Can I Keep Him?

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Can I Keep Him? is the 36th episode of the Teen Titans series and episode 10 of season 3.

Synopsis

Johnny Rancid comes back to Jump City to wreak havoc, this time with the assistance of his robot bulldog Wrex. Of course, the Titans rush to stop this tinfoil puppy, and though it proves to be hard going, they manage to reduce it to a pile of scraps. However, Beast Boy lets Rancid get away, so the group returns to Titans Tower to start their search.

When the Titans enter Ops, however, they find it thoroughly messed up. While Robin initiates the search for Rancid, the other Titans are tasked with tracking down their intruder. After drawing up a diversion, Beast Boy yanks Starfire into his quarters and reveals that he knows who trashed the Tower: After their first altercation with the villain Killer Moth, he had secretly kept one of his mutant larvae as a pet and named it "Silkie". Since the other Titans would not approve of it when they find it, Beast Boy now asks the kind-hearted Starfire to hide him. After some revulsion, Starfire swiftly develops a deep affection for Silkie and prompty adopts it.

But then a new problem arises: What to feed a hungry little mutant larva? After some attempts, Starfire resorts to feeding Silkie zorkaberries from her home planet, which Silkie consumes with great relish. But the alien nature of the berries cause him to unexpectedly grow to a grotesquely massive size, making hiding him all the more difficult. In search for more food, Silkie escapes and attacks Cyborg for one of his legs. While Starfire succeeds in averting Silkie from coming to harm by her teammates, Silkie proves much too hungry and hazardous to keep, so Robin vetoes keeping him around.

Heartbroken, Starfire brings Silkie to a small rocky island off the coast and abandons him - but against all expectations, Silkie quickly finds company. The very same evening, Rancid returns for revenge with a new combat robot, Wrexzilla, but before his contraption can jump into action, it and its master are snatched and gobbled up by Silkie, mutated into a giant moth and ridden by none other than Killer Moth. A fight ensues which Starfire joins reluctantly, unwilling to harm Silkie, but after Robin almost ends up hurt, Starfire strikes back, blasting Killer Moth off his steed but getting yanked to the ground along with him by his plasma whip.

As the two pick themselves up and Silkie lands near them, each of them tries to entice Silkie to come back to him/her, Killer Moth playing upon his role as Silkie's creator, while Starfire attempts to shower him with kindness. Confused over two conflicting loyalties, the emotional stress gets to Silkie and causes him to explode, releasing Rancid and Cyborg's leg but seemingly destroying him. But as Starfire weeps among the debris, she hears some guttural calls, and after diving into the muck she joyfully retrieves Silkie, now reverted back to larva form. With a pleading eye, she convinces Robin for Silkie to stay with them, under the provision that she does not give him any more alien food. The immediate question of how to feed him otherwise is solved when Silkie begins to consume the renmants of his adult body, which bear the flavor of zorkaberries - a feast Starfire, to the other's consternation and disgust - cordially joins in.

Cultural references and spoofs

The episode's ending parodies Toho Studios Ltd.'s monster-movie series. It begins with Johnny Rancid bringing Rexzilla, whose name spoofs Godzilla and parodies Mechagodzilla with its appearance; Rexzilla also resembled Grimlock from the show Transformers: Animated. Then, Killer Moth brings another Japanese monster parody, which is Silkie in a Mothra-like form and size.