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Pretend you are on a game show and are asked what DC Comics does best. What would you say? Well if I were there next to you, I would whisper the answer in your ear: release straight-to-video animated movies to coincide with upcoming movies for theaters. This was the obvious intention of Justice League vs Teen Titans. Published the same year as Batman vs Superman (which was also an apparent set up for the Justice League film) this 2016 animated movie offers a taste of the New-52 style DC characters from a unique perspective.
The plot brilliantly sets up the Teen Titans to be introduced to a new generation of fans. Damian Wayne (Batman’s son and sidekick Robin) is sent to meet and interact with the Teen Titans as retribution for not following commands. We meet Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and others. We mostly get familiar with the background of Raven, who apparently has a Satan-like character for a father named Trigon. This comes into play later when demon-like spirits start possessing bodies.
It is not until more than half way through the movie do we get to actually experience the “Justice League vs Teen Titans” moment. As you may have predicted, the entire Justice League becomes possessed. Except for Batman of course, who is always too smart to let anything bad happen to him. Meanwhile we get an entertaining image of Flash punching Robin square in the face. I replayed this portion many times and is absolutely hilarious.
Another funny part is when Superman stomps on Flash’s leg to break it, causing the possessed entity inside him to leave his body. The way Flash’s leg bends makes you wonder if his leg ever heal in a proper position ever again. Superman seems awfully unapologetic about, almost as if he was proud of himself for hurting his friend.
I will admit that there were also some uncomfortable moments. As you may already know, Starfire and Nightwing have a history of a sensual relationship. This is only implied in this movie, and there is nothing explicit, except for one odd scene. The two of them are video chatting while Starfire is in a robe, as if she just got out of the shower. She reaches for a hair brush, bending forward toward her computer. Her melons nearly pop out and Nightwing takes a nice glance. The spiciness breaks the theme for an otherwise PG-13 style cartoon movie.
There is also a strange and awkward scene where the Titans go to a fair or something. For some reason, there is a Dance-Dance-Revolution type game prominently displayed outside. Robin and Beast Boy engage in a distracting and unnecessary competition. This is during a carnival scene where Starfire insisted that the crew participate in “mandatory fun”. We see Raven’s father, Trigon, here for the first time.
There’s a cute scene here where Raven and Damian (Robin) are on a carousel, sitting next to each other. Since a carousel is a place where couples often kiss, the two characters look at each other awkwardly a couple times, then look away. The idea of these two having a relationship is an interesting one, since they are both mentally distant and have similar damaged personalities. At the end of the movie Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, we see Raven and Robin kiss and embrace each other to reflect the dark ending. (No pun intended.)
Since the word “teen” is in the title, you expect all the characters to be teens. The thing though is that a few of them don’t look like teenagers at all. Starfire is clearly older than the rest, since some early dialog implies that her and Dick Grayson, also known as the previous Robin, were on the team together in the past. Since Grayson is now all grown up as Nightwing, we know her age doesn’t match the rest of the team. Raven also looks a bit older than you would expect, seeming a bit tall for her alleged age.
When you read the title “Justice League vs Teen Titans”, you expect a proper outcome to see who would win in a fair fight. The main fight earlier in the movie has The Justice League clearly having the upper hand and beats the crap out of The Teen Titans. However, Raven manages to get Trigon trapped in a stone again by the end of the film, arguably making it seem as if The Titans saves The Justice League.
Basically all of the major DC Superheroes are in this movie, so if you are a fan of any (or all!) of them, watch this movie for sure. (Affiliate link)