Teen Titans follows five young heroes who live in a giant T-shaped tower on an island off Jump City. They fight supervillains, argue about pizza toppings, and deal with problems that range from goofy to genuinely dark, sometimes in the same episode. The show mixes Western superhero storytelling with an anime-influenced look, including exaggerated "chibi" reaction shots, and has a theme song performed by the Japanese pop duo Puffy AmiYumi.
Developed by Glen Murakami for Cartoon Network and based on the DC Comics team, the series ran for five seasons from 2003 to 2006, followed by the TV film Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. Each season focuses on one Titan and one major villain. In 2013 the same characters returned in the comedy spin-off Teen Titans Go!, which is now better known to younger viewers. This page focuses on the original series, with a section on how Go! changes everyone.
- Developed by
- Glen Murakami
- Network
- Cartoon Network
- Run
- 2003–2006, five seasons
- Film
- Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006)
- Spin-off
- Teen Titans Go! (2013 onward)
The five Titans
The core team is a classic five-person ensemble: the leader, the heart, the loner, the joker and the big guy. The show's trick is giving each one a full season that breaks open that label.
Robin
Team leader
Robin is the founder and leader of the Titans and the only one without superpowers, relying on martial arts, gadgets and a bo staff. He's disciplined, driven and prone to obsession, especially where Slade is concerned. He's trying to prove himself outside the shadow of his old mentor, who the show only hints is Batman. Season one is largely his story, and his feelings for Starfire run through the whole series.
- Voice
- Scott Menville
Starfire
Princess of Tamaran
Starfire is an alien princess who escaped slavery and crash-landed on Earth in the first episode. She can fly, has superhuman strength and fires green starbolts powered by her emotions. She's warm, generous and baffled by Earth customs, which the show plays for comedy without making her foolish. Her bond with Robin and her conflicts with her sister Blackfire give her the most romantic storylines.
- Voice
- Hynden Walch
Raven
Half-demon sorceress
Raven is a quiet, sarcastic empath raised in the peaceful dimension of Azarath. She controls dark energy and can teleport, but she has to keep her emotions in check because her powers react to them. The reason is her father: Trigon, a demon who conceived her to be the gateway for his invasion of Earth. Season four is about the Titans refusing to give up on her.
- Voice
- Tara Strong
Beast Boy
Shapeshifter
Beast Boy is a green-skinned teenager who can transform into any animal. He's the team's joker, a vegetarian and a video-game addict, constantly trying to make Raven laugh. He was a member of another hero team, the Doom Patrol, and his heart gets broken by Terra in season two. Season five, against the Brotherhood of Evil, puts him in the lead.
- Voice
- Greg Cipes
Cyborg
Half-human, half-robot
Cyborg was injured and rebuilt with cybernetic parts, which give him great strength and a sonic cannon in his arm. He's the team's engineer, built the T-Car and Titans Tower's systems, and is Beast Boy's best friend and video-game rival. Season three sends him undercover at the HIVE Academy and asks whether he's more person or machine. His trademark cheer is "Booyah!"
- Voice
- Khary Payton
Villains
Teen Titans had a strong roster of villains, from season-defining threats to comic recurring nuisances. The big ones each target a specific Titan.
Slade
Criminal mastermind
Slade is a masked strategist who speaks softly, never rushes and always seems to be several steps ahead. He's obsessed with recruiting an apprentice, and in season one he forces Robin into the role by threatening his friends. In season two he corrupts Terra instead. He returns in season four in Trigon's service. The show keeps his comic-book name, Deathstroke, off screen, but he's one of the most admired cartoon villains of the 2000s.
- Voice
- Ron Perlman
Trigon
Raven's demon father
Trigon is an enormous, four-eyed demon lord who wants to use Raven as a portal to conquer Earth. He's the most powerful enemy in the series, and the season four finale, where the world has already ended, is the show at its most apocalyptic.
- Voice
- Kevin Michael Richardson
Brother Blood
Headmaster of the HIVE Academy
Brother Blood runs a school for young supervillains and has mind-control powers. He's the main villain of season three, and his rivalry with Cyborg, who infiltrates his school, gets very personal.
- Voice
- John DiMaggio
The Brain
Leader of the Brotherhood of Evil
A disembodied brain in a robotic casing who leads the Brotherhood of Evil, a global alliance of villains, in season five. His aides include the gorilla Monsieur Mallah and the shapeshifter Madame Rouge.
