Teen Titans

Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics characters of the same name, primarily the run of stories by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez in the early-1980s, The New Teen Titans comic book series. The show was created by Glen Murakami, developed by David Slack, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. A comic book series, Teen Titans Go! (2003–2008), was based on the TV series. On June 8, 2012, it was announced that the series would be revived as Teen Titans Go! in April 2013 and air on the DC Nation block on Cartoon Network.

Teen Titans frequently used self-referential humor and its animation style is heavily influenced by anime. On different episodes, the series' theme song's lyrics alternate between English and Japanese, sung by the J-pop duo Puffy (called "Puffy AmiYumi" in the United States to distinguish it from Sean Combs). Voice director Andrea Romano revealed in an easter egg on the season 3 DVD that the Japanese theme song means it will be a silly episode, while the English theme songs means it will be a serious episode (except "Nevermore" and "Every Dog Has His Day").

The series consists of 65 episodes spanning five seasons, with the movie Teen Titans: Trouble In Tokyo serving as the series finale. The series premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003 ; August 7, 2017, and the final episode "Things Change" aired on January 16, 2006. The film Teen Titans: Trouble In Tokyo was shown later.

The series aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block sporadically from July 3, 2004 to October 6, 2007.

Plot
Teen Titans centers around the five main members of the superhero team: Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, Raven, and their leader Robin. They are situated in Titans Tower, a large T-shaped structure featuring living quarters as well as a command center and variety of training facilities, on an island just offshore from a fictional West Coast city (identified as "Jump City" in the Teen Titans Go! comic series). The team deals with all matter of criminal activity and threats to the city, while dealing with their own struggles with adolescence, their mutual friendships, and their limitations.

Characters
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. Traditionally, in the comics, the characters Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy don't have secret identities (Starfire being a translation of her Tamaranean birth name, Cyborg's real name being public knowledge, Beast Boy's natural appearance being a dead giveaway, and Raven simply not taking another identity). In particular, some fans debated which Robin leads the Teen Titans, with several hints throughout the series suggesting it is Dick Grayson. These include Robin's alternate dimensional counterpart Larry in the episode "Fractured" being named Nosyarg Kcid ("Dick Grayson" spelled backwards), Robin's future counterpart in the episode "How Long Is Forever?" having taken on the identity of Nightwing (Grayson's identity in the DC continuity), and a glimpse into Robin's consciousness by Raven in the episode "Haunted" showing the memory of two acrobats falling from a trapeze (the death of Grayson's acrobat parents being the catalyst for him becoming Robin).

Robin — Robin is the highly disciplined leader of the Teen Titans. As elaborated upon in the episode "Go", Robin forms the group after aiding Starfire in her escape from captivity, with the help of Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven. Prior to this, he admits to separating from his mentor, Batman (though not mentioned directly by name), in an effort to go solo as a crime-fighter. Like his mentor, he doesn't have any powers except for his amazing martial arts skills and high-powered agility. His main power comes from his large array of weapons, including Birdarangs, discus grenades, and a modified battle staff. He wears a black-and-yellow cape, a red shirt-like top with green sleeves with his capital "R" symbol adorned on its breast, a yellow metal utility belt, green gloves and leggings, black boots with steel accents, and a black eye mask. Also, Robin has romantic feelings for Starfire, apparent since their first encounter. Their blooming romance becomes stronger as the series progresses, climaxing in the series finale movie where he and Starfire become a romantic couple after their first true love's kiss.

Starfire — An alien from a planet called Tamaran. As learned in the episode "Betrothed," her real name is Princess Koriand'r. Starfire arrives on Earth while escaping captivity from Lord Trogaar, an alien overlord intending to sell her into slavery on his home world known as "The Citadel." She creates mass havoc on Earth in an effort to break free from her restraints, arousing the ire of crime-fighters Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg. Raven later appears to convince the boys to settle the dispute peacefully, and the friendship between the five grows from there. After dispatching the alien invaders, Starfire chooses to stay on Earth with her new friends. Starfire develops romantic feelings for Robin (after kissing him to learn English in the episode "Go"), which grow stronger as the series progresses, climaxing in the Teen Titans: Trouble In Tokyo movie, (where they finally revealed their feelings for each other and finally have their first proper kiss).

