What DC Universe’s Titans Got Right, and What they Got Wrong

After an emergency appendectomy, I found myself confined to a bed for several days with little to entertain myself. There’s only so much Instagram you can scroll before you start wondering if you really do need to buy <insert inane, useless product here>, so naturally I signed up for a free trial of DC Universe to binge watch Titans so you don’t have to. You’re welcome. It’s all for you.

Thus far, 7 episodes in, it’s actually not that bad. In fact, in some ways, it’s rather good. In some ways, it’s very bad. So let’s dive in and break it down, shall we?

The Good

Dick Grayson as Recruit

Plenty of jokes can be made about how lucky Dick Grayson had it. Sure, his parents died tragically, but then billionaire Bruce Wayne welcomes him into his home where he wants for nothing and gets to help a city in need. All pretty great, right? Titans spends a considerable amount of time questioning how awesome this really was, and it’s one of the more compelling plot threads/ideas the show toys with.

Through flashbacks we learn that when not training with Bruce, Dick is pretty much left to wander the palatial estate by his lonesome. It’s a cold, empty existence, and the only time Bruce is present in Dick’s life is when he’s training him to be his successor. Not as a father-son, but more as a general-soldier relationship; he wasn’t nurtured so much as indoctrinated This has, needless to say, left a lasting void in Dick’s life.

Despite what the trailer lead us to believe, Dick isn’t an all-cussing, shoot-em-up asshole. He’s actually a pretty reasonable (erm, more on this later) dude who just wants to help people, but not as a masked crusader. We mused, on the podcast, that the Dick Grayson they presented us in the trailers was really more of a Jason Todd, and Jason Todd does make an appearance in the series. And he’s as wholly unlikable as Jason Todd has always been, played in stark contrast to Dick Grayson. Todd loves the violence Bruce is ingraining into him, whereas Grayson does not.

It’s very clear the show is leading us toward the inevitable reveal of Nightwing. Dick Grayson is wrestling with his upbringing at Bruce Wayne’s hands and doesn’t like who he becomes as Robin. Robin has too much tied to too many bad memories. It’s an interesting play and actually effective.

The Really Real World

Bear with me here, but setting Titans in the “real” world was probably one of the best decisions the show made. Gotham exists, and people reference it, but having the characters gallivanting around Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois somehow makes the show feel more grounded. Yes, you have Robin(s) dropping from the ceiling, but people react accordingly to such things.

Most importantly, though, is that we don’t have to suffer through “This can’t be true!” moments from characters who have little reason to doubt anything they hear or see. Example? When Kory Anders reveals that she thinks Rachel may be the destroyer of worlds, Dick reacts not with incredulity that such a thing is possible, but disbelief that Rachel could be so evil. This man has battled the Joker; he doesn’t need to doubt things like a world-ending prophecy.

Oh, also, did I mention that two people have now instantly recognized Dick in his Robin costume? It’s little things like that that make my heart soar.

The Nuclear Family

To quote Raven in Teen Titans Go: To The Movies, “Wow, that is obscure.” How do you take a super obscure group of characters and make them at all interesting? Get four actors who fully commit to the Donna Reed fantasy exterior, all while doling out startling violence. What fully sold the Nuclear Family for me was when Nuclear Mom uses the phrase “lickety-split” after just having tried to kill our heroes with an electric carving knife. The image of which is just delightful.

This reference was actually perfect for the show. They’re obscure enough to make hardcore fans say, “Wow, really?” while still being rooted in the DC canon, and most importantly, they have zero baggage or expectations associated.

The Bad

This isn’t a Titans Show

For all of their hype about this being a Titans show, it is not a Titans show. For one thing, while you could try to argue that Raven is the main character and the story is clearly progressing toward Raven’s background as Trigon’s daughter and the harbinger of the end times, the story is awfully Dick-centric. Similar to my complaint about Justice League’s power dynamic, Titans suffers from the same, “We got this one guy, who else do we need?”

Seven episodes in and any time violence needs to occur, Dick is our go-to. Starfire has conveniently been left on the back burner in several episodes because her powers are somehow drained. Don’t get me wrong, we should want Dick Grayson to be a badass, but everyone else can join in on the fun as well.

Also, remember how I said it’s really awesome that they’re examining why Dick might be a little resentful to Batman? Well they spend a lot of time examining that and while it’s compelling, we don’t get an equally compelling look at Gar, Rachel, or Kory.

They could have rebranded this a Dick Grayson show and it would have been all the better for it. Unfortunately for the show Titans has such a strong brand and history, it’s fighting an uphill battle and losing. Probably because it’s only letting Dick Grayson see any action.

SO DARK SO EMO

Good lord, Titans, please give Dick a break from being dark and gritty. Jesus people. In case you’re wondering if I’m being hyperbolic here, in the very first episode we’re introduced to Dick’s new partner. We’re going to call her Female Partner because that’s how much development this woman is given before she’s immediately killed to what? Spurn Dick to action? He’s already in action to save Rachel. Did we really need the Nuclear Family to kill Female Partner to make us dislike them? What purpose did this serve?

Also, a random jaunt down memory lane for what happened to his parents’ killer seems to be gilding the emo lily.

Got Anymore of That Pop Culture?

Last but not least, DC’s desperate attempt to make the show “cool” is painful. They learned that Marvel has made a killing off using dated songs in situations that are surprising. Listening to Glen Campbell croon about Southern Nights while alien pirates are hurled across a forest in a number of violent ways is so off-the-wall it’s perfect. People now expect random golden oldies to pop up in Marvel movies, and DC clearly wants in on that action. Which is why the show chooses to blare horribly mismatched songs at odd times. It comes off as a clumsy attempt to copy what’s cool.

Did I mention pop culture references galore? In one scene Rachel is watching Game of Thrones. Why? Because that’s cool and hip, right? Dick makes a joke about her being old enough to watch because hur hur, clearly he’s out of the loop about what cool kids do. Later she’s watching an episode of Full House because that’s culturally relevant now that they’ve brought back Fuller House, right? This might not bother me if it wasn’t such a cheap, low-hanging effort.

Overall, the show is a very lackluster Titans effort, but oddly a very interesting and compelling Dick Grayson examination. I wish they would have stuck with what they clearly know best, instead of trying to remake the wheel whole cloth.