WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Titans Season 2 episode "Atonement," streaming now on DC Universe.
In its Season 2, Titans has put Conner Kent well down the road to his officially becoming Superboy in an enticing, entertaining storyline. He saved Jason Todd from death to make his presence known, only to be pumped full of kryptonite bullets in what was almost a heroic sacrifice.
Although Conner was being nursed back to health at Titans Tower, he now finds himself as part of the show's latest superhero duo. However everything goes wrong when he and Beast Boy venture outside, only for Conner to turn into a full-fledged terrorist in the eyes of the public.
Following Dick Grayson's admission that he played a role in the death of Deathstroke's son, Jericho, the Titans have disbanded. Raven left with Donna Troy, Hawk and Dove went their own way, and Jason and Rose (Jericho's sister) also abandoned ship. Heartbroken, Dick realized he was the poison all along and leaves the tower, telling Gar to call Bruce Wayne once Conner wakes up. Dick believes it's best for him to head off and do some soul-searching, leaving Gar worried that his teammates really won't ever come back.
Still, clinging to that glimmer of hope, Gar begins a workout routine over the next couple days, does chores, reads to an unconscious Conner and plays with Krypto. He even keeps a log like a Star Trek captain, only for a naked Conner to confront him just when he was getting bored. Gar gives him some clothes, feeds him and they bond over everything from abandonment issues to their innate desire to be true heroes. The pair become fast friends, especially as Gar marvels over Conner's ability to process information while playing video games. He can clearly see why Conner's a mix of Superman and Lex Luthor, and as he sympathizes with the Superboy, Gar decides they need a day out on the town to take their minds off the stresses and challenges of their lives.
Initially, they have fun in the city, and Gar even teasing his animal morphing abilities turn into a tiger for Conner, who doesn't know what a tiger is. However, their big day out suddenly goes off the hinges, however, when Conner sees a man being arrested by cops, crying out about abuse and excessive force. Conner doesn't know what police are, and he thinks they're villains assaulting an innocent man. With memories of his own experiences with CADMUS' soldiers attacking him at Lionel Luthor's farm, Conner brutally attacks the cops.
He tosses some of the officers away and slams others into the ground or into their vehicles, even flinging car doors at the police. Since their bullets and tasers can't harm Conner, things escalates quickly as he uses his super-speed and heat vision to roast cop cars in broad daylight, as many onlookers record the incident with their phones.
Even Krypto gets in on the act, mauling a couple officers as well. Gar disappoints the audience, however, when he literally leaves his partner-in-crime at the scene, running back to the tower. They were the last Titans left standing, but Gar's retreat means that Conner has been exposed once more for the world to see. You can bet that Lex will send CADMUS after his pet subject, and the situation is made all the more dangerous since Dick can't answer Gar's call for help since he's also in custody. With Bruce not returning calls either, Gar is truly alone in a state of total isolation.
Titans has paired off its heroes into several successful twosomes -- Dick and Starfire, Hawk and Dove, Dick and Donna, Dick and Jason, Conner and Krypto -- and it's sad to see Gar and Conner's burgeoning friendship go downhill so quickly, since there was a lot of promise between both. Sadly, Conner doesn't seem able to control his anger and as it stands, he's a weapon of mass destruction that Superman himself may need to come calm down. Still, it's sad to see Gar abandon his brother-in-arms like that, and it shows how the Titans' breakup really has taken a toll on Beast Boy. Unfortunately, Conner might be the one who'll pay the price big time.
Streaming now on DC Universe, Titans Season 2 stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson, Anna Diop as Kory Anders, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth, Ryan Potter as Garfield Logan, Curran Walters as Jason Todd and Conor Leslie as Donna Troy, with Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger, Alan Ritchson as Hank Hall, Joshua Orpin as Superboy, Chelsea Zhang as Rose Wilson, Chella Man as Jericho, Drew Van Acker as Aqualad, Esai Morales as Deathstroke and Iain Glen as Bruce Wayne.