Titans Month: Op/Ed - Why the DCEU Needs the Teen Titans

If there's one thing that DC has had for the longest time over Marvel, it was legacy. Since the golden age of comics, every few decades or so have introduced a new generation of heroes to the DC universe. Going by the current timeline, here's a breakdown with some examples:

• Generation One: Flash/Jay Garrick, Green Lantern/Alan Scott, the Justice Society of America
• Generation Two: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash/Barry Allen, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Justice League of America
• Generation Three: Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing, Donna Troy/Wonder Girl, Wally West/Kid Flash/Flash, Roy Harper/Speedy/Arsenal/Red Arrow, Garth/Aqualad/Tempest, Teen Titans/Titans
• Generation Four: Conner Kent/Superboy, Tim Drake/Robin/Red Robin, Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl, Bart Allen/Impulse/Kid Flash, Young Justice/Teen Titans

You could say that through Rebirth, another generation is beginning to form with the likes of Damian Wayne/Robin, Jonathan Kent/Superboy, New 52 Wally West/Kid Flash, and the new Green Lanterns Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz.

Over at Marvel though, characters have remained in the same roles for decades aside from some temporary replacements. Peter Parker is Spider-Man, Tony Stark is Iron Man, Steve Rogers is Captain America, Bruce Banner is Hulk, and so on. But within the last half-decade, Marvel comics have been introducing new and younger characters with similar identities to the long established heroes. This trend really began with the creation of Miles Morales, who in Marvel's Ultimate universe, became the new Spider-Man after that world's Peter Parker died. Miles would eventually become part of the primary Marvel universe, where he would have some company.

Among the newer characters includes Kamala Kahn, an Inhuman with shape shifting powers who took the name of Ms. Marvel because she idolized Carol Danverse, and Sam Alexander, the young new member of the Nova Corps. But besides new characters, established characters have also moved on to take the mantle of other heroes. Sam Wilson, the Falcon, became the new Captain America after Steve Rogers had been rapidly aged and became an old man (even though he is young again and both are sharing the Cap name, but it doesn't help that he's been brainwashed into becoming a HYDRA double agent). In addition, Jane Foster took on the power of the Thor after the original became unworthy of Mjolnir, and Amadeus Cho had become a new Hulk after Banner cured himself. Most recently, young genius Riri Williams has become Iron Heart to carry on Tony Stark's legacy after he went into a coma from the events of Civil War II (screw that comic).

There is a fan theory about why Marvel has introduced this legacy aspect to the comics, that being they're setting things up down the line for the Marvel Cinematic Universe for when the current actors retire from the roles and move on. This could mean eventually Miles Morales and Kamala Kahn will be gracing the silver screen. Though we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves though, as Peter Parker is still in high school and Carol Danvers has yet to make her MCU debut. However, Anthony Mackie could trade in his wings for the shield if they decide to make him the new Captain America after Chris Evans' contract expires.
Personally, I would prefer that roles be recast instead of phased out. It's understandable that Marvel has done such a good job with their castings that it would be hard to see anyone else in the roles. But like comic books themselves where the writers and artists carry on from previous works, I feel the story should continue with the film characters, even if the actors change. Of course there would be an adjustment period.

Now, what does this have to do with the Teen Titans or DC's film universe? Well, even though Marvel is miles ahead of DC on the film front, DC could still get the jump on them when it comes to teenage heroes and legacy. Since DC embraced the concept for literally decades, it would be embarrassing if Marvel brought it to film first. There's already some hint of it with Robin's suit in the Batcave and the announcement of a Nightwing movie, but DC needs to go full on and bring us a Teen Titans movie, aiming at the younger crowd and setting up more building blocks for the future of the DCEU.
As I see it, the plot should focus on Tim Drake/Robin recruiting teenage metahumans who are being hunted by CADMUS, who have also hired Deathstroke (reprised by Joe Manganiello) for extra security. Who should be the line up for this film? Well I feel it should be a mix of "sidekicks" and newer characters:

• Tim Drake/Robin: I've been saying this for years. Within the context of the DCEU, Dick is Nightwing and Jason's dead (and no, he's not Joker!). The door to introduce Tim Drake as the new Robin is wide open, most likely for Ben Affleck's solo Batman. Given Bruce's dark place in the films currently, he needs a Robin to keep him in check. We even have a good candidate in Ryan Potter. Check out this stunt video he shot.

•  Bart Allen/Impulse: With Barry Allen being so young in the DCEU, introducing his grandson from the future, Bart Allen, could be the way to go in lieu of Wally West. And for diversity's sake, he could be African American since Iris West has been cast that way as well. I would also like him to use the Impulse name as I feel it gives him more of his own identity and I wouldn't want the direct connection between him and Barry made just yet.
• Conner Kent/Superboy: In the Young Justice animated series, Superboy was created by CADMUS as a weapon to use against Superman, only to be liberated by Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad to form the team. They could go a similar route here, and with Lex Luthor donating his DNA for the clone, it could open up doors later for his return.
• Garfield Logan/Beast Boy: He could bring a lot of comic relief to the film and his animal shape-shifting would be amazing to see.
• Raven: Whether it be for a film and TV series, having Raven in live action would be pretty cool to see. I could see them bringing a horror element to her appearance and powers, similar to "The Ring" or "The Grudge". Honestly though, this could be their chance to do a better version of Enchantress. Besides that, there's the potential of good interaction between her and Beast Boy, an aspect I've always enjoyed from the animated series.
• Starfire: So far, Superman is the only alien hero in the DCEU. Starfire's introduction could open up said universe even more, especially with a character who not only has actually lived on her home planet, but is actually a princess.

