Before Warner Bros. developed its own streaming platform, HBO Max, DC had big plans for the DC Universe app. An online library of comic books was nothing new for either Marvel or DC, but the DC Universe app would also feature live-action and animated content specifically designed for DC's audiences. Titans, a reimagined version of a scrapped Nightwing show, became the DC Universe’s flagship title, and it was later followed by Doom Patrol. After the launching of HBO Max, the DC Universe was restricted to comics only, and its hit shows like Titans, Doom Patrol, and Young Justice were moved to HBO Max.

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With the shows being now so different, many might forget that most of the Doom Patrol cast originally appeared in Titans before the Doom Patrol show. Titans season 1, episode 4, “Doom Patrol” unveiled crossovers like the ones from the Arrowverse much more difficult to pull off. Therefore, creative freedom and logistics are the reason why Titans and Doom Patrol are on different Earths.

Is The Titans Doom Patrol Crossover Canon?

Titans' “Doom Patrol” episode is not canon to the Doom Patrol show. This became evident once there was no mention of Beast Boy or the Titans in the Doom Patrol show. Doom Patrol also featured Cyborg as a core member of the family while in Titans there is no mention of Victor Stone being part of the Doom Patrol. At the end of the Titans “Doom Patrol” episode, it was teased that the Doom Patrol were starting to be suspicious of Chief's actions, a storyline that was completely reset in the Doom Patrol show. Curiously, Chief was the only character from Titans' “Doom Patrol” episode to be recast for the Doom Patrol show. That said, the “Doom Patrol” episode is still canon to Titans, which means Beast Boy used to live with the Doom Patrol family – only not the one from the Doom Patrol show.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Confirmed: Doom Patrol & Titans Are From Different Earths

Both the Titans and the Doom Patrol were featured as small cameos in the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event. Having been produced for the DC Universe app and then moved to HBO Max, Titans and Doom Patrol were never part of the Arrowverse, but the idea of Crisis on Infinite Earths was precisely to see all corners of DC TV, old and new, coming together at least once. During a montage of the multiverse, the Titans universe was designated as Earth-9 while the Doom Patrol universe was designated as Earth-21, thus reaffirming that Titans and Doom Patrol aren’t on the same Earth.

Why It’s Better Than Doom Patrol & Titans Aren’t In The Same Universe

At this point, the stories and the purpose of Titans and Doom Patrol could not be more different. Titans continues to introduce more legacy DC characters and expand the troubled relationship between its while Doom Patrol keeps setting the bar high for how unpredictable and out-of-the-box it can be. The themes and the narrative of Titans and Doom Patrol are also very different, and potential crossovers would have had a tone problem. Not only that, but Doom Patrol works much better without being restricted to the canon of other shows. Had Doom Patrol and Titans remained in the same universe, some of the former’s most bizarre and entertaining moments might not have happened, which is why it is better for Titans and Doom Patrol to be on different Earths.