This year has already given of Gotham’s version of Batman, a confirmed casting for the next big screen Bruce Wayne, and we’ll soon see a bunch of different versions of Superman on TV. But the thing is, we already got the best portrayal of these super friends, courtesy of the show Titans. The catch? They were not exactly the real Batman and Superman.
Half of Superman Is Still a Man of Steel
Season one of the DC Universe show ended with a post-credits tease for Superboy, also known as Conner Kent, a clone of both Superman and Lex Luthor. The sixth episode of season 2, “Conner” deals with the titular character escaping from the lab where he was created, and making his way to Metropolis where he is instantly drawn to a stand selling t-shirts with the Superman logo on it. Joshua Opin perfectly plays what is essentially a full-grown adult newborn with superpowers. His Conner has a childish sense of wonder that reminds of Christopher Reeve’s first few scenes as Superman, from when he’s just adjusting to being a superhero and does it with a smile. Conner doesn’t realize the danger he’s getting himself in, but something inside him instantly draws him to situations where innocent people are in danger. Right after he’s told he needs money to buy the Superman t-shirt, Conner hears a woman scream for help. After easily throwing the thief into a pile of garbage, the woman explains that the thief was trying to steal her money, so Conner naively asks if he can have the money instead.
Throughout the episode, Conner discovers he’s just a lab experiment, but also starts to realize there’s something inside him that instantly gravitates towards helping others – even if it comes at a risk for him. At one point, Dr. Eve Watson (Genevieve Angelson) tells Conner he should just stop trying to help people, because if people discover him, they will take him back to the lab where he will be experimented upon. This, of course, brings to mind the scene in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel where Kevin Costner’s Jonathan Kent tells Henry Cavill’s Clark that he should not save people from dying – right before dying in a tornado. The difference is that Titans makes it a point to show that Conner doesn’t really have a choice, this is just who he is. He is part Superman, and that makes him jump headfirst into whatever dangerous situation where he can save some innocent people.
Even if Zack Snyder’s take on Superman was building towards him becoming the boy scout we know from the source material, he didn’t get to that point and we haven’t seen Cavill reprise the role. That’s why Titan’s Conner feels so special, because he embodies what Superman stands for, even if he is but a clone with half of Clark Kent’s DNA. No matter what influence Luthor’s DNA has on him and how violent he is when he fights soldiers or criminals, the show portrays Conner as someone both incredible naïve and childlike but also burdened with a hidden darkness and resentment. This duality was part of Superboy’s story in the comics, but is also part of the past few movies featuring Superman: show someone struggling to do good while becoming disillusioned with a human race that keeps hating him no matter how good he does.
The Dark Knight Has Some Dark Jokes
Though we “saw” Batman back in season 1 of Titans, it was just through stuntmen. But this season the show introduced us to Bruce Wayne via his protégé Dick Grayson. This time it is Scottish actor Iain Glen who plays the famous playboy billionaire, showing up for a quick scene early in the season but coming back for a more prominent role in episode 7. The episode deals with the fallout of Deathstroke nearly killing the second Robin, Jason Todd. As Dick Grayson does his usual brooding, Bruce Wayne seemingly shows up. At first, it looks like elite Gothamite flew all the way to San Francisco to give his surrogate son a pep talk. However, it quickly becomes apparent that this Bruce Wayne is but a manifestation of Dick Grayson’s insecurities the moment he mocks the way Dick lets go of things, and jobs, and people – referring to how Jason fell out of a building.
As the episode goes on, Bruce Wayne remains in the background of every scene Dick is on, mocking his decisions and so-called leadership and offering sarcastic commentary to everyone else’s dialogue. It’s a hilariously deadpan portrayal that borders on the fourth-wall-breaks Doom Patrol did so well.
“But Batman doesn’t make jokes!” you’d say. And you would be very much in the wrong there. While big-screen, live-action portrayals of Batman have for the most part followed the “Dark Knight” era of the character’s history (from the ‘80s and onwards) the character has always indulged in moments of levity. Even Christopher Nolan’s infamously dark and gritty Bruce Wayne isn’t immune to occasional snarky remarks like his “I’m not wearing hockey pads” line. There’s also the fact that Batman spend a couple of decades as a lighter detective getting into bonkers situations thanks to the Silver Age of Comics and of course, Adam West’s 1966 TV show and movie.
When it comes to Titans, Glen gives a grittier take on the Adam West Batman that shouldn’t work but does. His Bruce Wayne is as gritty as anyone else in the show, displaying a seriousness that comes from the cruel reality of the show’s world (after all, this is a show that treats superhero sidekicks as child soldiers). However, his dry sense of humor sells the audience on him being the suave playboy billionaire that he’s supposed to be, as well as having no problem giving some brutal snark. This is a Bruce that says Dick is only the leader because “you’re the only one that has my phone number,” and ends up on stage at a nightclub doing the “Batusi” dance made famous by Adam West.
Titans hasn’t exactly shown us the real Batman and Superman yet, but the show manages to make even a different Super-character and a hallucination of Bruce Wayne embody the essence of the characters. Conner is not Clark Kent, and he has a darkness inside him that further separates him from the Man of Steel, but he has the same innate boy scout calling to help the innocent that is inherently Superman. Likewise, some audience members may not be immediately on board with a sarcastic Bruce Wayne, but this is a man who dresses up as a bat every night, it only makes sense that he has a twisted sense of humor.