Warning: SPOILERS for Titans season 4.A collection of Superman merchandise in Titans season 4 confirmed that the real text logo used by DC Comics for decades is also utilized on Earth-9. This raised the meta question of how merchandise sporting a hero's likeness and name would be handled in a world with real superheroes. It also raised the question of who designed the Superman logo in a world where Superman was a real person.
The action of Titans season 4, episode 5, "Inside Man" found the Titans trying to protect game designer Sebastian Sanger from Mother Mayhem and the Church of Blood. The team hid Sanger in a special panic room located at Metropolis' STAR Labs office, with Raven watching over Sanger. The two discovered the panic room was stocked with a variety of Superman-themed board games and jigsaw puzzles, prompting a joking remark from Raven that Nightwing "really needs to talk to someone about the Titans' merchandising." All the Superman merchandise featured the real-world Superman text logo, raising several questions.
The Origin Of DC's "Superman" Logo Explained
The famous Superman text logo first appeared in 1938's Action Comics #1, which was the first appearance of Superman in the comics. Designed by artist Joe Shuster, who co-created Superman with writer Jerry Siegel, the logo appeared in the very first panel of Action Comics #1, making the stylized font as old as Superman himself. While the famous Superman S-shield logo was redesigned repeatedly over the years before being established as the House of El's crest after a suggestion by actor Marlon Brando while filming Superman: The Movie, the Superman text logo has remained consistent since Superman's first appearance and been used by DC Comics ever since.
Why Does Superman Have Merch In Titans?!
While Raven's remark about the Titans needing merchandise was in jest, it did raise the serious question of why Superman would have merchandise and how he could handle the legal issues inherent in managing a popular brand while maintaining a secret identity. This topic has been explored before, but usually with satiric characters like the self-dubbed Corporate Crusader Booster Gold and Homelander and The Seven from The Boys. Perhaps the most famous example of the perils of trademark in a superhero world came in Marvel's Ultimate Universe, where the Spider-Man villain Kingpin copyrighted Spider-Man's name and costume, so he could legally profit off the hero thwarting his criminal enterprises.
Presumably the Superman of Titans manages his merchandise through a non-profit charity, like Superman in the comics. This would allow him to indirectly maintain legal control over his name and likeness and prevent the use of the same for unapproved causes or merchandise. It seems far more likely that Superman would go this route and use the non-profit organization as another way to help people by creating jobs for other idealistic souls than by lining his pockets, in stark contrast to the merchandise-minded Homelander from The Boys. This would also presumably pay for an artist to coincidentally design the same Superman text logo used in the real world.
Titans continues Thursday on HBO Max.