Hello there heroes, sidekicks, villains, civilians, and other members of the DC Universe community. With everything going on outside in reality, I hope you are all staying safe. It is a challenging time, but I know that we can get through this challenging time. Today, I am making this post to help talk about a problem that I have come across with my own eyes that needs to be addressed. As by the title and the photo that I uploaded for the purpose of this blog, I have to make my points come across abundantly clear.
Whether it was talking with friends in person, or having a conversation in a group with a bunch of strangers in a messaging app. I have found that some of these individuals have refused to watch certain DC shows as of late do to one thing. The characters that are used in the show, are not the ones that they grew up watching from the television show. Now, hearing their opinions I can see why they would be upset with it, because they grew up with seeing certain characters that they watched. Listening to their point of view is key as it makes you see where they are coming from. For me I will save my commentary on a certain show in the end, that did it so well and it showed how things can be done accordingly.
I will start with the show Titans, as it has gone on to be a well done show in some cases. Yes, there are head scratching decisions that I will not get into in terms of storytelling. As I mentioned in the messaging app that I have used talking in a group full of total strangers, that I found a handful of people who prefer DC comics. So, two people who shall keep name as Person A one does not have this app in their country, and Person B does not have the funds to use another streaming app service. Person A watched the first three episodes of Titans via Netflix, but they already had their doubts with the show with the lighting, character portrayals, CGI, how the characters looked, and the casting of one character that was already criticized from the online community. I think we all know which character this is that I am talking about. Person A made it to episode three from season one, and they had enough. With that in mind, I had to explain the rest of seasons one and two to them. Person B is the more interesting one, because of who is in the show for one. I told the lineup, and the person asked me “Where is Cyborg in the show?” and i explained that Cyborg is not in Titans. This made the person highly upset, as I could just feel the tone change and disappointment from them. I was met with the “Well, I see no point in watching this show now, because there is no Cyborg in the show.”. Which surprised me, and I had to explain how the show was being done differently. Now, I did mention that Earth 9 had a version of the Doom Patrol, where Beast Boy is living Robot Ma, Negative Man, Elastigirl, and The Chief. I made the point clear, as both individuals were interested to know why was there is a character who is supposed to be in the show not in it. I brought up how this is an alternate universe, and how the storytelling is a lot more different. I made the point, that I would have liked to see Cyborg in the show myself.I will say that this is a common problem with so many of us who grew up watching Teen Titans or reading some of the comic books that had Cyborg in it. However, I remember doing a deep dive and disliking the fact that the show Teen Titans did not use the real original line up. That being Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash, Donna Troy, and Robin as the five. They could have added Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg down the line to the main cast later on like the Justice League animated series into Justice League Unlimited. They both agreed that this should have been done in order to help Teen Titans get out of the stagnation bit. Now, I explained that Titans does do a better job where they incorporate three characters that have never really gotten any noticeable screen time in other DC shows. Neither of them were all that familiar with Donna Troy as Wonder Girl, and I found that to be a bit shocking. Seeing Donna Troy finally get some much deserved screen time is a big thing, Hawk and Dove have been in shows before, but this is a different overall presentation. Person B understands the aspect, and I get the feeling of they have a certain expectation in terms of quality. Yes, I do explain Titans is a mature show and it might not vibe well with some people.
It drives to the point that yes, they understand that DC is known for it’s gritty, dark, and mature nature at times. However, having a show like Titans with a n M rating is a bit of a stretch, and I tended to agree on that this show could have been a PG - 13 rating for the most part. You can still make Titans more enjoyable, but not do the overdue do it to a point where there is a lot of dead air at times. Both of them could see where the show could be well served, if they had a bit more fan service. Person A’s main criticism had to do with Beast Boy’s design and I can agree with that. We have seen Beast Boy’s appearance in the comic books, along with Young Justice and Teen Titans be fully green. Yes, in Young Justice he is a celebrity in season three and the public is fine with that and I can see that if you are trying to make a noticeable character that has fans. You should be making that character more like their comic book selves. This person made the comment that if cosplayers are doing a better job than the creators of the show then it’s a problem.
