If the Teen Titans are in the CW Universe, things will be quite different for all of the shows. But what exactly does it mean? I have some questions about the upcoming show, and how it will affect the rest of the universe in general.
How will “Nightwing” be introduced, and what are the possibilities for the character?
As most of you know, Nightwing is the protégée of Bruce Wayne. Obviously, the CW Universe can’t use this origin, but will they allude to the fact that Dick was trained by a certain shadowy vigilante? They could, in theory, do that. The original Teen Titans cartoon series alluded to Batman quite a lot, but never showed him or said his name. This could also work for the Teen Titans live action show. This, however, also begs the question: Will they mention Gotham or Wayne tech? I don’t think they can legally mention Gotham city by name, but it could be alluded to. And my answer to the latter is…I don’t really know. The Flash clearly referenced Wayne Tech when Harrison Wells looked at the newspaper from 2024, and it showed a Queen and Wayne Tech merger as a side story. So could it be that they will mention Bruce Wayne’s company by name? We’ll have to wait and see, but I think there is definitely some possibility there.
Will they use “Cyborg”?
A lot of the fun about the Teen Titans is how youthful and fun it is to watch the team interact with one another. And since the movie universe is using Cyborg, will this stop the TV universe from using Cyborg for their team? I don’t think so, since Cyborg is one of the main members of the Titans in the comics and on the show. He also adds a lot of heart to the team, and the interaction with Beast Boy will be hilarious and awesome all at once. Also, we will be getting a teenage version of the character on TV, while in the movies, we’re more likely to see an older version of the character who could be more serious than fun loving. This doesn’t sound like as much fun as the Teen Titans Cyborg. Something else to think about is the race card. The CW doesn’t have very many African American superheroes in the universe. Bronze Tiger and Diggle are the only ones, and although they are quite badass in their own ways, adding another black superhero to the universe would only benefit them. And Cyborg is the perfect candidate to be added. And also, there are two different incarnations of The Flash that will be on TV and in the theaters at the same time, so what would be wrong with having two Cyborgs? I don’t think there is any reason not to have Cyborg in the show.
How big of a part will Slade play in the show?
It is inevitable that Slade will be somewhat involved in the show. He may even be the team’s main antagonist in the first season. But will he even be a match for the team without the Mirakuru running through his vains? Will he still have a little bit of the serum left in him? My speculation is that, since he had the Mirakuru in him for so long, he will have a bit left inside his body. This will put him at peak human performance, but it won’t make him an unstoppable, bulletproof, overdosed psychopath. They may even do a backstory or origin with Slade and Dick, making the fights with the team more personal. Perhaps, even, having Slade be the person who trained Nightwing instead of Batman. That would make it interesting between Dick and Oliver, being that they had both been trained by Slade. Also, it would (sadly) rule out the need for an allusion to the caped crusader in the universe. All of that is speculation, though, so we will have to wait and see.
Will the team basically be “Young Justice”?
Hearing the news that Nightwing will lead the team, as opposed to Robin, was interesting, but not unexpected. Robin is a difficult character to get correct on the big screen, and even more difficult on the small screen. There is also more opportunity for a more badass leader when doing Nightwing. And while we’re on the subject of badasses, I have to mention that Colton Hayne’s “Roy Harper” is bound to be a member of the team. And with the possibility of a Wally West spawning from The Flash, would they even go as far as to do “Kid Flash”? That would make 3 members of “Young Justice”, but not the Titans. Granted, doing Raven and Cyborg will balance the team a bit with some original Titan members, and Beast Boy is, of course, a member of both YJ and TT. Where does this leave “Starfire”? Hopefully the producers can find a way to put her in the show that makes sense, but if they are going to stick to the comic book origin, explaining an alien will be quite difficult, especially in the grounded CW Universe. Could it be done? Yes, it could be. Especially with the possible “Infinite Crisis” storyline coming in the future, it would be no surprise to see the producers introduce us to an alien beforehand, so the really crazy Infinite Crisis story won’t be completely unbelievable for this universe. Also, including Starfire would give Nightwing the inevitable love interest, and we all know the CW loves their love stories.
That being said, this gives us a possible team roster of:
-
Nightwing
-
Arsenal/Red Arrow
-
Kid Flash
-
Cyborg
-
Raven
-
Starfire
This team looks to be half YJ, half TT. And this roster could work extrememly well for them. They could go with a storyline similar to Young Justice, where the Justice League lets them be a covert B team. They can even go as far as to have Arsenal be the “Robin” and Arrow be the “Batman” of the show, and have Arrow be the overseer of the team’s actions. Story wise, this could work, and with the possibility of Arrow overseeing the project, there is always the possibility of Lian Yu being the secret base for the team, similar to the island base in Young Justice. Also, that would allow the team to watch over Slade in his island prison, since apparently leaving Slade unguarded is an acceptable thing to do. It could also allow for the Slade vs. Teen Titans fight that is inevitable. I hope that I’m right, because that would be incredibly awesome.
Do you guys think I'm on the right path with this speculation, or a mile off? Either way, thanks for reading.