With these choices, I want a team who where each have their own unique traits while also making up for the others' shortcomings. For example, while Conner has the strength of Superman, he lacks the flight and laser blasts Starfire is capable of.

These are just my own thoughts on why the Teen Titans should be brought to film and who should be part of the team. If you have your own ideas, feel free to share in the comments.

Titans Month: Movie Review - "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract"

When DC first began their line of animated films, one of the first movies announced was an adaptation of "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" alongside "Superman: Doomsday" and "Justice League: The New Frontier". However, the project would be shelved, the reason apparently being that it lacked "broad fanbase appeal". I find that hard to believe considering that the Teen Titans animated series had aired for five seasons and there wasn't really a huge gap in time between when the show ended and the film line began. The show even did their own version, albeit a loose one, of the Judas Contract for the second season's main story arc. If I had to throw my own two cents in on the subject, considering the show's kid friendly tone and the the film line aiming for the PG-13 crowd, they probably wanted to avoid any controversy from parents assuming the film was in the same vain as the show. Well here we are ten years later and the film has finally materialized, and I can certainly say it was worth the wait.

Granted it probably isn't as direct an adaptation as it was originally planned years ago, but it's certainly close. The film falls into the new DC animated movie universe and acts as a follow-up to last year's "Justice League vs. Teen Titans" film, which we can thank for finally getting this movie at all due to the previous film's success. But now that they don't have to share the screen with the League, this gives some of the Titans more development than they did last time. I think what really helps is a one year time skip, which I think is most evident with Damian/Robin, who I actually think looks older than he did in the last movie, which is nice considering you'd just expect animated characters to keep the same model no matter how time goes by unless there's a significant gap. I'd also like to give Stuart Allen props on voicing Damian for four years now; as his voice matures, it gives a more natural experience of seeing Damian grow up.
In the last movie, we saw a bit of a friendship bloom between Damian and Raven, which remains in tact here, though not as significant. A nice moment comes near the end when Raven gets Damian a puppy, which I will assume is Damian's dog Titus in the comics. Raven doesn't really have an arc this movie, but she has a really bad ass moment in the climax. I'll just say that when she turns red and has four glowing eyes, you know you're screwed.
We get a bit of background on Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, particularly his family life. They know he's Blue Beetle and is living with the Titans, but in some ways, it feels like an exile since he doesn't always have full control of the scarab, which puts his family in danger. He tries to cope with these feelings by volunteering at a soup kitchen, which his family does back home. Design wise, Jaime's mohawk from the last film has become a faux-hawk. I didn't care for the mohawk, but at least there's an improvement.
Nightwing and Starfire's relationship has grown as well, and is pretty much the most developed version of the couple out of all their animated depictions. Though there is some tension, as Starfire was leading the Titans in Dick's absence, but with him back, it seems the others are looking at him once again for guidance. It's an interesting conflict that I feel didn't get as much focus as it could have. Dick's costume has changed as well, resembling the New 52 version with the red on his suit instead of blue, which is kind of weird considering Dick's back to wearing blue in the comics. It's like they wanted things to match, but they were a little late; something similar happened in the Flash comics a couple years ago where they made suit resemble the one from the TV show, only for that suit to look a little more closer to the comics.

Beast Boy's development is kind of intertwined with Terra's, as it shows he has a deeper side than just being the comic relief. As for Terra herself, she is very different from how she was in the animated series. She has some anti-social tendencies that start to drop as she realizes how much the Titans really care for her, particularly Beast Boy. Although considering she has been part of the team for a year, it seemed kind of weird that she would still act kind of jerky after being part of the team so long. It is understandable though as they actually go into detail about hardships she's faced when she first got her powers; let's just say she has issues. I did think that they reveal too soon that she's planning to betray them, but it adds more to her internal conflict. Personally, I like how it was done in the animated series where you weren't sure about her allegiance until the betrayal actually came; it makes the stab in the back more painful. It kind of makes me wish there was another Titans movie before this one to help build it up.

The villains of the movie are probably two of the three most known Titans villains, Deathstroke and Brother Blood (the third being Trigon who they fought in the previous movie).
As many may know, Brother Blood leads the group called HIVE, but this version is much closer to the comics than the animated series, being a cult rather than a school. This adds more of a creepiness to this version of Brother Blood by comparison, believing himself to be on the path to becoming the world's new God, which he intends to achieve by absorbing the Titans' powers, which kind of turns him into a Super-Skrull once he does. Why he has Robin, and also wants Nightwing, connected to the machine is perplexing though since they don't have powers, but whatever.
Blood hires Deathstroke to accomplish his goals. Deathstroke first appeared in this animated universe in "Son of Batman" where he was attempted to take control of the League of Assassins. Like many, I was not a fan of how he was depicted there. This film does a much better job at getting the character right, making him an actual assassin for hire set on completing his contract above anything else; he doesn't care for Blood's plans as long as he gets paid. He also gets a much better voice actor than before in the form of the late Miguel Ferrer. They don't completely ignore "Son of Batman" though (even though that would have been welcomes), since he does still harbor rage toward Damian and show he still has plans to form his own League of Assassins, which isn't too far out of line with his character. While I didn't like the idea of him wanting to take over proper League created by Ra's al Ghul, him wanting to create his own adds more to his narcissism, especially if it's more about killing for money than saving the planet. Of course, there's the significant aspect of his relationship with Terra. It's much closer to how it was in the comics, which will probably creep some people out, though it says a lot about both characters. To Terra, Slade was the first person to show any kind of affection toward her after everyone she knew straight-up lynched her once her powers developed, and she most likely grew too attached. To Slade, it shows how much a bastard he is, manipulating a young girl's feelings for him to use her for his own means. It's hard to say if he had any real feelings for her at all.

