Western Animation / Teen Titans: The Judas Contract

After defeating Trigon, the Teen Titans are soon joined by a new member, Terra, a young girl who can control earth, but is she all that she seems to be?

A movie in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line and part of the DC Animated Movie Universe, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a sequel to Justice League vs. Teen Titans and an adaptation of The Judas Contract. In addition to the returns of Sean Maher as Nightwing, Staurt Allen as Robin, Taissa Farmiga as Raven, Jake T. Austin as Blue Beetle, Brandon Soo Hoo as Beast Boy, and Kari Wahlgren as Starfire, it features Christina Ricci as Terra and Miguel Ferrer in one of his last roles as Deathstroke.

See the trailer and a preview. Released April 4, 2017 (Digital HD) and April 18, 2017 (DVD/Blu-ray).

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Teen Titans: The Judas Contract provides examples of:

• Absurdly Sharp Blade:
  • Damian slices through the cannons on Hive's mechs with ease.
  • Deathstroke's sword can cut through boulders in a single swipe.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: Back in Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Raven's skin color was gray like her other animated counterpart. But here, her skin is noticeably less gray which looks almost closer to her previous incarnation.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the comics, while Jaime's family were uncomfortable with the fact he was bonded with the Scarab, they were able to reconcile very quickly. In the film, two years have passed after Jaime bonded with the Scarab and there are still lingering issues with the situation. Especially from Jaime's dad who still isn't comfortable with it and would rather have it removed. Garfield notes that Jaime may never be able to see his family face-to-face again, implicitly because his control over the Scarab is still unstable: it gets nervous around humans (especially Jaime's dad, sensing his dislike of it), creating a recipe for tragic catastrophe.
• Adaptational Consent: Zigzagged. In the comics, Terra slept with Slade when she was fifteen, and he maintained that was one reason she was evil. Here, Slade does none of that despite Terra's obvious signals and attempts to seduce him. It's not for any Even Evil Has Standards or Above the Influence moment; he still calls her "love" and is grooming her. Instead, it's implied that Slade is practicing Pragmatic Villainy and using Terra's interest in him to maintain her loyalty.
• Adaptational Heroism: Terra's still evil, but she's not the sociopath she was in the comics. Rather, Deathstroke saved her from a bunch of bigots planning to murder her and took her in to raise as his daughter. She even uses her powers to send Beast Boy away when she brings Blood's lair down on herself and Deathstroke. How evil the original was, scaring even Slade himself at times, can't be overstated. Unlike in the comics, she actually apologizes to Beast Boy for betraying him and the team.
• Adaptational Karma:
  • In the comics, Deathstroke was tried for his part in kidnapping the Titans, but he got off scot-free due to his connections, talked down an angry Beast Boy who wanted to murder him, and encouraged the Titans to take in his two more heroic children. There's none of that here; if he survived Terra bringing rubble down on him, he's in for a lot of pain and legal repercussions.
  • To a more minor extent, Terra's betrayal in the comics was covered up, and the Titans maintained that she died a hero. This had serious repercussions when, in a Bad Future, a villain decided to recreate the exact plot with a new girl and new Titans. Here, while Terra is given Due to the Dead, it's also established that the public knows the gist of what happened and that she was The Mole.
• Adaptational Late Appearance: Wonder Girl is shown joining the Titans after Terra's death, when in the comics she was affiliated with the team way before Terra came along.
• Adaptational Sympathy: Terra is portrayed much closer to her comic counterpart but has a Dark and Troubled Past of being hunted down by a mob afraid of her powers. She then gets saved by Slade moments before getting shot. And while she does snark about the Titan gang, she is shown having genuine fun with them and also developing feelings for Beast Boy. And when she does betray the team, she herself is betrayed by Slade to Brother Blood.
• Adapted Out:
  • Aqualad doesn't appear with the original Titans team when seen in a flashback.
  • Cyborg was a part of the original Judas Contract storyline in the comics. Here, in this modernized retelling, he's a member of the Justice League, thus has no connection to the Titans and has no role in the storyline. His effective replacement is Blue Beetle.
