The following contains spoilers for Titans Season 4, Episode 9, "Dude, Where's My Gar?," now streaming on HBO Max.
After being sidelined for the first two episodes since Titans’ return, Gar Logan is back in the spotlight for a journey of self-discovery that spans the entire multiverse. Finally understanding the true nature of his powers and the origins behind them, Gar remains separated from the rest of the Titans when he journeys into the lifeweb granting him his abilities. Along the way, Gar encounters plenty of surprising heroes from other worlds who will help him to assist the Titans in their final battle against Brother Blood and Mother Mayhem.
After experiencing a brief flashback of a childhood visit to the gorilla exhibit at the zoo, Gar comes to his senses in a remote cave in the middle of a mountain range. Greeted by a hybrid lion-bat beast and a masked figure who has mastery over the Red, Gar is told to recover and save himself. While being briefed on the nature of the Red and its interconnectivity between all animal life, a skeptical Gar recalls that Niles Caulder gave him his powers while saving him from a deadly contagion that claimed his parents.
Gar and the man’s conversation is interrupted by a sudden attack from a small group of soldiers, whom the man easily dispatches single-handedly with his own superhuman strength and ability, in addition to hand-to-hand combat skills. The man refers to himself as the Freedom Beast, with his ancient mask giving him the ability to sense other animals being harmed. The Beast informs Gar he brought him to the cave so that he can unlock his full potential, since Gar’s innate connection to the Red surpasses his, Animal Man and Vixen’s. He then gives Gar a strange elixir that allows him to grow stronger.
After ingesting the elixir, Gar has conversations with visions of Rachel Roth and Jinx, who both urge him to embrace the larger potential of the Red and not overly concern himself with the Titans. Venturing deeper within his own psyche, he revisits the childhood memory from the zoo, observing the younger version of himself being overwhelmed by the psychic sensations of the Red. Regaining his senses, Gar and Freedom Beast set out from the cave to rescue a group of imprisoned apes being tortured at a laboratory, guided by the empathic senses from Beast’s mask.
Gar and Freedom Beast work together to battle through waves of guards as they break into the laboratory, only to discover all but one of the apes were already killed in the cruel experiments. After learning that the apes were infected with a mutated terminal disease, a vengeful Beast uses his powers to forcibly merge the lead scientist with the dying ape -- killing them both before the two heroes leave the operating room. Investigating a nearby office, Gar is shocked to find Niles Caulder is responsible for the lab... and that he unleashed the disease that killed Gar’s family on purpose as part of his attempts to tap into the Red and recruit another hero for his Doom Patrol.
Realizing thewhole experience has been a journey through the Red for him to succeed Freedom Beast as its new avatar, Gar accepts his destiny -- but refuses to abandon his friends. Embracing the full extent of his connection to the Red, Gar learns that it not only connects him to animal life in his universe but all universes. He briefly witnesses the Arrowverse's Flash running through Central City before speaking with Stargirl and Grant Morrison separately, in addition to an animated version of himself from Teen Titans Go!. And before he can get his bearings straight, Gar crashes into. the home of the Doom Patrol. As he passes out, he's discovered by Cyborg, who recognizes him and calls for the rest of the team to check out their new visitor.
Developed for television by Akiva Goldsman, Greg Berlanti and Geoff Johns, Titans releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.
