Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Titans season 4, episode 10
Titans season 4 has taken Superboy to a rather dark place, though his takeover of LexCorp sees him throwing some humorous shade at Apple. Played by actor Joshua Orpin, Titans’ version of Conner Kent has featured the hybrid clone of Lex Luthor and Superman embracing Luthor’s legacy far more than Superman’s (whom he’s never met). Not only did Conner meet Lex Luthor (Titus Welliver) prior to his death at the beginning of Titans season 4, but Lex left his company for Superboy to inherit. As such, Conner has become the new CEO of LexCorp, using more nefarious and darker methods to save the world as opposed to his fellow Titans.
As seen in Titans season 4, episode 10, Conner uses his new resources to seemingly forge an alliance with Sebastian Sanger aka Brother Blood (Joseph Morgan). Convincing Sanger to achieve his dreams and release his video game with LexCorp’s support rather than unleashing Trigon, Superboy manipulates and gains Sanger’s trust. While Conner does have a secret agenda to eventually destroy Sanger and the Horn that will summon Trigon, there are a couple moments in which LexCorp is seemingly compared to Apple during the launch of Brother Blood’s game (and it’s dark secret).
Titans Subtly Compares LexCorp To Apple
Following Conner’s public takeover of LexCorp, Superboy gives Brother Blood his own office where he can program and launch his game entitled “Abraxus”. However, Conner also adds that LexCorp will distribute Abraxus to every single device with “LexOS” before taking a bite out of an apple. This is likely a subtle dig at real-life Apple Inc. and their launch of the iPhone 6 back in 2014. The launch was quite controversial as the company similarly distributed U2’s album “Songs of Innocence” onto every new device regardless of whether customers wanted the music or not. Likewise, there was initially no way for users to delete the album from their phones either.
On an even darker note, it’s eventually revealed that Sanger’s game carries supernatural coding, connecting him to every user to feed on their souls. This would have eventually killed thousands had he not been stopped by the Titans who shut his game down (with secret help from Conner once he realized the truth). However, Sanger had also revealed his plans to send the game to LexCorp’s entire list of children under the age of 18 with purchase access, commenting on LexCorp’s “excellent” data collection practices before offering Conner another apple (another apparent shot at Apple and controversies over privacy).
LexCorp’s Apple Comparison Updates The DC Corporation
Much like Batman v Superman and its version of LexCorp, the company seen in Titans continues the modern re-imagining of the business which has also been happening in the comics as well (Luthor now has his own cryptocurrency called “LexCoin”). That said, the comparisons to Apple Inc. in Titans season 4 certainly make the company’s shadier practices feel even more grounded and modern. At any rate, it will be interesting to see if Superboy will continue as LexCorp’s CEO despite the public failure of Abraxus, as well as if he’ll still try to elevate Luthor’s company as originally intended while toeing the line with darkness.
