Beast Boy: Red X? I thought Robin was Red X!
Red X: Think again!
The Titans attempt to stop a robbery only to find the one causing it is none other than Red X! It is revealed that the Red X suit that Robin designed has been stolen by someone new. However, Robin thinks he is to blame for creating Red X in the first place and is determined to catch him, while he ponders on how clear the line between good and evil really is.
Tropes
- Animation Bump: The episode seems to have had an unusually high budget, with fluidly animated fight scenes and loads of new environments. Barely any Speed Stripes to be seen.
- Anti-Villain: Red X.
- Badass in Distress: Chang manages to capture Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire and holds them hostage against Robin.
- Big Damn Heroes: Red X pulls an Enemy Mine to rescue the Titans from Chang and even has a brief Bash Brothers moment with Robin.
- Bittersweet Ending: Although Chang has been stopped, Red X has escaped, with no clue as to who he is. Robin is left to ponder over the line between right and wrong.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Dr. Chang says he's sick of working for bad guys, and wants to be one.
- The Chessmaster: Dr. Chang plays Robin and Red X like guitar strings.
- Chekhov's Gun: When Robin goes to have his 'chat' with Chang at the observatory, the telescope is covered by a large tarp. It turns out to be vital to his plan.
- Clothes Make the Superman
- Continuity Nod: After the first run in with Red X, the first thing Starfire does is to see if Robin is a hologram. Which she does by repeatedly poking Robin, even after it's proven that he's not.
- Dirty Coward: Chang reminisces on hiding from the city's residents while operating a giant laser that will destroy most of them.
- Easter Egg: One of the choices for who Red X is Jason Todd.
- Energy Weapon: Dr. Chang builds a laser cannon powered by Xenothium to disintegrate anything he aims at. Naturally he aims at first an apartment building and then the captured Titans.
- For Science!: Dr. Chang, the episode's antagonist.
- Gray-and-Grey Morality: The episode's theme.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: Chang.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: When Chang says he'll "move on to you" to Starfire, he's talking about the Titans in general, but he strokes the side of her tube in a very suggestive way. And threatens to destroy Robin's "pretty friend" later.
- It's All My Fault: Why Robin insists on going after Red X.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Chang plays Robin and X against each other to get them to steal the Xenothium for himself.
- Mad Scientist: Dr. Chang.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The rest of the Titans have this reaction when Robin reveals that the Red X suit is powered by Xenothium. That is, except for Beast Boy, who has no clue what they’re talking about.
- Mythology Gag: One of the theories of Red X's identity on Beast Boy's chart is Jason Todd, the second Robin.
- OOC Is Serious Business: Played for laughs. Aside from Raven, normally Cyborg is not one to take any of Beast Boy's theories seriously. But when Beast Boy claims Robin could be a robot duplicate so the latter could pose as X again, Cyborg won't refute the possibility after what happened in "Masks". In fact, he was willing to go as far as donning rubber gloves to "check for batteries".
- Riddle for the Ages: We never find out who Red X is.
- Rule of Symbolism: Played for Laughs. Cyborg's tic-tac-toe rant towards Robin when he learns he powered the suit with Xenothium gives a good visual to the audience as to how right he is in his argument.
- Sequel Episode: To "Masks". At least, in the sense that Red X is back... and isn't Robin...
- Shout-Out: As Red X and Robin team up and leap into the air, a John Woo dove flies across the screen.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Despite the fact we never find out what he looks like and he can't be much taller than Robin is, Red X fits this to a T.
- Unobtanium: An element called Xenothium powers the Red X suit. It's very dangerous and unstable. Even respectable superheroes like Robin can't buy it legally.
- What Were You Thinking?: Cyborg asks this of Robin when he learns what powers the Red X suit and the Titans themselves wonder this of Red X for taking the suit.Cyborg: Xenothium!? YOU POWERED THAT SUIT WITH XENOTHIUM?!? Are you crazy, man? That stuff is dangerous! And unstable! Tell me you were not stupid enough to go messing with it!!
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Why Robin doesn't just destroy the suit? Because the Xenothium that powers it is both hard to get rid of and highly explosive.
- You Fight Like a Cow: Red X fights good and he snarks good too.
