| Teen Titans | |
|---|---|
.png){kind=logo} | |
| Genre | Superhero Comedy drama |
| Created by | Glen Murakami[1] |
| Based on | Teen Titans byBob Haney andBruno Premiani |
| Developed by | |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Andy Sturmer |
| Opening theme | "Teen Titans Theme", performed byPuffy AmiYumi |
| Ending theme | "Teen Titans Theme" (instrumental) |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 65(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sander Schwartz |
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 21–23 minutes |
| Production companies | DC Comics (season 5) Warner Bros. Animation[a] |
| Original release | |
| Network | Cartoon Network Kids' WB |
| Release | July 19, 2003 (2003-07-19) – September 15, 2006 (2006-09-15) |
| Related | |
| Teen Titans Go! | |
Teen Titans is an American animatedsuperhero television series created byGlen Murakami, who developed the series withDavid Slack andSam Register. Based on theDC Comics superhero teamTeen Titans, it was produced byWarner Bros. Animation, and DC Comics (for season 5). The show premiered onCartoon Network on July 19, 2003; its first two seasons also aired onKids' WB. Initially, only four seasons were planned, but the popularity of the series led to Cartoon Network ordering a fifth season. The final half-hour episode of the show, "Things Change", aired on January 16, 2006; it was later followed by a TV movie,Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, that premiered on September 15 the same year, serving as theseries finale. A 15-minute episode titled "The Lost Episode" was released as part of an online promotional campaign byPost Consumer Brands in January 2005.
During its run, the series was nominated for threeAnnie Awards and one Motion Picture Sound Editors Award. Spin-off media included comics, DVD releases, video games, music albums, and collectible toys. In 2013, the show spawned a spin-off, titledTeen Titans Go!, which received a theatrical film that was released on July 27, 2018, titledTeen Titans Go! To the Movies. In 2019, a crossover film withTeen Titans Go! was released, titledTeen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans. It features the first appearance of the original series characters after 13 years.
The series was first shown onBoomerang from February 2, 2009, replacingVoltron: Defender of the Universe until October 31, 2010. It returned to Boomerang's line-up on October 3, 2011, and left the schedule again on June 1, 2014.
Teen Titans is based primarily on stories byMarv Wolfman andGeorge Pérez from the 1980s, featuring characters, storylines, and concepts introduced during the run, and incorporating a similar group of members. The five main members of the eponymous team in the series areRobin (Scott Menville), the intelligent and capable leader of the Teen Titans;Starfire (Hynden Walch), a quirky, curious alien princess from the planet Tamaran;Cyborg (Khary Payton), a cyborg armed with extraordinary strength and technological prowess;Raven (Tara Strong), a stoic girl from the parallel world Azarath who draws upon dark energy andpsionic abilities; andBeast Boy (Greg Cipes), a good-natured joker who can transform into various animals. They are situated in Titans Tower, a large T-shaped building featuring living quarters, a command center, and a variety of training facilities on an island just offshore from theWest Coast metropolis of Jump City. The team deals with all manner of criminal activity and threats to the city, while dealing with their own struggles with adolescence, their mutual friendships, and their limitations.
The first season focuses on the Teen Titans' introduction to the mysterious supervillainSlade (Ron Perlman), who seeks to turn Robin into his apprentice. The second season is an adaptation of "The Judas Contract" storyline where new heroTerra (Ashley Johnson) joins the team while secretly plotting against them with Slade. The third season depicts Cyborg's conflict withH.I.V.E. and their leaderBrother Blood (John DiMaggio), prompting Cyborg to form the superhero team Titans East withAqualad (Wil Wheaton),Speedy (Mike Erwin),Bumblebee (T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh), andMás y Menos (Freddy Rodriguez). In the fourth season, Raven finds herself unwillingly involved in a plot that threatens the existence of the world when her demon fatherTrigon (Kevin Michael Richardson) seeks to enslave the Earth. For the fifth season, the Teen Titans join forces with several other heroes to combat theBrotherhood of Evil, Beast Boy's longtime adversaries, and their army of villains.
