Titans (2018 TV series)

[Silver Nemesis]

[The Laughing Fish]

Has anybody watched this show yet? I've only watched the first three episodes.

I'd like to say that anybody who bitched about Batman's violence in BvS but like this show can shut the f*** up right now, because this version of Robin is WAY more brutal and deranged than ANY live action Batman to date.

Jesus Christ, Dick Grayson's actions in the first two episodes include:

• Castration. Yes, that's right.
• Stabbing a goon in the eye with his R shuriken. And not only that, Dick takes the shuriken out of the guy's eye, and puts it back on his chest. Gross.
• Scraping goons' faces against a brick wall and against a car window sill full of broken glass.
• Viciously beats goons to a bloody pulp. Literally.

Suddenly, Batman branding criminals doesn't really seem all that shocking. In contrast, I find him killing people in BvS a lot more merciful than Robin's conduct here, and I find it very hard to believe nobody had died from the severe injuries that Robin inflicts. At least Batman's killing in BvS was mostly done while he's under attack.

I realise I'm still early into the show, but I don't quite understand Dick's frame of mind. He carries a lot of resentment against Batman and left him because he thought was becoming too much like him, and yet, I don't see him being any better than he is. On the positive side, we get to see flashbacks and backstory of how Dick coped with losing his parents and how he lived in Wayne Manor - although we don't really see Bruce and Alfred, aside from a shadowy figure and somebody with their backs turned from the camera here and there.

I understand Titans isn't connected to the DCEU, but in my opinion, it is a lot more violent than any DCEU film to date. I'm surprised to learn it's not met with overwhelmingly negative reviews. Apparently some people have good things to say about it. Once again, I seriously don't understand people if the general consensus for this show is mostly positive. I thought gratuitous violence and darkness was their biggest complaints over the films. And the constant swearing throughout does seem it's trying too hard. Even Marvel Netflix doesn't say "f***" ad nauseum, let alone at all.

I'll continue watching out of curiosity, but I'm very baffled by this show. I thought the first episode was mediocre in terms of acting and action, but the next few episodes did get a little better.

[The Laughing Fish]

Brenton Thwaites, who plays Dick on the show, says Batman becoming a killer was the reason why Dick Grayson chose to walk away from him.

"Batman is a killer and Robin wants to get away from that," said Thwaites. "The idea is that he doesn't want to become a killer himself. And although these guys that he's fighting are bad and they deserve, you know, they deserve what he's dishing out, it seems, he believes that when you kill someone you crossed the line and you become almost as bad as them, so it's pretty clear in the series that he was with Batman, Batman crossed the line and he was teaching me to do the same thing, and he's trying to break away from that."

Source: https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2018/10/batman-is-a-killer-in-titans-says-robin-actor-brenton-thwaites/

This still doesn't make much sense to me. As I said before, Robin in this show has committed violence so severe that the injuries he inflicts are life-threatening, particularly in the case of the gang leader he castrated and the guy whose eye he stabbed. Realistically, if they don't get medical attention immediately, they'd bleed to death. If Robin was disgusted by Batman for abandoning his moral code, he should restrain his own conduct because he's just as lethal.

With that said, there was a flashback scene in the third episode where Bruce wrote a letter to Dick warning him that getting revenge over his parents' killer wouldn't soothe the pain and offered him a better way to cope with it. Which obviously foreshadows their pairing as Batman and Robin. So it appears that Titans has taken a page from BvS, where Batman once had ideals, but had abandoned them over time because of a series of tragic circumstances and disillusionment. The difference is we saw BvS concluding with Bruce regaining his morals and finding hope and inspiration, so I don't know how this will play out in Titans, if it ever bothers to explore Batman's story and make amends with Robin at all.

[Dagenspear]

This still doesn't make much sense to me. As I said before, Robin in this show has committed violence so severe that the injuries he inflicts are life-threatening, particularly in the case of the gang leader he castrated and the guy whose eye he stabbed. Realistically, if they don't get medical attention immediately, they'd bleed to death. If Robin was disgusted by Batman for abandoning his moral code, he should restrain his own conduct because he's just as lethal.

I haven't been watching, but I saw reactions to the Jason Todd episode and I got the impression Dick hated Batman and left because (HIGHLIGHT FOR SPOILERS) he felt he turned him into a weapon and he hated himself for what that led him to: Letting the man who killed his parents die.

[The Laughing Fish]

I was surprised to find out that Brendan Fraser played Robotman in the episode where the Doom Patrol appeared, and will appear in their own spin-off series.

Anyway, I'm nearly up to date, I've watched up to episode six. SPOILERS in the blockquote below.

