Titans clips hints at new Starfire origins and shows Beast Boy transform

The live-action Titans series releases two clips showing off two of their main characters powering up.

Since the news that a live-action Teen Titans TV series was in the works, fans have been divided. Less so after the trailer dropped, but even now there are some fans who choose to complain whenever a piece of information about the show hits the web. Most of it seems to surround Starfire, from the race of the actress or the quality of her outfit (I’ve seen a lot of people compare her look to that of a hooker) to the CGI of her starbolts; there’s no stopping the hate.

Raven and Beast Boy have also received their fair share of complaints and then there was the polarizing “F**k Batman” line from the trailer, which currently has more dislikes than likes on YouTube. No one is giving Titans a chance, but I think Robin viciously saying you know what about his former mentor was the final nail in the coffin for some.

Based on the “New Teen Titans” comics by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, the series promised to take the heroes in a darker and gritter direction than either of the previous animated adaptations had done, starting with Robin.

Not only are we getting one Robin, but we’re also getting a second one. Both Dick Grayson and Jason Todd will appear in the series and will meet up at some point. The images and trailers promoting the show reveal a darker version of Dick Grayson than what we’re used to, meaning Todd is going to be a blood-thirsty animal.

Grayson was always tough but never excessively so, while Todd is usually considered the more aggressive of the Robins, he did things Grayson would never do and Batman spent a good chunk of their time together trying to cool out the boy’s temper. If the first Robin’s dark side has been amplified, God knows how violent Robin number two will be.

If the show follows the comics, then Todd will die or be presumed dead and become The Red Hood; some good villain material for future seasons.

More from HBO

• Hacks season 3 gets exciting release update: Here’s what we know
• Blue Beetle gets disappointing Max release update
• Friends snags No.1 spot on U.S. streaming services – and we’re not surprised
• Will there be a Steven Universe revival? Rebecca Sugar says “if there’s a huge amount of public demand”
• Industry season 3 is not coming until 2024: Here’s what we know about the release

Getting back to Starfire, the poor girl can’t catch a break. After the release of a couple early Titans set photos, some people (most people) pointed out their dislike for the character’s costume and even before that, some fans found fault with the actress playing her, Anna Diop.

They’re complaints about Diop summed up to, an alien with orange skin shouldn’t be played by an actress of color, even though Starfire is ORANGE. No one is orange except Donald Trump and Willy Wonka’s Oompa Loompas. A blue woman could have played Starfire because she’s literally an alien. Despite the backlash and cruel insults directed towards her on social media, Diop has remained excited about the role and isn’t letting the hate for the character get to her.

Like her teammates, Starfire is getting a darker makeover and a new backstory. In the animated Teen Titans, Starfire was kidnapped from her homeworld of Tamaran to be sold to slavers but escaped and flew down to Earth where she met her teammates. This backstory was taken from the comics but lightened up for the cartoon’s targeted audience. They removed the experimentation, torture, and murder that occurred in the story.

Originally, Starfire/Koriand’r was kidnapped by Psions, a group of sinister alien scientists, and was experimented on in horrific ways. The end result was the ability to harness solar energy that she, and other Tamaraneans could already use for flight, for starbolts.

In some recently released clips about the young heroes, it looks like Titans will follow Starfire’s comic origins instead of making up a new one or adapting the one from Teen Titans. One clip shows Starfire strapped down to a table attached to a breathing tube at the mercy of some maniacal sounding scientists. The clip then cuts to her with the Titans, using her newly developed abilities.

A second clip shows off Garfield “Gar” Logan/Beast Boy’s transformation powers, for which he has to be naked to do. This actually makes sense because for obvious reasons the cartoon couldn’t allow nudity and gave Beast Boy the power to transform with his clothes on. The clip makes it look like he prefers tigers over other animals, as he says “tigers have always been my favorite”, or the studio could only afford one CGI tiger and that’s all we’re going to see him turn into.

The clip also shows some of Beast Boy’s trademark humor fans of the original have come to expect. He cracks jokes, has some smart-aleck remarks, and does what every true fanboy would do, asks Grayson if he can meet Batman. However, I must point out that he’s not green, not at all.

The posters make him green but, in the clips, and trailers his skin is actor Ryan Potter’s normal color. His tiger is green, but not him. I guess they were hoping that the extreme dark color palate would hide this fact, but it’s hard not to notice how a character who’s been colored in posters to look green really isn’t, no matter how bad the lighting is.

The series looks promising and from what we saw, will showcase plenty of reckless violence, everybody likes that.

For anyone still complaining about Starfire’s outfit and her personality no longer being innocently childlike, just take a glimpse at the comics. Starfire was always dressed somewhat suggestively. Oh did I say somewhat? I meant she dressed like she was moments away from dancing on a pole. And she was never an angel. Starfire was tough and violent, a true warrior.

I love the cartoon Starfire too, but if we’re being honest, she was the version who drifted away from the subject matter, not Anna Diop’s.

If the Teen Titans animated series hadn’t been so beloved, this new show would probably be highly anticipated. Unfortunately, everyone is comparing it to the cartoon. I think to watch Titans, or enjoy it, we’re going to have to let go of our childhood Titans. Or at least acknowledge that they’re separate because I think it’s clear that the two teams have nothing in common other than their name and members, minus Cyborg (where is he anyway?)

Titans will premiere on the streaming service, DC Universe on October 12.