[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Sholly Fisch
Artist: Marcelo Dichiara
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
A battle against the forces of Brother Blood is interrupted when the Teen Titans receive a couriered letter from Hollywood producers who are coming to Jump City to make a TV series about the Teen Titans.
Returning to the Titans Tower, the Titans discuss their ideas of what the show should be like. Beast Boy believes that it should be a wildlife documentary series focusing on himself and animal versions of the other Titans.
Robin disagrees and thinks the show should take a more classic approach. Longtime DC fans might recognize that his version is the original 1967 Filmation Teen Titans cartoons.
Cyborg has a different take, and proceeds to describe the 2003 Cartoon Network Teen Titans cartoon, but the focus is on “Earth’s greates champion,” Cyborg.
Raven assumes that Starfire’s version will be cutesy, like DC’s Teeny Titans series, but instead Starfire puts forward a series in the vein of the Cartoon Network’s 2010 Young Justice cartoon. However, the other Titans aren’t impressed with her overuse of drama.
Finally, Raven has her say, and although her teammates expect a dark and gloomy interpretation in which they all die, she suggests the bright and childish “Teeny Titany Pegasus,” which borrows liberally from “My Little Pony.”
The Hollywood producer arrives with a contract for them to sign, but Robin notices that the contract is dripping blood. It’s not the producer, but actually Brother Blood.
When the real producer arrives, he listens to all the ideas that each Titan has, but tells them he has a different direction in mind. Six months later, their show premieres: “The Real Teen Titans,” a highly embarrassing reality TV show. However, Beast Boy and Cyborg are happy enough, saying “but we’re on TV!!!”
Positives
There are lots of loving references to the Teen Titans television history in this book. The Filmation cartoons were slightly before my time, but I remember watching them in reruns, so it was a nice blast from the past for me, and I’m sure younger readers will feel the same about the references to the more recent versions.
I also liked that Raven and Starfire defied expectations by each coming up with an interpretation that you would expect to come from the other. Starfire providing the dark and serious version, and Raven a whimsical and happy version, is an amusing juxtaposition.
Negatives
The only thing I can complain about is that the segments were too short. I would loved if the story was spread over several issues, giving us an entire story in each style. However, I did like what we got to see of each era of Titans TV.
Verdict
This was a great story, full of humour and a few liber doses of nostalgia that will bring a smile to the face of most DC fans.
