The following contains spoilers for Titans Season 4, Episode 4, "Super Super Mart," now streaming on HBO Max.
Titans Season 4 just confirmed that Conner Kent/Superboy (Joshua Orpin) inherited Superman's weakness to magic.
Superboy's vulnerability to the supernatural is showcased in the HBO Max show's latest episode, "Super Super Mart." Here, Conner Kent and his teammates go head-to-head with a horde of zombies under the control of Mother Mayhem (Franka Potente). One of the undead creatures is none other than legendary Titans enemy Deathstroke, whose magic-infused attack on Conner pierces the young superhero's nigh-unbreakable skin. Conner later vomits up blood followed by a snake, a further sign that he's not immune to Mother Mayhem's spells.
Superboy sharing Superman's weakness to magic aligns with Conner's established origin story as a clone of both the Man of Steel and his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor. Luthor made his Titans debut in Season 4's aptly named premiere episode, "Lex Luthor," in which he's portrayed by Titus Welliver. The iconic supervillain doesn't survive his first outing in the series, though, as he's killed by what seems to be the same kind of spell as Conner is afflicted with in "Super Super Mart." Showrunner Greg Walker has since revealed that Luthor's abrupt exit was the result of DC Studios only allowing Titans to use the character in a single episode.
Will Superman Appear in Titans Season 4?
Despite the restrictions surrounding Luthor's inclusion in Titans Season 4, Walker nevertheless remains optimistic that Superman himself could one day appear in the series. The showrunner said that he would "love" to produce at least one Superman-centric Titans episode in the future, especially since the Last Son of Krypton's connection to Conner ties in with one of the show's central themes. "I think that's a story that our show often that deals with [which is] fathers and sons," Walker said. "It feels like it would be a huge get to be able to do [a Superman appearance], and we could really do a lot with it if we got it."
In the meantime, Walker encouraged audiences to be on the lookout for further references to Superman littered throughout Titans Season 4's remaining episodes. DC's flagship superhero isn't the only fan-favorite character name-dropped this season, either. Episode 3, "Jinx," includes a reference to John Constantine, confirming that the occult detective and conman exists in Titans continuity.
New episodes of Titans Season 4 arrive on HBO Max on Wednesdays.
Source: HBO Max