Robin Backwards

"Robin Backwards" is the twenty-seventh episode of the second season of Teen Titans Go!, and the seventy-ninth overall episode of the series.

Synopsis[]

Nibor, the Bizarro World's Robin, arrives in Jump City, and the Titans decide they should probably keep an eye on him.

Plot[]

It all starts at the Titans Tower, where each Titan is having their own businesses in their rooms except for Robin, who announces them that they will have an "Ice cream Sunday bar". The Titans gather up in the living room as they thought the activity was real, instead, it is just cardboard only for them to gather up in a regular Titan meeting, much to Titans' disappointment. Robin shows them a book with "The Rules of Robin" that the Titans must follow while they are booing at him and suddenly the crime alert rings, prompting the Titans to get to their mission.

Somewhere in Jump City, in the middle of the street, the Titans are patrolling around in their modified T-Car while Robin is telling them his rules to follow as the Titans barely listen. But then, they find Nibor rescuing people from nothing by throwing them out of the building. The Titans wonder about his appearance on how he looks a lot exactly like Robin while Starfire sees him more slightly handsome, but Robin tells them another rule, number 75, that he IS the handsome one and Nibor is from Bizarro World where everyone is the opposite of someone here. The cards of their data and stats reveal that Nibor is Robin's opposite: lacking his intelligence, leadership and incredible athletic ability. So, he introduces Nibor, being able to speak Bizarro language which it's the opposite of what he really means. The reason why is that Nibor got struggles in the normal world, because the Bizarro Titans kicked his butt out of their team for being a great leader, by meaning a bad leader in the opposite, so he decided to save Jump City. Robin decides to bring him into their Tower until he figures out what to do with him. Just as they did, Nibor greets them with the opposite speech, as Beast Boy thinks he doesn't like it literally, but Raven reminds him that it's the opposite language by meaning he likes it.

Starfire suggests doing a backward talk game so they can understand more of his speech where the competitors are herself, Beast Boy, and Cyborg battling to guess what Nibor is really saying. They play a little bit as the game ends and Robin wants to tell the Titans more of his book of rules mainly about training. Nibor accepts it as goes to sleep on the couch, as that would be the opposite of training. The Titans immediately join him in their "training" while Starfire admires his leadership. The nervous Robin tells them that it's the opposite of training as they should follow the rules while Nibor promises to follow them in the exact opposite way. For instance, when Robin tries to clean up the living room, Nibor messes it up. Eating vegetables to stay healthy, Nibor brings up a huge stack of carnivore food out of the refrigerator for the Titans as they start to dig in, and when it's bedtime they start to party all night long, making Robin unable to sleep properly and Nibor just sleeps during the day.

The next day, Nibor announces the Titans to report in the living room that they will have three hours of cardio (aerobic exercise). Robin, hearing the prospect of exercising, immediately accepts it in joy as he runs into the living room for he's ready for it. However, the Titans are sitting on the couch only as Robin believed that it's the opposite of cardio. The other Titans actually want Nibor to be their leader as they start to love his opposite rules, making Robin state that he made the book of rules to keep the Titans in shape and if they follow Nibor's leadership, the team will go backward literally.

Cyborg only understands that Nibor is the backward name of Robin, making him leave the normal world into the Bizarro World by accessing it from the main elevator. The elevator starts to run crazy until it reaches its Bizarro destination. The Titans Tower is turned upside down, the sky is red and every living thing is going bizarre. The elevator doors open as Robin manages to get out since the ceiling is now the floor and the couch was stuck upside down, he picks up Nibor's communicator and calls the Bizarro Titans. They tell him that Nibor never wanted them to train, and they always relax. As Nibor wanted them to eat only junk food and sleep so they feel they need structure, when they mean they feel the lack of need of structure. Robin asks them if they want him as the new leader, they accept it as they followed Robin's book of rules. They've done it well as Robin is congratulating them but for the Bizarro Titans for it is an opposite world, it means that they've goofed up.

