A bird, an alien, one who is possessed, and a shape shifter walks into a bar…….
It was the Umbrella Academy who opened the flood gates for us, as prior to UA we weren’t really into comic book TV seeresses. However once I saw the trailer for ‘Titans’ and it strongly resembled Umbrella Academy- i.e. teenagers with superpowers, teaming up to fight a mutual foe? We were sold!
Titans (or Teen Titans) is a DC comic series, turned into an action series by Warner Bros (and now streaming on Netflix). The premiss is that Dick Grayson (aka Robin from Batman & Robin) is no longer a vigilante and is fighting crime with a badge, as a bonified detective on the Detroit police force. When he comes across Rachel, a troubled teenager who is haunted by visions (which are not her own) and the demonic possession by an ‘evil spirit’. After they escape several attempts at her capture, they come across Kory a mysterious woman who is able to flame throw and chargrill anything in her path (although she is a mystery to herself, with a serious case of amnesia). And after they’re joined by a shape shifter in Garfield (oh! I get it now, Garfield is an orange cartoon cat, thus he shapes shifts into a green-tinged tiger?). Together, they seek to protect Rachel from the forces who are out to get her, protect Rachel from herself, and to ultimately protect Rachel from ending the world as we know it!
The storyline isn’t all that ground-breaking, as almost all comic book storylines involve the potential complete destruction of our world! But what made Titans a binge worthy show, was how they went about telling their story. By introducing characters seemingly out of the blue, but to back-track in later episodes to tell of their origin stories- thus retrospectively filling in the gaps and creating some ‘ah ha’ moments for its viewers. Which I have to admit it was a bit annoying at the time, as the previous episode ended on a cliff-hanger, but to pick-up at a completely different spot the following episode!? Thus leaving you and I in complete limbo for an extra 50 minutes! Or a day or two, depending if you or I don’t get a chance to keep watching on in one sitting. But it makes for some epic ‘TV time’ when you eventually get back to it.
The grandiose nature of this small screen show far exceeded what is usually expected from a TV series. Sure, most of it could be CGI and they’re not actually blowing up houses and tearing up Bruce Wayne’s mansion- but merely for an alternative future sequence, they re-created Gotham city, and showed the depravity the city had become after the Bat had lost his way.
The casting and acting were all exemplary, the fight sequences and manifestations of their powers was truly wicked, and their ability to keep you riveted right through each episode was masterful. Right down to literally airing the last episode of season 1, as episode 2 of season 2!? They have honestly sucked us in, line and sinker! We’re so invested into the next 11 episodes now- where the Teen Titans invite more superheros into their fold.
If you haven’t already seen this, run (don’t walk) to check out Titans, click HERE to start binging.
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