Now it's time for a geeky nit-pick. The film has a cold opening which takes place five years prior to the main events, showing how the Titans at the time first met Starfire. Apparently the original members of the Titans include Dick Grayson/Robin, Beast Boy, Bumble Bee, Wally West/Kid Flash, and Roy Harper/Speedy. It's a good short story, aided by the reprisals of Young Justice actors Jason Spisak and Crispin Freeman as Kid Flash and Speedy, respectively. However, in the larger scope of this new animated universe, it makes no sense continuity wise. Where does this fit in with terms of the Justice League stories? Where are Wally and Roy now? Should I just assume this version of Wally got sucked out of the timestream too? Also, how is it we got Speedy in a DC animated movie while Green Arrow has not appeared in even one? The closest we've even gotten was the alternate evil Crimson Archer in "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" and the Showcase animated short attached to "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse". I know I shouldn't harp on this and just enjoy the ride, but like I said in my "Justice League Dark" review, when you establish a continuity, you need to make said continuity make sense.

Action-wise, it was entertaining, but nothing really stood out compared to past films. However, there is something I feel that is more important that helps this film succeed: character. The depictions and interactions between everyone come across very naturally compared to all the other DC animated films, and I'd say it's on par with most live action superhero movies. A recurring subject the film talks about is one of family, and the Titans certainly feel like one here. I'd have to say that out of all the animated depictions of the Teen Titans (and their villains), this one seems like the realest and is certainly the closest to the source material.

Overall, "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" is the best film of the new animated DC universe and one of the best to come from the line since it started in 2007. If you're a fan of the Teen Titans in any way, I highly recommend this film.

RATING: 10/10

(Last note: hooray for DC to not include Batman in an animated movie for the first time in four years. I like Batman as much as the last guy, but there are other characters people care about.)

Next week, Titans Month wraps up with my views and ideas on how the DC Extended Universe could use a little young blood by introducing the Teen Titans.

Why 'Spider-Men II' Feels Unnecessary

We interrupt Titans Month for this emergency op/ed (the Judas Contract review will be posted tomorrow).

In 2012, Marvel published the five issue issue miniseries, "Spider-Men", which was significant for being the first crossover between the mainstream 616 Marvel universe and the Ultimate universe created in 2000. In that story, 616 Peter Parker had been transported to the Ultimate universe, where at this point, his young counterpart had been killed in action as 13 year old Miles Morales became his successor. The meeting between the two was the main focus as you could probably guess. At the end of the story when Peter got back home, he Googled Miles Morales to find out about his own world's version. The results of the search surprise Peter, but are left unknown to the reader, as there was intent to produce a sequel to this story, which has just been announced to begin this July. However, a lot has happened in this five year interval.

In 2014, Peter and Miles would team up again along with every other version of Spider-Man ever created across the multiverse in the "Spider-Verse" event, fighting Morlun and his family, the Inheritors, who sought to eradicate the spiders once and for all. Later in 2015's "Secret Wars" event, Peter and Miles were among the few survivors of the 616 and Ultimate worlds who remembered how things were supposed to be after Dr. Doom used his new godly abilities to recreate reality to his whim. By the end of that story, elements of the Ultimate universe were integrated into the 616 universe, including Miles Morales and his supporting cast. Since then, Miles has lived in the prime Marvel universe, creating ties with many characters, joining the Avengers, and being a key player in "Civil War II" (screw that comic). With Miles being such a prominent character now and living in the same universe as Peter Parker, why is "Spider-Men II" necessary, especially when the two have interacted several times since their first meeting?

Of course, the story will apparently deal with the other Miles Morales that Peter Googled before. But I see a few problems with that. Including Miles, here are the other elements of the Ultimate universe that have made it over into the main universe:
* The Triskelion, which was the main base of SHIELD and headquarters to the Ultimates in the Ultiamte universe, is now part of the main universe, their own version of the Ultimates included.
* Ultimate Reed Richards, who had a mental breakdown and became a villain known as the Maker, had been causing trouble in the pages of New Avengers.
* The Mjolnir of the Ultimate version of Thor has mysteriously appeared on Asgard and someone yet to be revealed has been deemed worthy of its power.
* Most recently, Jimmy Hudson, the son of Wolverine in the Ultimate universe, has returned in the pages of X-Men Blue.
Now, when it comes to Reed Richards, he apparently remembers his own universe and the events of Secret Wars. Ultimate Mjolnir is also seen as a different version than the proper hammer, just like the Reeds are. Those would be considered surviving elements of the Ultimate universe. The Triskelion however is a new addition to the prime Marvel universe, apparently existing for sometime as when the multiverse was reset, it was shown fully built. As for Jimmy Hudson, that's still up in the air. He could be another survivor of the Ultimate universe, or he could also have been integrated into the prime universe. Let's be honest, it wouldn't be surprising of Logan to get around. If the case is the former, this would make Jimmy the second Wolverine centric character to be stranded from his proper universe, the first being Old Man Logan.

As for Miles, it's pretty clear that his character has been integrated from the Ultimate universe into the prime one. The best evidence to suggest this is that his family (including his now resurrected mother), his best friend Ganke, and even superpowered ally Lana/Bombshell (and by extension her own villainous mother) have also made the trip. Hell, Miles' father, Jefferson Davis, and his time as a SHIELD agent has also been established as being part of the main universe.
The conclusion I'm reaching here is that prior to "Secret Wars", there may very well have been a 616 version of Miles. But with the merger of the two universes, for all intents and purposes, the Miles Morales we've been reading for six years now IS the 616 Miles. He's not a survivor of a lost world, as it appears he's lead some semblance of a normal life entirely in the 616.

