Superboy’s Murder Joke Reveals A Superhero Problem Beyond Titans

Warning: spoilers ahead for Titans season 4, episode 6.

Superboy’s joke about Titans‘ death toll raises an excellent point about the hypocrisy of the superhero genre at large. Altered by his spell under Mother Mayhem’s influence, Joshua Orpin’s Superboy transforms into a super jerk in Titans season 4, part 1’s finale. Embracing his Lex Luthor persona, Conner Kent becomes an arrogant, ruthless, domineering character who addresses his fellow Titans with scathing sarcasm. In this spirit, Conner suggests killing Sebastian Sanger before he becomes Brother Blood, but Nightwing predictably replies, “We don’t kill people.” Superboy then amusingly points out how the Titans have quite bloody hands, using the many cult members burned inside the Asylum as an example.

Insufferable though the Lex Luthor version of Superboy may be, he makes a salient point. Nightwing and the other Titans preach pacifism, insisting that Sebastian Sanger cannot be murdered in cold blood. They make this plea for mercy while conveniently ignoring the various nameless goons and background cult members that perished due to the Titans’ actions. Nightwing would perhaps suggest these instances were matters of self-defense, whereas Sebastian Sanger is yet to commit any crime. Superboy evidently believes that with the fate of the world at stake, Dick Grayson is splitting hairs over which deaths are acceptable and which are forbidden.

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Titans Season 4’s Death Debate Calls Back To Dick Grayson’s Jericho Mistake

Superboy’s snarky reminder of the Titans’ death count recalls a Jason Todd storyline from Titans season 2. Carrying the weight of nearly being killed by Deathstroke, Jason Todd contemplated taking his own life. In preventing this, Dick confessed to a time when the Titans sought revenge on Deathstroke by any means necessary, even using the villain’s civilian son, Jericho, who died as a direct result of being the Titans’ new playmate. Not only did this lead to Deathstroke branding the Titans hypocritical heroes, the revelation drove a wedge between Jason Todd and Dick Grayson, with Robin 2.0 unable to view his predecessor in the same light.

On one hand, Superboy could argue that the Jericho controversy proves his point in the Titans season 4 Mother Mayhem storyline. Dick Grayson is quick to preach morality and ethics, but equally quick to drop those idealistic values when they become inconvenient. On the other hand, Dick’s determination to avoid killing the innocent Sebastian may be an attempt to atone for Jericho’s death, learning from his past mistakes and remembering that moral lines are vital in superhero work. Except when burning down an asylum full of cult followers, seemingly.

Superboy Revives A DC Movie Death Problem

Henry Cavill’s Superman has been widely criticized for causing more damage and death than the peace-loving Man of Steel should. Not only does the wholesome Clark Kent kill General Zod in Man of Steel, the destruction their battle brings to Metropolis annoys Bruce Wayne enough to set up a sequel pitting the DCEU heroes against each other. Despite making this moral stand against Earth’s Kryptonian refugee, Bruce is quite happy to kill an array of unidentified criminals in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, then takes a stab at murdering Clark himself. Superboy’s criticism of Nightwing from Titans season 4 works just as accurately with the live-action Superman and Batman.

The Titans hypocrisy debate extends beyond just the current era of DC movies. Christian Bale’s Batman upheld the character’s traditional values, but rarely mentions how he blew up a building full of League of Shadows ninjas, resulting in many deaths – a scenario eerily comparable to the Titans and the Trigon cult. Michael Keaton’s Batman was no saint, regularly igniting criminals in macabre Burton-esque fashion, and the topic bleeds over into Marvel thanks to Captain America’s questionable “we don’t trade lives” mantra in the MCU. Superboy maybe has a good point in Titans. Heroes refuse to murder – except for all the people they murder.

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