Jason Todd's Titans Season 3 Resurrection Teases A Major Batman Villain
As Titans season 3 flashes back to Jason Todd's resurrection, the HBO Max TV show teases Ra's al Ghul as a potential future villain. DC's 1988 "A Death in the Family" storyline kills off Batman's second Robin via the wrong end of Joker's crowbar, but thanks to Superboy punching the fabric of reality into submission, Jason Todd is brought back to life. He's then tossed into a Lazarus Pit by Talia al Ghul, which heals Jason's wounds and restores his memory. These puddles of mystery are dotted all over DC's Earth - mystical pits of revitalization that can save a person from death. They're most commonly associated with Ra's al Ghul, who uses the Lazarus power to achieve near-immortality.
Titans season 3 killed off and brought back Curran Walters' Jason Todd within the opening 2 episodes, but held off on revealing precisely how Batman's sidekick got revived. Finally, episode 5's flashbacks sequences reveal the truth about Jason Todd's death and his connection to Scarecrow, proving Robin was already under 'Crow's sway when he got whacked by Joker. Since death wasn't part of their plan, Jonathan Crane returned Jason to the world of the living by having a lackey dump his body into Gotham City's last accessible Lazarus Pit.
When Scarecrow explains this to a deeply confused Jason Todd, the perma-stoned villain says "you know, you really should be thanking Ra's al Ghul," noting how the mystic left a single untouched Lazarus Pit behind. Curiously, this isn't the first time Titans has referenced Ra's in season 3. After Dick Grayson discovered Jason's vacant casket, the Titans mused on whether Batman's ageless nemesis might be responsible, obviously remembering his affinity for Lazarus Pits. While Titans offers nothing to suggest Ra's al Ghul actually is conspiring with Jason and Scarecrow, 2 mentions of the character inside 5 episodes could be building toward an eventual debut.
Ra's al Ghul has popped up on DC TV before (in Arrow and Gotham, for example), so is evidently a villain Warner Bros. would be happy for Titans to use. Furthermore, the recent prominence of Lazarus Pits proves that Ra's crossed paths with Iain Glen's Batman sometime previously, and that the villain walked away alive (otherwise the gang wouldn't suspect his involvement). It feels like Titans is setting the stage for Ra's al Ghul to become to next major villain (perhaps in season 4), and this makes sense considering the Raven/Wonder Girl storyline bubbling away in the background.
Though she's yet to feature in Titans season 3, Raven is currently on Themyscira trying to resurrect Donna after her season 2 finale death. Logic dictates she'll succeed sooner or later, and if we've learned anything from comic books, it's that characters who cheat death rarely come back without side effects. If Titans season 4 features an out-of-control resurrected Wonder Girl, Ra's al Ghul might be someone the Titans seek out to fix her. He's somewhat of an expert in the subject, after all.
Titans has backed itself into a corner when it comes to showing or not showing Ra's al Ghul. Not only has the villain been name-dropped multiple times, but season 3 uses Ra's as a plot device in Jason's resurrection. DC stories often rely on Ra's al Ghul and his trademark Lazarus Pits to let characters defy death, but that works best when Ra's is actually involved in the story. If Titans is leaning on the al Ghul name to explain away Jason Todd's return without any intention to eventually introduce the character, the resurrection would feel a mite too convenient. If Jason's Lazarus bath is the prelude to Ra's al Ghul returning to Gotham City, however, Titans season 4 can continue the Red Hood storyline with an even more formidable member of Batman's Rogues Gallery.
Source: Screenrant
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