DC has brought a fascinating Teen Titans mystery back into the limelight after it first cropped up 20 years ago in quite possibly the last way I was expecting. The Teen Titans cartoon rightfully remains a beloved corner of DC"s animated history, with the series effectively managing to balance a relatively child-friendly tone with some intense storylines and action sequences. While Teen Titans made adjustments to the comic lore accordingly - for example, ensuring Deathstroke is only referred to by Slade, his first name - it still managed to keep much of the core of what makes the superhero team one of DC"s most interesting.
That said, Teen Titans also wasn"t afraid to add new elements to the world in order to keep things engaging as well. This is perhaps best evidenced with the matter of Red X - a mantle taken on by more than one character in the show, and whose overarching storyline left audiences with a truly fascinating quandary that is still discussed to this day because of both its ambiguity and effectiveness. Two decades later, DC has confirmed concretely that Red X"s fascinating if maddening history is about to come to the forefront once more with one upcoming DC release.
The Identity Of Teen Titans' "Real" Red X Is Still A Mystery To This Day Close Initially, the identity of Red X in Teen Titans was pretty straightforward, with the Red X moniker and costume serving as a way for Robin to go undercover to try and get close to Slade Wilson, in the hopes he can undermine him by infiltrating his schemes. This plan backfires, both in that Slade works out who Robin is seemingly pretty quickly, and because Robin doesn"t tell the other Teen Titans about his plan or alias, leaving them troubled when they learn about it. However, this isn"t the last we see of the Red X costume, since it appears later with someone else wearing it.
While the mystery of Red X is played up in Teen Titans - complete with an actual in-universe conspiracy board, which suggests Jason Todd and a time-traveling Nightwing as possible Red X candidates - the answer is never actually revealed on-screen. Years later, the closest we"ve really gotten in shows and movies is the Teen Titans short joking about this topic, with Beast Boy pulling off Red X"s mask to first uncover Jason Todd, and then beneath that Speedy, the villain Newfu, Alfred Pennyworth, Batman, Starfire"s pet Silkie, Robin fanboy Larry, and a Slade mask that then reveals the Red X they caught was a robot bomb.
Logistically, the theory that Red X is Jason Todd still remains the most likely, both because Red X bares some striking parallels to Jason"s Red Hood comic mantle and costume, and because he has fighting skills that are very close to Robin"s own, which would make more sense if this is because they both underwent the exact same training. However, given the roster of figures this could have also been, it"s impossible to say for sure - which makes it all the more interesting that Red X has just returned to our screens.
Harley Quinn Season 5 Just Brought Red X Back On-Screen Once More The Harley Quinn season 5 trailer contained a notable selection of old and new faces, including major DC characters like Brainiac, whose presence is sure to play a key role in the upcoming story. However, perhaps the most interesting of the figures set to appear in this season was that of none other than Red X, who"s shown in the trailer stalking towards Harley, having used his X throwing stars to pin Damian and Bruce Wayne to a wall behind her.
This specific scene has some fascinating implications by itself - as Red X first appeared before Damian had even been created in the comics, and there"s a lot of potential in bringing the pair together - but it also has interesting connotations for the broader story of both Harley Quinn and Red X as a figure in DC"s wider history. Since Red X was created for Teen Titans, it"s even possible the show will directly address this storyline in some way, if only to show the differences between the two animated series and their approaches to the figure.
After a long period with only Teen Titans Go!"s Red X storyline to bring the character back into the forefront of things, it seems unlikely Red X would be brought back here unless the creators of Harley Quinn thought they had a strong idea for how to handle the story involving him, which certainly bodes well for this plotline going forward. That said, I"m convinced we still won"t get an answer to the original Red X mystery despite this story bringing it back into the spotlight, based on the teases for the plot thus far.
The Identity Of Harley Quinn's Red X Already Seems To Have An Interesting Answer Close Harley Quinn season 4 saw Nightwing brought back to life via Talia Al Ghul using a Lazarus Pit to resurrect him, following Harley brutally murdering him while sleepwalking. Upon being revived, Nightwing angrily asks where Harley is, suggesting he"s about to try and get his revenge. This happening just before Red X is introduced into the show strongly suggests it"s Nightwing behind the mask, using it to track Harley down incognito and potentially act in some very not heroic ways in order to seek retribution - similar to his decision to become Red in Teen Titans when he was Robin.
Harley Quinn season 5 debuts January 16, 2025.
This has some interesting story potential for Harley Quinn season 5, especially since Harley didn"t actively and consciously attempt to kill him, but will likely struggle to convince Nightwing of that given he already believed her to be secretly more villainous than she was letting on to others right before she murdered him. Following this approach will also notably leave out the mystery of who Red X was after Robin ditched the mantle in Teen Titans, since it looks to be repeating the story of Richard Grayson putting on the suit to go undercover, rather than supporting the idea that someone like Jason Todd later took it on.
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6/10 Teen Titans TV-PG Teen Titans is an animated action film released in 2003. It follows the teenage superheroes Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven as they protect Earth from villains, employing martial arts expertise and advanced gadgetry in their adventures.
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*Availability in US Release Date July 19, 2003 Character(s) Beast Boy (voice) , Punk Rocket (voice) , Robin (voice) , Cyborg (voice) , Raven (voice) , Starfire (voice) , Mad Mod (voice) , Johnny Rancid (voice) , Kid Flash (voice) , Puppet King (voice) , Krall / Hayden (voice) , Trigon (voice) , Arella (voice) , Captain / Tramm (voice) , Timmy Tantrum / Melvin (voice) , Mother Mae-Eye (voice) , Val Yor (voice) , Narrator (voice , Bob (voice) , Killer Moth (voice) , Atlas (voice) , Professor Chang (voice) , Trident (voice) , Ding Dong Daddy Dowd (voice) , Chu-Hui the True Master (voice) Expand Upcoming DC Movie Releases

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