Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Titans season 4, episodes 1 & 2.The Titans season 4 premiere introduced the villain Mother Mayhem, but they did not fully explain her origin and history. Titans season 4, episode 2, "Mother Mayhem" established the titular villain as a major threat, capable of downing Superboy and Raven, matching Starfire's energy output, and briefly matching Nightwing in a fight. She is also a powerful magician, who seemingly brought about the death of Lex Luthor and the rest of LexCorp's executives.
There have been many versions of Mother Mayhem in DC Comics' multiverse, with new incarnations created to fit the new realities formed after various cosmic crises. Titans' Mother Mayhem seems to borrow a bit from all of them, sharing the name of the first Mother Mayhem created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez for their New Teen Titans comics, but also possessing the powers of her most recent incarnation in the DC Rebirth era. This makes the mystery of the origins of Titans season 4's Mother Mayhem all the more fascinating to consider.
Mother Mayhem's Comic History Explained
The title of Mother Mayhem is bestowed upon the most favored consort of Brother Blood, who leads the Church of Blood and is one of the classic Titans' most powerful villains. Traditionally, the title belonged to the first of Brother Blood's female followers to provide him with a male heir, but until that time the title could be passed on to whatever woman held his fancy or had proven her competence as a leader in Brother Blood's absence. As such, several women have held the title of Mother Mayhem over the years.
The first Mother Mayhem known to the Teen Titans was a woman named May Bennett, who first appeared in New Teen Titans Vol.1 #21 in 1982. May was the only one of Brother Blood's followers who knew the full scope of his plans to expand the Church of Blood beyond the island nation of Zandia. She ruled the Church of Blood while Brother Blood was faking his own death to set up a false resurrection. She was ultimately freed of his influence, became a friend of the Teen Titans, and went on to live a normal life.
In the Post-Crisis era, a new teenage incarnation of Brother Blood arose to kill his father and take control of the Church of Blood, in accordance with a curse which dictated that every Brother Blood would die at the hands of his son. This Brother Blood, Sebastian Blood IX, shuffled the Mother Mayhem title around his female followers, while seeking to claim Raven as his bride and make her the new Mother Mayhem. Later, he gained the power to raise the dead, and gave the title to a resurrected Lilith Clay, who was one of several deceased Teen Titans forced into Brother Blood's service.
A new Mother Mayhem was introduced in the DC Rebirth Titans series, taking the name Mother Blood. Originally a physicist named Dr. Sonya Tarinka, she was recruited into the Church of Blood's service, studying cosmic energies, like The Green which empowers Swamp Thing. Sonya's research led to her developing a connection to The Red, which connects all animal life just as The Green connects plant life. This made her more powerful than any previous incarnation of Brother Blood, and led to her taking over the Church of Blood.
What We Know About Mother Mayhem's Origin In Titans
The first two episodes of Titans reveal very little of Mother Mayhem's origins or backstory. She first appears as an employee of Lex Luthor named May Bennett, who spent over five years helping him find the Temple of Azarath. She is apparently an archeologist or theologian by trade, as she spoke of having so much to learn from the Temple before Luthor unceremoniously fired her. Whatever her field of study, it was clear that Luthor had some idea of her intentions before his death, as he possessed a book full of cryptic and apparently mystic writings. He showed this book to Conner "Superboy" Kent while discussing how "my partners may have even darker ideas than I do."
Whoever Titans' Mother Mayhem is, she is clearly a powerful figure and the current leader of a cult that uses the Temple of Azarath as a place of worship. She was capable of facing multiple Titans at once and was competent enough a fighter to hold Nightwing back with her staff until she could use some kind of telekinetic ability to lift him off the ground. More impressively, she was able to manifest some kind of energy blast and match an intensely focused energy blast released by Starfire. This is notable, as Titans' season 4 premiere established a firm baseline for Starfire's new energy powers when she destroyed a block made of solid Perithium. Given that this was sad to be the hardest substance known to man and Starfire accomplished this using only 8% of her potential maximum kinetic energy output, Mother Mayhem's abilities must be extremely powerful.
What Mother Mayhem Means For Titans Season 4
It seems clear that Mother Mayhem is preparing the world for the arrival of Brother Blood, who is set to be the chief villain of Titans season 4. Beyond that, her inclusion in the series could facilitate the adaptation of multiple storylines from the comics. Mother Mayhem triggered some kind of transformation in Raven, turning her hair white after stealing the gem in her forehead that contained the demon Trigon. It's possible that she may be trying to set up an unholy union between Brother Blood and Raven to fulfill a dark prophecy, which was the ultimate goal of Sebastian Blood IX in the comics. It's also possible she may be trying to set up the resurrection of Trigon, given that Brother Blood was revealed as an acolyte of Trigon, who drew his powers from the demon lord.
Mother Mayhem may also have a connection to Beast Boy, who began having strange visions and hearing voices calling his name in Titans season 4. Some imagery in these visions resembled The Red, which is the source of Beast Boy's powers. Mother Blood was able to take control of Beast Boy through their shared connection to the Red in the comics, so it's possible Mother Mayhem could do the same thing in Titans season 4.