What made the first "Spider-Men" story interesting was Peter discovering a very different world, one where he died no less, and he gave his blessing to Miles to be that world's sole Spider-Man. A "Spider-Men II" where Miles visited the 616 and met his own doppelganger would have been interesting...if it happened prior to "Secret Wars" and the universes merging. Peter and Miles live in the same universe now and have been for, in real time, a year and a half now, and if there was another Miles, I feel he should have been brought up by now. Had the Ultimate universe been fully destroyed and Miles survived as a refugee, this story may have still had potential. But that's not what happened.
Who knows though? Maybe the story will be good, and based on reviews, I could still pick it up as a trade. But at this point knowing only the concept of the story, I don't feel like it's worth shelling out $3.99 an issue.

Titans Month: Comics Review - "Titans: The Return of Wally West"

The new Titans book that started last year is significant for two reasons. One, the return of the pre-Flashpoint Wally West meant it would be significant to the mysteries of the Rebirth initiative. But besides that, it meant that there was a chance for a readable Titans book since the New 52 was not a great time to be a fan of the adolescent superhero team. So with such anticipation for this series, does it live up to expectations? The short answer: HELL to the YEAH!

As the title of the story says, the focus is mostly on Wally West, the former Kid Flash and now (or once again) using the Flash moniker in addition to his mentor Barry Allen. While the rest of the Titans reformed prior to this, Wally had just escaped from the Speed Force and trying to piece his life back together. The problem though is that Wally's existence has been forgotten by everyone unless he somehow triggers hidden memories. The reason to why and how this happened is just another mystery to follow in Rebirth, but surprisingly, we do get the answer.
Apparently the Flash villain Abra Kadabra, a time traveler who's technology can appear to be magic, cast a spell that threw Wally out of the time stream, removing him from time and everyone's memories of him. Unfortunately, blow back caused Kadabra to lose his own memories as well. Sometime after Wally made his return, Kadabra, now working as a birthday magician, regained his memories and powers as well, making him the main villain for this story.
Abra Kadabra is one of those silver age villains that can appear pretty ridiculous by today's standards, and while I haven't read much of this character, I think the story does a good job making him a credible threat. It does seem kind of 'bait-and-switch' though to have Kadabra be responsible for Wally's disappearance instead of the one behind the time manipulations, but something interesting to point out is that Kadabra also seems to retain his pre-Flashpoint memories and is aware that not only has time been skewed, but he apparently knows who's responsible, referring to them as "he".
Back to Wally though, his arc for this story is how both his and Kadabra's reappearances are putting those he cares about in danger. Not only the Titans, but Linda Park, who he had started a family with in the pre-Flashpoint continuity. Unfortunately for Wally, the Linda Park of this timeline has no idea who he is. A good chunk of Wally's conflict is holding on to the memories of his Linda despite not having her anymore. This leads to a pretty good existential moment in issue six where Wally learns that he can potentially win her all over again, but that's she's not the only thing worth fighting for in his life, that being the friendship he has with all the Titans.
Besides that, one of the best moments in this story is issue five where Kadabra has Linda and the other Titans in death traps at different ends of the country and he only has seconds to save them all. It's really interesting to see Wally's thought process as he's pushing his speed and himself to the limit and figuring out who needs to be saved next and how much time he has to do it.

While the story is focused on Wally, the other Titans are pretty good in this as well. While some of them still have some New 52 influence on their looks (like Roy's trucker hat), their personalities reflect how they were before that, showcasing the friendship they all share with each other. Even small moments feel natural like where they're joking around with each other or eating pizza (which they do twice through this story, making me think they're trying to reference the original animated series).
A theme I notice in this story is the past returning. Wally's return to the team and Abra Kadabra coming back to finish him off are the clear aspects of this, but a nice touch is Kadabra making duplicates of the Titans from when they were younger (such as Dick being Robin) to fight them.
There is a minor subplot between Donna Troy and Roy Harper/Arsenal still rekindling their friendship but a wrench is thrown in when Roy is tied up by the lasso of persuasion of the duplicate Donna made by Kadabra, where he admits that he loves Donna. Roy tries to play it off that it wasn't a real lasso, that he was just trying to distract the duplicate Donna, and that he's a good liar. In the end, both seem kind of upset at how things went down. Obviously this is something that will play out further as the series goes on.

Since this is an ongoing series, we have some plot points introduced that don't really go anywhere in this story but will obviously come up later. This includes set-up for Psimon, Karen Beecher wanting to suit up again as Bumblebee, and the last page tease of a classic Titans villain that I won't spoil here.

Overall, this story was pretty much what I hoped it would be, making it one of the best first volumes I've read out of Rebirth. The characters' personalities and interactions are spot-on, the villain is interesting and threatening, and it has more of an emotional kick than I was expecting. The art is so-so, but that's kind of expected from Brett Booth, mostly good aside from a few hiccups. It's a good start to a series that I will gladly continue reading.

RATING 8/10

Next week is a bit of something old and a bit of something new as I review the long awaited animated film adaptation of the classic Titans storyline, "The Judas Contract".