Starfire has a range of emotion-driven powers unique to her people: she fires green energy beams called "Star Bolts" from her hands, and can later fire them from her eyes and generate large concussive energy fields after hatching from a stage of puberty called "Chrysalis." She is also able to fly, and has super-strength. Though volatile in the beginning, Starfire later becomes extremely kind and polite. She is fluent in her native Tamaranian language, but often speaks in flawed English. She has long flowing red hair, light orange skin, and completely green eyes. She wears a purple-and-silver outfit consisting of a short-hemline top, a short skirt, long wristbands, and long thigh-high boots.

Cyborg — Once known as Victor Stone, he becomes a deformed mesh of flesh and machine following an unelaborated "accident" that caused half of his body to be replaced with cybernetic implants. His condition is virtually impossible to disguise, though he attempted to do so in the beginning by covering much of his body with heavy clothing and a hooded sweatshirt. It is his neighborhood that comes under attack when Starfire happened upon Earth in the "Go" episode of the series, and as such, he comes to the aid of Robin and Beast Boy in their tussle with a volatile Starfire. Cyborg is the oldest member of the Teen Titans, and the group's only African-American member. It is never revealed who gave him his robot parts nor what happened to him that made them necessary, but through his prostheses, he is greatly advanced in strength and skill over that of a normal human being. Though due to the nature of robotics, Cyborg's strength does have its limitations (which can be overcome by sheer force of will as shown in the episode "Only Human"). Before Cyborg's accident, he was a renowned athlete, which could mean that his cyborg parts only amplify the skills he had before.

Cyborg's most common weapon is his Sonic Cannon, modified to weaponize the ionic core that fuels his life support system into a blast of sonic energy. His robotic left eye can see in most settings (infrared, night vision, targeting scope, etc.) with the exception of low ultraviolet light. Cyborg is the chief technical engineer of the Teen Titans: he has built a number of devices and vehicles for the group, including the Titans' communicator devices, the T-Car, the T-Ship, and even Titans' Tower itself. In the two-part episode "Titans East," Cyborg briefly left the original group to lead the Titans' Eastern contingent, made up of Bumblebee, Aqualad, Speedy, and Mas y Menos, though he would later rejoin the central group, handing the leadership responsibilities to Bumblebee.

Raven — Usually depicted with a stoic expression on her face, and as somewhat of a typical apathetic "goth." She wears a blue hooded shroud and a black leotard, decorated with a belt. Raven has fair skin, violet-blue eyes, and a bob-cut hairstyle, with a mystical stone in the middle of her forehead. Shrouded in mystery even from her debut appearance, little is known about Raven and her past, and she is emotionally distant even from her fellow Titans much of the time, with only a few instances to the contrary. It is later discovered that this is intentional, due to the grave secrets Raven is carrying with her throughout the series.

Raven's chief powers are her flight, a studious mastery of magical powers, and her telekinetic and psychokinetic abilities, which empower her to manipulate and levitate objects enclosed in dark mystical energy with her mind. This ability often comes about after chanting the incantation, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," allowing her to make use of her powers in a myriad of forms. This energy manifests in forcefields, energy shields and means of teleportation, and in more extreme and unpredictable cases, manipulation of time, movement of larger masses such as skyscrapers, and even being able to use the energy for destructive purposes. Apart from the psychokinetic energy she wields, Raven is also a master of Extra-Sensory Perception, able to sense and read the minds of others. She also proves to be a formidable opponent in hand-to-hand combat. In the three-part episode "The End," Raven reveals that she learned these abilities from what she considers her adoptive family, The Monks of Azarath.

Beast Boy — A former member of the Doom Patrol, Beast Boy leaves the group in an effort to become a solo superhero. His early training is highly disciplined and militarized, leading him to address more experienced heroes as "Sir" in the beginning. As time wears on, he becomes less serious and acts as the prankster and comic relief of the Teen Titans. As his name suggests, Beast Boy is able to mutate his human DNA in order to take the forms and abilities of virtually any beast of the animal kingdom, ranging from a microscopic amoeba to the largest of the ancient dinosaurs. Through this mutation, his skin, eyes and hair are a deep shade of green. His ears are also protracted elf-style, and one of his lower canine teeth is elongated into a fang that often is seen jutting out from his mouth. He still wears his purple-and-black Doom Patrol uniform (sans a mask he wore with the group), which is able to morph in accordance with his animal forms. Due to his sensitivity to the animal world (having assumed the forms of so many of them in his young life), Beast Boy is a devoted vegetarian.

