"Titan Rising" is the eighth episode of season two and the overall 21st episode of the Teen Titans series.
Synopsis[]
Terra is back, having mastered her powers while she has been away she says she is now ready to become a Teen Titan. The others still aren't so sure she is ready after what happened the last time they saw her, they decide to let her prove herself and not a moment to soon. Slade is back and his new worm like robots are causing earthquakes around the city, the Titans go to investigate the happenings underground and during the mission Terra and Raven must learn to work together if they want to stop Slade and save Titans Tower.
Plot[]
Raven is not excited about Terra´s return.
The episode starts with the Teen Titans playing volleyball on the roof of Titans Tower, with the exception of Raven as she would much rather meditate. But the serve from Beast Boy seems to always find her. At first, she sends it back with her telekinesis, but second time, she just moves aside, and lets the ball fall to the surface. As Beast Boy heads down to retrieve the ball, it flies back up and rolls to his feet. Beast Boy is confused as to who could have possibly sent it back up, and, emerging from horizon of the edge of the roof, that somebody reveals herself to be Terra.
The Titans are ecstatic about her return, especially Beast Boy and Starfire, but Raven is dismissive thinking she will not be staying for long. Terra reveals that her return is because she wants to stay with the team, this time for real, and become a full-fledged Teen Titan. However, all the Titans express concern about her joining considering the last time they parted ways was because of her extreme self-conscious attitude of not having control of her geokinesis. To show how much she has improved through practice, she improvises a little demonstration and her "fireworks" finale impresses everybody - except Raven, who believes that learning new tricks does not make her any less dangerous like she was when they first met. Suddenly, almost on-cue, an earthquake (not from Terra) shakes the whole city.
In the ops room, The Titans analyze the focal points of small tremors that are originating all over the city and far too many in one place to be natural. However, Robin figures out the pattern and discovers that they are originating in a straight line and concludes that they are not earthquakes at all, but a trail from something burrowing through the ground beneath the city. As the Titans race off to investigate, Terra asks if joining this mission means she is on the team, but Robin answers that it means they need her help for this one mission. As she passes Raven, her senses give her a split-second bizarre flash of ominous visions corresponding with her past memories of Terra and Slade. Robin asks if everything is alright, but Raven cannot come up with an answer and instead asks if Robin is sure it is safe to have Terra around. He admits that he is still skeptical, but to be fair, everyone deserves a second chance, and this mission with her can be considered exactly that.
Late that night in the city, the monster responsible for the tremor trails bursts out of the city streets and reveals itself as a giant mechanical worm-like drill, and goes on a rampage. The Titans arrive just in time before anybody is hurt and prepare for battle. Their attacks manage to knock it off balance a few times, but cannot pinpoint a weakness by just fighting with muscle. Besides, things become much more complicated when a rivalry between Terra and Raven erupts. Terra prepares to smash the worm with a megaton boulder levitated from the street with all her strength, but Raven grabs ahold of it with her telekinesis and refuses to let her go through with it, declaring that someone could get hurt from an attack that risky. The girls' telekinetic tug-o-war is broken up forcibly by the worm firing its laser cannon at the boulder, resulting in both of the girl's energies being released in the form of a violent explosion. The worm uses this as a chance to escape and burrows back underground. After it gets away, Robin gets a call on his communicator, revealing the culprit behind the worm and its rampage to be none other than Slade, who sadistically asks the Titans to follow the worm down its tunnel to see what he is planning.
Raven's rivalry with Terra
As The Titans walk down the tunnel, Terra and Raven have a quiet conversation. Terra tries to apologize for trying to pull such a reckless move. But when Raven rebuffs while saying whatever, Terra tells her to get over whatever problem she has with her so they can get along if she is going to be a Teen Titan. However, Raven sharply tells her that she is not a Teen Titan yet and declares that she never will be if she does anything to endanger her friends again. She ends their conversation by lashing out at Terra, demanding to take her word for the next time she tells her something seems too dangerous. As she walks away, Beast Boy approaches Terra and she asks why she apparently hates her. Beast Boy explains that it is nothing personal since Raven is not a people person, and reassures her that everything will be fine once Raven has had time to get used to her. Beast Boy can tell from experience that he thinks she is still getting used to him.
Pretty soon, the Titans find themselves in a large hollowed-out cavern, supposedly a dead end. Robin's communicator intercepts a signal deep inside the rock wall, and Cyborg's equipment picks up the same signal, as well high tech electronics and a heartbeat, which Robin immediately concludes belong to Slade. Terra tries to use her powers to dig through the rock to follow the lead when another earthquake spikes. Just then, they encounter the worm drill again, which has detached itself into thirds. The Titans prepare for battle only for all three of the drills to charge off into the wall in pursuit of some other target. To simultaneously neutralize this threat to the city, the Titans split up into two teams; Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg go after the drills while Robin, Terra, and Raven hunt down Slade. Robin gets a lock on the signal and the girls dig through rock while Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy split up to hunt down the drills when they themselves separate. The three of them chase them down relentlessly, but their efforts to stop them do not even slow them down.
Meanwhile, Robin, Terra, and Raven arrive at Slade's control center; a massive underground fortress reinforced with mining equipment and a second worm drill linked in a ring-shaped formation hovering right above them and right in the center, the master computer which controls the drills.
