Teen Titans (TV series)

Teen Titans
Genre	Superhero Teen drama Action Adventure Comedy-drama Science fantasy
Created by	Glen Murakami Sam Register
Based on	Teen Titans by Bob Haney Bruno Premiani
Developed by	Glen Murakami David Slack Sam Register
Voices of	Greg Cipes Scott Menville Khary Payton Tara Strong Hynden Walch
Theme music composer	Andy Sturmer
Opening theme	"Teen Titans Theme", performed by Puffy AmiYumi
Ending theme	"Teen Titans Theme" (instrumental)
Composers	Michael McCuistion Kristopher Carter Lolita Ritmanis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	65 (+ one TV movie) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Sander Schwartz For Cartoon Network: Sam Register Tramm Wigzell Todd Casey
Producers	Glen Murakami Linda M. Steiner Bruce Timm (seasons 1–2) David Slack (seasons 3–5)
Running time	21–23 minutes
Production companies	DC Comics (season 5) Warner Bros. Animation
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	Cartoon Network Kids' WB
Audio format	Stereo (DVD)[1] Dolby Surround (BD)
Original release	July 19, 2003 (2003-07-19) – September 15, 2006 (2006-09-15)
Chronology
Followed by	Teen Titans Go!
External links
Official website

Teen Titans is an American animated superhero television series developed by Glen Murakami, David Slack and Sam Register, based on DC Comics's superhero team of the same name. It premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003; and its first two seasons also aired on Kids' WB. Initially, only four seasons were planned; but the popularity of the series led to Cartoon Network's 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, 2006, serving as the series finale. A 15-minute episode titled "The Lost Episode" was released as part of an online promotional campaign by Post Consumer Brands in January 2005.

Teen Titans became one of Cartoon Network's most acclaimed series, renowned for its character development, humor, and serious themes. During its run, the series was nominated for three Annie 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, titled Teen Titans Go!, which received a theatrical film that was released on July 27, 2018, titled Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. In September 2019, a crossover film with Teen Titans Go! was released, titled Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans. It features the first appearance of the original series characters after 13 years.

The series was first shown on Boomerang from February 2, 2009 replacing the Super Friends until October 31, 2010. It returned to Boomerang's line-up on October 3, 2011, and left the schedule again on June 1, 2014.

Premise[]

Teen Titans is based primarily on stories by Marv Wolfman and George 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 are Robin (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 half-human/half-robot who is known for his strength and technological prowess; Raven (Tara Strong), a stoic girl from the parallel world Azarath who draws upon dark energy and psionic abilities; and Beast 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 the West 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 supervillain Slade (Ron Perlman), who seeks to turn Robin into his apprentice. The second season is an adaptation of "The Judas Contract" storyline where new hero Terra (Ashley Johnson) joins the team while secretly plotting against them with Slade. The third season depicts Cyborg's conflict with the evil organization H.I.V.E. and their leader Brother Blood (John DiMaggio), prompting Cyborg to form the superhero team Titans East with Aqualad (Wil Wheaton), Speedy (Mike Erwin), Bumblebee (T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh), and Más 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 father Trigon (Kevin Michael Richardson) seeks to enslave the Earth. For the fifth season, the Teen Titans join forces with numerous other heroes to combat the Brotherhood of Evil, Beast Boy's longtime adversaries, and their army of villains.

Episodes[]

Each season contains a distinct story arc that is centered on a specific Titan on the team. (A similar setup was later used by WB/DC for The Batman.) Starfire is the only individual member who was part of the original roster to not have a season focused on her.

Season		Episodes		Originally aired		Season-centric Titan(s)[2]
				First aired	Last aired
	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	1		January 3, 2005 (2005-01-03)		N/A
	4	13		January 29, 2005 (2005-01-29)	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)		N/A

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

• Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
• Scott Menville as Robin
• Khary Payton as Cyborg
• Tara Strong as Raven
• Hynden Walch as Starfire

Secret identities[]

Unlike most other superhero television series, the Teen Titans characters maintain their superhero identities at all times, with any hints at the concept of an alter ego or secret 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 the robot guy. There's the alien girl. There's the witch girl. There's the shape-changing boy. There's the…" We just wanted it really clean like that. We wanted it like old Star 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 policy of not mentioning the main characters' secret identities has been broken for all but Raven:

