Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)

Dir. Sam Liu

A second DCAMU outing for the super-powered youths, this time based on a story arc of the same name by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez that featured in The New Teen Titans comic book. I've not read the full arc, so can't say how faithful it is or isn't.

It also functions as a sequel to the previous year's Justice League vs Teen Titans (2016) animated feature, which I have seen. From that perspective, it's merely an okay movie.

The character that was teased in the closing credits of the previous movie is now a member of the group. Her name is Tara (Christina Ricci). As with any established collective, a new face has an effect on the team dynamic, but she plays a major role and is the focus of many of the story's themes.

Justice League vs Teen Titans (2016)

Justice League vs Teen Titans (2016)

Dir. Sam Liu

While the 'heroes vs other heroes' thing isn't a new concept for DC, it was pleasing to see the Teen Titans included in the continuity of the DCAMU movies because, while I'm not as familiar with the group in comic book form, I loved the 2003-06 animated series. And  their involvement gave the writers an opportunity to address concerns that the Justice League might not be best equipped to tackle alone.

A connection to the Titans is made when Batman, tired of Damian's pissy attitude, sends the boy to Titan Towers in the hope that time spent with crusaders of his own age will help him to learn the value of teamwork. (And secretly he maybe just wanted some time away from the little turd for a while.)