The latest episode of the DC Universe Titans TV series finally begins to reveal the secrets of Starfire - and explains just how and why she's been looking for Raven. This eighth episode is focused upon Donna Troy, played by Conor Leslie (The Man In The High Castle). The character is a tremendous one, and there's a wonderful dynamic between Leslie and Brenton Thwaites (who plays series star Dick Grayson). Donna brings a much-needed sense of confidence and balance to the series, and it's a shame DC didn't choose to introduce her a few episodes ago.
Yet again, there's a cliffhanger ending, this time of the Titans turning against one another. Raven's attempts to help Starfire remember who she is backfire when "Kory Anders" apparently recalls her true mission, and the episode ends with the two locked together, their hands at one another's heads. Dick and Donna are on their way, but it really doesn't look as though they'll get there in time to stop a deadly confrontation.
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So, what did we learn and what questions remain unanswered as a result of the eighth episode of DC's Titans? Here, we'll explore all the key takeaways.
- This Page: Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, and the Justice League
- Next Page: The Mysteries of Starfire Begin to be Revealed
9) Who Is Donna Troy?
Another core member of the Teen Titans in the comics, Donna Troy is better known as "Wonder Girl." Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani back in 1965, she's an Amazon warrior who started her superhero career as Wonder Woman's sidekick. The Titans version appears tremendously comic-book-accurate, and there's a powerful bond between Donna and Dick - as she observes in the flashback scene, "Us sidekicks gotta stick together." Donna's apprenticeship to Diana appears to have given her a lot more of a sense of balance than Dick's time with Batman did, but Donna herself has a simple explanation for that. "Wonder Woman was born to protect the innocents," she observes. "Batman was created to punish the guilty." As Wonder Girl, then, Donna learned the value of life and was encouraged to become a protector; Dick learned only violence and rage.
8) Who's In The Justice League In The Titans Universe?
That flashback scene is one of the most important in Titans to date, establishing that the young heroes exist in a world filled with superheroes and supervillains. There's a Justice League meeting at Wayne Manor, and at least Batman and Wonder Woman are involved. It's presumably safe to assume Superman is also a member of this universe's Justice League, given there have been glimpses of Superman merchandise in earlier episodes. That said, the revelation that the Justice League exists in the Titans world sits a little uncomfortably with earlier episodes. Dick certainly seemed a lot less familiar with super-powers back when he attempted to train the proto-team.
7) Why Do The Titans Think The Organization Has Been Destroyed?
One of the more problematic questions of Titans episode 8 is just why the team think this mysterious "Organization" has been destroyed. Dick Grayson got a real sense of the Organization's scale back when he first captured Doctor Adamson; they had enough resources to send in a strike team to Adamson's office within minutes of Dick's breaking in. That should have told Dick that he's dealing with some sort of bigger conspiracy, and that the destruction of the asylum doesn't mean the end of the threat. In spite of that, he asserts that the asylum was "home-base for those freaks," and believes there's nobody left to pursue Raven. It's also possibly the Titans have been misled by Angela, Raven's mother. Although Titans doesn't show Angela talking about Raven's father until later in the episode, surely Dick and Starfire would have asked her some questions before trusting her.
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6) Is It Wise To Go To Raven's Family Home?
Angela offers to take Raven and Beast Boy to her home in Ohio. Although it's been abandoned for five years, and thus is in something of a state of disrepair, it does give Raven the opportunity to have a normal life at last. But, again, that decision just seems odd; Raven's enemies have clearly tracked Angela down there in the past, taking her from it five years ago. In a strange twist, having traveled by car through the entire series so far, Starfire decides to take the group to Ohio by train. It soon becomes clear that part of the plan was definitely flawed.
Page 2 of 2: The Mysteries of Starfire Begin To Be Revealed
5) Does Dick Grayson Have Absolutely No Sense Of Strategy?
There's a somewhat forced scene in which Donna Troy is working a smuggler for information - and Dick Grayson intervenes, beating them up. It leads to a heated argument between the two, with Donna arguing that she was trying to bring down the entire trade, while Dick insists a better way is to take down the crooks whenever she meets them. It's hard to believe Batman never employed Donna's kind of tactics, so it raises the question of just what kind of weapon the Dark Knight shaped Robin to be. Perhaps Batman only ever brought Robin into play when he was planning to tear thugs apart, and thus Dick never learned restraint or strategy. That may explain some of Dick's stranger decisions throughout Titans.
4) Just How Many Cops Did Starfire Kill?
One of the smarter scenes in this episode is one in which Starfire is spotted on the train, which pulls over and is stormed by armed police. Starfire defends herself with lethal force, literally detonating an entire train carriage, at the cost of who knows how many innocent lives. While this is a shocking move, it primes viewers to realize that Starfire might not be a hero at all. After all, Kory's memories are beginning to resurge, and it's clear that makes her more dangerous than ever before. This neatly foreshadows the episode's conclusion.
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3) Why Is Starfire's Alien Language An Offshoot Of Sumerian?
In an amusingly convenient plot twist, Donna recognizes Kory's writing as an offshoot of ancient Sumerian. The idea that the Sumerians were influenced by an ancient alien race is a popular one, with controversial researcher and author named Zecharia Sitchin positing that the race who inspired human civilization were aliens known as the Annunaki. It seems that, in the Titans universe, the Annunaki were actually the Tamarans. While no doubt the language has evolved over time, it's still recognizable to Donna.
2) Why Has Starfire Come To Earth?
Donna's translation finally begins to reveal just why Starfire has traveled to Earth in the first place. Putting the pieces together, it seems the Tamarans had a prophecy of Raven, one that foresaw the rise of a being they called "the Destroyer." They sent Starfire to Earth to kill Raven - but, somehow, Starfire lost her memory. Although the Tamaran Princess did succeed in finding Raven, she allied with her rather than killing her. Unfortunately, by the end of the episode Raven's attempts to restore Starfire's memory appear to be working.
1) When Will Dick Grayson Become Nightwing?
Episode 7 dropped a number of hints that suggested Dick Grayson is on the road to becoming Nightwing, and "Donna Troy" suggested it won't be long before Dick suits up again. He's essentially on a quest to find a new sense of identity, and Donna pushes him to embrace become something new. Given the slow pace of Titans so far, it's currently unclear whether or not Nightwing will happen in the next four episodes, or in the already-confirmed second season.