Teen Titans: What is the T-Car?

While the focus is typically on being superheroes, the 2003 Teen Titans series is also sure to pay attention to its fun premise: five teens living in a house without supervision. They are often seen playing video games, watching movies, training, meditating, and reading around Titans Tower. Glimpses of their rooms are seen from time, and they even put an entire coordinated bedroom together for Terra. The Titans are, for the most part, impressively mature, competent, and independent. When Starfire grows concerned after a moment of heightened tension, Robin calmly explains that it’s “just roommate stuff”, to which the other Titans quickly agree, confirming their friendship has never and will never be in danger.

The majority of viewer’s insights into the Teen Titans’ lifestyle are centered around food; what to eat is a constant point of celebration, discussion, and playful conflict. Beast Boy, a staunch vegan, routinely argues with Cyborg, who wants to prepare or order a full carnivore feast. Starfire, meanwhile, occasionally prepares traditional Tamaranean foods that have no place in a human palette. All of these moments are positive, lighthearted moments that pose no real threat to the Titans’ relationships with one another. Even Robin exasperatedly asking whose turn it is to do the dishes only serves to confirm that they do in fact have a system and the dishes do get done most of the time. However, less attention is paid to how the Titans interact with Jump City outside of Titans Tower- that is, until the invention of the T-Car.

What is the T-Car?

The T-Car is Cyborg’s invention, or, as he calls it, his “baby”. It appears to be made out of the same blue-white technology as his body enhancements and equipped with similar capabilities. It can carry all five Titans and functions as a regular car- along with some super-powered tech. All five Titans are impressed with the T-Car, and Cyborg is extremely proud and protective of his creation. They primarily use it on land, but the T-Car is also capable of traveling across the surface of water. It is also equipped with weapons and speed enhancers unlike any other car, both in the Teen Titans universe or out.

Ladies and gentlemen and whatever Beast Boy is… it is my great pleasure to present, for the first time anywhere, the thing you’ve all been waiting for, my coolest, hottest, baddest creation… I give you the future of Titans transportation, the one, the only, T-CAR!!

Cyborg’s connection with his car is more than emotional. His technology allows him to sync with the T-Car and “feel the road”. It has a plasma turbine engine and a nitro speed booster, as well as cannons and sonic blasters that distinctly resemble the one in Cyborg’s own arm. The T-Car also features smoke and oil slicks that can be deployed behind it, throwing off pursuers. The T-Car is often damaged or even totalled, but Cyborg is meticulous in his repairs, typically installing new improvements when he restores it.

Similarly, Cyborg also constructed the Titans’ other vehicle, the T-Sub. While it’s even more complex and high-tech than the T-Car, the T-Sub was actually unveiled first, in season one, episode eight, “Deep Six”. In season two, episode seven, “Transformation”, the Titans test the T-Sub’s capabilities by taking it to outer space, much to Cyborg’s anxiety. Comparatively, the T-Car seems to be intended for more recreational use. The group gets the opportunity to test out the car in season one, episode eleven, “Car Trouble”, where Cyborg even takes time out of crime fighting to boast about his car to some bystanders (who promptly steal it).

How Did the Titans Get Around Before?

When the Titans are seen fighting crime around Jump City, the show doesn’t typically include how they got there. In fact, when the Titans receive a trouble alert in “Car Trouble” and excitedly take the T-Car to get there, it is the first time they are seen traveling to a crime scene. The fact that the Titans begin using the T-Car immediately proves its necessity. In which case, the fact that it wasn’t unveiled until the end of season one begs the question of what they were doing until then.

When needing to search an area or flee from an enemy, the Titans typically take to the skies, with the exception of Robin and Cyborg, who simply walk or run. In battle, Starfire will sometimes hold Robin’s wrists as she flies through the air, hurling him at an enemy for a coordinated attack. However, she is never seen doing this simply as a means of transportation over long periods of time. Beast Boy often takes the form of a bird or pterodactyl to travel through the air, though interestingly, none of the other Titans are ever seen riding him, either on land or in the sky, though it is theoretically possible.

Robin has a motorcycle that is distinctly his- not belonging to all of the Titans- though he isn’t seen riding it until after the introduction of the T-Car. Even if he were to have been using it consistently, it would only account for the transportation of him and one other. Beast Boy frequently pines for a moped, lamenting how much better his life would be if he had one. Ultimately, it looks like the T-Car was created out of a need, as their desire for a means of transportation was clear and how they got around before its invention remains a mystery.