Justice League vs. Teen Titans

The Justice League and their younger counterpart, the Teen Titans, have operated separately for the most part, although there have been times where the two superhero teams have banded together to face against a common enemy. Despite its namesake, Justice League vs. Teen Titans is one of those times.

The catalyst for bringing together both the Justice League and the Teen Titans together for the first time in a DC Universe Animated Original movie is Damian, the new Robin. Initially working as part of the Justice League in the beginning of the film, his actions are deemed too rash and selfish by the other members of the group. In an effort to teach his son about teamwork, Batman sends Damian off to train as part of the Teen Titans, led by Starfire. Meanwhile, a new enemy is gaining power and threatens all of humanity. The demon Trigon wants to take over the entire world, but he needs his daughter, Teen Titan Raven, in order to do so. Fighting people with superpowers is one thing, but taking down a literal god is something neither the Justice League nor the Teen Titans have faced.

Justice League vs. Teen Titans has all the main characters from both teams, but the main focus of the film is mostly on Damian and the Teen Titans, especially Raven since it’s her dad who’s causing all the chaos. If you’re not familiar with Damian I would recommend watching the trilogy of animated films beginning with Son of Batman, although they’re not necessary when watching JL vs. TT. The two teams actually do face off against each other in the film, too. Members of the Justice League have been possessed by Trigon’s minions and it’s up to the Teen Titans to take them down. It’s an exciting matchup to watch, but the bigger picture has always been Trigon.

The Blu-ray includes a good amount of bonus features that are quite lengthy. The featurette Growing Up Titan is somewhat of a mini-documentary that explores the origins of the Teen Titans in the comic books and is really interesting for DC fans. There are also two Heroes and Villains vignettes on Raven and Trigon and further explore their characters. If by chance you want more Justice League and Teen Titans after watching the film, the Blu-ray includes two cartoon episodes from the DC Comics Vault; “Sidekicks Assemble!” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold and “The Prophecy” from Teen Titans. But perhaps most exciting is a 10-minute preview of the upcoming animated film adaptation of The Killing Joke which marks the long awaited return of Mark Hamill as the Joker. That alone is worth the price.

Warner Bros. has done a fantastic job with the DC Animated Universe, much better in fact than their live-action counterpart. Justice League vs. Teen Titans is another solid entry in the franchise and the best “vs” film to come out this year.