Crime
Task
Max’s newest release, Task, takes audiences to task with a slow-burn storyline involving graphic violence, nudity and crude language.
The Titans—Robin, Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy, Superboy, Krypto and Nightwing—are a team of metahuman superheroes who have sworn to protect the universe from all manner of bad guys and cataclysmic events.
But not every tale has a happy ending.
Robin (aka Dick Grayson, Batman’s original protégé) first formed the group five years ago alongside Donna Troy (Wonder Girl), Hank Hall (Hawk), Dawn Granger (Dove) and Garth Curry (Aqualad).
Unfortunately, superpowered heroes tend to draw the attention (and hatred) of superpowered villains. And the group disbanded after Aqualad and a few other allies were killed by the merciless Deathstroke.
Dick went on to become a police detective, but he never really gave up his vigilante ways. His specialty? Helping kids in trouble, whether they are orphans, victims of abuse or juvenile delinquents.
That’s how he met Rachel Roth, aka Raven.
Rachel was part of a prophecy that would bring her father, Trigon (an interdimensional demonic being dead set on conquering the universe), to Earth to begin his reign of terror. Dick and the other Titans helped Rachel to defeat Trigon.
They formed the new Titans, which, of course, began to attract even more bad guys to their front door. They’ve won some battles; they’ve lost some. Friends have been killed and families ripped apart.
But through it all, they still have each other, as well as the determination to save the universe from whatever threat comes next.
Many of the DC Universe series exist on The CW or HBO Max. In the case of the former, the shows are usually TV-14. You get typical superhero violence, moderate language and the occasional (but not graphic) sex scene. In the case of the latter, though, you can pretty much bump all that content up to TV-MA levels.
And that’s what’s happened with Titans.Language is pretty harsh with multiple uses of the f-word and s-word. Sex happens a lot more frequently (and we see a lot more skin when it does). And the superhero violence we witness gets a lot more graphic, too.
Titans also delves much further into the spiritual realm than other DC shows might. Raven is the daughter of a demonic being and has some pretty devilish tendencies herself. Her adoptive mother nailed crosses and crucifixes to her door to help keep Raven’s dark side at bay. And Raven spends some time in a convent in an attempt to protect others from the darkness within her.
Raven eventually learns how to control her powers, but we still see spiritual tie-ins. The Titans (and some villains) discover a pool that can restore life (which they aptly name after Lazarus from the Bible). They use the magical waters quite liberally to heal themselves and others until the pool is eventually depleted. Some villains perform blood rituals, and we even see a strange version of the afterlife when a few heroes fall.
Watching your favorite superheroes on screen can be an enjoyable pastime. But the problems we see here can turn what was once light and fun into something much darker and more problematic than what we signed up for.
Gar Logan, aka Beast Boy, discovers new powers that allow him to travel through space and time via “The Red,” a cosmic realm that he’s destined to protect.
Gar is told that the Red connects all living creatures. It allows him to jump through time and space. It warns him of impending doom. And because of Gar’s unique connection to the Red, he’s also able to sense the suffering of animals around the world. One of those is a half-lion, half-bat creature.
Gar and another man connected to the Red travel to a lab where animals are being cruelly experimented on. They’re too late to save the creatures, but they kill all the humans working at the lab. Gar transforms into several animals to maim men who are armed with guns and batons. His companion uses his powers to meld the lead scientist with an ape that the scientist was dissecting alive, which kills the scientist (and inflicts pain upon him similar to the suffering the cruel scientist had been inflicting upon the ape).
Gar learns that the disease that killed his parents was unleashed by the same man who “cured” Gar from the disease. (And we hear about a similar instance that happened to another man.) People fire guns. Gar gets hurt while using his new Red powers to time-travel.
Gar ingests a drug that causes him to hallucinate. While traveling through the Red, Gar has conversations with friends who have passed away. (One of these friends says that it’s not the first time she’s died or been resurrected.) We see a tree with animal skeletons hanging from every branch.
We see a girl’s exposed midriff. There are two uses of the s-word. God’s name is misused once.
Max’s newest release, Task, takes audiences to task with a slow-burn storyline involving graphic violence, nudity and crude language.
It’s fun, but the show is guilty of lack of restraint in the second degree—a senseless crime if ever there was one.
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