Why TEEN TITANS GO! Is A Necessary Evil We Must Embrace

The original Teen Titans ranks above Batman: The Animated Series in influential superhero shows I watched growing up. That's a bold statement that will no doubt instantly piss a few of you off and send you right to the comment section, but I stand my ground. Unlike Batman, which at my age of 6 felt a little too scary or intense for my child life, Teen Titans came along right in line with 13-year-old me, and I was instantly in love.

Superhero teens? Unrequited love? Goofball humor? Drama? American show with anime tropes in the height of the Toonami era? Truly it was a show perfect for its time. Furthermore, it was a departure from Bruce Timm's style of story telling. Seriously: watch a random episode of Justice League/Young Justice/Superman/Batman and you'll quickly realize the plots are pretty formulaic and cookie cutter (as in, one plot in one episode could just as easily be for another show) in terms of story.

Sadly the ride came to an end after five seasons and the world would not hear from the Teen Titans crew until an exciting announcement was made in 2013. TEEN TITANS WAS GETTING A REBOOT?! WITH THE ORIGINAL VOICE CAST?! SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!! Then it premiered.

And the geek community collectively shook its head in disbelief.

Teen Titans Go! is not the Teen Titans you remember. It never will be, and while that's not awesome for us, it is awesome for our future.

What are the geek kids today watching? Marvel does well by geek kids with Star Wars shows, Avengers, Hulk, Spider-Man, and no doubt under the guidance of Disney, has it together! Other than that, the geek kids you know may enjoy some Adventure Time (which isn't really geeky but has been implemented into hipster geek culture) or Steven Universe (which is super geeky and I'm all about it), or they are watching some loud ass YouTube personality stream a game for hours on end.

Teen Titans Go! is really the only outlet young children have for DC superhero shows. This show will ultimately be the gateway to the future geeks discovering the broader and more serious mythos that is the DC Universe — for better or worse.

You may be sitting here thinking "why the f*** do I care about shows catering to kids, I don't have kids, f*** kids." Here's why you should care.

We live in a spoiled time for geeks. Cons are at an all-time high, it's trendy to be weird, and movies and shows are flying out left and right. EVER WONDER WHY? Because being "geek" promotes consumerism, and as long as being geek means companies are getting paid, we are going to continue to be told it's cool to be geeky.

There are a few money whales in the geek community. We all have that friend who can't pay rent but will drop a cool $500 on a limited collector's item...but the real cash cow of the geek community? You guessed it...kids. You may have bought a Skylander or two...but little Timmy down the block got a set of 40 for Christmas. He also has a full Captain America costume, shield, and Hulk Hands because sometimes he feels dangerous. Kids are what makes geek culture viable and marketable to the masses.

So what happens if Teen Titans Go! was made super serious for young to older adults?! The kids get nothing, and we risk a future generation of geeks who potentially give a f*** less what Batman does or *gasp* think he's stupid. Could you imagine that?

Geeks would eventually settle back into a taboo subculture, causing less people to go to cons, causing cons to fold, causing cosplayers to go back to being strippers (kidding, but you know who you are), and big name directors to jump ship to the next big genre. It's hard to believe now, but it's the life lived before this renaissance we've only recently grown accustomed to, and I don't want to go back to that...none of us do.

Here's where the, dare I say, genius comes in of Teen Titans Go! TTG is not only a goofy show with geek references, but it's a geeky show that celebrates and encourages geek culture (and makes constant references if you didn't notice the top image). Robin is the desperate loner looking for recognition, Star Fire is the clueless socialite who's obliviousness leads to awkward situations, and Raven is a MLP fan for crying out loud. They are all geeks, and no one looks down on them for it! "Well duh," you sigh as you return to typing your counter statement in the comments, but if you don't remember being a kid, all these things are not okay. In fact, many other forms of media portray kids with these traits as weird, annoying, and "dweebs."

It ain't easy being a geek kid. We know it all too well. Cartoons like this kept me sane when kids thought I was weird and talking about them revealed more friends who shared my interests. In short, it helped me evolve into an extroverted geek as opposed to a quiet shy kid who wished he could be as athletic as Robin so he wouldn't suck at sports. Showing these kids now that geek culture is a normal(ish) and healthy(ish) hobby to pursue now conditions them and us for a more comfortable and brighter future.

"BUT I STILL LOVE GEEK CARTOONS, MICK!"

Of course you do, but the truth is we geek adults really don't need superhero cartoons right now. We live in a time where there are 5 live action superhero dramas in production for next season. These are our new cartoons. The animated superhero drama, while still nice occasionally, has essentially become obsolete in this transition. While I miss the height of the Bruce Timm animation era, I welcome the fact that we now get an entirely adult series for our heroes without the guise of a "for kids" feel to it.

And if you're feeling nostalgic, the internet is more than capable of allowing you to remember the glory days.

Currently TTG sits at a higher episode count than its predecessor, and is on track for a third season. Kids love it, and you don't have to...but don't trash talk it to them. Let them love it. Our future depends on it.