I am the master of monsters. I am your darkest nightmares come to life. I am ... Control Freak!
- ―Control Freak[src]
Control Freak is a supervillain and an enemy of the Teen Titans.
History
Control Freak, the Titans' self-proclaimed "arch-nemesis", is an overweight and unshaven geek who is notorious for using his super remote control to warp reality to suit his movie-inspired images. However, he rarely uses his great intellect, preferring instead to make himself look "cool" in the world of television or committing crimes that will make him look like an actual villain.
Two opposing fanboys
Control Freak first appeared as he intended to punish an innocent video store clerk for not having one of his favorite movies, "Warp Trek V", on their rentals list. When the Teen Titans appeared, he promptly animated an oversized television screen, a trash bin, a video shelf, two cash registers, two cardboard movie prop-ups and an unspecified number of video cassettes and candies to fight them. In the end, Control Freak was defeated when Robin cut open the fire sprinklers in the store, macerating or short-circuiting the monstrosities, including his own remote control, whereupon he proved easy to subdue and to be taken into custody.
Some time later, Control Freak broke out of prison and used the facilities in a local electronics store to teleport himself into the TV Dimension. However, he decided to gloat to the Teen Titans about them never being able to catch him, which enabled them to backtrack him and follow him into the TV world (mainly due to Beast Boy's bumbling). At first Control Freak was able to use his immense knowledge of TV and movies to stay several steps ahead of the Titans and gain several additional super abilities and weapons, but in his overconfidence he oversaw a vital detail in their final confrontation which Beast Boy was able to exploit, leading once again to his capture.
Afterward, he was freed by the Brotherhood of Evil to enter their ranks. His first action was, of course, seeking revenge on the Teen Titans by devising a set of weapons specifically designed to defeat the "real Titans", but upon his arrival in Titans Tower, he encountered the Titans East instead. Since they had never heard of one another before, and thus no idea of what to expect, they took each other by surprise upon this first confrontation, but in the end Control Freak was forced to retreat. This did little to dampen his enthusiasm to prove himself better than the Titans, however; he promptly revised his revenge into a series of challenges designed specifically for the Titans East which he surmised they could never crack. The Titans East prevailed, however, earning them public recognition, and in his newfound admiration for them, Control Freak made the mistake of meeting his adversaries in person, which earned him another stint in jail.
Control Freak made a cameo appearance as one of the racers in Ding Dong Daddy's challenge for Robin's most secret possession. He was taken down by Red X, who pasted his car to Mad Mod's vehicle, sending them spinning off the road.
Finally, as the Brotherhood of Evil executed its final strike against the Titans around the world, Control Freak was sent out to take down Killowat. By himself he proved unable to defeat the young Titan, but the Puppet King turned the tables, and they succeeded in their task. Later on he was used by Jericho as an unwilling host, battling his fellow Brotherhood allies until Jericho abandoned him. Eventually he was defeated by Cyborg and, like the other Brotherhood of Evil villains, ended up frozen by the Titans.
Powers and abilities
Control Freak is a technological genius specializing in reality-warping/-controlling technology and media electronics (specifically television). His main weapon and instrument of crime is his trademark remote control, which has to date exhibited - but theoretically is not limited to - following powers:
- Animation and limited transformation of non-living objects
- Warping himself into and out of the 'TV Dimension', a secondary reality based on running television programs
- Summoning various characters from the 'TV Dimension' that act as his henchmen
- Using a synchronization function to make foreign persons speak in English
Control Freak later acquires and uses a quad-bladed Laser Sword (resembling a Lightsaber from Star Wars). This weapon is used by Control Freak throughout Episode 257-494 and during his time as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil. In that episode he also gains knowledge of a martial art named Astrojitsu, though it remains unknown how much Control Freak has maintained his training in that technique afterward.
In addition, as a dedicated TV fan he possesses extensive knowledge of movies and TV series plots, characters and abilities - a knowledge which is only surpassed by Beast Boy's own.
Trivia
Control Freak's prison portrait
- Control Freak was made exclusively for the Teen Titans animated series.
- Control Freak is shown to have romantic feelings for Starfire in the episode "For Real,". This is a love not meant to be, as Starfire has shown minimal interest in Control Freak other than deeming him "a dork".
- He seems to possess the fourth wall awareness, as he claims that he is a recurring villain throughout the series. He even knows the exact name of the episode he last starred in.
- Control Freak also has several similarities to the Batman villain Film Freak.
- His personal introduction in Fear Itself is remniscient of the way Darkwing Duck introduces himself.
- The number in his mug shot is the production number of the episode "Fear Itself", which was his first appearance.
- The writer that created him was actually going to use him in the Impulse comic book but never did.
- The Control Mobile he employs in "Revved Up" shares some characteristics with the Batmobile from the 1960s comedic Batman TV series.
- When introducing himself to the Titans East in the episode "For Real", there is a yellow cloth on the floor and he spins around his saber similar to Star Wars Kid.
- The Headmaster from the show Transformers: Animated is similar to Control Freak. They both have the same voice actor and are both created by the same character designer. Control Freak's goal is on television with remote controls while Headmaster's goal is to supply his head invention to replace Autobots of their heads to gain a robotic body.
- Although Control Freak wasn't a boss character in the Story Mode portion of the video game, he was a playable character in the Battle Mode portion of the Teen Titans video game.