The combination of putting fnaboys in charge and the concept of superheroes with stereotypical teen personalities is a recipe for success. Speaking as a clear Beast Boy who hates hurting feelings and who enjoys being the class clown, we see ourselves and our family and friends in the characters. This element and equally relatable incidents that include a prank war with collateral damage, arguments over losing the remote, squabbles regarding chores, etc. make "Titans" MUCH more than a show in which a super-villain hatches an evil scheme, the heroes spring into action, the tables turn in favor of the bad guy, and things work out in the end.
Former Batman sidekick/ward Robin leads this team that lives, loves, and squabbles in the T-shaped Titan Tower. He brings his leadership skills and mad martial arts skills to the table.
Star power having its privileges scores Robin the most prominent role regarding episodes that highlight our heroes. He is primary motive for a season-long campaign by (initially) mysterious super-villain Slade. This Vader goes as far as almost literally poisoning the well to get this young knight to embrace the dark side. A line in the epic two-parter "The Apprentice" in which Robin states while battling Slade that he already has a (apparently dead-beat) father says it all regarding these foes.
Alien princess Starfire fully reflects the Americanized anime style of "Titans." Her powers include flight and the ability to project harmful energy beams. Her squeaky-voice and innocent girl (including eyes that occasionally turn into hearts) persona evoke strong thoughts of Japanese cartoons. She offers good humor regarding limited understanding of English and even less comprehension of our expressions and mores. Her infectious glee at discovering that cotton candy is not made out of thread is a highlight.
Starfire gets her episode early on when the joy of her sister literally coming down to earth for a surprise visit turns out to not be a good thing. The "Brady Bunch" element of this is that Sis wins over the Titans at the apparent cost of their friendship with Starfire. The more serious threat is that the bad seed brings down literally cosmic justice on our naive group.
Aforementioned fave Beast Boy is the little brother of the group; this green guy who can transform at will into an land, aerial, or aquatic animal has the mentality and energy of a 13 year-old but the heart of a lion.
Beast Boy also gets a strong story in that a series of unfortunate circumstances leads to the group teaming up with dreamy Aqua Lad. This triggers intense jealousy by Boy, who considers himself the Prince of the Sea regarding his group.
Cyborg is the literal jock in the group. He is a former high school football star whose massive injury prompts (arguably misguided) paternal love to make him a super-powered half teen-half robot despite his futile resistance.
Cyborg putting the needs of his many friends above his individual need to literally recharge his batteries leads to him being rescued. The rub is that the well-meaning savior is intent on removing every human element of Cyborg. (A hint is that issuing the command "sleep" is not going to cut it this time.)
Raven is a goth who also literally is a demon; being a team player by using her black magic powers for good does not prevent her from being sullen or becoming particularly annoyed at the exuberance of Beast Boy.
Raven gets the most surreal "Heavy Metal" episode in that a spat with Beast Boy leads our emo boy to enter the forbidden territory of her room. This leads to learning much more about her than Boy ever imagined that he would and getting a sense of the wide scope of daddy issues.
The arguably best S1 episode incorporates the most entertaining elements of "Titans." "Mad Mod" finds the gang trapped in a psychedelic fantasy world in which the titular big bad is Hell-bent on brainwashing them. The numerous chase scenes (complete with music by theme singers Puffy Ami Yumi) through doors, halls, and stairways is a groovy homage to "Scooby-Doo." Having the cure to the brainwashing of Beast Boy involve wonderfully silly immature humor is spectacular.
On a larger level, "Mod" makes perfect use of what the behind-the-scenes folks describe as the the bugged-out eyes, greatly exaggerated expressions in response to stimuli, etc that reflect the classic style of Tex Avery.
Proving that imitation is the highest form of flattery, "Titans" sets the stage for Marvel to produce "Ultimate Spider-Man" in 2012. The same bickering and co-habitation issues face Spidey and his posse; even the Tex Avery style survives.
The aforementioned copious extras include discussions of casting the voice actors and directly hearing from the mouths of those equines. We further get Robin interviewing Puffy Ami Yumi and a separate feature of the music video for "Titans" by that duo. Archive ends this with the two-part pilot of the anime series "The Hiros" about a crime-fighting couple. The all-star cast in this one includes Grey "Daphne" DeLisle, Phil "Hermes" (and "Static") LaMarr, and Tom "Spongebob" Kenny.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Titans" is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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