced to track down and kill an out-of-control Batman (who is seen only in costume). It was implied that the demon Trigon, who manufactured this vision, may have been able to take control of Grayson's mortal form — but we'll have to see how that plays out.
Fans had been psyched to catch a glimpse of Glen (Game of Thrones) as Wayne, and we got one, however brief. Well, we can report that he looks the part, although we're not so sure that he exactly sounds like the Dark Knight. Glen is Scottish, and we're sure that in his mind, he's doing a flawless American accent — but to American ears, it sounds a little bit dodgy. Perhaps this is something the producers will want to clean up in post-production; it's not known whether Wayne will actually suit up to fight alongside the Titans this coming season, but it wouldn't really do to present to us Yanks a Batman that sounds more like Alfred.
Aside from Wayne, the spot introduces us to Drew Van Acker's Aqualad and Chelsea T. Zhang's Ravager — and, at its conclusion, Deathstroke, standing bathed in shadow at the end of a dark, foreboding hallway. Obviously, we don't get a good look at the villain's costume, but he sure cuts a badass, menacing figure, and we're sure that's not the only thing he'll be cutting; he didn't bring along those swords for nothing.
Also, in a moment fans have been waiting for since it was teased in the post-credits stinger of the season 1 finale, we get a look at Joshua Orpin's Superboy, and Krypto, the Super-Dog. We don't get to see the pooch in action, but we're thinking that the show's producers didn't want to tip their hand too soon; seeing the lovable little scamp just annihilating some hapless costumed villain while barking playfully has got to be one of this season's highlights, or it will be the biggest missed opportunity in the annals of superhero television. Will he be wearing a cape when he bounds into action? That would really be the icing on the cake.
If, like us, you're a big fan of the Dark Knight, this year has been and will continue to be a very good one in terms of giving us more live-action Batmen than you can shake a Batarang at. First, the series finale of Gotham finally gave us that show's version of the Caped Crusader, something we'd all been anticipating for the entirety of the show's run. September will see the bow of Titans' second season, and in December, the CW's Arrowverse will stage another of its huge crossover events, one with a name that every single DC fan will recognize: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Cast in the role of Bruce Wayne for the multiverse mashup: Kevin Conroy, who has provided the voice of the character in animated series, features, and video games for over two decades. (Many Bat-fans, in fact, believe his interpretation of Bruce Wayne to be the definitive one, and you'll get no argument from us.)
DC Universe made serious waves with its cancellation of Swamp Thing after only one episode of its truncated first season had aired, but any rumblings that the service may be in danger of folding have seemingly been put to rest, with Doom Patrol recently renewed for a second season, an amazingly NSFW trailer for the animated Harley Quinn series having been released, and now, our first look at what appears to be a smashing new season for Titans. We'll keep our ears to the ground for any news concerning the streamer's slate of original series, and keep you up to speed.