The following contains spoilers for Titans Season 4, Episodes 1 and 2, "Lex Luthor" and "Mother Mayhem," now streaming on HBO Max.
One of the great things about Titans on HBO Max is how, like most comic book stories, it aims to present a grounded version of the preposterous. For all the magic and sci-fi tech available, the area in which the show fails the most consistently is with keeping Dick Grayson's secret identity as Nightwing.
When Nightwing first encounters Lex Luther in the Season 4 premiere episodes of Titans, he calls him "Richard." This comes directly on the heels of Jonathan Crane's Scarecrow learning his identity in Season 3, and Deathstroke knowing it in Season 2. Even though the payoff didn't come until the Season 2 premiere, the villain in Season 1 also knows his identity. Perhaps it's because the presumably famous son of a billionaire keeps palling around with a known team of superheroes, absent a single member: Nightwing. Along with Lex, apparently everyone at S.T.A.R. Labs knows Bruce and Dick have secret double lives as heroes. While this might seem like a failure at a massive level at a basic comic book convention, it's not. There's something about the secret identity in its adaption from comics to live-action that simply doesn't work. Anyone speaking to Nightwing who also knows Dick Grayson would immediately recognize him. Titans should just abandon it altogether.
Why Nightwing Doesn't Need to Keep His Identity as Dick Grayson a Secret
In the very beginning, secret identities showed up in comics to provide further tension for kids reading the stories. It probably didn't take too long for kids to figure out that Superman would probably win whatever fight he was in. Yet, could he win while still keeping all of his closest friends in the dark about his identity? The justification -- keeping loved ones safe from enemies -- makes practical sense. But in live-action, Titans specifically, the cinematic necessity of two actors performing with each other face-to-face usually requires a hero's unmasking before their villain. So, if the baddies know, the secret identity just becomes lying to your friends and family in a way that puts them further at risk.
For DC series on The CW, the secret identity reveal just happens for all series regulars. It's more important to build a trusted ensemble cast, both for narrative richness and the real-world practicalities of making 22 hours of TV each year. On The Flash, not only is Iris West the love of Barry Allen's life, she was his best friend growing up. The longer he kept the secret that he was The Flash made that relationship feel less authentic. Barry's foster father, and Iris's dad, forbid him from telling her. Yet, if they grew up together, they told each other stuff Dad didn't want them to know all the time.
On Titans, revealing Dick is Nightwing would also lead the world to connect two-and-two about Bruce and Batman. Yet, that's Bruce's problem, and he can fix it in a show once Warner Bros. and Fox figure out that character's TV rights.
Secret Identities Don't Often Work in Live-Action Comics TV Shows
In the comics medium, the secret identity is easier to maintain because it's easier to believe. On Arrow, when Oliver Queen talks to someone as Arrow who knows him as Ollie, with only a hood and voice changer at his disposal, it almost works. Yet, eventually, anyone important to these characters needs to be let in on the secret. Even if viewers don't buy the narrative argument, it helps suspend disbelief when the actors in costume look like their civilian characters, just in a mask. Even if such disguises would work in real life, it doesn't quite play on TV. Abandoning the secret identity just allows Brendon Thwaites to play the role in a bunch of scenes without the difficult costuming of the superhero suit.
The reason that Titans lets everyone in on Nightwing's secret identity is because it makes the threat feel more personal. In a world with one superhero team, the threats need to be big. In a world with one or two Justice organizations, a threat hitting the Titans needs to be powerful but also personal. The secret identity creates hurdles viewers have to overcome because of the realities of filming a TV show. Titans should free them and itself in order to remove those obstacles, especially if other dubious or controversial story decisions lie ahead in the story.
Titans is a series truly hitting its stride in Season 4, and the HBO Max show hasn't been canceled yet. Under the new regime, that's about as good a status as a show can get. Dropping the secret identity could create even new drama opportunities, as the handful of enemies who didn't know take their shots.
Titans debuts new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.