Titans Vs. Arrowverse: Which Is Better?

It's hard to think of a time when there were more superheroes on TV. While that could be down to our inherent love for these crime-fighting vigilantes, it could also be attributed to the birth of perhaps the greatest shared universe in television history - the Arrowverse.

Arrow's arrival on The CW in 2012 undoubtedly changed things up for the better, with its success leading to the network commissioning multiple spin-offs. Now, six years later, all four of the Arrowverse shows (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC's Legends of Tomorrow) continue to go from strength to strength.

However, the superhero landscape was once again shaken up earlier this year with the debut of DC's Titans. Despite getting off to a questionable start, the show managed to turn things around quite quickly, delivering one of the finest debut TV seasons in recent memory. It set itself apart from the Arrowverse by being dark, violent and incredibly mature, and in doing so, it has successfully launched its very own shared universe, with spin-off, Doom Patrol arriving in February.

With the first season of Titans now complete, it presents us with an opportunity to see how the newcomer stacks up to the veteran shows of the Arrowverse.

While there are similarities, each of the Arrowverse shows have their own unique tones. The Flash and Supergirl are at their best when they're upbeat, fun and full of hope as they reflect their respective superheroes. Arrow is renowned for being the moody parent of the Arrowverse - it's a little darker than the rest and occasionally ups the violence, but does so without ever going too far to alienate the casual viewer. Meanwhile, Legends of Tomorrow's tone is intentionally ambiguous: it's slapstick, in-your-face, dramatic and outrageous - all of which embodies the show at its best.

They haven't always got it right and, at times, have steered too far away from their recognisable tones, but on a whole, each show knows exactly who its appealing to and, as a result, their similar but different approaches suit them perfectly.

Titans, on the other hand, wasn't always so sure. In the beginning, it was all over the place - adopting a gritty mature tone while attempting to appeal to a teen audience with all its angst and broodiness. As a result, violence was gratuitous and swearing was thrown in just for the hell of it. It tried too hard to be edgy and failed altogether.

After a full season, Titans has finally found its groove, maintaining a mature tone without getting too angsty, but that isn't enough to compete with the fact that almost all Arrowverse shows found theirs much quicker and have (mostly) stuck by what works since.

Winner: Arrowverse