Teen Titans

Months and months of therapy often yield a common result for most adults these days: resurgence of suppressed parental issues. Being a teen superhero doesn't exclude one from this sort of conflict, but when you're Raven this scenario takes on a whole new meaning.

The difference here is that many of us are not direct descendants of demons from alternate dimensions who are hell-bent on inflicting chaos and destruction wherever they are permitted to roam. Kinda makes you cherish your parents a little more doesn't it?

With Mother's Day right around the corner I expect that many Titan fans will be sending an extra special gift of thanks to their mothers for not experimenting with inter-dimensional affairs in their young promiscuous years. Well, I will at least.

Thankfully most of us are not half-demons like our poor Raven, because as cool as it may sound, it can be quite trying on one's soul while trying to contain the evil within. This struggle to maintain control over the darkness comes to a head when the team faces a villain named Dr. Light one evening.

Dr. Light is no stranger to fans of the Titans comics. Having faced the team numerous times in an effort to make a name for himself as a villain, he eventually formed the Fearsome Five alongside Mammoth, Gizmo, Psimon, and Shimmer.

Dr. Light is the third original member of the Fearsome Five to show up in the series thus far, as we've already been treated to Mammoth and Gizmo in Episode 1: Final Exam. That episode also included Jinx, who was a later addition to the Fearsome Five, so hopefully we will see an incarnation of the group in future episodes.

During the tussle with the maniacal Dr. Light, Raven unleashes a side to her personality that has been sorely lacking in the series to date, and that is a firsthand glimpse of the evil that lurks behind her gloomy exterior. As Raven cautioned Light with the subdued warning, "stay back," a tinge of excitement suddenly raced up and down my spine as she suddenly rose into the air, her cape extending in waves below while shadowy tentacles jetted out grabbing hold of Dr. Light and dragging him pleading into the darkness within her cloaked red-eyed visage.

This is Raven at her edgy and dangerous best, a volatile chasm of gloom and impending evil, and this is what every Titan fanboy has been dying to see from this series.

When Titans first aired, Raven's character sent shockwaves through the Titan fan base. Sure the series has been a huge success to date, but her characterization on the show has been the subject of fanboy forum controversy time and time again because many felt the series' creators stifled the complexity of her character by reducing her to nothing more than a teenage goth.

This episode single-handedly proves all these detractors wrong and shows that the series intends to at least acknowledge the intricacies of this character.

All of this aside, each episode in the series must feature a growth lesson of sorts, and it seems Cyborg and Beast Boy are up to the challenge this time around. After Raven's mysterious transformation, Beast Boy attempts to reconcile the matter over a home cooked meal, but Raven's mood causes a greater disturbance.

The team insists that Beast Boy apologize for upsetting Raven, and he ends up getting sucked into a mirror he finds laying around Raven's room. Of course, Cyborg gets sucked in too for good measure.

It turns out that the mirror is actually a portal into Raven's mind, a device one would expect to find in a Charlie Kaufman script. Instead of fifteen minutes inside the mind of a renowned method actor, our two heroes find themselves transported into Raven's psyche, where they encounter Ravens of many colored cloaks, each one possessing a different mood that makes up her personality as a whole.

As one could guess, Raven discovers that her friends have invaded her mind and she joins them in the nick of time. It turns out that her personalities have shifted, causing her anger persona to gain more power in her mind. This persona is directly linked to her ancestry, and her demon father Trigon, whom the three must battle to escape Raven's mind.

Now here is where Tom Pugsley and Greg Klien, the writers behind this episode, execute their greatest maneuver. Somehow they manage to slip an appearance by Raven's father, a noted demon named Trigon, into what is extensively a cartoon directed at an audience of children.

How does this happen? Let's just say, as subtly as possible by never acknowledging Trigon's nature. In fact, this is all accomplished with one line. As Trigon appears, Raven comments to Cyborg and Beast Boy, "Let's just say I have issues with my father."

Done.

Mission accomplished.

Pugsley and Klien, along with the episode's director Michael Chang, deftly leave all other explanations on the wayside to avoid controversy. Trigon's name is never muttered, although the giant bright red beast is without a doubt intended to represent the demon himself.

Now here is the big question, does it work? Certainly. To see the series acknowledge this all-important aspect to Raven's character is rewarding for a fan, but to see it executed with little compromise in a show such as this is nothing short of remarkable.

New fans need to be aware of exactly what is lurking within Raven, and what she must do to maintain a balance necessary to sate the darker side of her personality. I doubt we will see many reoccurring visits from everyone's favorite father, but at least we were given a taste of his presence in the series.

Next Week: Switched! Starfire and Raven explore one another when a run in with the Puppet King results in a body exchange! Tune in for more fun than Kirk Cameron, Fred Savage, Dudley Moore, and Judge Reinhold could generate in two Freaky Friday rip-offs!! Where's Jodie Foster when you need her? See you then!

Mario Anima