Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Titans season 4’s mid-season premiere.The midseason premiere of Titans season 4 presented DC Comics’ version of Wandavision with the introduction of a city called Caul’s Folly. Comparisons between Caul’s Folly and the town of Westview, New Jersey were inevitable given one shared theme. However, there is also one important and ironic difference that separates the two fictional towns.
The action of Titans season 4, part 2’s two-part premiere centered around the hunt for a magical artifact called the Horn of Trigon, which cult leader Brother Blood needed to summon his demonic patron. The search led Nightwing, Raven, and Starfire to the small town of Caul’s Folly. There was something sinister about the village, even before its citizens attacked and abducted the heroes in the final scene of Titans season 4, episode 7, “Caul’s Folly.”
Titans’ Caul’s Folly Is Basically A DC WandaVision
Starfire and Nightwing discovered that it was impossible to leave Caul’s Folly once one entered it, with the sign marking the town boundary continuing to stretch off into the horizon the longer one kept walking or driving towards it. It was later revealed that it was impossible to enter Caul’s Folly unless one was in the company of a child of Trigon, like Raven or Brother Blood. This invited comparison to the town of Westview in Wandavision, which was magically shut off from the rest of the world in a similar fashion.
Another point of comparison between Caul’s Folly and Westview was that most of the people who lived in both towns were prisoners rather than citizens. While some of the inhabitants of Caul’s Folly were willing servants of the Church of Blood cult, most of them were brainwashed into a life of service to Trigon, thanks to subconscious signals that were continually broadcast throughout the city. Nightwing and Starfire nearly fell victim to the cult’s programming, being pressured into adopting new lives as a young couple named Ted and Carol.
One Thing Titans Had That WandaVision Didn’t
The fact that Caul’s Folly was under the direct influence of the demon Trigon is a major point of contrast to the village of Westview in Wandavision. There were multiple theories that the infamous devil Mephisto, whose arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been eagerly anticipated by comic readers, would prove to be the ultimate villain of Wandavision. These theories prove to be wrong, adding an ironic note to Titans season 4, as it was a witch backed by a demon who was responsible for the creation of Caul’s Folly and the evil that tainted the lives of numerous innocent souls.
Titans season 4 continues on Thursdays on HBO Max.
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