Titans brought the heat with its premiere episode. Chalk full with action and violence, Titans aims to set itself apart from any other show DC has made in the past by pushing the edge. Reminiscent of Marvels Daredevil we see from the initial trailers a bloody R-rated show that promises to be everything the CW shows are not. Titans delivers on that promise.
The episode starts by introducing us to Rachel Roth (Raven) who is a little girl with demonic possession. Her mother is distraught with having to deal with this and is trying her best to use prayers and the cross to save her. We see Rachel akin to being locked inside her room at nights as she has no control over what she may do.
Within a couple of minutes of getting introduced to her mother, we see Rachel return from school to find her Mother standing with a Man holding a gun. He gets her to blurt out and tell the truth that she is not her actual mother and Rachel is not her name, followed by shooting her in the head. This is where I realized I was in for something else as they show the mothers head with a hole and blood coming out.
Titans pushes the boundaries with the violence to the point where you wonder if showing some of that was even necessary. Scenes like Robins infamous battle scene where he utters, “F***k Batman” are littered with gruesome action.
The Robin we are introduced to is a Nightwing transitioning version of the character. Much like Batflecks anger ridden hero, Robin looks to maim the criminals he fights. The hero has left Gotham as he felt he was becoming too much like Batman and needed to develop on his own.
Somehow Rachel is drawn to Dick Grayson after seeing visions of his family’s death, leading her to show up at the Detroit Police department where Dick works. Dick is first apprehensive of Rachel as he believes this is some sick joke but finally agrees to help her.
Starfire is seen in this show as some mystery and is in a different continent than the other Titans. Even though initial reviews of Starfire showed a disappointing costume, the actor excels in her performance by having a mysterious and naive hero.
Beast boy was the least to be shown in the episode, we only see him in the end but immediately realize he is a lighthearted relief. The show slowly puts together its story and will take time to develop itself into the fully formed team. Titans blends action with a gripping story and comes to a very strong start for the new DC series. I will definitely be looking forward to the next episode to figure out what is actually happening with the Titans and how they will eventually form.
