Warner Bros.

Warner Brothers has done an impressive job when it comes to their live-action DC Universe television shows. Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow have been fun, entertaining experiences. Now with them starting up their own streaming service, they have upped the ante by releasing Titans.  When I first heard about this one I wasn’t sure what to think, considering I wasn’t much of a fan of the animated series, but I’m so glad I came into this show with an open mind, because this show is jam-packed with coolness.  Since this was made for a streaming service and not broadcast television, not only do we get superheroes dropping F-bombs, but we get some edgier storytelling along with some violent action you may not expect.  Seriously, this one is not for the kids. The show introduces us to Dick Grayson, aka Robin ( Brenton Thwaites) a year after he has fled Gotham City and has moved to Detroit to become a detective.  It doesn’t take long before we find out he’s made the move from being Batman’s sidekick because he’s started to develop a taste for dispensing violence and is worried about what he could become.  Don’t worry; he’s still down for inflicting some vigilante justice, but we see it comes at a price over the course of the season.
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“After the bridges blew and the government declared Gotham off-limits the city was up for grabs. Given over to criminals and murderers. Now territory is controlled by whoever has enough power to hold it. I mean we have Penguin in City Hall for God’s sakes…”

Gotham City. You know the name, just as you know the names of Metropolis and Smallville. These are important places in the DC comics universe that have existed as part of modern American mythology since the 1930’s. Warner Brothers has decided to tackle Gotham in much the way it spent 10 years bringing us to Smallville. But there is a decided difference to be found here. Smallville was indeed the origin story of Superman, and while the obvious answer might be that Gotham serves the same role for Batman, I found that to be a bit of an oversimplification. This is not the origin story for Batman, and while many of the future major villains from that universe take their first baby steps here, this is not their origin story either.
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“How will we be remembered? Will it be for saving the world…Twice? Nope. We’re the team who broke time. That’s right. History has been torn to shreds, which means it’s up to us to put it back together again, piece by piece, finding these so-called anachronisms before we get torn to shreds. So please, don’t call us heroes. We’re legends.” 

At the end of the second season the team broke one of the cardinal rules of time travel. You can’t revisit a time and place that you already visited. The result is that you break time, and that’s exactly what the Legends of Tomorrow have done. The result is that they have been recalled and dismissed from service by the newly-formed Bureau of Time. Now our legends are back in the mundane world, where Sara (Lotz) is working as a clerk at a bed and shower store, having fantasies of killing her boss.
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“Ain’t nobody feeling Team Kid Flash.”

When Season 3 ended on The Flash, Barry Allen/The Flash (Gustin) is trapped inside the Speed Force where he sacrificed himself to free his friends. Months later we find Wally West/Kid Flash (Lonsdale) acting as the team’s speedster. Iris (Patton) is now in charge of the team, while Caitlin (Panabaker) has left to tend bar, mostly running from her Killer Frost persona. Joe West (Martin) is lending police support where he can, and Cisco (Valdes) has honed his teleportation skills and gets the players where they need to be. But they are barely holding their heads above water, and the stress is finally getting to them.
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“This is not just about Gotham. This is all about Bruce Wayne.”

It really is about Gotham. And it’s about Jim Gordon. It’s also very much about Bruce Wayne. The third season ended with Bruce finally starting to embrace his vigilante role, but it was crude and very much only a shadow of the hero he will become. There’s a reason why all of the episodes of this season are subtitled The Dark Knight. Bruce is becoming more and more like Batman. Bruce even confronts his future alter-ego in a vision state.
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