The new trailer for the second season of Titans shines more light on what split the original team apart, and hints at what brings the new generation together. In the process, it raises numerous questions about some of the new players -- Aqualad and Rose Wilson, for starters -- and which events take place in the past, and which unfold in the present.
There's also the matter of how Superboy and Krypto, newly escaped from Project Cadmus, fit into the season's overarching storyline, which points to not only a deadly showdown with Deathstroke, but also encounters with at least some of the Fearsome Five, and Koriand'r's sister Blackfire. Along the way, we can probably expect Dick Grayson to embrace his new identity as Nightwing.
Below, we break down the biggest moments, and most compelling mysteries, of the Titans Season 2 trailer.
Good-Bye, Robin, Hello ... Nightwing?
It's perhaps telling that the first image in the trailer following the roll call-style introduction is actually from the seventh episode of Season 1, when Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites) burned his Robin costume. It's serves as a thematic bookend for the footage, with closing scene, in which Dick is told, "Now is the time ... be Batman," providing the other.
In all likelihood, the second season of Titans will complete Dick's journey to find himself, and to forge an identity outside of Batman's shadow. It echoes his arc in The New Teen Titans comic series, in which he retired his Robin costume, only to adopt the new identity of Nightwing in the seminal "Judas Contract," to rescue his teammates when they're betrayed from within and captured by Deathstroke.
Poor, Poor Aqualad
Introduced in the previous teaser, Drew Van Acker is Aquaman's former sidekick Aqualad, a member of the original Titans, which disbanded under mysterious circumstances. This new footage sets up a romantic relationship with Donna Troy (Conor Leslie), but it may also point to Aqualad's death.
The trailer makes clear that a traumatic event caused the original team to disband, with a distressed Donna telling Dick, "There's ghosts in this place," referring to Titans Tower. It's a safe bet one of those ghosts is Aqualad, killed by Deathstroke.
Welcome to Titans Tower
Although we don't see any exterior shots of the iconic, T-shaped building, many of the scenes in the new footage take place in Titans Tower. Just look for the blue lights lining the door ways and floors.
Rumored since at least June, when new cast member Chella Man, who plays Jericho, posted a behind-the-scenes photo, the setting is confirmed by the Season 2 synopsis, which refers to the team's "new home at Titans Tower." Presumably the headquarters as been, in Donna's words, "shuttered," since the original team disbanded.
No Cape, No Scowl
Of course, we already knew Game of Thrones actor Iain Glen is playing Bruce Wayne this season. However, what we didn't know is that the aging vigilante is apparently on better terms with his protege that Season 1 suggested. We're not even talking about the finale, in which Dick takes down his murderous former mentor in a nightmare vision created by Trigon; there were plenty of hints that Bruce and Dick were no longer on speaking terms. However, this scene suggests they're actually happy to see each other.
Titans Together ... But Why?
Over the protests of Dawn "Dove" Granger (Minka Kelly), who in the trailer threatens to burn down Titans Tower if he doesn't stop his "little experiment," Dick appears determined to train Rachel (Teagan Croft), Gar (Ryan Potter) and Jason (Curran Walters) in the team's old headquarters, warnings and ghosts be damned.
What he's preparing the young heroes to face isn't clear, but there are plenty of candidates: Although they apparently defeated Trigon, he may remain a threat; Deathstroke has a history, and unfinished business, with the team; and, as we see in the trailer, Koriand'r's past may have caught up with her.
One-Fifth of the Fearsome Five
We speculated that the magenta-haired figure taken down by Starfire (Anna Diop) and Donna Troy in the teaser trailer might be Miss Martian, of Young Justice fame. However, this footage proves that we were wrong. She's instead Shimmer, which will probably not ring many bells.
She's an early foe of the team, introduced in 1981 in The New Teen Titans #3 as a member of the Fearsome Five. She and her brother Mammoth answered a newspaper ad placed by Doctor Light, and joined Psimon and Gizmo to form the first incarnation of the team. Considering that Season 2 has reportedly cast Michael Mosley as Doctor Light, it's a good bet that Shimmer is more than a mere punch line.
The 'S' Stands For Stolen
The unexpected post-credits scene of the Season 1 finale showed the escape of Superboy and Krypto from Project Cadmus, setting up their official introduction in the second season. Played by Joshua Orpin, Superboy in this trailer gains his signature T-shirt, which it turns out was stolen from a street vendor. However, we still have little to no details about how his storyline will intersect with those of the others.
Is Rose Wilson Filling in For Terra?
DC comics readers will immediately recognize that Chelsea Zhang is playing Rose Wilson, aka Ravager, the daughter of Slade Wilson. In the comics, she travels a lengthy arc, in which she begins as an enemy of the Teen Titans but ends up becoming a member. However, on Titans, her role may be a bit different.
Some of the key elements are in place for the drama's second season to adapt the seminal "Judas Contract," but it's missing a key component: Terra, the troubled young woman who's welcomed into the Titans' ranks, only to betray them to her partner, Deathstroke. It's possible, even probable, that Rose will fill the role of mole and traitor. The question is whether she did so in the past, with the original team, or in the present with the current Titans.
Kidnapped!
Starfire may have more to worry about than D-list supervillain Shimmer, because she's abducted in the trailer by someone who's almost certainly from her planet, Tamaran. (Note that he says, "Sorry about that, your highness," as he's knocking her out.) In 1982's The New Teen Titans #23, "Kidnapped!," Starfire was abducted by the alien Gordaians and taken to her sister, Princess Komand'r, aka Blackfire, but it was hardly a heartwarming reunion.
Considering reports that Blackfire will appear in Season 2, there's a good chance something like that is playing out here, only without the reptilian Gordaians.
The Titans Are Back, Bitches!
We saw a version of this scene, in which Jason Todd declares to a television news team, "The Titans are back, bitches!," but what's notable here is the chyron that reads, "Disaster At Local Farmhouse." Before this, there had been no references to the showdown with Trigon set up in the Season 1 finale, but the "local farmhouse" undoubtedly is the family home of Rachel's biological mother, Angela Azarath.
There was obviously a disaster, from which the Titans emerged victorious, but at what cost?
But Deathstroke Is Back, Too
The news report, heralding the return of the Titans, appears to be what triggers Wilson Slade, played by Esai Morales, and sends him gunning for the team once more.
Deathstroke obviously isn't in a good place, which may suggest the Titans weren't the only ones who lost someone in their previous encounters. Is it possible that Aqualad and Rose died, which led to an uneasy truce?
Titans stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson, Anna Diop as Kory Anders, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth and Ryan Potter as Garfield Logan, with Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger, Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall, Curran Walters as Jason Todd, Conor Leslie as Donna Troy, Joshua Orpin as Superboy, Esai Morales as Deathstroke, Chelsea Zhang as Rose Wilson, Chella Man as Jericho, Drew Van Acker as Aqualad and Iain Glen as Bruce Wayne. Season 2 arrives Sept. 6 on DC Universe.