The Dark Titans Is the Exact Thing DC Universe Needs to Survive

It's still early, but DC Comics' Titans, the live-action adaptation of Teen Titans, will likely end up with one of the most talked-about trailers coming out of this year's Comic-Con.

That fact alone is great news for DC Universe, the company's nascent streaming service that plans to offer fans access to a smorgasbord of comic books, classic TV shows and films based on DC characters (Lois & Clark, Batman: The Animated Series, and the Christopher Reeve Supermanfilms, for instance), and new, exclusive original programs.

If the trailer is an accurate representation, Titans will eschew the bright, charming tone of the various Teen Titans adaptations and instead mimic the dark tone and atmosphere of Zach Snyder's DC universe films (notably Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League). The clip sees Dick Grayson aka Robin (Brenton Thwaites) violently attacking criminals and dropping F-bombs in reference to his former mentor, Batman.

While characters like Grayson have been positioned in grim comic stories before, this is not exactly what many fans of the character or Teen Titans had in mind for a live-action series produced by Greg Berlanti, steward of The CW's litany of DC properties. Unsurprisingly then, the response has been, at best, mixed.

But in an increasingly crowded marketplace of niche streaming services, perhaps this approach to Titans -- or at least this type of trailer -- is the perfect thing for DC Universe.

Get all the latest news from Comic-Con 2018!

Though DC owns characters and stories that millions of people love, the economics of modern media consumption indicate that only a fraction of those people will be interested in paying a monthly fee to access DC Universe. The combination of new exclusives and library content from comics to films is a unique idea that could nicely position the service against Disney's impending streaming juggernaut that promises to bring Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars material together.

What DC Universe needs, then, is a dedicated fanbase who will sign up early, and remain subscribers for the long haul. A smaller, passionate subscriber base can make up for a lack of broader uptake. DC's most popular comic series typically sell fewer than 200,000 issues a week. That's a good start.

The Snyder fans -- the type who believe that the only way to treat DC characters seriously is to make their stories as dark and brutal as possible -- are a pre-existing market to attract. While Snyder's vision for the DC universe has not succeeded commercially in a way Warner Bros. executives hoped it would, this vocal segment of the audience appears to be ready to support anything of that ilk.

Titans may not be the "Snyder cut" of Justice League that some of these fans believe still exists somewhere in a DC vault. But a cursing Dick Grayson could be the project that gets DC back in the good graces of Snyder sympathizers. Conversely, the hate for the Titans trailer could just as easily translate into intrigue, with DC loyalists outside the Snyder bubble checking out the show to see just how bleak it could get.

Whether DC should target these fans -- the most vocal of whom have been quite toxic online -- is a conversation worth having. Yet, as a publicity strategy to drum up interest in a new show and a brand new subscription service, the roll out for Titans makes sense. People are talking about DC Universe. Only time will tell if that chatter translates into subscriptions.