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"My name is Terra. I have done horrible things. And I have absolutely no regrets. "
- TerraOriginally aired: August 21, 2004 Written by Amy Wolfram
Directed by Alex Soto
In a world without Titans, Slade has taken control of everything: the streets, the city, and the heart of his young Apprentice. But ... are our heroes really gone?
Ron Perlman as Slade
Ashley Johnson as Terra
Dee Bradley Baker as Cinderblock, Plasmus, Overload
The theme of reflections continues in the Terra arc; The mirror Beast Boy gave her in BETRAYAL breaks in the opening sequence
Sam Register on AFTERSHOCK: "There was some issues with how bad we could make Terra – and how we end it. Obviously, it comes to a pretty sad end in the comics. So how do we end it in the cartoon so it still means something, but maybe isn’t as violent. And how to deal with having her smoke and drink which she did in the comic – we couldn’t do that, obviously. But other than that, it was a very simple story about betrayal. And you didn’t have to change too much to make the idea of betrayal work for the show."Comic Book Writer Marv Wolfman on the animated Terra on his Today's Views column: "Because of last night's moving episode of The Teen Titans cartoon show on Cartoon Network, I've been getting a lot of emails asking me to bring back Terra in one way or another. It reminds me of when we did the original version of that story 20+ years ago. Terra then, and now, elicited a lot of strong feelings, including one death threat. But Terra in the comics is dead and has been (the 2nd Terra who appeared in Team Titans, was clearly and honestly described as a girl who had been kidnapped and brainwashed into thinking she was Terra and the Titans were led, through duplicity, to believe that she was the original. But she never was). The Terra on TV, more repentant than the psychopathic killer from the comics, has been, well, see the episode for yourselves. However, for all those writing to me, as much as I love hearing your thoughts and comments about the characters George Pérez and I created way back when, I really have no say as to what goes on in the TV show."
Producer David Slack on understanding Terra: "We definitely struggled to figure out who she was and why she was doing what she was doing. I was looking at the last pass of the final script just balling my eyes out. I mean, she's just lost. Something inside her hurts so bad that right and wrong don't matter anymore."
" I think that what's cool about the JUDAS CONTRACT is that it's a tragedy. And the trick of tragedy is to not give you the easy answers. I don't know if she redeemed herself with what she did. I know she did one thing right, but as fans pointed out, she also caused that volcano. I know she sacrificed herself to save the city and her friends but she also betrayed them. I think the tragedy is that she'll never be able to explain herself. And when people do get lost in their own lives, there's a point we can't understand. Like why that person got into drugs or why that person killed himself. I think it's complicated. Evil is complicated. We definitely wanted a sense that she redeemed herself ... but in the end, I don't know that she did or not."
"And I think whether you're a writer, an artist or a director... the art form we're all working in is stories. And I think the best told stories stick to your ribs. That you find yourself thinking about them later on. The key is to give enough so the story makes sense - but not enough that you tell them everything. I think we have a pretty smart audience; There's a lot of brains thinking about this stuff. I think everybody I know knows somebody who got lost in life. Someone that couldn't hang on like the rest of us could. And they'd get involved with bad people or drugs or whatever."
"Whether Terra is or isn't evil, I cared about her. I was sad to see her go. I think Terra's story is a story about responsibility. I think Terra doesn't feel responsibility for anything she does. As a result, she feels very out of control. She feels like she needs somebody else to be to be in charge of her. In the end, she finally does take charge. Whether or not she was actually a good person or an evil person, I think she finally resolved whatever was plaguing her. She finally found some real spine and real courage. "
Producer David Slack on the intensity of AFTERSHOCK: "You cant write a show that kids are watching and not wonder if you're going too far with it. But we have a lot of people looking out to make sure that doesn't happen. In the end I don't feel we've done anything bad for audience. Lately, I've been thinking back to the Disney movies we grew up with, and they're really dark. There's some really dark and scary stuff that happens there. And I don't think it's a terrible thing for children to be scared by something they see on TV because that how we learn to deal with being scared. It'd be a bad thing if there was a generation that didn't know how to handle being scared. I don't worry about it too much. But writing the scenes with Slade and Robin and Slade and Terra is one thing, but seeing the animation, it's a grown man beating up a teenager. So there's definitely moments where you go, "Woah. That's intense."
