Titans starter kit: Everything to know before watching

People in the United States who subscribe to the DC Universe have had the luxury of logging in every Friday to watch the latest Titans episode. However, as of November 11, Titans will be released internationally on Netflix.

Don’t worry, this is a spoiler-free guide to the Titans series, so you can read on without fear.

After months of international fans side-eyeing U.S. DC Universe subscribers who got to experience the Titans series when it debuted on the streaming service in October, Titans is finally coming to international fans. As Variety reports, Titans will be available on Netflix to fans outside of the U.S. and China starting on Jan. 11.

If you canceled your Netflix subscription after Daredevil was prematurely annexed from the streaming service, you might want to reinstate it so you can binge-watch Titans. And since you have about a month to prepare for the show’s international premiere on Netflix, we curated a character guide and Teen Titans related reading, so you can familiarize or re-familiarize yourself with Dick, Kory, Garfield, Rachel, and the various other character’s you’ll meet in the live-action series.

While you don’t need to read any of the Teen Titans-related DC Comics runs or memorize their on-screen character cards to follow along with the show, watching and reading affiliated media can help you get hyped for the series plus get acquainted with each character’s canon personalities.

Here’s all the hype-fuel you need for Titans‘ Netflix release next month:

Kory Anders

From the first episode of Titans, be prepared for Anna Diop and her character, Kory Anders (i.e. Starfire), to steal the show and your heart. Beyond becoming enamored by Diop’s portrayal of Kory, Titans’ version of Starfire is the same unabashedly protective heart of the Titans team who we all fell in love when we first got into the Teen Titan comic fandom.

Rachel Roth

Titans changes Raven’s origin story a little bit. Without giving too much away, the central plot points in Rachel Roth’s narrative pay homage to her comic book counterpart. However, Rachel’s character development throughout the series is one of the many highlights on Titans.

Dick Grayson

Given Titans relies on Dick Grayson’s relationships with all too familiar Titan faces, the series naturally follows Dick’s life as a vigilante, hero, and somewhat functional average citizen. Seemingly, the show follows Dick’s narrative immediately after he disbands from the BatFam. Along with his character’s journey, expect a healthy amount of DC character references.

Garfield Logan

You’ve probably already noticed from the promo images and clips that Garfield isn’t always green like in the comics, but we’re honestly onboard with that decision. After you start watching the series, you will be too.

In the series, we get a brief glimpse of Gar’s backstory and his character evolves tremendously throughout the show. Just be forewarned, you’ll want to keep some tissues on standby for certain moments in his story arch. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

Cameos and featurettes

From Hank and Don Hall to Dawn, Jason Todd, the Doom Patrol, and even Wonder Girl herself, Titans includes a barrage of related Titans characters. These aren’t contextual spoilers, seeing as these characters are featured in the title of their respective episodes.

Some episodes, like the “Doom Patrol” episode, are obviously there to connect the Titans universe with the upcoming Doom Patrol series (and concurrently tease viewers for the next team of heroes). Thus other character cameos could hint are potential spin-offs as well. Or at least we hope they do.

The show might center around family, but it isn’t a family show

Sorry, if you’re planning on watching Titans with your younger siblings or your young child, you might want to hold off. Beyond the recurring violence, there are some upsetting scenes in specific episodes, such as drug and alcohol abuse, and child abuse.

If you still want to share the Titans fun with your family, episode 4/“Doom Patrol” is a relatively stand-alone episode that viewers don’t need a lot of context on the characters to follow along, and there’s very minimal violence in the episode. (There is a fair amount of cursing though.)

Supplemental reading

Obviously, Titans has its own self-sustaining continuity and narrative; however, all of the characters share canon traits, personalities, and quips with their comic iterations. If you want to brush up on the comic fandom or just need a relevant outline to contain your eagerness for the series to drop on Netflix, we have some Teen Titans-related comic suggestions:

• The Titans (1999)
• Teen Titans (1966)
• Teen Titans (2003)
• Starfire (2015)
• Raven (2016)
• Grayson (2014)
• Tales of the Teen Titans (1985)
• Teen Titans: Rebirth (2016)

There is a myriad of specific comic issues that relate to each specific character in Titans season 1 as well as the Titans team in general. However, you don’t necessarily need to read any of the comics to prep for the appearance of on-screen characters or to understand their story arch.

Seeing as the writers and showrunners behind Titans crafted each on-screen character to pay homage to the root of each hero while exploring unique aspects of their character development, the series is a self-sustaining apart from the comics.

While you likely already started rewatching the Teen Titans animated series from the early 2000s or even Teen Titans Go, DC Universe’s Titans is a much more gritty and gruesome version of the Titans-affiliated series you’ve already watched.

Whether you reread your favorite issues from DC Comics or you binge-watch the cast’s interviews about their characters, there is a lot of Titans-related media to help you become an even bigger fanatic of Gar, Dick, Kory, and Rachel.