Huge Titans Season 4 Theory Reveals Its DC Universe Is Broken

Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Titans season 4.A new theory suggests that the cosmic order has been corrupted in Titans season 4, and the Earth-9 DC Universe has become broken as a result. This theory is based on a seeming overlap between the elemental forces that form the backbone of the DC Universe in the comics, as depicted in Titans. Suggesting that the natural order is falling apart as a result of the activities of the Church of Blood and Mother Mayhem.

The story of Titans season 4 has taken a mystic turn, with both Beast Boy and Starfire having strange visions regarding their respective destinies. The Titans also recruited Jinx, a magic-using thief, and ex of Dick Grayson, to lend them her expertise after Raven lost her powers. All of these subplots are seemingly connected through the same elemental forces that bind all life in the DC Universe together.

Related: Starfire’s Titans Season 4 Story Calls Out A Huge Trigon Problem

DC Comics Elemental Forces Explained

The seeds of the modern DC Comics cosmology were first planted in Alan Moore’s legendary run on Swamp Thing. Moore established the Green, a mystic energy that linked all plant life in the universe. Moore also revamped Swamp Thing into a Champion of the Green, created to fix a cosmic imbalance caused by the rise of an evil called the Great Darkness. Writer Jamie Delano later did something similar in the pages of Animal Man, creating a force called the Red, which united all animal life and gave Buddy Baker the power to mimic the special abilities of animals. The Red is also the source of Beast Boy’s shape-shifting powers in Titans.

Later writers expanded on the work of Moore and Delano, creating other forces based around the classic elements and other life forms These included the Clear, which connected water elementals and oceanic life, and formed the basis of Aquaman’s telepathy. The White connected all air elementals, the Melt linked all earth elementals, and the Grey united all fungi. Strangest of all was the Divided, which united all microscopic life, like bacteria and amoebas. All these forces of Life were opposed by a force of Death, known as the Black and the Rot, which empowered the undead.

Has Beast Boy Become The Champion of The Red?

Beast Boy’s storyline in Titans season 4 suggests that he may have been chosen to become the new Champion of the Red. Visions of a tree covered in strange sculptures made of animal bones filled Gar Logan’s mind, and he also began to hear voices, which addressed him as “skin-walker,” asking him to join with them. The most coherent of these visions explained that the bone sculptures were “trophies…collected and slaughtered by a dark force.” Gar was also given a foreboding prophecy, proclaiming “When the blood moon is full, the world will follow you.”

Beast Boy’s visions were later confirmed to be a result of his connection with the Red by the new Titans’ sorceress Jinx, though she couldn’t tell him much about the Red beyond it being “a place of great power and mystery.” This fits with the comics, where the Green spoke to Swamp Thing in confusing visions while trying to direct him in fighting the Great Darkness. It seems likely then that the Red in Titans has chosen Beast Boy to act as its avatar in thwarting the activities of the Church of Blood.

Related: Titans’ Azarath Chant Explained (& How Raven Knows It)

How The Church of Blood Draws Upon The Black

There is considerable evidence that the Church of Blood in Titans season 4 has become a threat comparable to the Great Darkness, necessitating the Red to appoint a champion to preserve all life on Earth. In Titans season 4, episode 4, “Super Super Mart,” the team faced a horde of Dawn of the Dead style zombies and a zombie Deathstroke, who were under the control of Mother Mayhem. It has also been suggested that Sebastian Sanger, the dark messiah of the Church of Blood, might have had visions of the desolate afterlife depicted in Titans season 3.

All of these displays of dark power would be consistent with the powers of an Avatar of the Rot in the comics, and the Red would almost certainly seek to create its own champion to oppose such a being. However, the idea that the Church of Blood is drawing upon the Rot as part of their plan to bring about the return of Trigon is somewhat odd, given that the Church of Blood is more traditionally associated with the Red in the comics. Brother Blood IX worked blood magic against his foes, and the most recent incarnation of Mother Mayhem developed a connection to the Red.

How One Beast Boy Power Shows The Universe Is Broken

One use of Beast Boy’s powers in Titans season 4 suggests that the natural order between the Forces forming the DC Universe is breaking down, which could be related to why the Church of Blood seems to be making use of the Red and the Rot. In order to combat a magical snake that had taken refuge in Superboy’s body, Beast Boy transformed himself into a virus capable of covertly introducing a magical reagent into the snake, so that Jinx could banish it. While Beast Boy justified this change by insisting he could change himself into anything that has DNA, there is some debate about whether viruses count as living creatures.

Even if they do, viruses almost certainly fall under the control of the Divided, which rules over single-celled creatures, rather than the Red. This suggests that Beast Boy may have been breaking the rules governing his powers by becoming a virus. While the Divided and the Red could theoretically work in concert, it is rare in the comics for the Parliaments that rule each force to work together, even against the Rot.

Related: Brother Blood’s Dream Can Connect To Titans Season 3’s AfterlifeRegardless of the limits on Beast Boy’s transformations and the source of Mother Mayhem’s power before she stole Raven’s magic, it seems clear that a battle is brewing between the Red and the Rot in the world of Titans. With Sebastian Sanger now in the Church of Blood’s control, it seems likely the precise nature of his untapped powers will be made clear shortly. Hopefully, Beast Boy will be able to rise to the challenge and lead the world to victory against the Church of Blood.

Titans continues Thursday on HBO Max.

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