"But in the end, Slade gets what's coming to him. In the end, it ends... well, reasonably well. [laughs] But the show can get really intense. We've all kinda had moments where we'll look at each other and go, "Yikes. Are we going too far here?" But thus far, no one has complained. And I feel good about it. And we have a lighter arc coming in season three, so we'll see how that turns out. "
Writer/Stort Editor Amy Wolfram on AFTERSHOCK: "Well, we also saw that as her redemption too. It wasn't necessarily a sad thing; She saw what she needed to do save the world and her friends... in some ways, to save herself. So we went for that. I certainly wanted to beat up Slade more than they let me [laughs]. I threw him in boiling lava and even that didn't seem to be enough."
Terra betrayed the team in the classic JUDAS CONTRACT story in TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #42-44 and Annual #3 [1984]; She used the Titans secrets and weaknesses against them.The comic book Terra is much more unstable than her animated counterpart. She hates the Titans for no reason. When Slade and Terra's scheme falls apart, she loses any grip she had on sanity. She's so far gone that she uses her powers to create earthquakes that consume her in a mountain of debris. Beast Boy later finds her dead body. The Titans gives her a hero's funeral and don't reveal to the public she was a traitor. It all happens in TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS Annual #3. But the comic book Terra never shows an ounce of remorse.
This event effects the Titans for quite some time in the comic books. Beast Boy blames Slade, and later realizes Terra was evil before Slade met her. And for awhile, the Titans have trouble trusting new people.
Animated Terra vs Comic Book Terra:
Same tale of betrayal. Two slightly different takes on it. The comic book Terra, ultimately, is an unredeemable psychopath. When first introduced, she appears to be a mouthy but confused girl. Six issues later, we learn she is secretly working with Slade to bring down the Titans. As the story continues, there are a few times where it seems Terra may have a change of heart... but in the end, she betrays them all with no regrets.Terra's insanity consumes her. She hates the Titans for absolutely no reason and ends up taking her own life in a explosive display of her powers. This leaves the Titans with sorrow and confusion: Why did Terra do this? Beast Boy becomes consumed with confronting Slade, believing he is responsible for corrupting her. When he does locate Slade, he learns the truth: Terra was corrupt when Slade met her. She had already killed at least one person at the age of 15. She lost any capacity for good long before Slade even met her.
The animated Terra is also a confused and lonely girl. But from the outset in TERRA, we learn she has the capacity for good. Here, it is established that Terra has a pattern of going to a new place, and it all falls in ruins when she can't control her powers. Slade plants the seeds of doubt in Terra concerning the Titans. Ironically, at the end of TERRA, it is Terra who is 'betrayed' by Beast Boy... setting things in motion that will have serious consequences.
The animated Terra is set on a destructive course by Slade. She is unstable and desperate - and Slade has promised he can help her control her powers. Terra knows her lack of control is what prevents her from ever having a home. And, in her mind, the Titans are not her friends... they betrayed HER. When animated Terra infiltrates the Titans, she has no hesitation to enact Slade's plan. And despite some guilt, she goes through with it. She does terrible things. She leaves the Titans - except Beast Boy - for dead in BETRAYAL.
Once again, when she almost escapes Slade's influence, she feels betrayed by Beast Boy when he said "You have no friends." Beast Boy has no reason to forgive or trust her at that point, but Terra seeks his acceptance nonetheless. That's actually the key to animated Terra's character: All she is seeking is acceptance... from someone.
Terra allows herself to be influenced by these events and she sets out to destroy the Titans. I'm glad the series made a point of highlighting the fact that Terra is responsible for her choices. Despite her ultimate change of heart, Terra did terrible things. Unlike her comic book counterpart, animated Terra at least still had the capacity for good. She is able to at last become her own person and make the right choice. Raven makes an interesting observation early in the episode, when she notes Terra seemed scared, but not sorry. Big difference. Later in the episode, Terra finally says she is sorry for everything... marking a turning point for her. Finally, she sees the effect of all the horrible things she's done.
The original comic book tale, JUDAS CONTRACT, was like a sucker punch to readers. I think many of the readers thought Terra might have a last minute change of heart.. or at least, a measure of regret. The fact that she was irredeemable was shocking at the time. Part of me misses that 'sucker punch' impact in the animated series.
But the animated Terra was more sympathetic from the outset. And the writers certainly didn't paint her as a 'victim' of Slade. She betrayed the Titans of her own volition - and paid the ultimate price.
The closing words from Beast Boy say it all: "Her name was Terra. She was gifted with tremendous power and cursed with it as well. She was a dangerous enemy and a good friend. And she was one of the bravest people I have ever known."
For more information on the comic book versions of the characters - including many images - visit titanstower.com's meeting room page.