SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains spoilers from Titans: Beast World #6.

Those who don’t learn from their history are doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately for the Titans, it appears that the team is about to repeat two of their most challenging conflicts. Did the Titans fail to learn from their history? What lessons can they take from the past to ensure triumph over their current predicament?

Before I go any further, this is a good time for me to mention that this article contains spoilers for the ending of Titans: Beast World #6. The climax was pretty big and had some major ramifications for the DC Universe. If you haven’t read it yet, this is your last chance to turn back.

Are you still here? Okay, good, because I’ve been dying to talk to SOMEONE about the way Titans: Beast World ended! Millions of humans had become infected with Beast Boy’s “Garro” spores, turning them into feral animals. The Titans were able to remove the spores from everyone, turning humanity back to normal. It looked like Waller had succeeded in killing Gar, but enough of his spores were able to reform, bringing back the Beast Boy we know and love.

This should feel like a victory, but it’s far more complicated than that. The operation enabled Amanda Waller to seize power. The government established the Bureau of Sovereignty, installing Waller as director. The agency allows Waller to strike back at metahumans, and bypass orders from the President of the United States.

Plus, the honeymoon period is over for the Titans. After millions of people were turned into feral animals, the population holds the superhero team responsible. It doesn’t help that Cyborg took control of the military’s attack drones, raising questions about how much power the Titans have. They may have conquered Beast World, but the Titans have lost their public sentiment.

But that’s not even their biggest problem.

The team now has an enemy in their ranks, and they have no idea. In issue #5, we found out that Doctor Hate was Dark Raven, the demonic half of Raven’s soul. This evil entity is usually confined to the gem on Raven’s forehead, but she was able to escape and cause chaos. The Titans were able to destroy the Helmet of Hate, but Dark Raven clearly doesn’t need it to cause mayhem.

As Titans: Beast World reached its end, it initially seemed that Raven had defeated her evil counterpart, returning her to the gem prison. However, the very end of Titans: Beast World #6 revealed that during their final battle, Dark Raven trapped the real Raven in the gem and took her place on the team.

Dark Raven is pretending to be the real Raven AND THE TITANS HAVE NO IDEA. Let’s take a moment to unpack the ramifications of this. The Justice League has disbanded and the Titans are currently leading the charge in the DC Universe. Dark Raven, at least until now, has been working directly with Amanda Waller, a woman who wants to eradicate all superheroes. And finally, we can’t overlook that Dark Raven has all of Raven’s powers, including emotional manipulation, teleportation and magic.

Think of the damage she could do. The Titans have a ticking time bomb in their roster and the detonation could be catastrophic. There are many ways Dark Raven could undermine the Titans and go undetected, especially with her empath powers. The team could fall apart from within before they realize what’s happening.

In some ways, this development calls back to two classic Titans storylines, “The Judas Contract” and “The Terror of Trigon.” Both storylines were high points of Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s groundbreaking New Teen Titans run. “The Judas Contract” was about a traitor joining the Titans and taking down the team from within. “The Terror of Trigon” was about Raven turning into Dark Raven and working with her father Trigon to take over the world. The parallels are hard to ignore.

Here's another interesting coincidence, Beast Boy and Raven are currently a couple. During “The Judas Contract,” Gar found himself falling in love with Terra, the Titan who wound up betraying the team. This means that Gar will be romancing a traitor for the second time. Can the poor guy ever catch a break?

As I said before, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. What did the Titans learn from these storylines? “The Judas Contract” taught them to always be on guard and never ignore any red flags. This is going to be put to the test with Dark Raven, since her psychic powers allow her to manipulate emotions. A small push from her empath powers might be able to suppress any feelings of suspicion.

“The Terror of Trigon” pushed the Titans to the limit. Trigon and Raven actually succeeded in taking over the planet, capturing the souls of every human, including the Justice League. The Titans were able to defeat Trigon and restore the planet, but the experience rocked their souls. Trigon and Raven were able to temporarily corrupt each Titan, turning them into a darkened version of themselves.

What did the team learn from that experience? They know that Dark Raven has a roadmap to their souls and can twist them to her will. But the Titans also know that they can overcome her and repel her evil spirit as they did in the past. They know what they’re capable of when they work together.

I’m not sure where Tom Taylor is taking this story. Perhaps the Titans are on to Dark Raven’s game and pretending to be fooled while they formulate a plan—Taylor does like subverting our expectations like that. Or perhaps Nightwing has planned contingencies for traitors infiltrating the team. We know he has plans on how to defeat the various Titans, so it would be nice to think there are some safeguards against Raven going evil (which has happened a few times, after all). Or maybe Raven is a blind spot, and the Titans are sitting ducks.

Beast World may now be over, but the real trouble is only beginning.

Titans: Beast World is now available to read in full in print and as a digital comic book. Look for the full series to be available next month on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Twitter at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.