Justice League vs. Teen Titans

• Directed by Sam Liu
• March 26, 2016 (WonderCon) / March 29, 2016 (US)

Voice Cast

• Bruce Wayne/Batman-Jason O’Mara
• Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman-Jerry O’Connell
• Diana Prince/Wonder Woman-Rosario Dawson
• Barry Allen/Flash-Christopher Gorham
• Victor Stone/Cyborg-Shemar Moore
• Damian Wayne/Robin-Stuart Allan
• Dick Grayson/Nightwing-Sean Maher
• Koriand’r/Starfire-Kari Wahlgren
• Rachel Roth/Raven-Taissa Farmiga
• Garfield Logan/Beast Boy-Brandon Soo Hoo
• Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle-Jake T. Austin
• Trigon-Jon Bernthal
• Lex Luthor, Toyman-Steve Blum
• Ra’s al Ghul-Terrence C. Carson
• Weather Wizard, Solomon Grundy, Atomic Skull-Rick D. Wasserman
• Angela Chen-Laura Bailey

Robin is sent to the Teen Titans where they face the demonic Trigon when he possesses the Justice League.

I was not a fan of Teen Titans or even Teen Titans Go! Neither connected with me. I wasn’t a fan of the animation style or the stories. So I went into Justice League vs. Teen Titans with a little trepidation fearing something silly. Yet I have a level of confidence when it comes to DC animation so in I went.

If you’re going to start a superhero movie in an already established universe (which this is) then a big battle is certainly a good way. If you start with a bang there’s nowhere to go but up. And this opens with a big battle with the Justice League facing off against a version of The Legion of Doom and introduces a villain that if you know anything about comic books you know is Trigon. Not that anybody in the story realizes it.

Our character of Raven, who is a member of the Teen Titans, is the key to everything. One thing that they kind of highlight is superhero groups in the comics tend to take in anybody with little or no background knowledge other than whatever was attained in the moment that they joined up. As a comics fan I’ve always questioned that, but in the fictional world of comics it works more often than not. 

As usual for DC animation Justice League vs. Teen Titans is only around 80 minutes or so with too much of it being used to feature the Justice League rather than focusing on the newly introduced Teen Titans. Were they relying on previous material to avoid characterization or even just get across a general vibe?

I like that it leans into the horror realm but only ever so slightly. Trigon after all is a demon and Raven uses black magic. I think they could’ve certainly gone much more strongly into the realm of horror with this and not made it something inappropriate for their core market which is probably young adults and the general comic book fan. 

I disliked some of this particular arc of the DCAU. It was taking a page from the comics from the New 52 by starting a romance between Wonder Woman and Superman. It has always been Lois. It’s not about having someone as physically strong as Superman but someone as personally strong as Superman. And I think the people who thought the Wonder Woman/Superman relationship was a good idea for the comics and for the animated films missed that point. But anyway…

Kif they were looking to explore relationships the story is at its best whenever it explores the dynamic between the Teen Titans. It plays like a close yet somewhat dysfunctional family. They form a bond despite having stark differences in their personalities. And by the end they are a team.

Some of the dynamics between the characters would be much more familiar to those knowledgeable of the comics than those who are being exposed to this for the first time in this film. I’m not even talking about any other animated DC films. For example you know there’s something going on between Starfire and Nightwing but the extent of it is a complete mystery unless you know about the comics.

Mixed in with themes of what home is or where home is we have an origin of Raven whose mother was in a cult of Satan worshipers that cast a spell that actually works and summon the demon Trigon who then impregnated her mom and gave birth to Raven. And if you know anything about the comics, the story ends with Raven imprisoning her dad in a gem that’s kept in her forehead. At least by the end of the story.

The narrative hints at aspects of abuse and being susceptible to easy answers but never quite gets there. I’m not saying it had to go heavy into it, but it would’ve added a little extra to the story.  Then again they would’ve had to do a dump much of the element with the Justice League as well as added a few minutes but it would’ve been worth it.

The title implies an actual conflict between the Justice League and Teen Titans, but it really is not. That peeves me. Always has. Unless the characters go head-to-head do not give me a title implying conflict. Here it is more a brief control by the villain.

As a film Justice League vs. Teen Titans is a nice action story. There is nothing heavy beneath the surface but it’s entertaining.