Movie Review: Justice League vs. Teen Titans

After The Avengers and the Justice League themselves, the Teen Titans may be the next recognizable name in the pantheon of superheroes. A team of heroes that younger audiences can relate to, share problems with, and cheer for. Generations have grown up reading their comic books and watching their animated shows. Now in this more mature DC animated universe, the Titans are in for a more mature spin. Can they hold their own against the Justice League? Is this a good edition to the DC animated universe? Read on to find out!

In Justice League vs. Teen Titans “Robin is sent to work with the Teen Titans- Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and Blue Beetle- after his volatility botches a Justice League mission. The young team must really step up to face Trigon after he possesses the League and threatens to conquer the world.”

Like any other superhero team, the membership of the Teen Titans is always changing over the years. After Cyborg surged in popularity, DC made him an official member of the Justice League in the New 52 comic line and in this Animated Universe. So those of you who watch this movie and expect Cyborg to be with the Titans, you may be in for a bit of a surprise. In this universe the Titans consist of Beast, Raven, Blue Beetle and Starfire as leader. It seems Dick Grayson was part of the team in the past, but has moved on.

Justice League vs. Teen Titans does an excellent job of presenting the motivations of it’s characters. Robin being sent to the Teen Titans makes sense, his relationships with the other Titans makes sense and the development of those relationships is well done. The movie doesn’t try to rush from A to Z. It takes time to show these characters getting to know one another. You get a good idea of what each Titan is about.

The animation and action choreography in this movie is also worth noting. The DC Animated Universe has adopted an anime style. Not the first time DC has used this style for their animation. It’s something they’ve seemingly become comfortable with over the years and it’s a perfect style for the mature tone they try to achieve.

And a mature tone this movie is. Like many, I grew up with G rated Teen Titans. The most mature thing about them was the occasional relationship. This movie doesn’t stretch the boundaries much further, but in this adaptation Starfire and Raven are definitely…more developed. There is also a mild sex scene, not involving the Titans, but they do comment on it. So long story short, this may not be for your little ones.

While this is a good character piece, the movie doesn’t live up to it’s name. While there is a good deal of fighting between the Titans and the Justice League, it’s in the cheapest way possible: the Justice League gets possessed by Trigon’s demon minions. It’s a shame because for a moment in the movie it actually looked like they were going to have a battle brought on by conflicting ideologies. The movie quickly pulls the rug out from under that idea.

Trigon is Raven’s father and he is essentially one of the Teen Titan’s big villains. He is an awesomely powered demon capable of mass destruction and the most interesting part about him is his relationship with Raven. They presented this relationship pretty well in this movie. He’s a really cool villain and I’d like to see more of him somewhere down the road.

Overall, this is more of a Teen Titan movie than a hero vs hero movie. Honestly, it’s even more of a Raven movie than a Teen Titans movie. It’s a really good Raven movie though. Her relationship with Damian Wayne is well done. They don’t try to force it down your throat and they don’t even capitalize on what they set up, all they put out there are the pieces that could possibly be put together in the future. This was a good edition to the DCAU. It wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but I came away entertained nonetheless. Fans of Cyborg with the Teen Titans won’t be disappointed either as it seems he joins the team at the end. We also see a little teaser that showed us Terra. Terra is a hero that was once Deathstroke’s apprentice. She has the ability to control fragments of the Earth.

If you’ve enjoyed the DCAU thus far, I suggest checking out this movie. I’d put it above the Aquaman movie and possibly even the first Justice League movie. Just keep in mind that it isn’t exactly the best League vs Titans movie. It is good for other reasons though. If you’re a fan of the Teen Titans, I definitely suggest watching this. If you watched the cartoons or read the comics growing up, this will seem like a bit of a departure, but the characters all feel familiar. They feel the same but a little more grown up.