“THIS ISN’T YOUR DAD’S TEEN TITANS! Or, um, your kids’ Teen Titans.”

§ July 20th, 2018 § Filed under dc comics, teen titans, television § 5 Comments

So that surprising f-bomb in the Titans trailer had its intended effect — it’s got everyone talking about the TV show, and the DC Universe streaming service where it will debut soon. I mean, I’m not innocent, I had a couple of laughs (NSFW) about it, so DC got themselves almost Todd-McFarlane-buying-baseballs-levels of free publicity. (It also brought out the usual fellas who object every time a person who isn’t white and/or male is cast in anything.)

Now, I mean despite all that, it looks…you know, at least CW-levels of good (which I realize for some folks isn’t saying much). It does seem awfully dark-ish and gritty-ish at a time when it sort of looks like DC is at least trying to back away from that sort of thing in their media adaptations, which is an odd choice…I mean, aside from the odd choice of having Robin do a swear, of course. I feel like Raven is the breakout character here, not that we saw a whole lot of anyone else, but I can see her being especially appealing to young viewers, which is sort of ironic considering.

My other concern, as a retailer who tries to sell comic books (remember comic books? I’ve got a store full of them), is that if this particular bit of dialogue gets traction in cultural awareness, I could see parents steering kids away from Teen Titans comics in the future…”no, you can’t read that, Robin’s a pottymouth!” I did see this phenomenon with Deadpool after that first movie was released…kids wanted Deadpool comics, parents were all “isn’t that R-rated? NO WAY.” Granted, Deadpool comics are not generally speaking for the tykes, but it appeared this reaction was being fueled by the film and not by any particularly awareness of the comics.

Of course, that’s comparing apples and oranges, one of the most successful R-rated movies in history versus a streaming TV show that may be seen by upwards of tens of viewers. Who knows what impact this show will ultimately have, in a world where there is an enormous surfeit of superhero media, beyond the novelty of being part of a network presented by a comics publisher? Sure, I’ll be watching, because SWAMP THING TV SHOW, DUH. And I am curious about the Titans show, and the forthcoming Doom Patrol show (despite my reservations that Robotman will almost certainly have a “cloaking device” or something that will make him look like a normal human and not an expensive digital effect most of the time). And there are the digital comics, which…sheesh, I’ll just have to give up sleep at this point to keep up with everything.

Some folks were wondering why DC would even do this with the Titans, and…well, like I said, to get attention. I mean, aside from Deadpool, you haven’t really seen superheroes with quite so salty tongues. Plus, maybe DC is spreading their Titans demographics…you’ve got Teen Titans Go! for the younger set, you’ve got this new show for the older audiences, and, as was pointed out to me on the Twitters, there’s Young Justice (brand new Season 3 coming exclusively to the DC Universe streaming service, coincidentally!) for the folks who fall in between. I know seeing the shows divided up like that may seem weird to a lot of us who are fully capable of watching all three (or maybe two) of these shows and enjoying them, but hey, that’s marketing!

It was something of a relief to hear concerns that were more in-story character based about that specific attitude of Robin’s, like “why would he even think that about Batman to begin with?” And friend, if the people in charge of the DC Universe digital comics service are smart, they’ll curate a collection of the “Robin Is Pissed at Batman” genre for the edification of those in need.

Anyway, I’m already signed up, as the per-month price was pretty much just what I wanted to pay, so I expect I’ll be reporting directly upon the service here in short order. Maybe I’ll keep a tally of just how many swears I hear per episode. “OOOOH GET THE BAT-SOAP, SOMEONE’S MOUTH NEEDS WASHING”

5 Responses to ““THIS ISN’T YOUR DAD’S TEEN TITANS! Or, um, your kids’ Teen Titans.””

  • Your Obedient Serpent says:

    I just went Tumblr on exactly this:

    https://athelind.tumblr.com/post/176075022182/the-titans-trailer

    “Everyone seems to be complaining because the show looks like a super-powered soap opera about a bunch of angsty teens with parental issues….”

  • Turan, Emissary of the Fly World says:

    In related news, the producers of Margot Robbie’s “Birds of Prey” movie have announced that it will feature a Batman villain never before seen on “the big screen.”

    Now, of course, most people are assuming that this will be the Ten-Eyed Man, with a dedicated few hoping for Signalman. I, however, am holding out hope that it will be Bag O’Bones, the Spark-Spangled Man. He is due.

    (Yes, I know he goes by the name of Dr. Phosphor now. That name is by no definition an improvement, so I refuse to recognize it.)

    Mind, I will also accept the Gorilla Boss of Gotham City.

    (Yes, we all know it will really be Lady Shiva. But a lad can hope, can he not?)

  • Rich Handley says:

    That Titans trailer is awful.

  • Brian says:

    Then of course that afternoon they announced the return of The Clone Wars and all of us mentally shifted the money we’d planned to spend on a subscription for the new DC Streaming Service to instead spend on a subscription for the new Disney Streaming Service…

  • Turan, Emissary of the Fly World says:

    Brian, I’ll need a guarantee that the Disney service will have KIM POSSIBLE before I do that.

    A similar guarantee for PHINEAS & FERB would also help.