Moving onto the show Doom Patrol, and I will admit this my first real exposure to the Doom Patrol was in the Teen Titans show. Now, when I first heard about the show being made I had little to no interest in watching the show. I did not read any Doom Patrol comic books, but watching the show has made me a fan of them. Doing some deep diving whether it was watching videos on YouTube, reading reviews about the show, and some research about the characters. The wild side of the Doom Patrol, is what intrigued me as I liked the different take where as the Justice League is more to protect humanity, the Teen Titans are are able to do their part on a smaller scale at times, and I see the Doom Patrol as the outcasts. They are really like the odd team out, and that is not a pun on the team overall; admittedly I am still trying to get more information on them. Seeing that Doom Patrol was in Titans, but then I see that both shows are not in the same universe thanks to doing some research and hearing about the Crisis on Infinite Earths promo showing that both Titans and Doom Patrol, along with Swamp Thing are all on different Earths. Swamp Thing, I can understand that being on a different scope whereas I think putting Doom Patrol on the same Earth on with Titans would have been good. Person A was interested in watching Doom Patrol via Netflix, but where they line there is no Doom Patrol on Netflix over their. Person A relies on Rotten Tomatoes to see the rating for Doom Patrol, and I am fine with that. Doom Patrol has a a rating of 96% which gives individual a side of hope. I do tell them that the character development in the show is rather well done, and you can actually feel sympathy towards these once normal people who were in good positions of making a living with the exception of Crazy Jane.
We get the Person B’s questions, along with their opinion and this is what they have said to me .“Why is Beast Boy not in the show?”, “Beast Boy should be in Doom Patrol as he is like a founding member though he is like a son/ nephew to the team”, “Cyborg should not be in the Doom Patrol”, “Mento not being in it is also a problem for me and makes me less likely to watch it now.”. Granted, I explained who is in it, and who is not without giving any spoilers in particular. They both have applauded the production value that Doom Patrol offers, as it gives off a bit of a movie vibe in a nutshell. Person B has their justified reasons to be upset about how the show is being run differently, and I do not doubt that there are people in this community that do not agree with the the heroes being used. That is fine, but I will note that taking an open minded approach to this show should be good. Yes, I watched Doom Patrol earlier this year and i loved it from start to finish. I am excited to see what season two has to offer in terms of making the characters fight something bigger.
Giving Person B’s aspect, I do think there is room to be open to a different take. This is where I had a good point to have a discussion about how things could be different. I made a point that if the main members of the Justice League (Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, and whatever variation you choose to use for either Aquaman of one of the Hawks) all perished for some unknown reason and they picked the new leaders. If it was Nightwing, Zatanna, Booster Gold, Black Canary, Fire, Vibe, Shazam, and Vixen being heralded as the new Justice League leaders would there be a problem with it? Obviously, I think there would be a fifty - fifty split on this roster where some may change out a handful of members in order to make it look strong. I added to the point that you can still have the Justice League without the founding members. Yes, it will be different but the Justice League is more than just those certain individuals. Personally, I would view it as a going a different route to see how these members would interact with one another to make things more interesting.
So, here is the question that I will pose to all you in this community. Why do you think that some people are not giving certain shows a chance, aside from going away from the source material? This is an interesting point, and it can lead to controversy at times. True, we can not change people’s opinions on how they are, and there is a lot of that going on in today’s world. For me I am more open to the idea of having different ways to have a show portray out, we are seeing it happen with Stargirl in all honesty. A different approach is never bad , as I see it happening more with DC at times. To all the members of DC Universe, sound off in the comments section below on what you think about this overall subject matter. Anyway, thank you for reading and look up in the sky to see who is flying over your city.
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