2. Abusing The Opportunity For A Shared Universe
The original Teen Titans was on television at the same time as two other DC Comics animated series, Justice League Unlimited (JLU) and The Batman. In order to keep the shows unique, certain limitations were placed on the producers of each series. Batman characters were exclusively used for the Batman, JLU was allowed to use the majority of DC Comics characters and characters specific to the Teen Titans stories were used in that series. This is why we never saw the Titans team up with the Justice League, or why Batman was never mentioned by name in Teen Titans. Essentially, each series was separate from the others, which meant the concept of a shared universe between characters of the same company was not discussed. However, since Teen Titans has gone off the air, animated series such as Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes have showcased a shared universe where essentially any character from a particular company can appear. This change in corporate culture is definitely felt in Teen Titans Go! The characters in this new show now make references to other superheroes such as Aquaman and Superman. Batman & Commissioner Gordon have made a couple of non-speaking cameos, and there was a guest-appearance from the Wonder Twins. An entire episode called "Sidekick" was centered around Robin cave-sitting for Batman. The potential for a greater shared universe is definitely present. However, the producers have yet to take full advantage of this shared universe. Referencing other characters and seeing them is fun, but actually having them interact with the main characters would be more entertaining. The picture above is a perfect example of hidden references thrown into the backgrounds, which shows that the producers are aware of the expanded universe but choose to limit their presence. On this wall of the Batcave is a bust of Mr. Freeze, a copy of the Scarface puppet, a box labelled "Hush Bandages", a container of Renu-yu (which was integral to Clayface's origins in Batman: TAS) and an urn labelled Robin II with a crowbar beside it (a reference to Jason Todd, the second Robin from the comics). That is a lot of subtle callbacks to the comics and previous series. However, more direct inclusion of related characters would be more appropriate than these hidden messages.