Rating:  -
Read this before Judas Contract. It's what leads up to the greatest comic book story arc ever.
Rating:  -
I was never a big fan of the Terra character when she made her debut in these early New Teen Titans stories in the eighties, but the eventual Judas Contract arc that followed later on was a classic that couldn't have been done without the early machinations of the Terminator and the involvement of his young protege, which become clear once you've read this collection. There are some solid stories in here, and the drama alone is enough to make any fan of the Titans buy this trade, even if Terra was never a favorite. I enjoyed reading this because of the other Titans (Changeling and Cyborg were always well-written), the explosive action scenes and terrific art by George Perez, not to mention the funny dialogue writer Marv Wolfman inserts every now and then. During the course of these stories the Titans battle some rather low grade villains (Trident and Scrapelli, Thunder & Lightning) but also encounter The Brotherhood of Evil (old Doom Patrol enemies) and the aforementioned Terminator, and this is where things really get interesting. The Terminator is a classic ruthless and conniving adversary, while Terra displays her true nature and full extent of her power but not enough personality. Initially she starts off as an unconvincing rebel who turns to the Titans for help much too quickly. Nevertheless, I gave this trade 4 stars because Terra's team members are done so well, and they remained interesting until the end of the series years after these comics chronicling the betrayal of one of their own (which would have carried even more emotional impact had she been a member of the team longer). Buy this comic for the excellent interplay between established characters (Nightwing and Starfire come to mind) as well as the awesome super-battles found in almost every issue (A green hippo dropping from the sky, flattening a super-baddie? Cool) not to mention the very first appearances of The Vigilante and the assassin Cheshire in comics.
Rating: -
Interest in Terra of the Teen Titans comic book series has escalated since the character premiered in the animated version. In this trade paperback, the infamous Tara Markov makes her debut and eventually joins the heroic young group, but is ultimately revealed to be a "Judas" sent by their enemy, Deathstroke the Terminator,and that storyline is concluded in the follow-up tpb but printed first, "The Judas Contract."
Just a few stories short of ALL the original Terra stories (I believe one omission was a two-parter with the Outsiders series, which featured her brother, GeoForce), this collection starts perhaps the TT's most famous saga.
After re-reading this stories twenty some years later, it becomes evident that all the clues to Terra's upcoming betrayal are all there, and perhaps she isn't as multifaceted as some readers believe. Granted, there are a few panels which may indicate she is re-thinking her upcoming betrayal, but it might be that the fan base, expecting her to redeem herself at the last moment, has let their expectations color their judgement. What makes the story particularly tragic is that youngest Titan, Changeling (or Beast Boy) begins to fall for her-- hard, and that is what gives the tale it's emotional gravitas.
In the Teen Titans Companion, Mr. Wolfman reveals that he came up with the Terra plotline by looking at the X-Men's Kitty Pryde, and introducing a young female character that would appear sweet and innocent, but in reality was anything but.
In retrospect and comparing the comic book version to the recent animated one, it would seem that the original doesn't seem as fully realized as the one Glen Murakami developed for the cartoon version. It is the Terra storyline from the Teen Titans, along with the "Dark Phoenix" one from the X-Men, which brought real heartbreak into the comic book world, and after twenty years, many fans still debate Terra's fate.
I can't say I've ever been a big fan of the Trigon parts of the story, but "Terra Incognito" is a great start to a powerful story.
And it's great to see the young Changeling wise-crack again.
JThree
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