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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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".
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".
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