Each season contains a distinct story arc that is centered on a specific Titan on the team. Starfire is the only individual member who was part of the original roster to not have a season focused on her.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Season-centric Titan(s)[2] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||
| 1 | 13 | July 19, 2003 (2003-07-19) | November 11, 2003 (2003-11-11) | Robin | |
| 2 | 13 | January 10, 2004 (2004-01-10) | August 21, 2004 (2004-08-21) | Terra | |
| 3 | 13 | August 28, 2004 (2004-08-28) | January 22, 2005 (2005-01-22) | Cyborg | |
| Special | January 3, 2005 (2005-01-03) | — | |||
| 4 | 13 | January 17, 2005 (2005-01-17) | July 16, 2005 (2005-07-16) | Raven | |
| 5 | 13 | September 24, 2005 (2005-09-24) | January 16, 2006 (2006-01-16) | Beast Boy | |
| Movie | September 15, 2006 (2006-09-15) | — | |||
| Crossover | September 24, 2019 (2019-09-24) | — | |||
Unlike most other superhero television series, theTeen Titans characters maintain their superhero identities at all times, with any hints at the concept of analter ego orsecret identity rarely explored.
It was really important to me that little kids watching it could identify with characters. And I thought that the minute you start giving them secret identities then kids couldn't project themselves onto the characters anymore. And that was important to me. I know it's kind of important to have secret identities and stuff like that but we wanted everything to be really, really, iconic. Like, "Oh, there's therobot guy. There's thealien girl. There's thewitch girl. There's theshape-changing boy. There's the…" We just wanted it really clean like that. We wanted it like oldStar Trek. We just wanted it simple…
…And the whole "Who's Robin?" controversy is really kind of interesting to me. My big concern is just trying to make Robin cool. And just really set Robin apart from Batman. So if it seems like I'm avoiding the question, I sort of am. Because I don't think it's really important. My concern is how do I make Robin a really strong lead character without all that other stuff. And I feel that way about all the characters. How can I keep all the characters really iconic and really clean.
— Glen Murakami,Drawing Inspiration: An Interview with Glen Murakami, April 2004[3]
The secret identity ofRobin, an alias assumed by multiple characters in the comics, is never explicitly revealed in the series. However, several hints are provided to suggest he isDick Grayson, the original Robin and founding member of the Teen Titans:
TheTeen Titans Go! episode "Permanent Record" would satirize the mystery of Robin's identity by explicitly giving his name as "Robin v.3:Tim Drake" (the third Robin), with "Dick Grayson" and "Jason Todd" (the second Robin) being written over. Subsequent episodes, however, establish him as Dick Grayson through vague flashbacks to his boyhood at Haley Circus.
In the comics, Starfire and Raven are the real names of their respective characters. While the show does not specify this with the latter, the former acknowledges "Starfire" as the English translation of her name in the season 5 episode "Go!" and her native name, Koriand'r, is used in the season 3 episode "Betrothed". The comic versions of these characters, however, also use the civilian aliases Kory Anders and Rachel Roth, which are not used on the show.
The policy of not mentioning the characters' secret identities would be broken in the season 5 premiere "Homecoming" whenElasti-Girl refers to Beast Boy by his real name, Garfield. Cyborg's real name in the comics, Victor Stone, is referenced in the season 3 premiere "Deception" when he uses "Stone" as an undercover alias, although the series does not identify this as his real name.
The series is known for featuring both an English and Japanese version of its title theme song, created byAndy Sturmer and performed by Japanese bandPuffy AmiYumi.[4][5] The title theme used in the regions where the show was broadcast varied; some would play only one version, while Japan - and the English language video editions - would use both, according to the respective episode's plot theme: the English lyrics for more serious stories, the Japanese version for more comedic tones.[6]
The first-season episode "Mad Mod" also featured another song by Puffy AmiYumi, "K2G".[6] In the feature-length filmTrouble in Tokyo, a literal translation of the Japanese song, whose actual lyrics differ greatly from its English counterpart, is performed for comedic effect.[6]
In mid-November 2005, TitansTower.com reported that prospects for a sixth season were unlikely, and fans were urged to express their support for the show toCartoon Network.[7] Several days after this initial posting, it was announced that the fifth season would indeed be the last.[7] Series story editor Rob Hoegee and series director Heather Maxwell stated that Cartoon Network chose not to renew the show, and that the ending to the fifth season was written with the awareness that it would probably be the series finale, thus there were never any plans for a sixth season, otherwise they would not have ended the fifth season the way they did with "Things Change".[8][9]
As early as August 2006, there were reports thatTeen Titans would undergo a possible rebranding, with producer Glen Murakami citing the 1995 hiatus ofBatman: The Animated Series, which was retooled in 1997 asThe New Batman Adventures.[10] According to Hoegee, this had been suggested bySam Register, producer of the series, after he and producer David Slack had left the show, leaving Murakami and story editor and writer Amy Wolfram to develop and put together a pitch for the rebrand that would have expanded the team with the characters introduced in the fifth season, and bring in a brand new villain who had ties to some classic Titans villains from the comics.[8][9] Murakami also expressed interest in usingPhobia,Mister Twister, andRavager.[11] When they had sent the pitch in, it was ultimately declined.[8] According toWil Wheaton, the actor who provided the voice of Aqualad, new Warner Bros. Feature Animation executives made the decision to not renew the show based on the repitch.[12] Slack stated that he was given different reasons for not renewing the show; either the ratings dropped after the "scary" season 4, orMattel wanted the show dead becauseBandai had the show's toy deal.[13] Cartoon Network announced that Mattel had become its "master toy licensee" in 2006.[14]
After the series finale,Warner Bros. Animation released a feature film titledTeen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. The film premiered atSan Diego Comic-Con and was shown on Cartoon Network first on September 15, 2006, before airing onKids' WB on September 16, and releasing on DVD on February 6, 2007.