• Adaptational Villainy: Slade cares for no one in this version; Terra is a pawn to him, we don't see his family anywhere, and he doesn't have any redeeming moments whatsoever. To seal the deal, he sells out Terra to Brother Blood without hesitation and gives a rather cold apology when she's clearly heartbroken over him leaving her to die just for a paycheck.
• Affectionate Nickname: Garfield has a habit of referring to Terra as "Mama" throughout the movie.
• All Your Powers Combined: Brother Blood's final plan is to leech the Teen Titans of their powers. He gets halfway there, failing to drain them completely but still gaining their powers.
• Animated Adaptation: Of The Judas Contract, and the Church of Blood story that preceded it.
• Artistic License – Biology: There's no way Damian could stalemate a much larger, more muscular Slade in a clash of swords - even under normal circumstances. Let alone when the latter is larger and superpowered? Unlikely.
• Back from the Dead: In Son of Batman, Deathstroke was trapped in the self-destructing base that Batman and Robin escaped from. Here, he's alive and well. Robin, in his first confrontation with him in the movie, suggests a Lazarus Pit was responsible, something that Deathstroke confirms.
• Badass Boast:
  Brother Blood: No, you stay away from me! You demon filth!
  Raven: They're not demons. Let me show you one...
• Badass in Distress: Slade ambushes Dick out of his Nightwing getup and throws Dick out a multistory window. He breaks his fall with a grapple gun he had hidden on his person, but Slade cuts the rope. Dick grabs a convenient ledge to break his fall again... and dislocates his shoulder. Then he loses his grip and falls the rest of the way into some garbage. Then he fails to either outrun or outfight the fully armed and armored Slade with no costume, weapons, or gadgets and one useless arm since he can't take the time and effort to pop it back in place while being pursued by one of the world's top mercenary killers.
• Badass Normal: Damian and Dick. More so Damian, who for some reason can compete in a battle of strength against a much larger and superpowered Slade.
• Bat Deduction: Nightwing reconstructs the events of the other Titans' capture from a cursory look at the evidence at each location. Unsurprising, since he was trained by Batman.
• Battle Couple: Dick and Starfire. Terra and Garfield tend to back each other up, too, though their official "coupleness" isn't exactly solid.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Lampshaded. In the flashback to when Starfire arrived on Earth, the Titans argue over helping her or the ones attacking her. Bumblebee thinks the choice is obvious, so Speedy counters that looks can be deceiving. Robin decides to help Starfire after her attackers manage to knock her out.
  Kid Flash: And the fact that she's hot has nothing to do with it.
• The Berserker: Usually Terra holds back with her powers because the wrong move could get people hurt in the backlash. But then in the climax, when she's raging against Slade for betraying her, she no longer cares and becomes a One-Woman Army.
• Big Bad: Brother Blood, who hires Deathstroke and pits him against the Titans.
• Blood Bath: Brother Blood bathes in the blood of a reporter who called his group a cult. It's what keeps him young.
• Boom, Headshot!: Jericho gets this when he's finished testing the Power Copying machine. It doesn't stick.
• Brick Joke: While Slade has Damian captive, he laments that there isn't time to break him. Slade then remarks to Damian that he could easily see him "fetching my pipe and calling me papa." In the climax, Damian greets Slade thus:
  Damian: "Hey, Papa! Here's your pipe!" (whacks him in the head with a lead pipe)
• Broken Bird: Terra, who was nearly murdered as a child for being a "witch".
• The Cameo:
  • Jericho has a short, non-speaking role (obviously) in which he's used as a test subject for Blood's Power Copying machine then killed by Mayhem once he's finished proving it works. He revives in The Stinger, implicitly possessing his ability to Body Surf through eye contact.
  • The female volunteer that Jaime meets is actually Traci Thirteen. Though, she doesn't show any of her magical abilities.
• Casting Gag: Blue Beetle is voiced by Jake T. Austin while his mother is voiced by Maria Canals Barrera . This wouldn't be the only time they're mother and son.
• Character Development: The film spends a surprising amount of time focusing on the Titans' personal lives and relationships with one another, allowing everyone (except maybe Damian and Raven, who got their spotlight in previous movies) to grow as individuals and overcome some personal demons.
