The following contains spoilers for Titans Season 1, Episode 4," Super Super Mart," now streaming on HBO Max.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Titans Season 4 is the dilemma Gar is having. His Beast Boy powers aren't stable, with clues arising he may well be a prophesied destroyer. He revealed as much when he took Raven into his visions, indicating Gar is indeed locked into the Red. In the process, it seems a "blood moon" that Mother Mayhem is eyeing will be the catalyst to turn Gar evil.
This has Gar as cautious as ever, worried if he's really meant to usher in an apocalypse. After all, he lost control like the Hulk already and wrecked a portion of Star Labs. Interestingly, thanks to one key nugget of information from Mother Mayhem's backstory, the reason for Gar's issue might have come to light.
Titans' Mother Mayhem May Be an Elemental Appropriator
In flashbacks, Mayhem is seen years before she joined the Temple of Azarath cult, working in an office. However, she displays witch-like powers, fixing a printer and making a plant come back to life without raising so much as a finger. Granted, she eventually loses it on the job and causes chaos. It reiterates May has enormous power, which is why Trigon's cult recruits her.
The plant revival, however, is most telling as this indicates May can tap into the Green, or the essence of life. This connects to the elemental force Swamp Thing is noted for in the comics. But seeing as DC has a Mother Mayhem who could latch onto this force, the series could be creating an amalgamation of the villain, who has the ability to mess with Gar.
Titans' Mother Mayhem Could Be a Spin on Sonya Tarinka
While May from the comics just led the blood cult and sought disciples for Trigon, the Rebirth era had the mantle taken up by Dr. Sonya Tarinka, a physicist. She studied cosmic forces such as the Green and the Red, trying to understand more about life's connection to humans and plants in the former, and animals in the latter. Her main goal was to dissect more on the ultimate power source: energy from the Source Wall.
In the process, Sonya got married to the Red personally, which led to her manipulating animals, and corrupting Beast Boy. She became the most powerful Mother Mayhem ever, turning him into a raging monster. Thankfully, the heroes were able to take her down and save Gar. However, Season 4 suggests May is a remixed take on Sonya, which would make sense as she already has a window in Beast Boy's mind to exploit. Seeing as Trigon pierced Gar's mind and gave him dark nightmares in Season 1, May, as Trigon's acolyte and one of his wives on Earth, could easily harness the power of Azarath, and her own mystical powers to link, not just to the Green, but to the Red.
This would enable May to mess with Gar's mind, plant false prophecies and voices, and puppeteer him, similar to the way she's manipulating zombies like Deathstroke. Such a direction gives her an inside man, preoccupying Raven. Ultimately, this makes May a devious mastermind, while giving her a hold on Beast Boy that a de-powered Raven would have to work hard to break -- that is, if she finds out the truth. Most of all, it'd perfectly tie into why Mayhem continues to shock fans with her abilities, coming off a lot scarier and more intimidating than the source material.
New episodes of Titans stream on Thursdays on HBO Max.