Justice League vs Teen Titans
There is a sequence at the beginning as the film opens with the Justice League (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Cyborg) battling the Legion of Doom (Lex Luthor, Cheetah, Weather Wizard, Toymaster and Solomon Grundy). Solomon Grundy comes raging down the street and says “Grundy smash!” – why is he being used more and more like a DC version of Hulk?
Damien Wayne, the latest version of Robin, is sent to learn how to be a team member by working with the Teen Titans. This version of the group includes Starfire as an elder and the group’s leader, with younger versions of Beast Boy, Raven and Blue Beetle. Of course Robin does not play well with others, so there’s a lot of friction taking place here.
The basic plot of the story has to do with Raven’s father, the demon Trigon, coming. This is a decent plot, one that makes sense and when used with (and against) the Justice League it has the makings for one of the more iconic stories in the DC universe in that it could wind up affecting a whole lot of different characters. Only thing is, the Justice League doesn’t seem to have a lot of members – where are all the other DC heroes?
A montage about 30 minutes in features clips of the youths doing things that… well, it’s a bit cliche, but used for a character purpose. I get that. What I could not understand was the choice of music, which I assume was meant to sound like some pop/punk band that dominated the airwaves 10 years ago. While in itself a decent mission statement, the problem is the execution is poorly done. The band does not capture the essence of youth or self-discovery or… well, it sounds like an album track from a band that broke up after two albums because they failed to have a hit single and the record company dropped them.
Special features kick off with “Growing Up Titan” a 20 minute examination of the Teen Titans as a concept through publication and team history. We also get a couple of minutes examining both Raven and Trigon. Then we get a few trailers and episodes of DC animated shows featuring the teen heroes. The best of the special features, of course, is the first one.
While it isn’t the best of the animated features Justice League v Teen Titans it worth checking out for fans of DC’s pantheon.