• Cloud Cuckoolander: Jaime's aunt Consuela apparently. She brought out the birthday cake too early.
• Continuity Snarl:
  • The prologue is set five years before the main story, and reveals that prior to becoming Nightwing Dick led the Teen Titans as Robin. Given that Nightwing & Robin takes place at the same time as Throne of Atlantis, which is set a few weeks to a few months at most after War, then it's clear that the prologue should take place before the Justice League even formed. Except War implied superheroes were a relatively recent development and they had yet to earn the trust of the public, so the idea of a team of teen heroes operating openly up to at least two years before War conflicts with that idea.^note It's unclear at what age Damian joined the team in the previous film, but he was likely either 12 or 13. If the latter, then that means the flashback occurs a year before War.
  • Word of God confirms that the Flash who was part of the Teen Titans was in fact a young Barry Allen instead of Wally West, which conflicts heavily with his portrayal in previous films. This reveal would place Barry in his early twenties, which goes against War portrayal of him being an established forensic scientist which is a job that takes years to get, and makes his surprise that Batman is real nonsensical since he would have been teammates with Robin.
• Culturally Sensitive Adaptation: The film removes Slade and Terra's sexual relationship and treats her more sympathetically. However, it depicts Slade as grooming her even though he never actually sleeps with her.
• Death Equals Redemption: The Titans might have forgiven Terra knowing the kind of monster Deathstroke is, depending on how much time they had to deal with their grief. Sadly, she couldn't forgive herself for betraying the team and feels she has no place in the world now that Deathstroke betrayed her and never cared for her. She destroys Brother Blood's lair and stops Beast Boy from saving her, though she apologizes to him. While the team doesn't cover up her actions, Beast Boy points out that she did the right thing in the end.
• De-power: Raven uses her dark magic to drain all of Blood's stolen power and his immortality.
• Didn't See That Coming: Brother Blood's most devoted follower would shoot him.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: In the aftermath of her cave-in, Beast Boy digs Terra out of the rubble and finds her still barely alive. She smiles happily at him before passing away in his arms as he cries. No one could save her.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Blood kills the reporter who called his religion a cult and bathes in his blood.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Beast Boy and Terra kiss, the rocks behind them levitate.
• Dramatic Dislocation: Dick, after his fight with Slade.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Despite being the leader, Starfire is upset that the other Titans look up to Nightwing. She doesn't blame Nightwing for it, however. Turns out it's just insecurity: even Damian (the team's most critical member) holds her leadership in high regard.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Terra, but more specifically, "Traumatized and Brainwashed Cannot Comprehend Good." The reason she can't fully trust that the Titans is genuine because she has already witnessed the worst of humanity, as much as her devotion to Deathstroke. She's also completely thrown off when the team doesn't blame her for losing control and nearly killing Garfield during training.
• Evil Costume Switch: Terra gets one after going full-on traitor: evil haircut and dye job, evil eye-liner and eye-shadow, and new evil ear-piercings.
• Eye Cam: A camera contact lens provides a few shots from this perspective.
• Fan Disservice: The scene with Terra appearing in a nightie with heavy eye makeup and trying to act seductively towards Deathstroke is incredibly unsettling. "That's a child, and thats a middle aged man, and this is gross and uncomfortable" is the usual audience reaction. It seems fairly obvious that you're supposed to be disgusted with it, so its an Intended Audience Reaction, and possibly a Author's Saving Throw based on recent backlash against the way the Terra/Deathstroke relationship was portrayed in the original story.
• Foreshadowing: Deathstroke warns Mayhem of an impending Titan attack and there's a new member on the team? Doesn't take much to connect those dots.
  • Also Terra's Establishing Character Moment, her creating a Dungeon Bypass with her Dishing Out Dirt powers, which allows her first line to be:
    Terra: I do all the dirty work.
• First Kiss: One happens between Garfield and Terra, after he tells her that all of the Titans have rough pasts and it's that pain that allows them to be heroes. Also counts as Last Kiss because of Terra's betrayal and eventual suicide.
