Over the course of its development, Titans has gone from something fans were a bit suspicious of, to an outright laughing stock once they got a look at those hideous costumes (and that ridiculous ‘Fuck Batman’ trailer), to something I’m going to have to tune in to just to see how bad it is. From the promotional art to the trailers to the Twitter feed, it’s all been pretty crappy looking, and that trend’s now continued in earnest with this new clip (below) showing off Beast Boy’s transformations.
To put it diplomatically, it seems that realizing the character’s transforming superpower on screen might be a little bit beyond the budget that this show was granted, at least if the iffy quality of the CGI in this clip is anything to go by. I could give it the benefit of the doubt and say that this might be uncompleted CGI in advance of its premiere next week, but I think we all know I’d be lying.
With costumes that look like they’re from a middling fan project, wince-worthy one-liners and a generally half-baked tone, I wouldn’t be surprised if Titans turned out to be an insanely elaborate gag from Teen Titans GO! in which they imagine what they’d look like in a gritty live-action TV show. Seriously.
While it might yet exceed expectations, it’s looking like the inaugural outing of Warner Bros.’ new streaming service DC Universe isn’t going to be the razzle-dazzle launch they might have hoped for. Fortunately, the series following it in 2019 seem much more promising. I’m a huge fan of the Grant Morrison Doom Patrol and the Alan Moore Swamp Thing runs, so I’m delighted that the creators of both of those DC Universe shows have said they’re looking to those writers as inspiration.
Now, I’m prepared to give Titans a fair shake when it hits the service on October 12th, but right now, I’m expecting to cringe my way right through it.