Titans Month: 10 More Terrible Teen Titans Go Episodes - 'Robin's a Prick' Edition

Before I get to the topic at hand, I'd like to make an addendum to something I talked about in my Teen Titans Go! list from last year in regards to the Justice League Action animated show. At the time, it appeared that they were just applying the "Go!" treatment to the Justice League. Now that the show has actually aired though, I'm glad to say I was wrong. It's actually pretty damn awesome. While each story is only 11 minutes, they're still pretty faithful to the characters and source material. The best way to describe it is a mix of Justice League Unlimited and Super Friends. It's definitely worth checking out if you're a DC fan. The sad part though is that Cartoon Network has pretty much banished it to early Saturday mornings when kids aren't even up yet. But hey, they need to make sure that Teen Titans Go! isn't less than 50% of the weekly schedule apparently. You should be able to find it online though. That said, let's get to it.

If there's one character that Teen Titans Go! has butchered to the point where they're totally unrecognizable from the source material, it's Robin. They turned the character, Batman's sidekick, the Boy Wonder, into a selfish, controlling glory hog who has no qualms physically abusing the people he considers his friends who seems to get worse with every episode and season. I've wanted to do another episode list focusing on Robin since my first one but wanted to wait until the right moment. Since I decided to do Titans Month, why not here?
Here's the criteria for my list: 1) They're episodes from before I stopped watching the show; there may be worse episodes, but I refuse to give more attention than I should. 2) Robin's behavior must come from his own volition and not provoked by the other Titans. 3) Robin must show no remorse for his actions and/or takes away the wrong "life lesson" from the episode.
So let's dive into ten of the worst "Robin's a Prick" episodes of Teen Titans Go!.

10. SERIOUS BUSINESS

PREMISE: Robin argues with the other Titans over proper bathroom use.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: This episode is considered one of the worst of the series, and I even considered it on my list last year but found while this episode was just stupid, there were worse offenders. But I might as well talk about it now. I'm breaking my own criteria from the get-go though as Robin's motivation is brought on by the other Titans, but his behavior still warrants this as a "prick" episode.

After having to wait to use the bathroom, he addresses his issue via a pie chart with the other Titans that they're all spending too much time in the bathroom. I'd be more concerned that they apparently only spend 3% of their time fighting crime, but whatever. He's not wrong though because we find out that Raven uses the bathroom to practice tap dancing, Cyborg his singing, and Starfire uses the toilet to cook. To combat this, Robin sets up a five minute timer in the bathroom that's rigged to explode, as shown in the picture above. It goes without saying that that's pretty extreme. As expected, the other Titans have trouble adhering to the time limit, even when they do use it for actual bathroom needs. Questioning why the Titans are having a problem, Robin decides to let them show him the so called joys and magic of the bathroom. Apparently the clenching argument is that they're able to make any kind of food out of water and toothpaste. So Robin does away with the timer, but he apparently decides to live in the bathroom altogether. The other Titans are understandably angry and a fight breaks out. But then suddenly, the bathroom literally comes to life and upset with their behavior, so it along with every other bathroom on the planet fly out to outer space.

This episode makes the bottom of this list since it's not completely a "Robin's a Prick" episode, but he still acts like one from blowing up the bathroom multiple times to deciding to stay in the bathroom forever. But his behavior is overshadowed by the overwhelming stupidity that this episode puts out, solidified by the out of nowhere ending of the bathrooms coming to life. Seriously, it's like the writers couldn't figure out an ending and just used the first thing they could pull out of their ass.

9. UNCLE JOKES

PREMISE: Starfire wants to learn from Cyborg and Beast Boy how to be funny, which Robin disapproves.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: Again, this is another episode where Robin's behavior is provoked by the other Titans, but in this case, they aren't really doing anything wrong. Robin's just reacting very poorly and selfishly.
As the premise states, Robin doesn't like Starfire hanging out with Cyborg and Beast Boy, thinking they're a bad influence on her, not to mention it upsets the "balance" that the team has. This is added on to Beast Boy and Cyborg telling Robin that he's not funny and constantly makes "uncle jokes", with Raven being the only one who seems to like them. You know, those lame jokes like one person says "I'm hungry" and another says "Hi, hungry." Usually those are called "dad jokes". I'm not really sure why they went with "uncle" instead of "dad" though.
But here's the main reason why this is classified as a 'Robin's a Prick' episode: eventually, Robin's mind snaps and he begins acting like the other Titans, copying them in appearance and voice. This then leads to Robin and the other "Titans" going out to the front yard and destroy "attacking" garden gnomes, as pictured above. Beast Boy and Cyborg realize they can't hang out with Starfire any more, and she agrees, which automatically fixes Robin.
As bad as the other Titans can act in this show, this is one instance where they do the "right thing" even though it was hard for them. The problem though is that it was due to Robin's controlling nature, which is apparently so strong that his fragile psyche breaks when others don't follow his "rules". If anything, the three should have shipped Robin to Arkham back in Gotham instead of not hanging out anymore.

8. YEARBOOK MADNESS

PREMISE: Beast Boy and Cyborg decide to make a yearbook for the Titans, and Robin sets out to make himself appear "socially superior".
WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: It's now get to true prick territory. As the premise states, Beast Boy and Cyborg want to make a yearbook. Raven initially dismisses the idea because yearbooks are just popularity contests. It's this that piques Robin's interest so he sets out to make himself look more popular.
The first step is Picture Day. Everyone takes a good picture, but when it comes to Robin, he tries to look cool by not smiling. Cyborg gets him to laugh though, which results in an awkward photo. Next up is clubs. Robin fails at this because no ones joins the clubs he starts, one of which include the "Talking to Himself club". Following that, Robin sets out to be voted "most likely to succeed", so he starts a business creating printed boots, "Boots by Robin", which does become a huge success. Unfortunately for Robin, this negates him from being voted "most likely to succeed" because he's already succeeded. Apparently his success means nothing compared to being in a yearbook though, as he blows up his business headquarters; who wants to bet he planned insurance fraud too? Once the yearbooks are printed, Robin is completely upset that his picture day photo is the only photo of him included. In a last attempt at trying to make himself look popular, he tries to get the most signatures. He gets signatures from the Titans East, forges one from Batman, and beats the HIVE for theirs. When he returns, he finds out the Justice League paid a visit to the Titans and all signed their yearbooks. This is the last straw for Robin, who seems to go completely mad, once again talking to himself. He then tricks Raven into zapping him into the yearbook, where he bounces from picture to picture acting like he was absolutely popular with everyone. Understandably, the other Titans decide to let Robin stay in the yearbook and let him live out his delusions.
The way I wrote it may downplay it, but Robin's behavior can be downright disturbing, especially in the last third or so. Robin takes what is supposed to be a fun project and tries to elevate himself, mostly for himself. I think it could be called karma that all his plans fail. I don't blame the Titans for wanting to keep him trapped away in a book for eternity...if only it were for eternity so this show would just end.