  • There is also the heavy implication that Terra was the first person Garfield had kissed because Starfire mentioned that Garfield's green skin and superpowers manifested when he was 11; and simply by the extremely over-excited way he reacts after it's over: running down the beach shouting "Yes" before turning into a gorilla and pounding his chest, then turning into a wolf and howling, before turning back into his human form and jumping into the air to turn into an eagle; all the while excitedly cheering and whooping.
• Genre Savvy: Robin tries to bait Slade into letting him go so they can fight, but he laughs and says he's no B-Movie Villain.

• A God Am I: Brother Blood proclaims this after he's absorbed the powers of the Titans.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Jaime's dad seems to set off the Scarab Armor, as it doesn't like his temper.
• Heal It with Blood: Brother Blood has been alive for centuries, which he believes was made possible thanks to his ability to rejuvenate himself by bathing in his enemies' blood. However, due to the character's mental instability, it's ambiguous whether his longevity is indeed a result of said practice, or if he has some other mutation and is simply delusional.
• Idiot Ball:
  • Even though he claimed he was no B-Movie villain, Slade left Dick for dead without confirming the kill.
  • Even though Terra's role with the Titans came to an end, she still holds onto her phone, which ultimately allows Dick to track her. Perhaps it’s the result of her still being conflicted over betraying the other Titans.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Deathstroke misses several shots fired at point-blank range during his first battle against Nightwing, despite being a trained assassin.
• Incredibly Lame Pun: Beast Boy makes a "beary" pun after knocking out a mook as a bear, which Terra groans at.
• Lampshaded Double Entendre: Kory really doesn't know when to shut up. After she and Dick finish a brief sparring session for the benefit of the other Titans:
  Kory: You lasted longer this time.
  Terra: (snickers)
  Kory: I meant in training, obviously. He's quite proficient when we have s—
  Dick: Kory!
• Lighter and Softer: The movie is rated PG-13 despite some materials from the comic that would classify it as rated R.
• Long Game: Brother Blood's plan, which has spanned centuries.
• Made of Iron: Damian and Dick, but especially Damian. He takes so much damage from super-powered Slade that, under more realistic conditions, his bones should all be mush.
• Mercy Kill: Mayhem shoots Blood after he's been drained of his power by Raven, to spare him prison.
• Mirror Character: Damian effortlessly deduces how Slade psychologically controls Terra through isolation and indoctrination. As a child groomed to be the successor as leader to the League of Assassins, he of all people would know.
• The Mole: Terra is working with Deathstroke to capture the Titans.
• Mook Chivalry: A rare version on the heroes' side. After Blood absorbs all of the Titans' powers, their "fight" consists of the Titans repeatedly rushing at Blood one at a time, to no effect.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Terra is horrified when she realizes that the man she trusted, whom she saw as a father and future-lover, betrayed her and left her to die with the Titans for mere payment. What's more, she seems to realize that the Titans in a year cared for her well-being more than Deathstroke during her entire life... and she just betrayed them for him.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Nightwing this time around actually is sporting his New 52 costume. Of course, this costume with the bird being red can bring back unpleasant memories for some.
  • In the prologue, Gar's costume is wearing a cowl with purple horns, a reference to the unusual costume he wore back in the Doom Patrol/Titans West days.
  • Also appearing in the prologue, Gar is seen wearing the purple and black suit that Beast Boy wears in Teen Titans.
• Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Beast Boy when talking about Terra refuses to badmouth her during the podcast. He has every reason to, given that she nearly got him and the whole team killed, but she also saved them when the chips came down and she finally realized who was truly on her side.
• Obi-Wan Moment: Slade gets this just before his death.
  Deathstroke: So long, kid.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Raven and Terra's unseen battle left the room they were in utterly trashed. While we don't see how it got that way and it's clear that Terra eventually won, those two girls threw down a major battle.
• Once More, with Clarity: We see how (most) of the Titans were captured by Slade when Dick investigates the aftermath and pieces together what happened.
• One-Man Army: Terra is this when going all out. Garfield's a big-time sweeper, too.