In April 2021, ComicBookMovie.com founder Nate Best reported acquiring pitch documents for the rebrand and shared details in an exclusive article. According to Best, the rebrand would have been titledNew Teen Titans, and would have featured a rotating cast rather than focusing on the original five members. Some of these proposed teamups included:
The show was slated to introduce new villains, notably one named "Athena" who had theMidas touch and was accompanied by an ever-changing roster of superpowered suiters as well as a posse of robot girls, and other groups of teenagers as throwbacks to previous villains such as Mad Mod and Control Freak. The pitch documents included information on a holiday episode, as well as a plot line in whichHerald would unknowingly create a rift in "Dimension X", allowing a microscopic, self-replicating creature to travel to Earth.[15] According to series artist Derrick J. Wyatt, this would have tied back to the unnamed creature from the series finale "Things Change".[16] Series artist Brianne Drouhard has also stated doing visual development on a character that was not mentioned in the reporting.[17]
Amid-credits scene fromTeen Titans Go! To the Movies featured the 2003 Titans' return, in which Robin states they've "found a way back".[18]
In 2019, Warner Bros. released a crossover film featuring the Titans from both shows, titledTeen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans.[19][20] The film premiered atSan Diego Comic-Con on July 21, followed by a digital release on September 24 and a DVD and Blu-ray release on October 15.[21] The events of the film take place during thefifth season ofTeen Titans Go!.
The series was revisited as a series of shorts in 2012 for theDC Nation programming block on Cartoon Network. DubbedNew Teen Titans, the shorts began airing on September 11. The shorts featured the Titans inchibi form, with the principal cast members of the original series returning.[22]
Ciro Nieli, one of the show's directors, would go on to create Disney'sSuper Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, another superhero action show with a large anime influence, but premiered in 2004 onJetix, and featured Beast Boy's voice actorGreg Cipes as the voice of Chiro, the show's main protagonist.Sam Register also made his own show in 2004 withHi Hi Puffy AmiYumi on Cartoon Network, which was based on the pop duo who did the theme song, and also had an anime influence, but was created more to be a slapstick comedy in the veins ofLooney Tunes andTom and Jerry.
Teen Titans Go! was announced as a spin-off, with many voices the same, but not significantly related in terms of story to both theTeen Titans series and theNew Teen Titans shorts.[23] The series premiered on April 23, 2013.[24]
Richardson, Payton, Strong, Cipes, and Walch reprised their respective character roles as Trigon, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Blackfire inDC Super Hero Girls.
Payton reprised his role as Cyborg inLego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered,Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League,Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom,Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash,Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout along with Cipes, Walch, and Menville (although he played theDamian Wayne Robin),Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, andLego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman – Rage of Atlantis. He has also reprised his role as Cyborg onJustice League Action.
Several character details fromTeen Titans, like Raven's standard incantationAzarath Metrion Zinthos and Beast Boy's super-werewolf form from the episode "The Beast Within", were incorporated into theanimated filmJustice League vs. Teen Titans.
Teen Titans has never been established to be a part of the largerDC Animated Universe orThe Batman animated series. Series producerBruce Timm said the series would notcross over withJustice League Unlimited. Despite this, the series was alluded to in theStatic Shock episode "Hard as Nails", whereStatic asked Batman where Robin was, to which Batman responded, "With the Titans...You'll meet them some day". The characterSpeedy, who first appeared in the episode "Winner Take All", later appeared inJustice League Unlimited with the same costume design and voice actor (Mike Erwin).Kid Flash was voiced byMichael Rosenbaum in his appearances in the show, who was the same actor who voicedthe Flash inJustice League Unlimited; both characters are theWally West incarnations. The follow-up series,Teen Titans Go!, has featured several appearances byBatman, but they have all been non-speaking appearances. BothBatman andAlfred Pennyworth appear in DC Nation'sNew Teen Titans "Red X Unmasked". In the season 2 episode ofTeen Titans Go!, "Let's Get Serious",Aqualad (voiced byKhary Payton),Superboy, andMiss Martian of theYoung Justice team appear.