7. STAFF MEETING

PREMISE: Robin deals with the other Titans breaking his staff.
WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: The pricks jumps right out of the gate as this episode starts with Robin holding a staff meeting, where he proceeds to smack the other Titans with his staff. Robin goes onto say his staff is more reliable than them, that's it's more of a partner/sidekick, even talking to it. The other Titans tease Robin that it's just a stick, which the "staff" doesn't like. Robin then snaps and savagely beats the Titans with his staff. Later on, the Titans borrow the staff to use for other projects. Beast Boy uses it to unclog the toilet, Cyborg to reach the TV, and Starfire for a limbo stick. Eventually, the staff accidentally gets broken. Despite the Titans' sincere attempt to fix the staff, Robin does find out and becomes very upset...like, annoyingly upset. As in he doesn't stop crying. Seriously, I doubt he cried this hard over his parents dying (I had to remind myself that this is supposed to be Dick Grayson). Eventually, Raven tells Robin that there's a way for him to get a new magical staff at the Universe Tree. Robin sets out off on a journey, where he acquires a branch which he's able to use as a staff. When Robin reaches the Universe Tree, it tells him that's he already found a staff in the branch. A humble person would probably accept this. Robin however scoffs at the Tree and proceeds to cut it down and make a new staff. The spirit of the Tree lives on in the staff, and while he's initially upset, he and Robin decide to become new partners, even smacking the other Titans during another staff meeting. But when Raven shows that she was able to fix Robin's old staff, he immediately ditches the Universe Tree staff and goes back to talking to the non-living staff. And in the end, the Universe Tree staff is refashioned into a new plunger by Beast Boy. Can you imagine a more hellish existence?
So in addition to more beatings on his friends, Robin's actions in this episode include demolishing the body of a deity to use as his own weapon and then tosses it aside without remorse, where it is then used as a plunger. I guess you could say this is kind of a "bigger they are, harder they fall" situation, but that usually applies to bad guys. The Universe Tree was just an innocent victim of a maniac.

6. POWER MOVES

PREMISE: Robin takes a partnership with Cyborg too far.
WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: In a fight the HIVE, Beast Boy and Cyborg demonstrate their power moves, attacks that combine their abilities. The other Titans are unimpressed until Robin and Cyborg inadvertently create their own power move by combining one of Robin's birdarangs with Cyborg's cannon blast. This leads to Robin and Cyborg hanging out more which upsets Beast Boy, especially when Robin calls him lame. Robin and Cyborg work on combining other aspects of themselves together, including appliances. This leads to Robin deciding to live inside Cyborg's torso, where he can control his body movements. Cyborg eventually gets tired of this and tries to get Robin out but to no avail. The other Titans try to help get Robin out too, but Robin uses Cyborg's powers to fight them off. As Cyborg puts it, "He's making me do power moves against my will!". This leads to Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven to use the "Ultimate Titans Power Move" to end things. Robin ejects out of Cyborg's body before it's demolished by the Titans. The episode ends with Robin being impressed with their attack and wanting to add himself to the mix, all of them walking off as they leave Cyborg behind in pieces.
This is another episode that shows how obsessive Robin can be on this show, as he wanted to combine himself and Cyborg to be the ultimate superhero. You know how in some bad relationships one person controls the actions of the other? In this case it becomes quite literal. Hell, the line that really pushes it in this episode is Cyborg saying that Robin is using Cyborg's body against his will. I think any implications or parallels can be quite clear there. And to top it all off, Robin shows no remorse for his actions by the end of the episode, and it doesn't help that the other Titans also leave Cyborg behind as he is laying scattered on the floor.

