Cartoon Network giveth, Cartoon Network taketh away. Spoilers ahead.
Teen Titans seems to be launching its next long arc with last night’s Raven-centered episode. As with Terra, the show mines some classic stories from the comics, playing up Raven’s demonic heritage and terrible destiny. I actually prefer the cartoon Raven to the comic-book version. I loved the Marv Wolfman/George Perez comics, don’t get me wrong, but the cartoon’s portrayal of Raven as tough and guarded makes more sense to me. The comic Raven seems like such a sad sack in comparison. In the cartoon, she seems more heroic (and potentially tragic) because she’s less of an obvious martyr. The character’s spooky edge is communicated more clearly, too.
Despite that advantage, I thought last night’s episode was pretty dull. Protracted fight scenes didn’t mask the fact that the audience wasn’t really learning anything new. And the show seems to be running the risk of creating a scenario that could be averted (or at least mitigated considerably) if the characters would just talk to each other for five minutes. Robin, as he’s been portrayed, doesn’t seem likely to let things drop quite as easily as he does here. Still, it’s the beginning of the story, so it’s got plenty of time to improve.
And where do I even start on Justice League Unlimited? Happy as I am for Dorian that Wildcat was featured in the episode, I wish old Ted hadn’t been quite so pitiful. He was just so easily manipulated and his motive (fragile male ego, basically) is one that never fails to exhaust me. Poor old bruiser feels threatened by the shiny new kids with a heaping helping of Fight Club thrown in.
And, man, was there a lot of cheesecake in that episode. Black Canary: formidable fighter, a little manipulative, powerful sonic scream… admire her many heroic attributes, and, while you’re doing that, let your gaze lovingly rest on her jiggling boobs. I was thrown around a lot, from admiring the Barbara Stanwyck/Veronica Lake visual inspirations to thinking, “Now why the hell was that shot needed?” I can’t see very much chemistry between BC and Green Arrow, either, but that might be because I’m usually too busy gaping at GA’s horrifyingly Liefeldian torso to listen to what he’s saying.
The whole “teach Wildcat a valuable lesson by letting him think he’s killed GA” bit was just plain odd. Yes, GA was faking, but does that really seem like a good way to drive a change of mind? I would think the memory of the act and the knowledge that he was capable of such a thing would be enough to sideline Wildcat for a good long while. For all intents and purposes, and for a brief period of time, he believed he had killed GA, and had at least subconsciously wanted to do so. Where do you go from there? (Into therapy with Martian Manhunter, apparently, though recent comics couldn’t help but create the impression that Ted was headed in for some mindwiping. This along with the Dr. Light cameo in Teen Titans made it a very Identity Crisis evening of animation.)
Speaking of cartoons, I’m feeling the need to sample some anime. (I’ve also finally signed up for Netflix, so it should be easier to do.) If you’ve got any recommendations, send them my way either here or at the Flipped Forum.