Warning: Spoilers for Titans #6!

Summary

• Tempest fully embraces his villainous turn and leads an invasion of Titans Tower, putting the Titans in danger.
• Tempest's actions suggest that he may be brainwashed by Brother Eternity, leaving open the possibility of redemption.
• Despite his current villainy, there is still hope for Tempest to return to the Titans and be welcomed back.

As he fully commits to a more villainous turn, one has to wonder if this founding member of the Titans still has a chance at redemption. The Titans' traitor in question is Tempest, formerly known as Aqualad. Since the start of the newest Titans series, Tempest has slowly fallen from grace and into the hands of villainy.

Tempest's villainy is accentuated in Titans #6 by Tom Taylor and Travis Moore. This issue takes place in the middle of the Beast World event in which the newly reborn Beast Boy, now Garro, releases spores across the planet that turns everyone in the DC Universe into animals. During the chaos, Eternity orders Tempest to put a permanent end to his former friends.

Taking advantage of his status as a former Titan, Tempest opens the shielded doors of Titans Tower to lead both Eternity and a horde of evil animal-people into the Tower. As the Titans fight them off, Nightwing and Batgirl are in a flooded room they are aware Garth is in. Seconds after a spore falls into Dick's mouth, ready to transform him, Tempest appears to pull his ankle down underwater.

Tempest Tries to Drown Nightwing, Making Him More of a Villain than Ever

In the first issue of Titans, Nightwing attempts to get the band back together as the Titans become DC's new top team after the Justice League disbands. One of his first recruits is Tempest, who declines, alluding to someone who can save the planet in ways that the Titans can't. In the next issue, this mysterious person is revealed to be new Titans villain Brother Eternity, a new (and alien) version of Brother Blood. By Titans #4, Tempest is pushing Eternity's evil agenda, shooting an evil parasite down Linda Park's throat, though thankfully this plan to take out the Titans is thwarted.

Tempest continues to fall deeper and deeper into the dark side as the right-hand man of Brother Eternity. Fully committed to the cult known as the Church of Eternity, Tempest seems to play a part in at least trying to take out the leader of the Titans. Tempest continues to fall further and further away from the heroism he's always been known for, but a debate can be made that he has yet to fall deep enough that redemption isn't possible. If Tempest doesn't pull Nightwing underwater, it certainly appears to be his intention before the spore falls into Nightwing's mouth. Tempest goes for the kill on none other than the leader of the Titans — and arguably the entire DC Universe.

Can the Former Titan Tempest Be Redeemed?

Still, despite leading an invasion of Titans Towers and being determined to carry out a mission to kill the team, Tempest has not taken the fight to the point that he wouldn't still be eligible for redemption. His current character arc is still being developed, and there's still the possibility that he's being brainwashed by Brother Eternity. So far, Tempest has mostly come off as more misguided than inherently evil, and his deeds themselves have yet to be outright vicious. Tempest will inevitably snap out of this, and when he does, he'll likely be wracked with guilt. The door is ultimately still open for the Titans to welcome their founding member Garth back with open arms.

Titans #6 is on sale now from DC Comics.