5. LEFT LEG

PREMISE: Robin is ecstatic about using the new Titan Robot Cyborg builds until he learns his position.
WHY IT MAKES THE LIST:  After Cyborg unveils the new Titans Robot, Robin wants to use it immediately, but Cyborg rightfully states that it's only for big emergencies. Later on, Robin is freaking out about a crime in progress: a bank robbery...by Kitten. Remember Kitten? In the original series, she was Killer Moth's daughter who forced Robin to take her to prom. The other Titans are as expected not too worried compared to Robin, who says the only way to stop her is to use the robot. Cyborg relents when Robin agrees to pay for gas. The Titans transport to their cockpits in a certain part of the robot. Robin gets pissy though when he finds out that Cyborg pilots the head instead of him, forcing him to the left leg of the robot. Honestly though, this whole problem could have been avoided if they just had the Titans all together in one cockpit; doesn't Cyborg watch Power Rangers?
As the Titan Robot arrives to stop Kitten, Robin's insecurity leads to him trying to take control himself, which causes the robot to go haywire and Kitten to escape. Some time later, Robin decides to embrace his position as the robot's left leg, going so far as to strengthen his own left leg, turning it into something Rob Liefeld would draw, grossing out the other Titans. Soon enough, Gizmo attacks the city with his own army of giant robots, so now we have an emergency that actually requires the Titan Robot. As the battle begins, it turns out that Robin upgraded the robot's left leg with its own weapons, including blasters and a sword. This begins to overheat the robot and the other Titans try to stop Robin, which leads to the robot beating itself up. Gizmo takes advantage and takes down the robot. As the other Titans chastise Robin for his actions, a moment of remorse actually turns into a moment of glory hogging as Robin detaches the left leg from the robot and defeats Gizmo as the episode ends.
While many episodes of this series show Robin's actions are based on wanting to be the best hero ever, this is not one of them. He doesn't care about being a hero, rather wanting to play with the brand new "toy". But when he doesn't get to use it like he wants, he becomes a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. And in the end, it's all about taking the glory for himself. The episode tries to lay on the lesson that teamwork is important as each Titan should pilot their respective part of the robot to function properly, but it's dashed aside with Robin defeating Gizmo by himself. Like so many episodes of the series, nobody learned anything.

4. MONEY GRANDMA

PREMISE: Robin battles George Washington in an election for leader of the Teen Titans.
WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: Robin announces his campaign to be re-elected leader of the Teen Titans by creating a video that discredits Cyborg and Beast Boy. The other Titans don't really care about this election, especially since none of them is running against Robin, nor did any of them actually vote for Robin in the last election (Robin only won with his single vote). Later on, Robin edits a video of the Titans' battle with the HIVE by slapping his face over the other Titans, which finally makes them sick of Robin's tactics. Their solution is to use a time machine to bring George Washington to the present to talk to Robin about what it means to be a great leader; earlier in the episode, Robin even said he was a better leader than Washington. After hearing Washington's advice, Robin's takeaway from it is that Washington wants to be the new leader of the Titans. After being insulted, Washington accepts the challenge and the two campaign against each other. Let's just say that it's quite comparable to the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Given Robin's childish tactics, I'll let you figure out who he should be compared to in this situation. On voting day, the other Titans STILL don't vote. This leads to an actual fight between Robin and Washington, which Washington wins. Robin accepts Washington as the new team leader in what appears to be him learning a lesson, only for him to steal the time machine back and take Washington's place in history during the Revolutionary War and becoming the first president.
Oh where do I begin with this one. First off, I don't get Robin's tactics here. The only people who would be voting for team leader are the other Titans, people he's spent a considerable amount of time with. Making videos that discredit the others or taking glory for himself just makes him look like an asshole, which he is. Besides that, he's not running for a public office. When it comes to team leaders of superhero teams, it should really be a unanimous decision; in this case, apparently the Titans don't care who the leader is, even when they have a chance to change it. Then when Robin runs against Washington, his main tactics are to discredit Washington rather than show why he would be a good leader himself; obviously he can't think of any good reasons. And for the cherry on top, Robin takes the time machine and probably screws up the timeline more than Barry Allen. All in all, this is another episode that shows Robin loves the spotlight more than anything.

3. SANDWICH THIEF

PREMISE: Robin goes to great lengths to reclaim his stolen perfect sandwich.
WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: Way back in the show's first episode and it was funny without being demeaning to the characters, Robin bragged about how he made the best sandwiches. Cut to so-so many episodes later and apparently this aspect needed its own focus episode.
The episode begins with Robin discovering that his perfect sandwich, which he kept under lock and key, has been stolen. The other Titans don't understand Robin's problem, and he then goes into trained with multiple masters through the years with the goal of making the perfect sandwich. And apparently his process of making said stolen perfect sandwich involved wasting a lot of food and took three days to complete. Look, I get that no two kinds of any food will be the same just based on the amount of ingredients or time it takes to prepare, but why doesn't Robin just make another sandwich? It should taste relatively the same and if goes another three days making it, at least he'll have it. But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?
Accusing the other Titans, he interrogates each one. He hacks Cyborg's data banks, hooks Starfire up to a lie detector, and has Raven transport him inside Beast Boys stomach (without shrinking him) to see if he ate the sandwich. Raven gets off easy though by just being asked. Following this, Robin comes up with a new theory: his future self came back in time to steal it because he never got over how good it tasted. So Robin and the others use the time machine (yeah, apparently their time machine gets more use than you'd think, and travel to the future. Robin finds his futureself, Nightwing, and attempts to get answers from him by hurting himself so Nightwing will feel tell him where the sandwich is. It turns out it wasn't there, so Robin develops another new theory: the sandwich came to life and went into space. After landing on an unknown planet,  the other Titans get fed up with Robin's insanity and tell him to just let it go, which they've been trying to get him to do the whole episode. But as the stupid plot would have it, it turns out that all of Robin's theories were right when they find the now living and talking sandwich, which then proceeds to trying to kill him (is it wrong to root for the sandwich?). Robin figures out that the only way to defeat the sandwich is for its creator to eat it...but Robin won't do it until the other Titans admit that you should never let things go. They tell him what he wants to hear, and the episode ends with Robin eating the sandwich.
Along with the lengths Robin goes to to get his sandwich back, I think what makes this episode so high for me is yet another "life lesson" the show has given us, in that one should never let things go. So remember kids, if you feel someone has wronged out, even for the pettiest thing, hold on to that shit for the rest of you life and because you know you're right. Robin the superhero says it's okay. Seriously, if Robin was in "Frozen", he would have beat Elsa with his staff when she starts singing "Let it Go".
If there's one thing I did like in this episode, it's when Beast Boy and Cyborg make crank calls to their future selves, and when Beast Boy calls his, apparently he gets news that greatly upsets him. It was pretty funny.