It was a bold move by the writers to have Dick allow Tony Zucco to die at the hands of the Maroni mob. Given the flashback took place two years ago to the present day, perhaps it was a sign of Batman's terrible influence having an effect on him, judging by what Brenton Thwaites said in that article I posted before. Maybe that's what Dick meant when he said "this is why people like Batman do what they do, you don't cut a deal with a guy like Tony Zucco...", while arguing with the detective who said the police were putting Zucco under protective custody, in the interest of ratting out the Maronis. If they didn't show up to off Zucco, there's no doubt Robin would've done the job himself.

There are still many questions unanswered in this backstory. If Robin regretted getting Zucco killed and realised how his mentor was no longer a good role model, this episode doesn't show it. Maybe there was another incident that made Robin lose all respect he had for Batman. But wouldn't that risk making Robin a hypocrite, since he practically killed Zucco by inaction, and would've done it himself if the opportunity hadn't been taken away from him? I don't know, we'll have to wait and find out. At the moment, it's too vague because Titans is the type of showing the builds up the mystery before giving you any answers. There has to be a specific moment when it reveals why Batman lost his morality. We need to know how did Bruce specifically go from encouraging a young Dick Grayson not to seek revenge, to becoming a killer himself later on in life. One thing is certain, if Batman is already losing it now, I hate to think what he'll do when the Joker kills Jason Todd.

The way this show justifies Dick's behaviour thus far is that he's finding it very hard to escape from old dirty habits that he learned under Batman's tutelage. But once again, I don't quite buy it. Regardless, judging by how outraged Dick was when he saw Jason Todd brutally attacking the cops, the episode hints that he's going to hang up the Robin cape for good very soon, and will eventually become Nightwing. Maybe this will signal the end of his brutality as well, and escape from Batman's shadow completely. And the fact that Zucco's son was responsible for murdering the Haly's Circus performers out of revenge, it might teach Dick a lesson of how damaging vengeance is.

[The Laughing Fish]

Okay, what in the f*** is this?!

Either this show is pushing the envelope too far, like it hasn't already, or there is some twist to the story we're not actually aware of. Batman is not only killing villains, but SWAT teams now? Just when I thought Dick Grayson was far more brutal than Batfleck, they give us this. Maybe this is a scenario the showrunners were dreaming up what Batman said in Under the Red Hood, that once he takes one life he could never go back. Dick not only has to leave Robin behind as it was an extension of Batman's darkness, but it appears he has to be the one to stop him as well. It's really warped, to be quite honest.

By the way, Geoff Johns is credited as an executive producer AND writer for this show. I read a lot of DCEU fans online blaming him as a scapegoat for the change in tone of Justice League because of some hearsay and rumours over the past year. I doubt he was instrumental behind that movie's costly reshoots if he dared to dream this take on Titans and Batman.

[The Laughing Fish]

I watched the season finale, spoilers below.

So as it turns out, Batman going on a killing spree was an illusion created by Trigon to trick Dick, and has cast a spell on him to embrace his dark side. Now that Dick is under Trigon's spell, we'll likely to spend the next season taking its time where he tries to snap out of it and come back to his senses before he takes the mantle as Nightwing. No thanks. Frankly, this show has already lost me. You can tell they're slowly avoiding the costumes and using as less special effects as possible because of a lack of budget. There are some good things like the actors who play Hawk and Dove, Brenton Thwaites isn't too shabby, and when Beast Boy turns into a Tiger it looks superb. But the action isn't all that great, the dialogue is trying hard too hard to be gritty and some choices behind Dick's arc in this story doesn't add up, as I've said before.

I don't think I'll be watching another season of this show. Maybe Doom Patrol will be better?

Now, even though Batman's body is covered in silhouette and darkness, these were the leaked images of the Batsuit for the show. As you can see, they're using a replica of the Bob Ringwood cowl.

[The Joker]

Has there been any word on if this is going to get a blu ray / dvd release? Or is it going to be strictly a DC streaming service exclusive similar to how Youtube Red's "Cobra Kai" (evidently) still remains exclusive to their service?

[The Laughing Fish]

There doesn't appear to be any plans for a home video release as of yet, but Netflix will begin streaming the debut season on the 11th of January.

[The Laughing Fish]

Iain Glen has been cast to play Bruce Wayne for the second season, Esai Morales is playing Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke, and Joshua Orpin will play Connor Kent aka Superboy.

https://tvline.com/2019/04/11/titans-iain-glen-bruce-wayne-season-2-batman/

Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or does this actor have a strong resemblance to Bruce in The Dark Knight Returns ?





My guess is he won't be wearing the cape and cowl. After all, this show tries to use less costumes as possible.

I can't help but get reminded how we're got deprived of a potential Batfleck movie where he goes up against Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke. If Bruce and Slade will cross paths in Titans, it will just feel like a downgrade in comparison. Way to go Warner Butchers, you soulless hacks.