- Voice
- Glenn Shadix
Blackfire
Starfire's older sister
Blackfire is a charming, selfish Tamaranean criminal who visits Earth and immediately steals her sister's spotlight and her friends, then frames her for her own crimes. Her episodes are some of the most personal for Starfire.
- Voice
- Hynden Walch
Jinx
HIVE leader · Hex magic
Jinx is a pink-haired sorceress who casts bad luck, and the leader of the HIVE Five. She's one of the Titans' most frequent opponents until Kid Flash convinces her she could be a hero instead. Her turn in season five is one of the show's most satisfying villain-to-hero arcs.
- Voice
- Lauren Tom
Gizmo
HIVE technician
A tiny, bald, insult-spewing genius with a mechanical backpack full of weapons. He's a funny, obnoxious foil for Cyborg.
- Voice
- Lauren Tom
Mammoth
HIVE muscle
Mammoth is the HIVE's huge, shaggy strongman, the brute-force member of a team that usually loses anyway. The HIVE Five later expands with See-More, Billy Numerous and Kyd Wykkyd.
- Voice
- Kevin Michael Richardson
Mad Mod
Swinging-London villain
A self-obsessed old Briton who traps the Titans in a hypnotic, 1960s-styled school of his own design. He's one of the show's best comic villains.
- Voice
- Malcolm McDowell
Control Freak
Pop-culture nerd
An overweight fanboy who uses a magic remote control to bring TV and movies to life. He's a gentle parody of obsessive fandom, and the Titans rarely take him seriously.
Red X
Masked thief
Robin creates the Red X identity to get close to Slade, but the suit is later stolen by an unknown thief, who uses it for his own ends. The thief's identity is never revealed.
Allies and Terra
Terra
Geokinetic · Former Titan
Terra is a runaway who can move earth but can't fully control her powers. Beast Boy falls for her and the team takes her in, but she's been working for Slade the whole time. Her betrayal, her return to the Titans' side and her sacrifice at the end of season two make her one of the most tragic characters in the show. The series finale gives her a brief, ambiguous coda.
- Voice
- Ashley Johnson
Kid Flash
Speedster
Kid Flash is a fast-talking speedster who flirts with Jinx while foiling her robberies, then helps her choose a different path. He's a fun, confident guest who fits easily into the team.
- Voice
- Michael Rosenbaum
The Doom Patrol
Beast Boy's old team
An older, grimmer hero team led by Mento, with Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and Robotman. Beast Boy grew up with them, and their arrival in season five shows how much he's grown since.
Honorary Titans and Titans East
Over the series the team recruits a network of young heroes around the world, all given Titan communicators. Season three introduces Titans East, a second team based in Steel City.
Aqualad
Titans East
An underwater hero who can talk to sea creatures. He's calm and a little smug, and Raven shows rare interest in him.
- Voice
- Wil Wheaton
Speedy
Titans East
An archer modelled on Green Arrow's sidekick, and a competitive mirror for Robin.
Bumblebee
Titans East leader
A confident hero who shrinks and stings. She was a double agent inside the HIVE, then leads the East team.
Más y Menos
Twin speedsters
Spanish-speaking twins who only get their super-speed while holding hands. Their dependence on each other is the joke and the point.
Argent, Hot Spot, Pantha and more
Honorary Titans
Dozens of young heroes join the fight against the Brotherhood in season five, including Argent, Hot Spot, Pantha, Herald, Jericho, Kole and Gnarrk, Thunder and Lightning, and Wildebeest.
Silkie
Starfire's pet
A mutant larva Starfire adopts after the Titans defeat Killer Moth. He eats almost anything and she adores him.
Teen Titans voice cast
All five leads returned for Teen Titans Go!, which is one reason the spin-off still feels connected to the original.
| Character | Voice actor | Also known for |
|---|---|---|
| Robin | Scott Menville | Voice work in many DC animated series |
| Starfire, Blackfire | Hynden Walch | Princess Bubblegum in Adventure Time |
| Raven | Tara Strong | The Powerpuff Girls, My Little Pony |
| Beast Boy | Greg Cipes | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) |
| Cyborg | Khary Payton | The Walking Dead |
| Slade | Ron Perlman | Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy |
| Terra | Ashley Johnson | Ellie in The Last of Us (game), Critical Role |
| Trigon, Mammoth | Kevin Michael Richardson | Prolific voice actor |
| Brother Blood | John DiMaggio | Jake in Adventure Time |
| Jinx, Gizmo | Lauren Tom | Futurama, King of the Hill |
| Kid Flash | Michael Rosenbaum | Smallville |
| Aqualad | Wil Wheaton | Star Trek: The Next Generation |
| Mad Mod | Malcolm McDowell | A Clockwork Orange |
How the characters differ in Teen Titans Go!
