Review: ‘Titans’ Season 1 Episode 1 - "Titans"

Writers: Geoff Johns, Akiva Goldsman, Greg Berlanti
Director: Brad Anderson
Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter
Review by Adam Ray
When DC Universe was first announced, the details for this show came soon after. Their first scheduled series on the network would be depicting the first meeting and early deeds of the Teen Titans. A lot of the characters’ appearances and certain lines of dialogue from the trailer left the fan base polarised about the show. Now episode one is safely locked away in all our memories, may of us would agree that it’s a really interesting one. The show overall makes a gritty blending of current DC films and other Netflix superhero media to leave a viewer eager to tune in again. As a deep fan of the characters, I have some things to say.
Brenton Thwaites’ Dick Grayson is very true to the character’s form, as you’d expect. This is Robin, fresh from going independent. The potential character growth of him finding the colourful, cheery nature you’d tie with Dick Grayson’s Robin will come as he’s more involved with a team he can trust. The fighting style is deeply gritty and shocking – a real tie to a dark Batman that instructed him. One he was eager to leave.
Much of the episode is focused on Teagan Croft’s Raven. The enigmatic and dangerous girl, touched by dark powers seems to be a drive for the show going forward. It’s a real testament to Croft’s performance that she almost plays two parts in this episode: the vulnerable girl and the beast within.

Sway of the Stars

Anna Diop’s Starfire drew a lot of questions from the fans based on her look. As the episode played out, I’m pleasantly surprised how well she handled herself. I take exception to her actions, as she’s deliberately, and shamelessly violent. Perhaps this is a Starfire from the New 52. One who’s more morally dubious, and not opposed to a little bit of violent misuse of her energy blasts and heightened strength.

Conclusion

The episode ends with all the main future team members well established and characterised well. As an series opener goes, the strength of the tone, and the way certain characters have been handled has left me perplexed, but interested to watch more.

 (This review was originally published on the Dark Knight News website on October 16th 2018)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought Bubble 2024 convention & festival dates announced

Image
Article by Steve J. Ray Thought Bubble  is, without a doubt, the UK’s best entirely comic-based convention and art festival. I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the show for the last three years, and have been anxious to see what’s in store this year. Well, the wait is over, as the team behind the event has announced the Thought Bubble 2024 convention & festival dates. THOUGHT BUBBLE ANNOUNCES 2024 COMIC CONVENTION & FESTIVAL DATES ACCLAIMED COMIC ART CONVENTION AND FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE ACROSS YORKSHIRE THIS NOVEMBER THOUGHT BUBBLE FESTIVAL LEEDS & ACROSS YORKSHIRE 11 -17 NOVEMBER 2024 THOUGHT BUBBLE COMIC CONVENTION HARROGATE CONVENTION CENTRE 16 & 17 NOVEMBER 2024   https://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com “Thought Bubble is the place to be. This is the show where everyone feels and is treated like family” –  Dark Knight News “Thought Bubble is the most important comic convention around” –  Popverse Returning to the Harrogate Convention Centre,...
Read more

Mystic Muses: A D&D Podcast

Image
Article by Philip Clark An all queer cast. An all femme ensemble. A non-binary Dungeon Master. Throw in some quality story-telling and role playing too, this sounds like a whole lot of fun! If any of the previously mentioned things has piqued your interests, then I implore you to check out Mystic Muses. You can find this wonderfully crafted podcast where you can find all your other favourites including Spotify. There are currently four episodes out. Episode 0 is the prologue and character introductions, and I have to say it is very well put together! The intro to each episode is cleverly crafted, with the players and DM each sounding off a sentence to bring us into the game space. Speaking of bringing us into the game space, Adam, the talented DM sets the scene for the story very nicely. A descriptive, yet concise introduction to the environment gives both the players and audience a vibe of what we're in for. Then come the delicious character introductions that give vivid descripti...
Read more

Fantastic Universes Interview: Madison, Matthew and Macsen Lintz From 'The Walking Dead'

Image
Interview panel led by Steve J. Ray, with a gathering of Comic/TV Media Journalists. I've spoken to some amazing people over the last couple of years; writers, artists, costume designers, and actors from some of my favorite TV shows. It's no secret that I'm a huge comic-book fan, and one of the TV series that's based on and inspired by a comics title - but has gone on to be so much more - is The Walking Dead . At a recent Comic-Con in London, I had the great opportunity of leading a panel where some fellow journalists and I spoke with Madison, Matthew and Macsen Lintz, three siblings who played Sophia and both iterations of Henry on the show. The eldest, Madison Lintz (born 1999) played Sophia Peletier - Carol's daughter - in the first two seasons. She's also well known for playing Maddie Bosch in the Amazon series Bosch . She started acting at the age of six, filming commercials and voice-overs. Matthew (born 2001) took over the role of Henry from ...
Read more