The Teen Titans are coming to Cartoon Network!

[Villano]

"set in a future of intergalactic strife and interplanetary battles"

sounds more like Legion of Superheroes to me...

Yeah. I mean, if they're doing a show that's basically Legion of Superheroes, why not just do Legion of Superheroes? I mean, it's not like the Teen Titans have some kind of name value to the general public. And it can't be the heroes because, aside from Robin, most people will never have heard of them.

And a future Robin? If they wanted a tie in to Batman, why not do a cartoon of that future Justice League from Batman Beyond? I liked that group (although I've still never seen the first part of the Starro story).

If they wanted to stick to teenage protaganists, they could have added some big names to Legion. I mean, there's alot of history there, like Laurel Kent, Superman's decendant. There you go, a new Supergirl.

I don't know. I'm not too excited about this series. I haven't been all that impressed by Justice League. There seems to be something missing from it. To me, it doesn't measure up to the series which came before (Batman, Superman, and even Batman Beyond).

I know that part of the reason I don't really care for it is J'onn J'onzz (Martian Manhunter). I like the character, don't get me wrong, but the writers have no idea what to do with him. Every episode includes a scene where J'onn (for God's sake, someone give him a superhero name!) grasps his head and collapses.

He's superstrong, invulnerable, can fly, turn invisible, turn intangible, has heat vision, shapeshifting, and has telepathy. Let's face it, he's "Superman Plus".

The writers have to include some dues ex machina to take him out in the middle of battles because there's no reason he wouldn't be able to take out all the bad guys himself.
I'm sure that you could come up with some good ways to keep him from overwhelming everyone else on the screen, but it's easier to type "J'onn collapses to the ground".

 

[Chun-tzu]

I know that part of the reason I don't really care for it is J'onn J'onzz (Martian Manhunter). I like the character, don't get me wrong, but the writers have no idea what to do with him. Every episode includes a scene where J'onn (for God's sake, someone give him a superhero name!) grasps his head and collapses.

I like Justice League, and it's definitely one of the best super-hero team cartoons ever.

But what's missing from it, IMHO, is the way they're ALL toned down, not just the Martian Manhunter. Many people have said that Superman is too weak in JL. The one that stands out for me is the Flash, who has rarely ever done anything all that meaningful in the fights, except saving innocent bystanders. In the pilot, when there's an army of guns pointed at him, he runs. In the comics, he'd disarm all the soldiers before they could blink.

This cartoon is Justice League scaled down. But Justice League became hot when Grant Morrison started writing it, and he did Justice League scaled UP. His JL was a team of pros who could each do it all single-handedly, and there was something that really, really worked in that formula. His JL was the ultimate team of champions, not just another run of the mill group of guys in tights.

As for the Teen Titans in the future... I don't mind. I'm waiting to see how they do it. Could work. This definitely is NOT Legion, though. You can't have a Legion cartoon with 5 members, you need 20+. And this team is probably based on Earth, not all over the universe, which is what we'd expect from Legion. A Legion cartoon would have Superboy as a headliner, and it seems they'd rather have Robin, which is fine with me.

 

[Sulimo]

Supergirl? She was never in the Titans. Wonder Girl/Troia filled the super-strength/tough character type.

I realised that. But given how she's been established in prior series, I thought they might've added her.

 

[Villano]

As for the Teen Titans in the future... I don't mind. I'm waiting to see how they do it. Could work. This definitely is NOT Legion, though. You can't have a Legion cartoon with 5 members, you need 20+. And this team is probably based on Earth, not all over the universe, which is what we'd expect from Legion. A Legion cartoon would have Superboy as a headliner, and it seems they'd rather have Robin, which is fine with me.

I have to disagree. The "future of intergalactic strife and interplanetary battles" line makes me believe that they'll be doing their share of space stories. And the Legion is based on Earth (Metropolis to be exact).

And I think you can do Legion with a cast less than 20. Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy are the core.

Chameleon would be another definite, and Ultra-Boy would also be good one (I think that's his name. The one who has Superman-like powers but can only use one at a time).

And Element Lad and Phantom Girl could round out a solid team at 7 members.

I'd hold off on Shrinking Violet and Colossal Boy since they have very specific powers that wouldn't translate very well week-to-week.