He later reunites with the Doom Patrol to do battle with the resurgent Brotherhood of Evil, and becomes one of the last heroes standing in the final battle against them at their headquarters in Paris. Beast Boy develops a crush on fellow Titan, Terra, that later falls apart following her betrayal at the behest of Slade. In the series finale "Things Change," Beast Boy spends the day trying to spur the memories of a restored but amnesiac Terra, leaving his teammates alone to do battle with the White Monster. After failing in his effort, he leaves to rejoin the team in battle, leaving both Terra and his fond memories of her behind.

Episodes
The series consists of five 13-episode seasons, with the film Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo serving as the series finale. All episodes of Teen Titans have been released on DVD. The Complete First Season DVD was released on February 7, 2006. The Complete Second Season DVD was released on September 12, 2006. The Complete Third Season DVD was released on April 10, 2007. The Complete Fourth Season DVD was released on November 20, 2007. The Complete Fifth Season DVD was released on July 22, 2008.

Broadcast History
The series premiered in the United States, on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003 with the episode "Final Exam" and the final episode "Things Change" premiered on January 16, 2006, with the film Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo serving as the series finale.
 * United States (Cartoon Network) — July 19, 2003 - October 1, 2010 ; August 7, 2017 - Present
 * United States (Boomerang) — February 9, 2009 - June 1, 2014
 * United Kingdom (Cartoon Network) — November 2003 - 2006
 * Latin America (Cartoon Network) — May 2004 - 2007
 * Japan (Cartoon Network) — January 2005 - 2008

Toonami Broadcast History
Teen Titans premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block on July 3, 2004 at 8:00 PM, replacing Astro Boy in the lineup. During this run, Teen Titans was often used to fill out the block, gaining additional time slots when other series finished their runs on Toonami or went on brief hiatuses. On July 23, 2005, the 3-part season 4 finale ("The End, Part 1-3") aired from 7:30-9:00 PM. Teen Titans remained in the lineup through January 28, 2006 and was replaced by Wulin Warriors the following week.

However, Teen Titans returned to Toonami just two weeks later, at 7:30 PM on February 18th, partly due to the negative performance of Wulin Warriors which garnered poor ratings and various complaints from viewers after only 2 episodes. The series was pre-empted by Toonami's A Month of Miyazaki from March 18th-April 8th and the Naruto-athon on April 15th, and returned in the 8:00 PM time slot on April 22nd. On May 20th, Teen Titans was removed from the 8:00 PM time slot (replaced with Zatch Bell!) and instead began airing for a full hour from 7:00-8:00 PM, replacing Duel Masters and Dragon Ball Z. However, this was short-lived as the series was completely removed from the lineup after May 27, 2006, due to the premiere of Pokémon Chronicles.

Teen Titans returned to Toonami in the 8:00 PM time slot for three weeks, from August 12-26, 2006, before being replaced in the lineup by Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes. The series had another brief stint on Toonami in the 8:00 PM time slot from January 6, 2007 to February 24, 2007. The series' final run on on Toonami began on June 16, 2007 at 8:00 PM. During this run Teen Titans was pre-empted frequently by marathons and movie presentations. However, the series aired for a full hour (7:00-8:00 PM) from September 15, 2007 to October 6, 2007. On October 13th, Toonami was shortened to 2 hours and Teen Titans was removed from the lineup.


 * Toonami (United States) — July 3, 2004 - May 27, 2006; August 12 - 26, 2006; January 6, 2007 - February 24, 2007; June 16, 2007 - October 6, 2007
 * Toonami (United Kingdom) — November 2003 - 2006
 * Toonami (Latin America) — September 2004 - 2006
 * Toonami (Japan) — January 2005 - 2008