• While the secret identity of Robin—an alias assumed by at least 5 characters in the comics—is never explicitly revealed in the series, several hints are provided to suggest he is Dick Grayson, the original Robin and founding member of the Teen Titans.
  • Robin's alternate dimensional counterpart Larry in the episode "Fractured" is named Nosyarg Kcid—"Dick Grayson" spelled backwards.
  • Robin's future counterpart in the episode "How Long Is Forever?" has taken on the identity of Nightwing, Grayson's second superhero alias.
  • The main romance in the show is Robin's relationship with Starfire; while Jason Todd (the second Robin, who is often suspected to be the character Red X in the show) would also have a relationship with Starfire in the comics, this wouldn't occur until years after the animated series was off the air.
  • A glimpse into Robin's consciousness by Raven in the episode "Haunted" shows the memory of two acrobats falling from a trapeze, a reference to the death of Grayson's acrobat parents being the catalyst for him becoming Robin.
  • Further connections to the Batman mythos include two references in the episode "The Apprentice, Pt. II", when Robin responds to a suggestion by the villain Slade that he "might be like a father to [him]" with "I already have a father" (which transitions to a shot of flying bats) and a fight scene on the rooftop of a building labeled Wayne Enterprises.
  • The Teen Titans Go! episode “Permanent Record” would later 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" being written over. Subsequent episodes, however, establish him as Dick Grayson through vague flashbacks to his boyhood at Haley Circus.
• At the end of the Season 5 premiere, the Doom Patrol members refer to Beast Boy by his real name (Garfield Mark Logan), though the Titans still continue to call him Beast Boy (as a joke in "Go!", the Titans ask Beast Boy about his mask and he states it hides his true identity, though Raven points out that his green skin makes him instantly recognizable regardless of his clothing); and when Cyborg goes undercover at H.I.V.E. Academy in "Deception," he takes on the alias "Stone" as a reference to his comic counterpart's real name, Victor Stone.
  • Later seasons of Teen Titans Go! have, though infrequently, referred to Cyborg as Victor Stone and Beast Boy as Garfield Logan.
• And Starfire's real name Princess Koriand'r ("Koriand'r" being Tamaranian for "Starfire") was used when the Teen Titans visited Tamaran in "Betrothed."

Production[]

Soundtrack[]

The series is known for featuring both an English^[4] and Japanese^[5] version of its title theme song, created by Andy Sturmer and performed by the Japanese band Puffy AmiYumi. 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 film Trouble in Tokyo, a literal translation of the Japanese song, whose actual lyrics differ greatly from its English counterpart, is performed for comedic effect.^[6]

Cancellation[]

In mid-November 2005, TitansTower.com reported that prospects for a sixth season were looking extremely unlikely, and fans were urged^[7] to express their support for the show to Cartoon Network. Several days after this initial posting, word came that Cartoon Network had officially terminated the show.^[7] According to Wil Wheaton, the actor who provided the voice of Aqualad, the series was terminated by new Warner Bros. Feature Animation executives, who made the decision not to renew the series based on its sixth season pitch.^[8] Wheaton's story was contradicted by series story editor Rob Hoegee, who stated that the decision came from Cartoon Network, not WB, and that the crew was informed during the writing phase of season five that there were no plans for a sixth season.^[9] The show's producer David Slack indicated that he was given different reasons for the show's cancellation; either the ratings dropped after the "scary" season 4, or Mattel wanted the show dead because Bandai had the show's toy deal.^[10] Cartoon Network announced that Mattel had become its "master toy licensee" in 2006.^[11]

After the last episode, Warner Bros. Animation announced a feature film titled Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. The film premiered at San Diego Comic-Con International and was shown on Cartoon Network first on September 15, 2006, before airing on Kids' WB on September 16, 2006, and finally releasing on DVD on February 6, 2007.

Crossover with Teen Titans Go![]

A mid-credits scene from Teen Titans Go! To the Movies featured the 2003 Titans' return, in which Robin states they've "found a way back".^[12]

In early 2019, Warner Bros. announced that a crossover featuring the Titans from both shows, titled Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans, was in development.^[13] On June 26, 2019, IGN released the official trailer on YouTube.^[14] The film premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2019. This was followed by a digital release on September 24, 2019 and a DVD and Blu-ray release on October 15, 2019.^[15] The events of the film take place during the fifth season of Teen Titans Go!.

