Hello and welcome to Wasted Plotential, the show where we
Robin: "Fuck Batman!"
Wait...
Yeah, so that Titans trailer, eh?
It's almost like they were trying to make a Teen Titans product that was so despised,
it would make people reevaluate Teen Titans Go as "not so bad".
Now, it may come off as a little presumptuous to talk about the wasted story potential of
a show that only has a single trailer, but I don't really care.
This was our first proper impression of the show, and their opportunity to turn around
the negative opinions that had formed from the leaked set photos.
But no, Beast Boy only looks slightly less like Trip from Power Rangers, Starfire still
looks like a prostitute (and probably is one, going off the show's tone) and Robin is swearing
and murdering people like this is NtT: New teen Titans.
Dante: "Fuck you!"
It's shocking to me that they saw the fan backlash to Batman murdering people in the
movies and somehow thought those same people would be okay with the Boy Wonder doing it.
Now, I'm going to briefly explain a way this maybe could've worked.
First off, use a different Robin.
For the uninitiated, there have been five canonical Robins and this show is using the
first, Dick Grayson.
Dick, who later became Nightwing, is probably the most like Batman in terms of methodology
and philosophy.
His successor, meanwhile...
not so much.
Jason Todd was, ironically, a dick.
He was far angrier and more violent than Dick, which only got worse after he was killed by
The Joker and resurrected.
Upon his return, Jason adopted the identity of The Red Hood and became a Punisher-esque
vigilante murderer.
Let's imagine a setting where Jason is the current Robin.
Dick has already become Nightwing and serves as a mentor to this team, the second incarnation
of the Teen Titans.
Jason was recently captured and tortured by The Joker.
Batman and Dick saved him, but Joker escaped.
Jason has physically recovered since, but he is now far more violent, angry and disobedient.
Barbara Gordon, former Batgirl and fellow Joker victim, visits him regularly, trying
to help him recover mentally and emotionally.
Similar to Damian in Justice League vs Teen Titans, Batman has sent Jason to be part of
the team to help him mature as a team player, and learn from Dick's example.
Also, to keep him out of the way while Bruce works to track Joker down, knowing exactly
what Jason would do to the clown, if he was with him.
Tired of the condescension, Jason finds companionship in similarly rebellious or damaged members
of the team, such as Roy Harper and Raven.
Jason convinces them to break away and form their own team: The Titans, rejecting the
Teen moniker to make themselves seem more mature (an observation pretty much everyone
else makes and points out the inherent irony of).
Other typical members of the team like Donna Troy, Aqualad, Starfire and Beast Boy also
show up, and are divided into Dick's team and Jason's, based on personality and the
cost of CGI/bodypaint.
Jason's team is the main team, but Dick's team is still an important set of supporting
characters, who serve as a point of contrast.
Season 1 would probably build up to the two groups fighting each other or teaming up to
fight, say, H.I.V.E.
A few members of the Justice League also appear as guest stars to train or challenge their
sidekicks.
There are two potential stances the show could take on Jason's group: either their more violent,
sometimes murderous methods are unacceptable; or they are sometimes necessary.
This subject would be a major theme throughout as both teams contemplate the methods of their
mentors and how they have and haven't succeeded thus far.
The big finale, which probably ends on a cliffhanger, would involve Batman finally cornering Joker.
Jason would learn of this and pursue as well, followed soon after by Dick.
Jason has a gun to Joker's head as Bruce and Dick try to talk him down.
Whether or not the
Robin: "Fuck Batman!"
*Gunshot*
that ends Season 1 actually does end Joker's life, Jason and his team begin to drift further
away from Bruce and the others, possibly becoming fugitives in Season 2: The Outlaws.
Do I want a dark Teen Titans product?
God, no.
I think the only people who do are edgy teenagers and people who like BVS and Injustice.
i.e. edgy teenagers.
But if you have to make such a product, with an openly murderous Robin, why the hell would
you not make it Jason Todd on his way towards becoming Red Hood?
Jason's story is potentially the most compelling of all the Robins and yet, only Dick has ever
been depicted in live action.
This darker take on Robin and the Titans is a perfect opportunity to spotlight Jason or
Damian.
Consider, for a moment, that the most mainstream depiction of Jason so far... is Batman: Arkham
Knight and we all know how well that one turned out.
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