After an offering like "Lightspeed," no one can really fault "Revved Up" for failing to raise the bar, but what it does manage to succeed in doing is tickling the ribs of Teen Titans fans with jabs at former filler episodes.

From the get go, "Revved Up" seemed primed to skid out of control. Dredging up an obscure character from the comics named Ding Dong Daddy, we immediately get off to a bad start as the continuity of the current season is shelved in favor of a race to retrieve an animated MacGuffin in the form of a suitcase stolen from the Boy Wonder.

Ding Dong Daddy stole the briefcase and will only relinquish it to the Teen Titans if they beat him in a race. Anticipating an appearance by everyone’s favorite harbinger of “filler grind,” it was no surprise to see the T-Car thrust into the heat of the chase alongside Robin on his motorcycle, which ironically looks as though it were stolen from Kaneda, the motorcycling protagonist from Akira.

Hunkering down for yet another exercise in wasted potential, imagine the surprise to find the episode up the ante. Instead of miring itself in a routinely plotted death race, the team behind the team steers things in a slightly more satirical direction, while tossing in a couple of intriguing twists to keep things interesting.

First and foremost, the gradual destruction of the T-Car throughout the duration of the race at the hands of Ding Dong Daddy’s pit crew of gremlin-like mechanics proved somewhat post-modern and self-reflective at once. This conflict plays out like Steven Spielberg’s Duel minus all of the intrigue and subdued horror. Cyborg’s hot rod has long signaled impending schlock and cliché within episodes of the series, but finally it seems the vehicle gets what it deserves.

Starfire and Raven spend the episode playing Abbott and Costello while searching for a set of wheels to join in the race. This search proves pretty mediocre as their silly attempts are really forced and rarely funny.

However, midway through "Revved Up" a fan favorite and ultimate enigma pops his head in for a visit. That’s right friends, Red X throws his hat into the ring, bound and determined to retrieve Robin’s mysterious case and claim it as his own. Fans of the series will recall that Red X was originally Robin himself, donning an alter ego to drum up information without drawing attention back to the team.

Needless to say, when Red X appeared in a later episode, with Robin in plain sight, the plot thickened. The actual identity of the mysterious character has been a longstanding plot thread left unresolved and leaving fans guessing just who managed to steal the costume from Robin in the first place.

Adding Red X into the mix complicates matters, but pulling in a gaggle of Teen Titans filler episode villains to join the race really raises the bar. Amongst the group are Mad Mod, Johnny Rancid, Control Freak, and Killer Moth to name a few.

Sure, steely eyed viewers equipped with TiVo remotes likely noted the inclusion of Dr. Light here as well, but let’s not dwell on his presence. After all, he’s made moderate appearances throughout the series and despite walking the line between “joke” and “villain,” he’s always lived up to the various ruminations on his character.

Each of our filler veterans are equipped with themed vehicles a la a Mario Kart video game, which means we are treated with a few choice sight gags. Take, for instance, Mad Mod’s “Big Ben” inspired wheels and Dr. Light’s “Lightbulb” racer. There we go mentioning Dr. Light again.

As expected, Robin manages to thwart Ding Dong Daddy’s plan, but somehow viewers still manage to get slighted in the process. The inclusion of Red X, coupled with the ultimate end to the series at the close of the season, served as a reminder that some of the series’ unanswered questions may never get answered at all.

Next: "Go." Take a trip back through time to see how it all began. Witness the first meeting of the team and see how they all came together. Let’s hope they leave Ding Dong Daddy out of this one.

Mario Anima