It’s time for another edition of What We’re Watching. This time What We’re Watching is the television series Titans.
Created by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, and Greg Berlanti, Titans debuted and already ran for two seasons on DC Universe. The show has now moved to HBO Max with a third season set to drop later this year.
Titans follows the adventures, misadventures, trials, tribulations and bloody fights of a group of teen, and slightly older, superheroes led by everyone’s favorite sidekick Dick Grayson (aka Robin, the Boy Wonder). Although, as the show begins, Dick has been out from under Batman’s shadow for five years and been replaced by a younger Robin (aka Jason Todd).
The show also features Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Hawk, Dove, Deathstroke, Connor Kent (a clone with combined Superman and Lex Luthor DNA), Wonder Girl and a host of other familiar names, faces and costumes. They’re especially familiar if you’re fan of the Titans‘s comics. Fortunately, we are.
The show is violent, profanity-laden and immensely enjoyable. Sure, some may not appreciate another gritty take on superheroes, but we think this one works. And yes, we’re aware of the “issues’ with the season one finale, the “problems” with Raven’s Dad Trigon and especially the “controversy” about the casting of Anna Diop as Starfire.
Some people are always going to be upset about something and these things don’t in any way detract from our enjoyment of the show. And it should’t for you either. In fact, especially in the case of Diop, we find the objections ridiculous.
She does a great job. Give her, and the show, a chance. You just might enjoy it. If not, you can always watch something else. Plenty of other things on HBO Max and the host of other streaming services.
Season one and two of Titans, which features Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson, Anna Diop as Kory Anders, Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth, Ryan Potter as Garfield “Gar” Logan, Minka Kelly as Dawn Granger, Conor Leslie as Donna Troy, Esai Morales as Slade Wilson and Iain Glen as Bruch Wayne, are available on HBO Max. Season three, which is filming now, arrives later this year.
Check out the trailers for Titans season one and two below. If you watched Titans, let us know what you think. Any other shows you love we should be watching?
Premiering at WonderCon 2016, Justice League vs. Teen Titans brings the young team of heroes back to life with renewed energy and focus in one of DC Entertainment’s best animated films to date.
After Damien Wayne/Robin’s aggression nearly threatens a Justice League mission, he is sent to train with the Teen Titans. He’s hardly arrived when Raven’s (Taissa Farmiga) satanic father, Trigon (Jon Bernthal), plots an escape from his inter-dimensional prison. To aid in his escape, Trigon’s demons possess members of the Justice League. The Teen Titans are left with the impossible task of defeating the JLA and saving the planet.
“Teen Titans is like The Breakfast Club or Degrassi High,” said producer James Tucker.
With all of the emotions and tempers of teenagers heaped on top of having various powers and abilities, the Titans might as well be an angsty teen drama. Damien (Stuart Allan) doesn’t help matters. Still stubborn and arrogant, he’s certain he’s too good for the team.
Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! Since the hectic holiday schedule and copious amounts of eggnog have affected my time and brain cells, respectively, this week’s reviews are more of the quickie variety. While short and sweet – well, as short and sweet as I’m going to get – there’s enough yuletide cheer to make even Gotham warm over. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
PULL OF THE WEEK:
Avengers: The Initiative #31
Marvel Comics – $2.99 US Writer: Christos N Gage Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Score: 8.5/10
The music’s pumping, the booze is flowing and the girls are dancing. Seems like Taskmaster’s right where he wants to be, until Norman Osborn decides to come to Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. for an inspection. Nobody said pimpin’ was easy, especially since Taskmaster has to get his place running on all cylinders before the boss arrives, bearing “gifts.”
Incredibly solid issue by writer Gage. Throughout the entire string of storylines, like “Civil War,” “Secret Invasion” and “Dark Reign,” select characters from both sides of the fight have begun to question whether or not they’re on the right side. Makes for some good reading and interesting dynamics as “Siege” starts to pick up steam. Artist Sandoval continues to be consistently good, especially where Taskmaster is included in the scene.
With 2009 coming to a close, the challenge was to pick and rank the 10 best comics from the entire year. I’ve estimated reading approximately 1,500+ issues over that time frame, so obviously it wasn’t the easiest task to complete. Still, after much deliberation, these are my picks for the 10 best comics of 2009.
Perfection. Defined as the highest degree of proficiency, skill or excellence, perfection is near impossible to achieve, especially when every comic ever printed is subjective in nature. You know, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and all that jazz. Still, when I thought about all the comics I’ve read this past year, this issue of Jonah Hex kept coming back to me. While not perfect (frankly, what is?), it’s pretty close.
A wonderful done-in-one tale following our “hero” as he diligently goes about his day job, in this specific case while hunting down 50 various bad guys who had it coming to them. A fine story on it’s own. Now add a dash of romance – or the bounty hunter’s version of it – to the mix, sprinkle in a little personal vengeance, and top it off with a jolting reminder of how cruel life can be, and you’re left with a portrait of a man who makes no excuses for who he is or what he does, life expectations be damned.
Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! This week, the Blackest Night event takes center stage, Bendis and Oeming make a triumphant comeback and Archie gets married (again). As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
PULL OF THE WEEK:
Blackest Night #5 [of 8]
DC Comics – $3.99 US Writer: Geoff Johns Artist: Ivan Reis
Score: 9.0
The mastermind behind the dead rising stands revealed as the Blackest Night prophecy inches towards becoming true, but will the unified heroes of the world have enough to stop it? Not if a late dinner guest bearing gifts has anything to say about it.
Geoff Johns welcomes you all to hell. How could he not? In the thirty plus years that I’ve been reading comics, I can’t remember a time when things looked so grim in a story thanks to this issue. The big guns of the Justice League arrive in time to assist the Flashes – Barry Allen and Wally West – in confronting Nekron as the Black Lanterns’ power battery reaches full charge. Fast forward to the end of the issue and only two heroes remain standing while the rest are chomping at the bit, dying to feast on some good, old fashioned heart muscle. And this is only the fifth issue in an eight-issue series?!? Wow.
Johns, along with artist Ivan Reis, are obviously toying with us and giggling madly along the way. The re-emergence of “Bruce Wayne” – his name was in quotations in the issue as well – signaled that the next phase was about to begin, but what he did to heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, etc I don’t think anyone saw coming, characters and readers alike. The sixth issue cannot get here fast enough, if you ask me.
Avengers: The Initiative #31
Blackest Night #5 [of 8]
