TITANS Season One
For the birds?
Superhero shows can’t just be superhero shows if they want to stand out anymore. They need an angle: the weird one; the comedy one; the teen soap one. What has Titans plumped for? The Watchmen-with-body horror one, which is certainly a unique take on the genre – and a surprisingly successful one.
Based on a DC comic that started out as a teen Justice League featuring sidekicks and “kid”-prefixed versions of A-listers, the series pulls together Robin, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire in a plot full of damaged, world-weary heroes. Dick Grayson’s time with Batman has left him verging on psychotic, Starfire is an amnesiac who revels in frying bad guys, and Hawk (of the Hawk and Dove duo, who drop by to up the bird-themed superhero ante) suffers from erectile dysfunction.
It’s very gory at times, but inventively so. Rationed swearing is used to good effect, it’s full of DC Easter eggs, fun is had with the ludicrous costumes, and the fractured arc plot structure (few of the main characters have actually met by the end of episode two) is more fast-paced than a Netflix/Marvel series. There are cheesy moments, clunky dialogue and convenient plotting too, but file this under promising. Dave Golder