DC Universe would have been better off omitting Robin's famous -- no, make that infamous -- "Fuck Batman!" scene from Titans' eagerly anticipated first trailer. Sure, it garnered a lot of attention at Comic-Con International, but at the cost of the streaming service's first original series being viewed as edgy simply for the sake of edginess. And make no mistake, there is some of that, with F-bombs dropped right and left, implied threats of castration, underscored with a pair of shears, and at least two antagonists burned to a crisp. But, thankfully, there's more to Titans than that.

It's dark, just as the trailers indicate, with a level of violence that races past anything on The CW's Arrowverse and teeters into Zack Snyder-era DC Extended Universe territory. Heroes maim and kill, with some frequency, in the three episodes provided for review, although not always on purpose. It goes without saying, then, that Titans isn't suitable for young viewers, who aren't the target audience for this streaming service anyway. However, neither is the series aimed at fans of DC's classic New Teen Titans, who will undoubtedly bristle at the tone and quibble with the characterizations, to say nothing of the lineup (a later episode is titled "Donna Troy," which may salve that particular wound). Yet, for all of those caveats, there is something enjoyable about Titans.

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It's a mystery, or rather a series of mysteries, that draws in the audience even as it ensnares the characters, and moves at such a brisk pace that we don't ponder the passage of time in this DC Universe, or puzzle over unlikely coincidences, which is all for the best.

Teagan Croft as Raven in Titans

The premise has been laid out as plainly as possible in the assorted promos, with Teagan Croft starring as Rachel Roth, a troubled girl tormented by horrific visions, and even more terrifying abilities, and pursued by a mysterious global cabal determined to use her for as-yet-unknown purposes. She's drawn by a dream to Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites), aka Robin, a newly arrived Detroit police detective determined to put some distance between himself and Gotham City. Initially reluctant, he nevertheless becomes Rachel's accidental guardian, and her defender against the sinister conspiracy swirling around her. He's not the only one, either, as Koriand'r (Anna Diop) is also in search of Rachel, even if she's not sure why.

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Along the way, Titans also introduces Ryan Potter as Garfield Logan, aka Beast Boy, if barely, Hawk and Dove (played by Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly), and a team of not-quite-classic villains that will take even the most devoted comic book fans by surprise (we won't spoil the realization for you).

Although it's unclear whether Hawk and Dove will prove integral to the overarching story or are intended merely to flesh out this fictional world, and Robin's backstory, their introduction in the second episode is welcome. They could've been simply a boyfriend/girlfriend vigilante duo, but Titans instead gives them a complicated relationship with Dick Grayson, and a goal: to make that final big "score," and then hang up their capes before their occupation kills them. We've seen that in countless crime films, but not so much in superhero dramas, and here it feels fresh, and worthy of further exploration.

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Brenton Thwaites as Robin in Titans

By and large, the acting on Titans is fine but not remarkable, on par with DC television dramas like Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl. Thwaites, who's never shown much range in films like Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, Gods of Egypt and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, is well suited for this version of Dick Grayson. He's not the charismatic surrogate brother from the comics, but instead an emotionally detached loner in self-imposed exile from Gotham, struggling with his own (metaphorical) demons as he tries to figure out who he is, outside of Batman's shadow.

Diop's portrayal of Koriand'r in the trailer drew the kind of racist online reaction that's, sadly, become all too common, resulting in the actress disabling comments on her Instagram account. Spoiler alert: The Starfire introduced on Titans isn't a 6-foot-4 orange alien princess (well, that last part has yet to be determined). However, Diop gives a solid performance as a character thrust into an alien situation, unaware of her mission, her abilities or even her own identity, and quickly adapts to the situation, kicking lots of ass along the way.

Anna Diop as Starfire on Titans

The emotional weight of the story falls on 14-year-old Croft, who's remarkably able to convey a Rachel Roth who's a street-smart outsider, a sometimes-fragile girl wanting desperately to be viewed as an adult, and a vessel for a terrible demonic power yearning to be set loose. Although Raven may not be Titans' breakout character -- the safe best is on Beast Boy for that honor -- Croft will undoubtedly deliver the most talked-about performance.

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Strangely, the most distracting element of Titans, the one that's most likely to pull viewers right out of the story, isn't the profanity or the sometimes-brutal violence. It's the incongruous soundtrack. Despite its young cast, fast pace and modern setting, the series falls back on songs like 1970s disco staples "I Feel Love" and "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel." While it could probably be argued that those numbers are used to establish a theme for a specific character, we challenge anyone to explain the choice of "S.O.B." by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, which is a perfectly fine, and relatively contemporary, tune that, nevertheless, has absolutely nothing to do with the scene it accompanies.

In the end, Titans likely isn't the series most comics fans imagined, or hoped for. Its action is frequently bloody; its tone, particularly in the premiere episode, leans into horror, between depictions of demonic possession and Beast Boy's transformation, which is accompanied by the sounds of breaking bones, straight out of An American Werewolf in London. But it's the series they got, and it shows glimmers of promise, as long as the producers can brush away some of more irksome Snyder-esque affectations, and focus on the compelling mystery and the characters it entangles.


Debuting Friday, Oct. 12, on the DC Universe streaming service, Titans stars Brenton Thwaites as Robin, Anna Diop as Starfire, Teagan Croft as Raven, Ryan Potter as Beast Boy, Alan Ritchson as Hawk, Minka Kelly as Dove, and Lindsey Gort as Amy Rohrbach. The series had its world premiere Wednesday at New York Comic Con.