Staring at the Future

Staring at the Future is an episode of Teen Titans Go! Season 1.

Summary
Cyborg and Beast Boy have a staring contest that lasts for 30 years, bringing them face to face with a future of adulthood and responsibility... and they hate it.

Plot
After Cyborg and Beast Boy destroy a good chunk of the Tower in their attempt to became "Indoor Rodeo Champions", the other titans confront them, telling them that it is their job to clean up the mess. Beast Boy tries to defend himself, by saying they were "just goofing off". Robin tells them life is not just about "goofing off", but it's also about "responsibility". The duo is horrified to hear Robin use such a word, and jump into each other's arms. Once the girls both use the word, Cyborg and Beast Boy become tramatized, and smash through the living room window to escape.

Later that day at Zippy's Pizza, Cyborg and Beast Boy stuff their faces with pizza, trying to forget all about their encounter with the dreaded "R" word. When Beast Boy reaches to grab the last piece of pizza, Cyborg's hand touch it at the exact same time. The two decide to have staring contest, whoever looks away from the piece of pizza last gets to eat it.

Time passes by, and eventually a rat jumps on Beast Boy's head, causing him to stand up and look away from the pizza. Cyborg laughs at Beast Boy's failure, and stuffs the slice in his mouth with one big bite. Almost instantly, he spits it out, disgusted that the pizza tastes so old. The two walk outside and realize that they had been staring at the slice of pizza for 30 years! Excited to explore the new world they live in,  Cyborg and Beast Boy return to Titans Tower, to see what has become of their friends.

When they walk in, they are shocked to see a man in a dark uniform with a mullet. The man turns around, and is holding a baby. The man is revealed to be 30-year-old Robin, who now goes by the name of Nightwing. Noticing his baby, Beast Boy asks Nightwing if he and Starfire had finally got married. Nightwing tells him that he got over his obsession with Starfire a long time ago, and that he is now married to Batgirl. B eautiful Batgirl suddenly strides into the room, and plants a kiss on Nightwing. Cyborg and Beast Boy decide that this is too weird, and that they want to go see a movie with Nightwing. Nightwing tells them he can't, because he is too busy with his "Responsibilites". Outraged, Cyborg and Beast Boy command him to tell them where Starfire and Raven are at. Nightwing tells them that Starfire moved back home to Tamaran.

Later, on Starfire's home planet, Beast Boy and Cyborg arrive, but are confronted by furocious warriors. The two fight them off, and find Starfire. Starfire tells them that she is the queen, and those warriors were her guards. Upon realizing she is queen, Beast Boy invites her to go see a Tamaranian movie with them. Starfire tells him that there are no movies on Tamaran, only Gladiators fighting 3-headed dragons with laser eyes. Cyborg says that sounds like fun, but Starfire tells them that she cannot join them, because she is too busy with her "Responsibilities". The two freak out again, and decide to go find Raven.

In a magical realm, Beast Boy and Cyborg walk down a bright path to find Raven. When they find her, she tells them that she had defeated Trigon, and was reborn as pure energy to became the goddess of the universe. The two ask her if she wants to go to the movies, but she says she is too busy with her "Responsibility" of maintaining balance in the universe. Beast Boy and Cyborg decide that is the last straw, and that it is up to them to go back in time, and alter the future by "saving" the other titans so that they never become responsible adults.

That night, the two begin building their time machine in the tower's living room. Nightwing walks in and asks them if they want leftover pasta. Angrily, Cyborg yells "NO!" at his offer. Nightwing politely asks them if they will keep the noise down, because his kids are trying to sleep. Cyborg tells him that he won't have to worry about his kids anymore when they finish, and explains their plan to him. Nightwing tells him that he likes his life, and that what they're doing is unnecessary. Beast Boy screams at him, telling him his family is horrible.

Nightwing uses his Titans communicator to call for help, and the other female titans arrive almost instantly. He explains to them Beast Boy and Cyborg's plan, right as the duo finishes their time machine. Starfire reacts quickly and uses her beams to knock the two off their time machine. Cyborg remind them that they are talking to an "Indoor Rodeo Champion", and Beast Boy transforms back into a bull. Cyborg mounts Beast Boy, and they attack the other titans. The battle is cut short by Batgirl, who angrily shushes them. While she reminds Robin that the kids are still trying to sleep, Cyborg and Beast Boy sneak onto the time machine and use it before anyone else can react.

Cyborg and Beast Boy appear back in Zippy's Pizza, and cut the pizza in half this time, instead of fighting over it. Beast Boy and Cyborg both wonder out loud how much the future will be affected by simply cutting a piece of pizza.

Suddenly, we flash thirty years into their future again, to find a nearly destroyed Jump City being enslaved by legions of robots. The other titans crash into the ground next to them, and Robin sadly declares that the Robot Overlords have taken over the entire city. Robin sadly wonders how things got to that point. Cyborg grins and tells him it had something to do with sharing a slice of pizza. The two explain Robin's alternative future, right as Robot warriors arrive to fight the titans.

Robin, Starfire, and Raven flee, with the robots hot in their pursuit. Beast Boy and Cyborg, however, sit back in their chairs and declare that this is a future that they can live with.

Characters

 * Starfire
 * Cyborg
 * Beast Boy
 * Raven
 * Robin / Nightwing
 * Batgirl
 * Jinx (cameo)

Trivia

 * This is the second time Raven mentions her father, Trigon. The first was "Super Robin."
 * This episode of Teen Titans Go! aired on the day before Halloween 2013.
 * This is the second episode that was not mentioned on the Cartoon Network website prior to its air date.
 * This is the second time we can see Starfire's home planet, Tamaran. The first was "Parasite."
 * In this episode, when Beast Boy and Cyborg are fighting over the last slice of pizza, this is a reference to the original Teen Titans series when the Titans always fight over the last slice of pizza.
 * In this episode, there were three things that happened in the future:
 * Robin became Nightwing, married Batgirl, and had three children.
 * Starfire became the queen of Tamaran.
 * Raven became an immortal goddess of the world, and she told Cyborg and Beast Boy that she had defeated her father, Trigon. This is possibly a reference to what happens to her in the Titans comic series (vol. 1) where she also becomes a being of pure energy, but without the vast power she had in this episode.
 * The robot overlords at the end look vaguely like the DC villains the Manhunters, who are primarily enemies of the Green Lantern Corps. and are part of the Sinestro Corps.
 * When Beast Boy and Cyborg went to the future, the Pizza Restaraurant "Zippy's Pizza" were they where has the slogan, "Since 2010", this means that the show could be happening in the year 2010 and not 2013.
 * The three-lined glowing part in the time machine resembles the Flux Capacitor, the main piece from the DeLorean DMC-12 Time Machine to travel in time from the Back to the Future movies.