Legacy[]

The series was revisited as a series of shorts in 2012 for the DC Nation programming block on Cartoon Network. Dubbed New Teen Titans, the shorts began airing on September 11, 2012. The shorts featured the Titans in chibi form, with the principal cast members of the original series returning.^[16]

Ciro Nieli, one of the show's directors, would go on to create Disney's Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, another superhero action show with a large anime influence, but premiered in 2004 on Jetix, and featured Beast Boy's voice actor Greg Cipes as the voice of Chiro, the show's main protagonist. Sam Register, producer of the series, also made his own show in 2004 with Hi 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 of Looney Tunes and Tom 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 the Teen Titans series, and the New Teen Titans shorts.^[17] The series premiered on April 23, 2013.^[18]

Menville, Payton, Strong, Cipes, and Walch reprised their respective character roles as Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire and Blackfire in DC Super Hero Girls.

Payton reprised his role as Cyborg in Lego 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 the Damian Wayne Robin), Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, and Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage of Atlantis. He has also reprised his role as Cyborg on Justice League Action.

Several character details from Teen Titans, like Raven's standard incantation Azarath Metrion Zinthos and Beast Boy's super-werewolf form from the episode "The Beast Within", were incorporated into the animated film Justice League vs. Teen Titans.

Impact on DC continuity[]

Teen Titans has never been established to be a part of the larger DC Animated Universe or The Batman animated series. Series producer Bruce Timm stated the series would not cross over with Justice League Unlimited. Despite this the series was alluded to in Static Shock, which is part of the DCAU like Justice League Unlimited, where Static asked Batman where Robin was to which Batman responded, "With the Titans...You'll meet them some day." The character Speedy, who first appeared in the episode "Winner Take All", later appeared in Justice League Unlimited with the same costume design and voice actor (Mike Erwin) as the Teen Titans incarnation (though he is older in appearance). Kid Flash was voiced by Michael Rosenbaum in his appearances in the show, who was the same actor who voiced the Flash in Justice League Unlimited; both characters are the Wally West incarnations. The follow-up series, Teen Titans Go!, has featured several appearances by Batman, but they have all been non-speaking appearances. Both Batman and Alfred Pennyworth appear in DC Nation's New Teen Titans "Red X Unmasked". In the season 2 episode of Teen Titans Go!, "Let's Get Serious", Aqualad (voiced by Khary Payton), Superboy, and Miss Martian of the Young Justice team appear.

Much like the DC Animated Universe (as well as X-Men: Evolution and Spider-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,^[19] future Cyborg having the same armor pattern of his animated counterpart in the Titans Tomorrow storyline,^[20] Raven adapting her animated counterpart's costume design in the "One Year Later" storyline, the characters Más Y Menos making appearances in 52 and the Final Crisis limited series,^[21] the character Joto was renamed "Hotspot" during 52 to match his cartoon counterpart,^[22] and the villain Cinderblock appearing in a fight with the comic incarnation of the Titans.^[23] Red X is later included in the mainstream comic publications through the two-issue teaser comic Future State Teen Titans and its follow-up series Teen Titans Academy.^[24][25]

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

The series has received widespread acclaim from critics. Early into the series' run, Executive Producer and Cartoon Network and Warner 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 and Samurai 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 the Justice 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 the Teen 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! writer J. 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.^[26]

In 2009, Teen Titans was named the 83rd best animated series by IGN.^[27]

TVLine lists the theme song from the series among the best animated series themes of all time.^[28]

Awards and nominations[]

2005 Annie Awards

• Outstanding Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production (Nominated)

2004 Annie Awards

• Outstanding Music in an Animated Television Production (Nominated)
• Outstanding Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production (Nominated)

2004 Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards

• Best Sound Editing in Television Animation (Nominated)

In other media[]

Comics[]

From 2004 to 2008, DC Comics published a comic book series based on Teen Titans called Teen Titans Go!. The series was written by J. Torres and Todd Nauck, Larry Stucker was the regular illustrator. The series focuses on Robin, Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg who are the main cast members of the television series. 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.

Toys[]

Bandai released a line of action figures based on the Teen 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.^[29][30]

See also[]

• Justice League (TV series)
• Justice League Unlimited
• Young Justice (TV series)

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Teen Titans (TV series)

• Official DC Comics Site
• Teen Titans at IMDb
• David Slack Interviews: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5