• Pets as a Present: At the end of the movie, Raven gives a great dane puppy to Damian, showing how they've grown closer to one another.
• Powers as Programs: Brother Blood uses a machine to successfully transfer the Titans' powers into himself in spite of their disparate sources: alien biology, alien technology, mutation, magic from demonic heritage, and raw physical training and conditioning.
• Pragmatic Adaptation: It's set within the New 52-based movies and replacing Cyborg with Blue Beetle and features Damian Wayne. It also updates the Terra and Deathstroke relationship, to show that Terra has less culpability than she did in the comic and to not give Slade any redeeming moments. Terra and Slade are also not actively sleeping together in this adaption, Terra wants to be but Slade is stringing her along.
• Precious Puppy: Raven gives Damian a puppy at the end of the film, which is later revealed (in the Batman movies taking place after this) to be Titus.
• Properly Paranoid: Damian is convinced that something deeper than trauma is affecting Terra's behavior. It wasn't bad enough that he suspected she was a traitor, though. He even turned his back to her and told her to stay back so Slade couldn't hurt her.
• Say My Name: Terra screams Slade's name after breaking free from captivity following his turning on her.
• Schmuck Bait: Beast Boy is tricked into going to a podcast with Kevin Smith where there's nothing but a Big Red Button labeled "Do Not Press!" Naturally, he presses it. This sends several sedative darts into his chest, rendering him unconscious.
  Nightwing: [investigating the scene after the fact] Oh, come on, Gar!
• Setting Update: From the 1980s to the 2010s.
• Sex God: Starfire nearly tells the team that Dick is "proficient" in the bedroom, only to be cut off by him.
  Starfire: [Starfire just defeated Dick in a sparring match] You did very well. You lasted far longer this time.
  Terra: [snickers]
  Starfire: I meant in training, of course. He's very proficient when we have se-
  Dick: Kory!
• Ship Tease: Again, between Damian and Raven. Though it's less obvious compared to Justice League vs Teen Titans, they do share a certain level of intimacy and understanding with one another. She's also the only one who gets to call him out on his attitude without him getting too nasty in return. It's most obvious in their final scene together when Raven gives him a puppy as a gift and he accepts.
• Something Else Also Rises: When Terra kisses Beast Boy, her powers levitate a bunch of rocks.
• The Stinger: Jericho heals from his headshot and his eyes glow.
• Stripperific: Starfire's flashback costume, while still very conservative by comparison to her comic look, shows a lot more skin than her usual one in current media, more akin to her original comics costume.
• There Are No Therapists: Terra's clearly suffering from some sort of trouble, not even counting the stuff the Titans don't know about, as her nightmares frequently cause her powers to shake the whole tower. Getting her any real help isn't entertained at any point. Raven offers to teach her some meditation techniques, but that's as far is it goes.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Slade's reaction to Terra going apocalyptic on him after he betrayed her.
• Together in Death: After shooting Blood, Mayhem holds his body as Blood's lair collapses on top of them.
• Uncanny Valley Makeup: Just to add to the Squick of the whole thing, Terra's face is caked in makeup (in a poor fashion that only makes her look like a child trying to be grown-up) when she tries seducing Slade.
• Villainous Breakdown: Brother Blood begins ranting about his destiny while his lair is collapsing. He barely pauses as the Titans are beating him up in the middle of it.
• Visual Innuendo: When Blue Beetle is at his job and goes into the closet, his coworker opens the door. Just pause the video and think about where his hand is.
• Was It All a Lie?: Terra angrily asks Slade if she was just another test subject for him to study just like the Titans had been to him. A very understandable question, since he sold her out to Brother Blood and left her to die. Deathstroke tries to claim it was a misunderstanding, not really answering her question. It doesn't matter; when she's free, she goes on a full rampage against him.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: We never do find out exactly how Slade managed to capture Starfire.
• World of Snark: Everybody gets in a few good digs.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Nearly half of Mayhem's role in this film is shooting people once they're no longer of use. Since she's dealing with cult members, they just take this quietly. And in the end, Brother Blood learns the problem with having someone with this trope as her solution for everything as his right hand the hard way.

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