DC’s Titans has finally hit their streaming service and we are ready to give you our thoughts on the first episode. Expectations were high for DC Universe’s first original series, despite the underwhelming first trailer. Do they do the Teen Titans justice? Not just yet but they will get there.

For the first time, we are now seeing the iconic Teen Titans characters in live-action, but this isn’t a direct adaptation from the source material. They have taken a lot of liberties with the show to ground it into reality and provide a much darker version of these heroes. It makes for an intriguing journey, to say the least, but it is one I’m more than happy to stay along for the ride. They have managed to take these characters in a much different direction yet still remain faithful to their personalities.

To start off with, the pacing of the show is one of its biggest strengths. They take their time to introduce each Titans member with their own storyline yet everything connects to each other in a natural way. Dick Grayson, Raven, and Starfire get the spotlight for the pilot and I think they do everyone justice (for the most part). The action is well choreographed and entertaining, but there is some over-editing that gets in the way of the fight sequences. Still, Robin looks amazing in those scenes and he is quite honestly movie-quality when it comes to the suit.

When it comes to super-powered characters like Raven and Starfire, the visual effects are a mixed bag for me. On one hand, Starfire looks fantastic and her powers are shown without a hitch while Raven has to deal with sub-par quality effects. It should be noted that Raven’s powers aren’t exactly accurate to the comics as they have taken a more horror-driven route, but I ended up enjoying it nonetheless. The same could be said for most of the show as it is very apparent DC is taking Titans seriously and wants the show to seem believable for everyone.

One of the biggest takeaways I think people will have from this episode is how much liberty they have taken with the canon. It is obvious they are willing to change things up to suit the more cinematic version they’re going for and it works most of the time. One of the biggest changes they’ve made is Starfire, but I ended up loving it. Yes, she is the eccentric alien everyone knows and loves, yet she has a very mature quality to her. Anna Diop is fantastic in the role and brings a mixture of quirkiness and badassery that works on every level. She may not have her typical suit yet but they had to make this character grounded and believable.

My main complaint is Raven’s story in the show. She is in the episode a lot, but I still don’t feel the connection I have already made with Robin and Starfire. The show relies on her storyline to connect bring the Titans together but I don’t think it was as fleshed out as it should have been. I’m very confident they will reveal more about what exactly is happening with her but I would have liked more context. With all the being said, I am still looking forward to her character and I thought Teagan Croft’s performance was fine.

Although not groundbreaking, DC Universe’s first original series offers up a unique take on the Teen Titans that makes for an entertaining ride. It has its flaws, but the positive outweighs the negative. Robin is great, Starfire is fantastic, and Raven has an interesting enough introduction for me to look forward to her. I’m anticipating the next episodes to see how the show handles even more characters and stories. Hawk and Dove, who weren’t even mentioned in the pilot, get the spotlight next week.

Rating: 8/10

DC’s Titans is now available on DC Universe.