2. MAS Y MENOS

PREMISE: Robin takes Mas y Menos under his wing.
WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: The episode begins with Robin disrupting the Titans' activities to announce that he'll be training Mas y Menos, spanish speaking twin speedster brothers, hoping to make them like him instead of the other Titans. When the two arrive, they manage to hit it off with the other Titans, but Robin wants to keep them apart. He also doesn't want the two holding hands, but they tell him they have to keep touching or their energy will build up; of course, Robin doesn't speak spanish so he doesn't understand and for some reason he sees Menos as a troublemaker. Remember both of those facts for later.
Robin's training is more about how to look cool as a hero rather than being an actual hero. Mas y Menos already understand how to be good heroes though, which means they're actually better teachers than Robin. Hell, when they do interact with the other Titans, the two teach them that it's important to experience new things and work together. Robin dismisses this as "stupid" and blames Menos for disrupting things. What does he do? He tells Menos that Mas is in the hospital and sends him off, leaving Robin to teach Mas alone. When the others question where Menos is, Robin says it's "not [his] problem". To be clear, he sent off a young child on his own to who knows where and doesn't care. When Menos gets back to the tower, he reveals what Robin did, but he still feels no shame. But when Mas y Menos high five each other, the energy they built up from being apart for too long causes the two to start running nonstop, and if they don't it could destroy the Earth. Robin then asks why no one warned him this could happen. The other Titans rightfully give Robin a dirty look, and I'm right there with them.
The other Titans try and fail to stop Mas y Menos, but it's when Robin stands in their path and plants his staff deep in the ground is he able to stop them, but gets injured in the process. The other Titans praise Robin for putting himself on the line like that, but Robin reveals he only did it to get all the glory, something I've shown that he does repeatedly in this show.
Do I really need to say anything else on this one? Robin is not just a horrible leader, but a mentor as well, as he was only teaching Mas y Menos to make himself feel good rather to make them better heroes. Hell, I don't even trust him to be a babysitter.

And the number one worst 'Robin's a Prick' episode is...

HEY YOU, DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME IN YOUR MEMORY

PREMISE: The Titans go back to school.

WHY IT MAKES THE LIST: This is the episode where I stopped watching the show. I only watched it once before and I thought while rewatching these episodes that there's no way this will be number one. Boy was I wrong, as this episode showcases everything wrong with Robin on this show.

First off, why the hell is the episode title so damn long? I hate when shows do that, especially when they're so clumsily written like this one.

Robin makes the other Titans go back to school with him assigns them each identities so they know their place: Starfire's the homecoming queen, Cyborg's the jock, Raven's the basket case, Beast Boy's the nerd, and Robin designates himself the all-American boy next door.

On their first day of school, when Beast Boy and Cyborg try to head to English class together, Robin stops them saying a nerd and jock wouldn't hang together. Because of this Robin designates Beast Boy a bully for not conforming the social norms and repeatedly crane kicks him, winding them all in detention. Okay Robin, if labels are so important to you, then what is Beast Boy? The nerd or the bully? They're pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum and he can't be both.

Later, Robin runs for student body president. Except his understanding is that it's who has the best body, so he makes a spectacle of himself in his underwear. Cyborg and Beast Boy laugh at him, which leads to Beast Boy getting another round of crane kicking from Robin. Again, the Titans wind up in detention and Robin's disqualified from running for president.

Finally, Robin begins his path to becoming valedictorian, which should be so simple for the guy who doesn't understand what a student body president is. After a studying/testing montage that I assume goes through the end of the school year, we find out that Robin reached salutatorian (2nd place) while Beast Boy reached valedictorian. So unlike his friends, Robin can't be happy with second place or that Beast Boy did better than him and completely loses his mind and begins to beat the hell out of all of the other Titans. This leads to all of them being expelled. I don't understand why the principal gave the other Titans detention/expulsion for Robin's actions; I get no fighting policies but these were straight up beatings, and savage ones at that.

So after all of this, what's Robin's main takeaway? He's the bad boy instead and continues to beat Beast Boy.

I keep saying how I don't understand how anyone can like this interpretation of Robin, whether it's the Titans who put up with his actions or actual fans who watch this show. Even if this was done for comedy, what is exactly funny about one of our protagonists beating his friends for the littlest things? That may be fine with some shows, but not when they're characters with decades of established history.

While putting this list together, I came up with a theory. "Teen Titans Go!" is set in Frank Miller's DC universe, particularly the one shown in "All Star Batman and Robin". For one thing, it's pretty much within itself a parody of its heroes, much like this show. But when it comes to Robin, in the All Star version, after Dick Grayson watches his parents get shot, he's taken by corrupt cops to be killed, saved by Batman, who verbally and physically abuses him, traumatizes him even further by brutally ramming into the corrupt police after them in the Batmobile, and later forces him to hunt and eat rats in the Batcave. It's also worth noting that in an episode of TTG, "Sidekick", it's implied that Batman beats Robin. Batman in Frank's series also takes pleasure in causing pain and believes he's better than all the other heroes. Does that sound like anyone we've just spent ten episodes talking about?

What else can be said? Robin in this series is a selfish prick who only cares about himself, freaks out when things don't go his way, and has no problem beating the people he calls friends, not to mention his willingness to cause property damage and child endangerment. These are just ten examples and I think this list makes that assertion very clear.

Now that we've gotten the crap out of the way, come back next week for the story that puts the Titans comics back on the right track with my review of "The Return of Wally West".