Back in the normal world, the Titans are relaxing at the swimming pool while Nibor is swimming in the sand instead of water. However, the Bizarro Titans and Robin arrive to bring Nibor back into their Bizarro home. The Titans are shocked to see their own backward personalities, but the Bizarro Titans have had enough of Robin's leadership as Nevar pushes Robin back to his own team while the normal Titans don't give up on Nibor that easily without a fight. Both teams use Robin as a ping pong ball until Nibor stops the fight. Nibor never knew that his Bizarro friends really care about him and apologizes for leaving while Erifrats appreciates him back and they start to kiss each other, much to the normal Titans' disgust. Just when they have gone back into their Bizarro world with their Bizarro T-Plane dragging on the ground, the Titans get Robin back in their team while they are watching the Bizarro T-Plane leaving in the end.

Characters[]

Robin
Beast Boy
Raven
Cyborg
Starfire
Bizarro Titans (debut)
- Nibor
- Grobyc
- Nevar
- Boy Beast
- Erifrats
Seagull
Crab

Trivia[]

This episode aired one year after "Breakfast Cheese".
This is the second time a Titan's real name is revealed: Robin's real name is Dick Grayson, confirming him to be the first Robin. The first time was in the previous episode, "Hot Garbage".
This episode introduces the Bizarro Universe in the series.
This is the first time that the seagull and the crab appear in the same episode.
The first rule in The Rules of Robin (follow the rules) states that those who do not follow said rule will have to clean Silkie's litter box, as well as Beast Boy's litter box.
The Bizarro version of Beast Boy's name is revealed to be not "Yob Tsaeb" (which is "Beast Boy" backward), but "Boy Beast".
When the other Titans and Nibor are having a party at Robin's room, the exact same background music from The Looney Tunes Show episode "That's My Baby" can be heard.
This is the first episode to be written by writer H. Caldwell Tanner.
On the back of the Season 2 Part 2 DVD, (House Pests) it mentions this episode in the description.

Continuity[]

Cyborg's modified T-Car from "Road Trip" appears for the second time.
This is the fifth episode where Beast Boy doesn't make any animal transformations. ("The Left Leg", "Waffles", "Knowledge", "Thanksgiving")
The Ice Cream Guy is seen again since "Dreams".

References[]

Beast Boy is seen playing with dinosaur toys at the episode's title, possibly referencing "Dinosaur Office", a show that the episode's writer worked on.
Some of the various body parts that Boy Beast transforms into include Charlie Brown from Peanuts, Astro Boy, Bobby from Bobby's World, Bart Simpson, and Sherman from Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Boy Beast also turns into Tom from Eddsworld.
One of the rules Robin presents on-screen is dubbed "Rule 52", referencing the New 52 version of the DC Universe.
This episode is similar to the Pokémon episode, "The Cave of Mirrors!"

Errors[]

Beast Boy is once again seen eating meat, despite being a vegetarian.
Strangely, Nibor can understand "normal talk", such as when Starfire says that he "loves pizza", which Nibor understands and nods, agreeing that he "hates it". While the other Bizarros were unable to understand Robin's compliments later in the episode, taking them as insults, rather than what he truly meant.
When the Titans are walking into the Tower with Nibor, Nibor’s arms are the same color as Robin’s before stopping.
The Bizarro Titans' names shouldn't be the Titans' names backward. It should be the Titans' names with "Zarro" added to the end of it.
Bizarro people are villains in the comics, but in this series, they're heroes.
Robin understands from the beginning that the Bizarro Titans speak "backwards", but when he's with the Bizarro Titans he seems to completely forgot this rule.

Running Gags[]

Beast Boy misunderstanding Nibor's opposite speak for him being mean.
Beast Boy saying random stuff backward.
All the Titans (except for Robin) following Nibor's rules.
Robin complimenting the Bizarro Titans, and them taking his words as insults.
The Titans and the Bizarro Titans (except for Nibor) both trying to get rid of Robin.