WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the sixth episode of Titans, “Jason Todd,” streaming now on DC Universe.

Titans has devoted a significant portion of its season so far constructing Dick Grayson's backstory, relating the deaths of his parents in near-iconic imagery, and exploring his complicated relationship with Bruce Wayne, who took in a young orphan, only to transform him into a child soldier in his war on crime. With this week's episode, "Jason Todd," the DC Universe series provides Dick with a dark glimpse of what he might have, and could still yet, become -- a sociopath who exploits the relatively anonymity of the Robin costume to gleefully mete out violence  -- while also introducing an archnemesis who is, basically, his own Joker.

With his disfigurement, Nicolas Zucco may seem to have more in common with Batman foe Two-Face, but that's only a surface reading. But just as, in most tellings, Batman played a role in the creation of The Joker, so too was Robin pivotal in the origin of Zucco as a diabolical killer fueled by revenge.

In "Jason Todd," we learn that Batman's new sidekick (Curran Walters) didn't arrive by accident to rescue Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites), but rather was sent to inform him about the murders of former performers of Haly's Circus. One by one, people with connections to Dick's childhood as part of the Flying Graysons have been killed and disfigured with hydrofluoric acid, the same substance used to burn the trapeze ropes used by his parents.

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As in the comics, it was mobster Tony Zucco who killed Dick's parents to send a message to circus ringmaster C.C. Haly, an honest businessman who refused to pay protection money. On Titans, when Zucco is finally apprehended, he cuts a deal to inform on the Maroni crime family, which placed him in the sights of not only the mob, but also Robin. In flashback, we see the Boy Wonder attack the prison van transporting Zucco to protective custody, intent on seeking vengeance for the murder of his family. Dick nearly kills Tony with his bare hands, but then hesitates long enough for Maroni thugs to arrive and finish the job for him. When Zucco pleads amid a hail of bullets --  hydrofluoric acid bullets, no less -- for help, Dick flatly replies, "No."

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But the Maronis didn't stop with Tony Zucco's death, of course. As Nicolas reveals, Robin's actions against his father had far-reaching consequences: Tony's deal with the government died with him, leaving his family without federal protection, placing Nicolas' mother, sister and fiancee at the mercy of the Maronis, who had none. "They all melted," Nicolas recalls, referencing the acid that served as the crime family's calling card. "They tried to melt me too." Instead, he was left with a horribly disfigured face, and a thirst for vengeance.

Titans Jason Todd episode

Proving himself more astute than most of the residents of Gotham City, Nicolas was able to make the connection between Dick Grayson, enraged by Tony Zucco's deal with the feds, and Robin, whom police claimed freed his father, only to offer him up to the Maronis. Donning a Phantom of the Opera-style half-mask to hide his scars, Nicolas then set out to murder Dick's "family," his fellow performers at Haly's Circus. However, it's unclear why he would go to the trouble of tracking down those people, and not Bruce Wayne, Dick's adoptive father (beyond, you know, for story purposes, as Batman would likely make quick work of Nicolas, leaving no need to bring Dick into the picture).

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Nic's plan is straight from a classic Batman comic: He maneuvers Dick into a reunion with his one-time father figure, Clayton Williams (Lester Speight), aka Atlas the Strongman, if only so he can be used to lure Robin into a trap. And, oh, what a trap it is, undoubtedly inspired by the 1966 Batman TV series. Clayton is suspended by rope below a vat of -- you, guessed it! -- hydrofluoric acid, while Nic, in classic supervillain fashion, removes his mask, details his scheme, and engages in a little purple prose.

"You revealed your true self on that bridge," he tells Robin, referring to the night of Tony Zucco's death, "just like the acid peeled away the surface to reveal my true self underneath."

Jason Todd intervenes, providing an opening for Dick to rescue Clayton before Nic can cover him in deadly acid. However, Nic then shoots Jason with a hydrofluoric acid bullet, which will no doubt evoke memories of the second Robin dying at the hands of The Joker in the comics. But of course this Jason isn't dead, as his upgraded Robin suit can handle a little ol' acid bullet. Dick then unleashes on Nic, who falls with a series of crunches and spurts.

Although Jason observes the "dude deserves what he got," it's unclear whether Nic is actually dead. If so, it would be a short, yet still deadly, reign by Dick Grayson's new nemesis. But of course, even if Nicolas Zucco still lives, we're unlikely to see him again. After all, this is Titans, not Robin, and there's a globe-spanning -- and possibly interdimensional -- conspiracy still to unravel.

Now streaming on DC Universe, Titans stars Brenton Thwaites as Robin, Anna Diop as Starfire, Teagan Croft as Raven and Ryan Potter as Beast Boy, with Curran Walters guest-starring as Jason Todd.