Back in the tunnels, Cyborg loses his target and does a scan, revealing that the worms are burrowing towards the surface and are seconds away from reaching their target. All the worms initiate their thruster mechanisms, take flight, and link back together in the same circular formation as the drill in the fortress. They are shocked when they find out that the target of the worms is Titans Tower and they initiate their endgame. The worms fire huge lasers that cut a circle around the island and Cyborg informs Robin of their attack. However, Robin investigates the computer in the control station and reveals that Slade built this fortress right beneath the tower. Slade's master plan is finally revealed; destroy the Titan's Tower by sinking it underground with the laser drills.
Back on the surface, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy figure out Slade's plan and conclude that both drills are lasering from the sky and beneath the surface. If either one of these lasers breaks through to the surface or to the ceiling below, the Titan's beloved headquarters will be lost. And so, the Titans battle the drills with everything they have, but none of their attacks leave a scratch. So instead, Robin attempts a more technical approach to shut them down by hacking into the computer, but Slade appears and knocks him away. While the two warriors duel, Raven attempts to continue from where Robin left off, but Terra insists that smashing the computer is the best idea. However, Raven vetoes it, telling her that they do not know how the computer works and destroying it could make the drill unstoppable. Terra argues that destroying it could shut it down right away before the tower is sunk. Another tug-o-war starts between Raven and Terra, as Raven tries to stop Terra from smashing the computer with a rock. Terra demands to know why Raven cannot trust her like everyone else and Raven explains that Terra does not deserve her trust. After all, she has to meditate every day to keep her powers under control. Terra, on the other hand, just waltzed back into her life and claimed out of the blue that she now has full control of her geokinesis since the last time they met; not something Raven is willing to believe that easily. After telling her that trust is something that must be earned, Terra finally lets go and takes the first step by trusting Raven's judgement. However, as the laser drill gradually etches its way to the surface, it causes the ceiling to crumble. This results in a rock plummeting from the ceiling and smashing the computer's main console anyway. Raven's fear is confirmed when the worm unleashes the full power of its laser drill and the whole ceiling begins collapsing like dominos. And so, Terra willingly admits that "smashing the computer was a bad idea". In an elevator rabidly approaching the top, Robin and Slade continue their duel. All of a sudden, the entire fortress shakes from the drill breaking through the last of its layers, to which, Slade makes his escape. Robin uses his grapnel to escape the elevator before it crashes into the ceiling and Cyborg and Beast Boy destroy the drill above the tower by drilling a hole into its haul for Beast Boy to infiltrate as a mouse, where he chews up its internal power conduits and frying its life support. The Titans revel in victory as the drill breaks apart and its lifeless corpse collapses into the bay, but their joy ceases immediately when the lasers from the drill beneath the tower finally break through to the surface.
Raven and Terra attempt to salvage the Tower
The entire island the Tower sits on begins to sink into the bay and the group leaves in hopelessness. As the entire fortress begins falling apart, Raven becomes hopeless as well. But Terra refuses to accept defeat and unleashes the full power of her geokinesis on the ground above, bench-pressing it back to the surface before it falls to the cavern. Her full blast unleashes an electric charge that destroys the other laser drill and Raven assists Tara with the full power of her telekinetic sorcery. Finally working together with their differences aside, the ground above begins to rise. Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy take refuge on a beach from the mainland, crestfallen at the thought of their home being destroyed. However, joy returns to their hearts as the Tower rises out of the bay without a scratch on it, and they know they have Terra and Raven to thank.
Terra in her room holding a communicator.
Back inside the Tower, Raven and Terra make up with one another, with the former leading Terra to a dark room. When Terra asks Raven where they are, she simply responds, "your room," and flips the light on. The rest of the Titans surprise her with their presence and reveal that all of this is a gift of appreciation for helping them save the very building they call home. To seal the deal, Robin officially declares her a full-fledged Teen Titan by handing her her own Titans Communicator, much to everybody else's joy. Even Raven congratulates her on earning her place on their team. Cyborg declares that there is only one way to commemorate such a momentous occasion: Waffles. While everyone else goes ahead, Terra stays alone in her room for a minute. While she is by herself, Terra looks upon her communicator, and hair falls to cover one side of her face, foreshadowing something else.
Characters[]
Main characters[]
Supporting characters[]
Villains[]
- Slade
- Worm Robots
Credits[]
- Written by:
- Directed by:
- Starring:
- Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
- Scott Menville as Robin
- Khary Payton as Cyborg
- Tara Strong as Raven
- Hynden Walch as Starfire
- Also featuring:
- Ashley Johnson as Terra
- Ron Perlman as Slade
Trivia[]
Title[]
The title refers to a brand new member of the Teen Titans rising to the occasion, and has to prove her place as a Titan to Raven and Robin. It is also similar to the Rainbow album, "Rising", which is often referred to as "Rainbow Rising", due to the song "Stargazer" mentioning the aforementioned line.
Continuity[]
- Like in the comics, Raven is not sure it is safe to have Terra around.
- Unlike many instances, Beast Boy was able to speak while in animal form (turning into a gorilla and calls for Terra as he chased towards her). Of course, this could have merely been one of the comedic tricks for effect that this show has built a theme around.
Cultural references[]
- Some of the music used in this episode is recycled from the Justice League episode "In Blackest Night".
Goofs[]
- As the Titans wave their arms in panic losing the volleyball, Starfire's right armband is missing. In the next shot, it matches the color of her hair, before appearing back again.
- After Raven saves the bus full of people from the giant worm, Starfire's feet are briefly in front of Terra's face then go behind her.
- As Terra enters her room, her goggles went missing.
- After Beast Boy says "This is the best thing that's ever happened to me", his protruding tooth is missing.
Gallery[]
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Transcript[]
Click here to view the episode transcript.