When DC first began their line of animated films, one of the first movies announced was an adaptation of "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" alongside "Superman: Doomsday" and "Justice League: The New Frontier". However, the project would be shelved, the reason apparently being that it lacked "broad fanbase appeal". I find that hard to believe considering that the Teen Titans animated series had aired for five seasons and there wasn't really a huge gap in time between when the show ended and the film line began. The show even did their own version, albeit a loose one, of the Judas Contract for the second season's main story arc. If I had to throw my own two cents in on the subject, considering the show's kid friendly tone and the the film line aiming for the PG-13 crowd, they probably wanted to avoid any controversy from parents assuming the film was in the same vain as the show. Well here we are ten years later and the film has finally materialized, and I can certainly say it was worth the wait.
Granted it probably isn't as direct an adaptation as it was originally planned years ago, but it's certainly close. The film falls into the new DC animated movie universe and acts as a follow-up to last year's "Justice League vs. Teen Titans" film, which we can thank for finally getting this movie at all due to the previous film's success. But now that they don't have to share the screen with the League, this gives some of the Titans more development than they did last time. I think what really helps is a one year time skip, which I think is most evident with Damian/Robin, who I actually think looks older than he did in the last movie, which is nice considering you'd just expect animated characters to keep the same model no matter how time goes by unless there's a significant gap. I'd also like to give Stuart Allen props on voicing Damian for four years now; as his voice matures, it gives a more natural experience of seeing Damian grow up.
In the last movie, we saw a bit of a friendship bloom between Damian and Raven, which remains in tact here, though not as significant. A nice moment comes near the end when Raven gets Damian a puppy, which I will assume is Damian's dog Titus in the comics. Raven doesn't really have an arc this movie, but she has a really bad ass moment in the climax. I'll just say that when she turns red and has four glowing eyes, you know you're screwed.
We get a bit of background on Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, particularly his family life. They know he's Blue Beetle and is living with the Titans, but in some ways, it feels like an exile since he doesn't always have full control of the scarab, which puts his family in danger. He tries to cope with these feelings by volunteering at a soup kitchen, which his family does back home. Design wise, Jaime's mohawk from the last film has become a faux-hawk. I didn't care for the mohawk, but at least there's an improvement.
Nightwing and Starfire's relationship has grown as well, and is pretty much the most developed version of the couple out of all their animated depictions. Though there is some tension, as Starfire was leading the Titans in Dick's absence, but with him back, it seems the others are looking at him once again for guidance. It's an interesting conflict that I feel didn't get as much focus as it could have. Dick's costume has changed as well, resembling the New 52 version with the red on his suit instead of blue, which is kind of weird considering Dick's back to wearing blue in the comics. It's like they wanted things to match, but they were a little late; something similar happened in the Flash comics a couple years ago where they made suit resemble the one from the TV show, only for that suit to look a little more closer to the comics.
Beast Boy's development is kind of intertwined with Terra's, as it shows he has a deeper side than just being the comic relief. As for Terra herself, she is very different from how she was in the animated series. She has some anti-social tendencies that start to drop as she realizes how much the Titans really care for her, particularly Beast Boy. Although considering she has been part of the team for a year, it seemed kind of weird that she would still act kind of jerky after being part of the team so long. It is understandable though as they actually go into detail about hardships she's faced when she first got her powers; let's just say she has issues. I did think that they reveal too soon that she's planning to betray them, but it adds more to her internal conflict. Personally, I like how it was done in the animated series where you weren't sure about her allegiance until the betrayal actually came; it makes the stab in the back more painful. It kind of makes me wish there was another Titans movie before this one to help build it up.
The villains of the movie are probably two of the three most known Titans villains, Deathstroke and Brother Blood (the third being Trigon who they fought in the previous movie).
As many may know, Brother Blood leads the group called HIVE, but this version is much closer to the comics than the animated series, being a cult rather than a school. This adds more of a creepiness to this version of Brother Blood by comparison, believing himself to be on the path to becoming the world's new God, which he intends to achieve by absorbing the Titans' powers, which kind of turns him into a Super-Skrull once he does. Why he has Robin, and also wants Nightwing, connected to the machine is perplexing though since they don't have powers, but whatever.
Blood hires Deathstroke to accomplish his goals. Deathstroke first appeared in this animated universe in "Son of Batman" where he was attempted to take control of the League of Assassins. Like many, I was not a fan of how he was depicted there. This film does a much better job at getting the character right, making him an actual assassin for hire set on completing his contract above anything else; he doesn't care for Blood's plans as long as he gets paid. He also gets a much better voice actor than before in the form of the late Miguel Ferrer. They don't completely ignore "Son of Batman" though (even though that would have been welcomes), since he does still harbor rage toward Damian and show he still has plans to form his own League of Assassins, which isn't too far out of line with his character. While I didn't like the idea of him wanting to take over proper League created by Ra's al Ghul, him wanting to create his own adds more to his narcissism, especially if it's more about killing for money than saving the planet. Of course, there's the significant aspect of his relationship with Terra. It's much closer to how it was in the comics, which will probably creep some people out, though it says a lot about both characters. To Terra, Slade was the first person to show any kind of affection toward her after everyone she knew straight-up lynched her once her powers developed, and she most likely grew too attached. To Slade, it shows how much a bastard he is, manipulating a young girl's feelings for him to use her for his own means. It's hard to say if he had any real feelings for her at all.
Now it's time for a geeky nit-pick. The film has a cold opening which takes place five years prior to the main events, showing how the Titans at the time first met Starfire. Apparently the original members of the Titans include Dick Grayson/Robin, Beast Boy, Bumble Bee, Wally West/Kid Flash, and Roy Harper/Speedy. It's a good short story, aided by the reprisals of Young Justice actors Jason Spisak and Crispin Freeman as Kid Flash and Speedy, respectively. However, in the larger scope of this new animated universe, it makes no sense continuity wise. Where does this fit in with terms of the Justice League stories? Where are Wally and Roy now? Should I just assume this version of Wally got sucked out of the timestream too? Also, how is it we got Speedy in a DC animated movie while Green Arrow has not appeared in even one? The closest we've even gotten was the alternate evil Crimson Archer in "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" and the Showcase animated short attached to "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse". I know I shouldn't harp on this and just enjoy the ride, but like I said in my "Justice League Dark" review, when you establish a continuity, you need to make said continuity make sense.
Action-wise, it was entertaining, but nothing really stood out compared to past films. However, there is something I feel that is more important that helps this film succeed: character. The depictions and interactions between everyone come across very naturally compared to all the other DC animated films, and I'd say it's on par with most live action superhero movies. A recurring subject the film talks about is one of family, and the Titans certainly feel like one here. I'd have to say that out of all the animated depictions of the Teen Titans (and their villains), this one seems like the realest and is certainly the closest to the source material.
Overall, "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" is the best film of the new animated DC universe and one of the best to come from the line since it started in 2007. If you're a fan of the Teen Titans in any way, I highly recommend this film.
RATING: 10/10
(Last note: hooray for DC to not include Batman in an animated movie for the first time in four years. I like Batman as much as the last guy, but there are other characters people care about.)
Next week, Titans Month wraps up with my views and ideas on how the DC Extended Universe could use a little young blood by introducing the Teen Titans.
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