Teen Titans Episode 1

Episode 1: "The Monster Machine"

Aqualad tends to get the short end of the trident on the Shrine, so it seemed appropriate to give him some time in the spotlight. Case in point, starting this week we're going to take a look at the Filmation Teen Titans cartoon series, which aired as interstitials during the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (for you younger fans out there: yes, that was a real show).

This first episode opens up simply enough: with a giant robot on a rampage!

Speedy, in between shooting up, is on Teen Titan Monitor Duty (or whatever they call it), and sees the robot rampaging on a viewscreen. He puts out a call to his fellow Titans: Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and...that's it:

The Titans arrive and take on the robot. But its so powerful that it quickly fends them all off, leaving them in a pile. It retreats back into the sea, which is Aqualad's cue to take it on himself (great idea, Garth), only to lead to the young hero caught helpless in the robot's pincers.

The robot then heads down the coast, and the Titans follow. Aqualad frees himself, and they see that the robot comes from a massive alien ship:

The ship seems be controlled by the above supercomputer, which unleashes several robot monsters at the Titans. But this time, they are better prepared, and thanks to some quick thinking (and indestructible Amazonian bracelets), its the robots' turn to be left, defeated, in a pile.

This causes the computer to overload and explode, taking the base with it. The Teen Titans leap into their jet and escape in the nick of time, with Wonder Girl and Aqualad soon making quick departures themselves:

This leaves Kid Flash and Speedy to take the jet home, ready for another adventure. The End!


These Teen Titans shorts were about five minutes long, leaving no time for anything other than the most bare bones plot: a robot attacks, the Titans try to stop it, fail, try again, and win. We never meet the supposed alien invaders, and the Titans don't get the chance to even investigate. The base blows up, let's call it a day!

I remember watching re-runs of these shows as a wee lad, and as much as I loved Aquaman in his own adventures (and I *did* love it), I was also jazzed at seeing such "B" level characters such as Kid Flash and Speedy in animated form. I always thought it was weird Robin didn't participate, but hey that just meant more time for the rest of the Titans!


Fun Fact: Aqualad was played by actor Jerry Dexter, who had a long career both in live action and voice over. In addition to essaying Aqualad on both Teen Titans and Aquaman, he could also be heard on shows like Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Fangface, and Shazzan.