You could add Kinetix (for another female on the team) and/or Monstress or Blok for a powerhouse and still be under 10 members.

I think you'd have a pretty well-rounded team in both power and personality.

 

[Chun-tzu]

On his website, Peter David (writer of Young Justice, various Star Trek novels, and other stuff) anounced that he was involved in the development of the Teen Titans series.

http://peterdavid.malibulist.com/

He wrote a bible for the series, as well as the pilot, but he doesn't know how much of either they're going to use. Still, assuming that the WB people recognize quality when they see it, this makes me considerably more confident that the cartoon will be good.

Peter also hints that "it also led to my involvement in developing another animated series for another DC hero...and no, I'm not going to say which one until we hear whether that's a go or not. Although it'd be cool if it did go forward, since then I'd be two for two." That's so awesome! Who could it be? My first guesses would be Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel, but I could easily see Flash or Green Lantern. Could it possibly be Aquaman, who Peter David wrote for several years, and would be the guy you go to for that character?

p.s. Peter also talks about his opinions on this season's Buffy and Firefly, and the current Gaiman vs. McFarlane trial.

 

[reapersaurus]

ummm.. you're kidding me, right?

I guess I haven't seen cartoons in a WHILE, but this animation looks incredibly silly.

If you're not going to have Starfire look like a pulchritudinous woman (look it up), than DON'T INCLUDE HER.

Her ridiculous.... shall we say... "attributes" partially defined her character.

And that Raven looks downright ridiculous.

 

[Ashtal]

These are to be true teenagers, not the mostly and completely adults that appear in the comic books. It's also in keeping with the style developed for all the other DC animated shows from the last 10 years.

So expect some tinkered origins as they retool this cast for television. And, IMO, based on the work they've done for the other shows (Batman, Batman Beyond, Justice League), they are probably going to do a terrific job of it.

 

[Fiery James]

Spoilers...? Speculation...? You decide!

[Note: These may be spoilers, so beware. The show is still a long way off, so much can change, and some of this is rampant speculation, so take with a grain of salt]
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The story is set in the not-too-distant future, and has ties with Batman Beyond. The Robin in the team is not any of the incarnations we've dealt with before... he's a new Robin, possibly a sidekick of the Terry-Batman from Batman Beyond.

The show will feature a lot of "space stuff" with a bunch of stories dealing with Starfire's planet and a bunch of Darkseid stuff.

Also, there's a member of the team not featured in that image. From what I've heard, that's because he leaves the team after the first few episodes and then becomes their greatest enemy. I think that twist will be super, boy!

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- James

 

[Chun-tzu]

Peter also hints that "it also led to my involvement in developing another animated series for another DC hero...and no, I'm not going to say which one until we hear whether that's a go or not. Although it'd be cool if it did go forward, since then I'd be two for two."

Could Peter David be referring to this ?

A new animated series based on the DC Comics character Aquaman is currently in development and is targeted for the 2004 - 2005 season, according to a reliable source.

The new series will be akin to the Smallville approach to Superman. The series will feature a younger Aquaman finding his way in life and discovering his abilities. Aquaman, who has appeared on both Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League, will sport a variation of his orange and green costume.

Aquaman will also encounter all new villains who will be created specifically for the series. Most of the themes in the series will be based on environmental issues.

Our source concludes by stating that Alan Burnett, who has worked on Warner Bros. animated series such as Batman, Superman and Static Shock!, is very active in getting the series developed, although the project is still in the early developmental stages and has not been given the go-ahead yet.

I would bet my booties on it. I love super-heroes as much as any other 28-year-old-guy-who-still-reads-comics, but Aquaman would not have been my next choice. Green Lantern, with the full range of power that he has in the comics, would totally rock, because it hasn't really been done before in Hollywood. But I'd still watch an Aquaman cartoon.

 

[Sulimo]

Eek. As much as I like Aquaman, statements like:

"The new series will be akin to the Smallville approach to Superman. The series will feature a younger Aquaman finding his way in life and discovering his abilities. Aquaman, who has appeared on both Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League, will sport a variation of his orange and green costume.

Aquaman will also encounter all new villains who will be created specifically for the series. Most of the themes in the series will be based on environmental issues."

make it sound like a DC version of Captain Planet.