But let's talk about Teen Titans!
So, first off this episode was the very first one to air on Cartoon Network I know so MAYBE it should be episode 1 not 3, but WHATEVER. I'm reviewing it now, and after this there won't be any more mix-ups or anything!
It's easy to see why they aired this episode first though, it slowly introduced a few villains, showed us the Titans and their group dynamic, and brought us the ultimate question of season 1:
Who is Slade?
(Slade wasn't named in "Divide and Conquer" which may have been another factor in showing this episode first)
Without further ado let's begin!
It begins with the HIVE academy introducing some minor recurring villains: Gizmo, a kid with a lot of gadgets and bad insults, Jinx, a sorceress with ill-defined powers that bring bad luck, and Mammoth who has super strength (BORING!). (Their number of later appearances pretty much go in that order most to least by the way) Then the video stops and pans out to show a woman trying to advertise the skills of these students to Slade. Slade says he wants to give the agents a final test to see if the students can operate in the real world. His "Final Exam"?
Destroy the Teen Titans.
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| Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth |
As a side note I will NEVER get tired of that song.
Back at the tower (which is a horrific mess) Cyborg and Beast Boy are looking for the remote. As they argue, Raven gets visibly annoyed and joins in arguing with them. Starfire and Robin walk in, apparently Starfire has revealed to Robin what the secret to faster-than-light travel is. Starfire suggestions unhealthy junk foods to mend their debate,
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| Pictured: How adults see teenagers |
When the blue mold starts moving, causing Starfire to scream and blast it to bits, they decide to go out for pizza. Once again, they're bickering like children. Beast boy won't eat meat because according to him "I've BEEN most of those animals!", Starfire suggests strange toppings, that aren't actually toppings. They continue to argue as we pan out to see targets placed over them, the HIVE students have begun their attack.
They lure out the Titans with a runaway bus and a baby carriage. Only the bus had no driver, and there was no baby. After this blows up in their face (literally) the students introduce themselves as "their worst nightmare" and the real fight begins.
Only instead of the Titans beating up these armatures, they're actually pretty good. Gizmo straps a rocket to Cyborg's back which caused him to fly away and Starfire to go chase him down, getting rid of two titans with one...rocket.
Raven and Jinx for some odd reason start fighting hand-to-hand. (Why? I'll never know, they BOTH have powers?) As Raven and Jinx are fighting Gizmo blasts her, leaving only Robin and Beast Boy, who are knocked back by Mammoth. As they start to regroup, Raven and Beast Boy are knocked back. Mammoth opens a hole in the street and throws Robin in.
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| "Is is me? Or are we getting our butts kicked?" ""It's just you!"" 10 seconds later they retreat |
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| There are so many potential jokes for this picture I can't decide which one to type. Also: Can I make fun of this ship? We shall see |
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| Pictured: not so harmless minor recurring villains |
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Luckily before the mood drops any further Robin shows up to get the team organized and back on its feet.
Gizmo decorates, Jinx raids the closets, taking Robin's belt and finding Raven's cloak to be unfashionable Mammoth eats the blue food and utters what I believe might have been his only line: "Tell me about it, all their food is way out of date *shoves blue stuff into his mouth*" I honestly can't recall him speaking at all other than that. Meanwhile Cyborg uses a camera in his finger to remotely control the arm that Gizmo took off, turning on the security systems. Having the upper hand of surprise, they Titans fight to take back their home.
Back in action, the five of them make speedy work of the HIVE students, who foolishly use the exact same strategies instead of adapting to the situation like the Titans. Prepared for their attacks, the HIVE students are defeated. As the three of them are laying in a pile Gizmo mutters that he's calling Slade. Just as Gizmo opens communications, Robin grabs him asks the driving question of this season:
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| And where were you?! No...Seriously... Where the heck did you go for half the episode?! ....This question will never be answered will it? .....Nope. |
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| YES!! THIS SHOW WAS MY CHILDHOOD!!! |
Who is Slade?
Cut to Slade's lair. The lady assures Slade that the students will be disciplined strictly for their failure. Slade reveals that he never expected them to succeed and that he is very pleased with the results. He merely needed messengers, and the message was received. He pulls up several images of Robin all repeating the same question: Who is Slade?
Back at the tower another tragedy has struck! Beast Boy's music has been.... alphabetized. Also, they went into Raven's room! O_O, to make matters worse all of the blue and furry food has been disposed of! However, one good thing came out of all this: They found the remote!
I like how they ended the episode with Robin turning their TV on. Plus we got another adorable group shot of them!
And so begins (...er...continues?), this totally awesome cartoon!
Also about the 'mix-up' the whole truth is that officially this was supposed to be Episode 3, but in North America it aired first. Yes, this was the first episode I saw during the original run, but obviously I don't remember much of the original run because I was like eight years old or something. There will be no more said on this subject.
This episode was much more bleak than I remember it, I honestly didn't recall the Titans getting their butts kicked so bad, but hey, obviously I was hooked all those years back by it or I wouldn't be pathetically reliving my childhood online like this. Also the ending felt a bit rushed when suddenly just because they were fighting together everything went their way. I almost want to point my finger at another 'teamwork' message, but they weren't obvious about it.
Seriously though, does it bother anyone else how these awesome heroes just seem to fall completely apart whenever separated from one member of the team?! Yes, they work better as a team obviously, but come on, can't they work at all without the team?!
Unless this is some kind of intentional subtle foreshadowing or something....? I have no idea, I like to over-think things waaay too often.
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| No, this isn't creepy at all, why do you ask? |
I like how they ended the episode with Robin turning their TV on. Plus we got another adorable group shot of them!
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| They're just like everyone else, But AWESOME |
Also about the 'mix-up' the whole truth is that officially this was supposed to be Episode 3, but in North America it aired first. Yes, this was the first episode I saw during the original run, but obviously I don't remember much of the original run because I was like eight years old or something. There will be no more said on this subject.
This episode was much more bleak than I remember it, I honestly didn't recall the Titans getting their butts kicked so bad, but hey, obviously I was hooked all those years back by it or I wouldn't be pathetically reliving my childhood online like this. Also the ending felt a bit rushed when suddenly just because they were fighting together everything went their way. I almost want to point my finger at another 'teamwork' message, but they weren't obvious about it.
Seriously though, does it bother anyone else how these awesome heroes just seem to fall completely apart whenever separated from one member of the team?! Yes, they work better as a team obviously, but come on, can't they work at all without the team?!
Unless this is some kind of intentional subtle foreshadowing or something....? I have no idea, I like to over-think things waaay too often.
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