Fans of the Bat-Family got a pretty cool surprise yesterday when IGN unveiled two new Titans images featuring Dick Grayson…and Jason Todd. While the relationship between Dick and Jason has long roots in the ongoing comics, it’s never been explored in quite the same way in other media. In fact, Curran Walters’ portrayal of the character on Titans is Jason’s first live action appearance ever! (Both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad reference the character—Batman notably has Jason’s vandalized costume on display in his Batcave in BvS—but he didn’t appear in either film.)

There’s much to unpack in the two images, notably that the Robins’ relationship is clearly not a warm one. The two are clearly staring each other down in one of the images, are they about to come to blows? We don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise us.

“It’s kind of like one of those classic covers of the books, original versus number 2, and in many ways, you really see that ,” Titans showrunner Greg Walker told IGN. “This encapsulates the tension, the energy between these two guys. It's like running into your ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, minus the sexual tension. You get to watch Dick Grayson struggle when he sees another Robin and how that Robin is different and has a different relationship with ‘dad.’ The second child gets away with stuff the first child would never get away with in a family, and ours is really a family show.”

Many of us who have reached a certain age know exactly what it feels like to find ourselves replaced on the job by someone younger and faster, and who has a different approach to doing the job than yours. It’s not surprising Dick would have a hard time coming to terms with the younger Jason—particularly since they’re wearing nearly the exact same costume.

“The whole thing is a study in contrasts between the two Robins and the ways that they were raised, or how the shadow—or lack of shadow—hangs over the two of them individually,” Walker shared. “It’s so frustrating to see someone who isn’t bothered by someone else the way you are...like, ‘how are you not bothered by that? Why doesn’t that screw you up?’ There’s something confusing and challenging and unsettling about that for Dick.”

You can read a lot more about the two Robins and Titans in general on IGN, so go check it out. And if you missed it, be sure to browse the more than two dozen new Titans images that were released yesterday. You can find them here and here.
 

Titans premieres on DC Universe on October 12, 2018. Sign up for DC’s exclusive new digital service today at DCUniverse.com.