Who Is Red X? The Teen Titans Identity Explained

Of all the foes in Cartoon Network's anime-influenced DC superhero animation "Teen Titans," perhaps the most enigmatic is Red X — the skull-masked villain with a red letter X stamped across his face, hands, and chest. Like Robin (Scott Menville), Red X conceals his eyes with reflective lenses, making it impossible to pick up any hints as to whether there's a real human being behind the secret identity. Although Robin is eventually revealed to be the man behind the mask, the series eventually throws fans a curveball when yet another Red X shows up later on in the "Teen Titans" timeline. And this time, it's definitely not Dick Grayson. 

In a series overflowing with enough villains to make up an entire Brotherhood of Evil, Red X is one of the most captivating in the bunch. He serves both as a character foil to Robin and an unwanted reminder of the time Batman's sidekick betrayed everyone's trust by going solo. Even if we never learn the true identity behind this new Red X, the internet has plenty of theories, ranging from a cloned copy of the Boy Wonder to the vigilante who patrols Gotham behind a Red Hood. 

The story of Red X begins with good intentions. Although the Teen Titans have their fair share of villains, the one who seems hyper-focused on taking down the team of young heroes and taking over Jump City is a bad guy named Slade Wilson (Ron Perlman). From Slade's first introduction, when he sends a contingent from H.I.V.E. to take Titans Tower in "Final Exam," he takes a particular interest in Robin. By threatening the other Titans, Slade eventually forces Robin to become his apprentice, something the Titan resents him for from that moment forward. Committed to stopping Slade at any cost, Robin invents the Red X persona as a ruse to get close to the bad guy, learn what makes him tick, and use it against him.

Fully aware of Slade's ruthlessness, Robin decides to go it alone rather than risk the other Titans' involvement. When his teammates first meet Red X shortly after Robin tells them he's "working a Slade lead on the far side of town" ("Masks"), they have no idea he's their leader. Disguised in a black-and-white cape and costume, Robin presents a stolen microchip as an entree into a partnership with Slade, telling the villain that he wants to be cut in on the latter's plans going forward. But the ruse backfires when Slade reveals he knew the truth all along, right before rolling out a platoon of his robot commandos.

The other Titans were not quite as astute as the orange-and-black-clad supervillain, however, as revealed by their surprise and frustration with Robin when he ultimately unmasks himself. Not only does the entire effort turn out to be a tremendous waste when this "Slade" is revealed to be a robot, but the debacle also causes a serious rift between Robin and the friends he lied to and manipulated, all in pursuit of his obsession with the criminal mastermind.

After his side quest into villainy turns south and puts all of his friends at risk, Robin decides to hang up his Red X suit. But since the suit runs on a power core made from the incredibly rare and volatile compound Zynothium, he can't exactly donate the thing to Goodwill. Instead, Robin decides to store the high-tech outfit deep in a Titans Tower vault, never to be touched again — that is, until the second Red X steals it in "X." And the mysterious thief's first order of business is to gas up the car, so to speak, by scoring more Zynothium to fuel the rapidly-draining power suit.

Although Robin first believes this Red X to be cut from the same cloth as Slade, he soon learns that the new person behind the mask isn't pure evil. Rather, they're a run-of-the-mill thief and adrenaline junkie who now has a fancy toy to help them get their job done. While the new Red X takes great pleasure in taunting Robin, the two do briefly team up to fight Professor Chang (James Hong), with Red X reverting back to his old ways after the skirmish's end. 

Although Red X shows up again a couple more times in the "Teen Titans" timeline, his identity is never revealed in the series — and that's just the way "Teen Titans" producer Glen Murakami likes it. In an interview with now-defunct Titans Tower, Murakami teased, "We went around and around and around as to who that character was. But I never thought that was important." While the animator says they did choose a hidden identity for Red X, Murakami has always been more interested in the villain as a foil for Robin. "I don't think it's important to know who is under the mask." 

Even though the series never reveals whose face is behind Red X's mask, fans have formed some pretty strong opinions about it. The series itself drops plenty of hints, with Raven surmising that whoever it is has to be "smart enough to find the suit, and dumb enough to take it for a joyride." Beast Boy (Greg Cipes) takes things a step further, whipping up a crafty little theory chart outlining some of his best candidates — a list that includes, among others, "evil twin," "long lost brother," "bionic monkey infused with Robin's DNA," "part of a clone army," and "interdimensional imp," a reference to an alternate universe Robin variant named Larry AKA Nosyarg Kcid (Robin's civilian name, Dick Grayson, spelled backward) (Dee Bradley Baker) from the Season 2 episode, "Fractured."

While the imp version seems unlikely given the size difference, some fans think Beast Boy could be onto something with his alternate universe or timeline theories. Citing Red X and Robin's similar mannerisms and fighting styles, other fans believe that if it's not a Robin variant, Red X must be a clone of the Boy Wonder.

But by far, the most popular idea seems to be the Jason Todd theory. In DC Comics canon, current fan-favorite Jason Todd (who was once one of DC's most hated characters) was introduced as Dick Grayson's Robin successor. Given that Jason also appears as Red Hood in the comic book canon, many fans theorize that the writers may have eventually intended to use Red Hood in "Teen Titans" — perhaps introducing him as the second Red X.

First published in 2021, DC Comics' "Teen Titans Academy" series, by Tim Sheridan and Rafa Sandoval, rolled out a couple of new versions of Red X. While the Cartoon Network's "Teen Titans" doesn't share a canon with the comic and shouldn't be considered part of the same continuity, there's always the chance that these stories could overlap in some ways. This is noteworthy since "Teen Titans Academy" introduces yet another Red X with a history as dark as Robin's.

The big reveal comes in Teen Titans Academy #12 (by Sheridan and Tom Derenick), years after Dick Grayson grew up and took on the alter ego of Nightwing. In the comics, an EMP-juiced-up Titans Academy student becomes convinced that Dick is his real father, symbolically changing his name to Brick Pettirosso, a surname that means "little bird" in Italian. As a child, Brick was rescued from an abusive home only to be raised up as a bespoke anti-Titans weapon by the second Red X, ostensibly the one who stole the original suit from Robin. When Red X sent Brick to infiltrate Titans Academy, the young man took up the Red X mantle, but after Brick's plans fall to pieces, his foster dad turns against him, killing him for his trouble.

While the identity of this murderous Red X is never revealed, the notion that he is so obsessed with taking down the Titans that he would go to the trouble of adopting and brainwashing a child is pretty compelling. Like the mystery Red X from the "Teen Titans" series, every version of Red X is more symbol than character. As Murakami told Titans Tower, "Sometimes, it's better to say, "It doesn't matter who's in the costume."