Much like the DC Animated Universe (as well asX-Men: Evolution andSpider-Man and His Amazing Friends), the series has affected the comics that initially inspired it, including: Beast Boy adopting the series' purple and black outfit during DC's "52" storyline and later appearing with the pointed ears and fanged teeth originated by the series,[25] future Cyborg having the same armor pattern of his animated counterpart in theTitans Tomorrow storyline,[26] Raven adapting her animated counterpart's costume design in the "One Year Later" storyline, the characters Más y Menos making appearances in52 and theFinal Crisis limited series,[27] the character Joto was renamed "Hot Spot" during52 to match his animated counterpart,[28] and the villainCinderblock appearing in a fight with the comic incarnation of the Titans.[29]Red X is later included in the mainstream comic publications through the two-issue teaser comicFuture State: Teen Titans and its follow-up series,Teen Titans Academy.[30][31]
Early into the series' run, Executive Producer andCartoon Network andWarner Bros. Animation Vice President Sam Register responded to criticism regarding the style of the show with a statement slightly contradicting Murakami's statement about wanting Robin to "be cool" with his metal-tipped boots:
Justice League is awesome andSamurai Jack is awesome and we buy a lot of anime shows that are great, but those shows really are directed more towards the nine to fourteen age group, and the six and seven and eight-year-olds were not gelling with theJustice League and some of the more of the fanboy shows... The main mission was making a good superhero show for kids. Now if the fanboys happen to like theTeen Titans also, that's great, but that was not our mission.
— Sam Register,CBR News interview, May 8, 2004
However, while the series' creators initially stated that younger children were the intended audience for the series,Teen Titans Go! writerJ. Torres notes that the progression and deeper themes of the show widened the appeal to a much broader audience:
... [The show] started out skewed a lot younger... but along the way, I think the producers discovered it was reaching a wider audience. ... [the show] got into some darker story lines, and they introduced a lot more characters, so they expanded on it, and they let the show evolve with the audience.
— J. Torres,Titans Companion 2 by Glen Cadigan.[32]
In 2009,Teen Titans was named the 83rd best animated series byIGN.[33]
TVLine lists the theme song from the series among the best animated series themes of all time.[34]
From 2004 to 2008,DC Comics published acomic bookseries based onTeen Titans calledTeen Titans Go!. The series was written byJ. Torres andTodd Nauck,Larry Stucker was the regular illustrator. While the comic's stories stand independently, its issues were done so as not to contradict events established in the animated series' episodes. Often,Teen Titans Go! also referenced episodes of the show, as well as expanding on parts of the series.
In July 2024,DC Comics published a comic book series namedPrimer: Clashing Colors that features this iteration of the Teen Titans. It is written by Thomas Krajewski and Jennifer Muro, illustrated by Gretel Lusky. The comic focuses on Ashley Rayburn putting her powers to the test in order to be put on the team with the rest of the main cast.
Bandai released a line of action figures based on theTeen Titans animated series. The line included 1.5 inch "Comic Book Hero" mini figures, 3.5 inch action figures (including "Teen Titans Launch Tower Playset", "Teen Titans Command Center", "Battling Machines", "T-Vehicles", "T-Sub Deluxe Vehicles"), 5 inch action figures, 6.5 inch plush Super-D Toys, and 10 inch figures. Amongst the characters included in the line were the main members of the Teen Titans, Titans East, and various allies and villains.[35][36]
Teen Titans is a video game released on October 16, 2005 for theGame Boy Advance. It was the first video game adaptation based on the animated television series. The plot of the game followedBrother Blood having stolen copies of the Titans' DNA to create a clone army. Playable characters featured the main cast, Robin, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg. Aconsole version of the game and a sequel titledTeen Titans 2 was released in 2006.
Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans, released on July 21, 2019, features the main cast ofTeen Titans along with the one ofTeen Titans Go! in a crossover where both versions must fight villains from their respective worlds.
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three, released on July 16, 2024, contains a cameo where Titans Tower from the animated series can be momentarily seen.
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