The Titans are finally here, but if you’re looking for the kid-friendly cartoon team to provide a few laughs before saving the day, you’re in the wrong place. The show is a gritty reimagining of the Teen Titans as they try and stop an otherworldly threat from destroying the planet. Teen angst, aliens, superpowers and vigilante justice… What’s not to love? There’s a huge list of team members in the comics, so let’s jump in and look at who made the cut.
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is Batman’s original sidekick, Robin. He lost his circus performer parents after their trapeze was tampered with at Haley’s Circus. Unfortunately for Dick, he watched them die, knowing there was nothing he could do. See, we told you it wasn’t going to be fun. He’s taken under Bruce Wayne’s wing and becomes a skilled vigilante in Gotham City. But he becomes disenchanted with how Batman operates and leaves for Detroit. Well, we say disenchanted… But we’ve all seen him say “Fuck Batman,” so make your own mind up about how he really feels.
Regardless, Dick’s trying to get out from under the shadow of the Bat to figure out who he is when he isn’t wearing the red and green armour. Titans starts as he’s working in the Detroit PD, investigating the murder of Rachel Roth’s Mother. It’s not long before he’s pulled into the conspiracy that forces him to confront his own inner demons.
Rachel Roth
The story revolves around the team coming together to save Rachel A.K.A. Raven from both herself and an evil cult that is chasing her across the country. There are two sides to Rachel, a troubled teenager who doesn’t fit in anywhere and a darkness that drives her to commit unspeakable acts.
It becomes clear that the conspiracy has something to do with her absent Father. In the comics, he’s the demon lord, Trigon. He’s trying to break into our world through Rachel, so he can turn the planet into a demonic hellscape. Family holidays must be pretty rough. Luckily for Rachel, she finds a new adoptive family in the Titans — they’ll take care of her whether she’s bursting with demonic energy or not.
Kory Anders
Kory Anders has the most extravagant wardrobe of the entire team. Sorry, that’s not the most important thing about her character. Especially when she can shoot waves of fire from her fingertips. But her brightly coloured outfits are an adult adaptation of her various purple costumes in the comics, where she has the name “Starfire.”
The series introduces her as she wakes up with no real memory of where she is, what she’s been doing, or who she’s searching for. Kory is closely tied to one of the team without realising it, and it may cause a rift in the group later down the line. In the comics, Dick Grayson and Kory are romantically involved, so expect to see some fireworks between the two at some point.
Garfield Logan
Finally, a character who isn’t gritty and brooding all the time. Garfield Logan is a relatively happy teenager who genuinely has fun with his powers. His light-hearted nature and jokes don’t always mesh well with the rest of the team, who are always worryingly intense. To be fair, it would be hard to not enjoy yourself when you could turn into a life-size green Tiger. Yes, you read that right.
We first meet Garfield when he’s stealing a bunch of video games from a store in the middle of the night in Tiger form. Make the best with what you’ve got. He got his powers from being experimented on by another unique comic book character, but we’ll let you discover just how weird his TV show origins are for yourself.
Hawk & Dove
Very early on in Titans, Dick approaches two other vigilantes for help with the Raven situation: Hawk and Dove. Hank and Dawn (guess who’s who in that duo) are two street-level heroes who used to work with Robin before their personal lives clashed too much. Hank is stuck with the long-term effects of crime fighting, turning to medication and alcohol to cope with the strain his vigilante persona is having on him. See, it’s a gritty show. This is a far cry from the animated cartoon we all fondly remember.
Dawn is the calm resolve to Hank’s loose cannon. She proves to be just as effective as her brutish boyfriend by using patience and common sense when approaching a fight. She’s actually the second person in the series to take on the Dove mantle. Let’s just say there’s a tragic origin story waiting for viewers in the back half of the show.
Jason Todd
A fan-favourite character makes an appearance to give Grayson a hand: Jason Todd A.K.A. the new Robin. During an infamous PR stunt in the 1980s, fans were given the option whether to kill Jason or not by phoning in to DC Comics. He was then brutally murdered by the Joker. Tough break. Luckily for Jason, he was resurrected some years later, becoming a murderous interpretation of Batman called the Red Hood.
Whether that transformation will feature in the series remains to be seen. For now, we’ll just settle for an entertaining rivalry with Dick Grayson. There are plenty more easter eggs in the show, with references to bigger heroes in the universe and other iconic characters from the Teen Titans team.
Titans, now streaming on Netflix.
