Movie Info
Movie Name: Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation
Genre(s): Animated/Comic Book/Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): March 31, 2017 (WonderCon)/April 4, 2017 (US)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Gar…I hate you and your friends
Nightwing has returned to the Teen Titans as they fight to take down Brother Blood and his followers. Unbeknownst to the Titans, Brother Blood has hired Deathstroke to help with his plans, and the destruction of the Teen Titans is his first goal. The Titans have battled Deathstroke before, but Deathstroke is about to tear the Titans apart from the inside…when he reveals his secret ally.
Directed by Sam Liu, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is based upon Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s 1984 storyline from Tales of the New Teen Titans #42-44 and Teen Titans Annual #3. The film follows the DC Universe Animated Original Movie Justice League Dark in 2017, but it is a direct sequel to Justice League vs. Teen Titans in 2016. The movie was originally screened at WonderCon.
My dad’s going to be pissed at you…
The Judas Contract is part of what made me start reading DC Comics (years after it was released). The Teen Titans were always on my radar as fan of the X-Men and New Mutants, but the idea of a traitor infiltrating a team and a young team of idealists was a perfect “dark ’80s” storyline that helped drag DC out of the classic black and white hero/villain stories that they had previously released. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract modernizes this story, but that isn’t necessarily good.
Terra was insane in the old telling of the story. She had a troubled past, but it irrevocably warped her more than it influenced her. She wasn’t a misled character who was torn up about her decisions to work with Deathstroke…she was more of a psychopath that was able to blend in and fool the Teen Titans. She did what she did out of cruelty for cruelty’s sake. While that isn’t necessarily a rounded character, it in its own way was far darker than the Joker who doesn’t pretend to be something else. That is missing here, and it isn’t necessarily P.C. I would have liked to see a darker Terra and the movie is afraid to go there.
Brother Blood…always a lame character
DC always hires big named actors for their animated features. This is a plus and a minus in some way. The actor aren’t necessarily voice actors (a minus), but their name does draw more attention to the roles. The movie features Stuart Allan, Taissa Farmiga, Jake T. Austin, Kari Wahlgren, Sean Maher, and Brandon Soo Hoo as the Teen Titans with Christina Ricci, Gregg Henry, Meg Foster, and Miguel Ferrer as Terra, Brother Blood, Mother Mayhem, and Deathstroke. The role was the final role of Miguel Ferrer who died of throat cancer. Kevin Smith also appears as himself in the movie.
With strong animation and a solid story as its base, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a decent adaptation that doesn’t quite push the story hard enough. The movie is more for adults than kids and does involve a fair amount of swearing. I like when DC adapts some of these famous storylines, but I still sometimes wish they would be closer to the original source material. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is followed by Batman and Harley Quinn in 2017.
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