This animated film is very well done and continues in the same universe as ‘Son of Batman’ and ‘Justice League vs Teen Titans.’ Not for all ages cartoon, due to cursing and violence. ‘Teen Titans: The Judas Contract’ is an adapted version on the 1984 comic of the same name, with a few tweaks to the story that fit with the characters & current Teen Titans team. It helps to have a solid base for the characters and build-up to the story, ‘The Judas Contract,’ otherwise this film might seem a bit out of place. It seems incomplete to have a great story about the Teen Titans and not to have Cyborg. Limited research showed that this was due to Warner Bros wanting to have Cyborg solely associated with The Justice League for the upcoming live-action movie than with the animated Teen Titans. Cyborg has appeared in this animated film universe before, like ‘JusticeLeague: Doom’ & ‘Teen Titans vs Justice League’ movies, but as a member of The Justice League. So I guess Warner Bros have decided Cyborg is Justice League only, which is too bad, because he is such a crucial member of Teen Titans. ‘The Judas Contract’ story first appeared in animation on the ever popular Teen Titans cartoon, which is still a great, light-hearted series.
My main problem with this animated feature was the Terra storyline. It felt wildly inappropriate to have a young teenager (13?), Terra, wanting to date a 55 year-old man, Deathstroke; I just felt weirded out with every scene. Were they actually sleeping together? Did I miss that? Even creepier, WTF DC? But I guess since it was in the comics it makes it somehow OK? Nope, still not OK.
(Spoilers) Towards the end, it would have been nice to see Terra turn around & attack Slade, motivated by her own moral compass, saving the Titans at the last moment, instead of solely acting out of revenge, focusing only on killing Deathstroke, all while not caring for the well being of The Titans at all. She could have at least made them a tunnel to the surface, protecting the Titans from the collapsing underground cavern Temple of the Brother Blood Cult. Also, there was no clear explanation of how exactly The Titans escaped this disaster.
Deathstroke returns (spoiler) as the main villain. You may remember he was killed by Damian at the end of ’Son of Batman,’ which was poorly done, by the way. Deathstroke shot at Damien several times, from just 20 feet away, and missed every time! In the comics, Deathstroke, with the help of the serum, gave him metahuman abilities, like shooting The Flash in the knee, as Barry was running full speed. There’s absolutely no reason Deathstroke should have missed at such close range. Anyway, Deathstroke has since been revived from the dead, with the use of Lazarus Pits, and appears in this animated film to exact his revenge on Damien. I think it would have been easier to have just shot Damien with a sniper rifle, but Slade chose an elaborate plan, with years of preparation, bringing the rest of the Titans down at the same time, all while getting paid for it by Brother Blood instead.
Starfire was, again, over sexualized & it is a bit odd, that the leader of the Titans, Starfire/Kori, no longer lives in the Tower; seems like bad leadership skills, which was a recurring theme in this film.
It was great to see Bumble Bee in the beginning flashback sequence and it’s exciting that Wonder Girl, Donna Troy, will be joining The Titans in future DC animated movies (spoilers).
CONCLUSION: ’Teen Titans: The Judas Contract’ was a good film & you should WATCH IT; I just wish Terra’s storyline was better crafted. IMPORTANT NOTE: There’s an end credit scene, so watch through the credits.
sci fi elements 