Teen Titans Go! began in 2013 and has run for many seasons on Cartoon Network. It keeps the names, costumes and voices, but rebuilds each personality as a comic exaggeration. Fans of the original sometimes find the change jarring; younger viewers often meet the characters here first.
Teen Titans (2003)
- Robin — a capable, serious leader with an obsessive streak.
- Starfire — sweet and naive about Earth, but a strong fighter.
- Raven — reserved, carrying a heavy destiny.
- Beast Boy — the joker, with real heartbreak underneath.
- Cyborg — the steady big brother of the group.
Teen Titans Go! (2013–)
- Robin — an insecure, bossy leader the others mostly ignore.
- Starfire — sweet with a startlingly violent side.
- Raven — deadpan, secretly obsessed with a cutesy pony show.
- Beast Boy and Cyborg — an inseparable pair of lazy goofballs.
- Tone — short, absurd episodes with little continuity.
The two versions meet in the 2019 film Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans, which treats the difference as a joke. There's also a theatrical film, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018).
All Teen Titans character names A–Z
A–B
- Aqualad — Titans East
- Argent — honorary Titan
- Beast Boy — Titan
- Blackfire — villain
- The Brain — Brotherhood of Evil
- Brother Blood — HIVE Academy
- Bumblebee — Titans East
C–G
- Cinderblock — villain
- Control Freak — villain
- Cyborg — Titan
- Doctor Light — villain
- Gizmo — HIVE Five
H–K
- Hot Spot — honorary Titan
- Jericho — honorary Titan
- Jinx — HIVE Five
- Kid Flash — ally
- Killer Moth — villain
M
- Mad Mod — villain
- Madame Rouge — Brotherhood of Evil
- Mammoth — HIVE Five
- Más y Menos — Titans East
- Mento — Doom Patrol
- Monsieur Mallah — Brotherhood of Evil
- Mumbo — villain
P–R
- Pantha — honorary Titan
- Plasmus — villain
- Raven — Titan
- Red X — thief
- Robin — Titan leader
S–T
- Silkie — Starfire's pet
- Slade — villain
- Speedy — Titans East
- Starfire — Titan
- Terra — former Titan
- Trigon — villain
What the characters are about
Underneath the jokes, Teen Titans is about being a teenager with too much power and not enough guidance. There are almost no adults in the show. The Titans have to figure out leadership, trust, betrayal and identity on their own, and each season tests one of them:
- Season 1 — Robin and his obsession with Slade.
- Season 2 — Terra and Beast Boy, a story about trust and betrayal.
- Season 3 — Cyborg and Brother Blood.
- Season 4 — Raven and Trigon.
- Season 5 — Beast Boy and the Brotherhood of Evil.
That season-by-season focus makes it a textbook ensemble cast. For the comic-book versions of these heroes, see our DC Comics characters guide, and for more on Slade's breed of patient, manipulative bad guy, see villain types. Fans of serialised action cartoons from the same era usually also love Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the five main Teen Titans?
Robin, the team leader; Starfire, an alien princess from Tamaran; Raven, a half-demon empath; Beast Boy, a green shapeshifter; and Cyborg, a half-human, half-machine powerhouse. They live together in Titans Tower in Jump City.
Who is the main villain in Teen Titans?
Slade, a masked criminal mastermind, is the main villain of seasons one and two and returns in season four. Each season also has its own focus: Brother Blood in season three, Raven's father Trigon in season four and the Brotherhood of Evil in season five.
Who voices Raven and Robin?
Tara Strong voices Raven and Scott Menville voices Robin. Hynden Walch voices Starfire, Greg Cipes voices Beast Boy and Khary Payton voices Cyborg. All five reprised their roles in Teen Titans Go!
Is Robin in Teen Titans Dick Grayson?
The show never says his name or shows him unmasked. It does hint strongly that he's Dick Grayson, Batman's first partner, most clearly in a time-travel episode where a future version of him has become Nightwing.
What happened to Terra in Teen Titans?
Terra joins the Titans in season two but is secretly working for Slade. She betrays the team, then turns against Slade in the season finale and sacrifices herself to save the city, ending up encased in stone. The series never fully resolves what happens to her afterwards.
What's the difference between Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!?
Teen Titans (2003–2006) is an action series with serious season-long stories. Teen Titans Go! (2013 onward) uses the same characters and voice actors in a fast, absurd comedy with short episodes and almost no continuity. The two even meet in the 2019 film Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans.