For Real
For Real is the 56th episode of the Teen Titans series and the 4th episode of the fifth season.
Synopsis[]
Control Freak pops up in the TV set at Titans Tower in order to seek revenge by challenging the Titans to a contest of skills. However, with some delay, he finds out that he's talking to empty air: The Titans have long since left the Tower to organize a world-wide network against the Brotherhood of Evil. This does not deter Control Freak, however, and he decides to hang around until the Titans come back.
First meetings warrant a good fright
Just at the same moment, the Titans East, asked by Cyborg to look after the city during their absence, arrive and make themselves at home. Control Freak is quick to announce his presence, but is disappointed to find that the arrivals are not the "real Titans." Likewise, the Titans East have never heard of Control Freak, either, since apparently the Titans do not consider him a serious threat. Not one to give up easily, Control Freak decides to employ the weapon pack he has brought along against the Titans East, but since the weapons were designed to counter the specific powers of the Teen Titans, they prove no match for the Titans East, and Control Freak is eventually forced to zap himself away, feigning disinterest. Bumblebee in turn is reluctant to tell Cyborg that they couldn't handle a "second-rate bad guy" who even didn't make it into the Titans' 'List of notorious villains' and decides to keep this under the hat for the moment.
The hazards of a non-existent reputation
Swiftly, the Titans East get active in Jump City, with their first achievement being the capture of Andre Le Blanc. However, their lack of public renown in Jump City proves frustrating, as people either do not recognize them or (worse!) mistake them for members of the original Teen Titans. In the meantime, Control Freak uses the Internet to study his new opponents, and eventually designs a new contest of skills to publicly challenge the abilities of Titans East:
- Bumblebee is to stop a subway from reaching a certain station, as a bomb is mounted on the underside of the train which is timed to detonate upon arrival. To raise the stakes, Control Freak forces her to remain at miniature size.
- Aqualad is to halt the spilling of toxic waste into the local water reservoir, with a vicious mechanical shark standing in his way.
- In the city center, a superbomb is set to detonate, and Más y Menos are to activate two switches standing on opposing ends of town to disarm it. But both switches have to be pushed at the same time, and since the twins' power depends on contact with each other, they can't synchronize the activation.
- Speedy is forced to stop a swarm of ballistic missiles from destroying the Jump City Bay Bridge without his arrows.
The situation seems hopeless at first, but with wits the Titans East manage to prevail: Bumblebee uses the electrified subway rails to enhance her stingers, deactivating the bomb's timer; Aqualad simply uses the shark to plug the pipe outlet where the toxic waste is to emerge; Speedy fires himself at the missiles with the help of a tow truck, directing the missiles against each other; and Más y Menos use the bomb as a base to swirl around until they have gained enough velocity to hurl themselves to their respective end of town, reaching the switches at exactly the same time.
For their daring rescue, the city's populace hails the Titans East,
The credit they deserve
and even Control Freak has gained a newfound admiration for them - so much in fact that he zaps himself right in front of them to express his respects. However, this leaves him vulnerable to capture, and after Más y Menos appropriate his super remote, Bumblebee knocks him out. Right afterwards, Cyborg, who has caught wind of recent events, checks up, but Bumblebee is ready to relieve him of his worries and their own insecurity.
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode not to feature Robin, Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire. However, they do appear in Control Freak’s Fantasy when Control Freak told Titans East who he came to fight.
- Control Freak's introduction to the Titans East is a reference to the famous Internet Star Wars Kid video; even the yellow cloth on the floor has been thought of. See one of its versions on YouTube here.
- Control Freak's prison number, 257-325, is the production number of the episode in which he first appeared on Teen Titans.
- Some of Control Freaks "Chat Room Chums" make an appearence in previous episodes. For instance, the bearded blogger appears in Episode 257-494, and the goth blogger has a cameo in Car Trouble. In addition, the female blogger appears alongside passengers in the bus at the beginning of the movie Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo.
Quotes[]
- Old Lady: [to Bumblebee] You look familiar. Are you Starborg?
[Indignant, Bumblebee loses her hair puffs] - Control Freak: [reading] "List of Notorious Villains. Plasmus ... Overload ... Johnny Rancid ... The Puppet King?!?" They only fought him once! I'm a recurring villain!
- Speedy: You got anything in there to stop me?
Control Freak: I devised this aerial sensory detonator to intercept Robin's birdarangs mid-flight. It will easily annihilate your puny arrows.
[Both fire their respective weapons. Control Freak's detonator is pinned to the wall by Speedy's arrow.]
Speedy: You were saying?
Control Freak: [inarticulate sputterings] - Control Freak: Uh!? How did you do that?
Más: Cuando nuestras manos se tocan ...
Menos: ... somos muy veloces!
Control Freak: [exasperated] I can't understand you. Take that! And that! [uses his remote on them in turn]
Más: Nothing happened.
Menos: Must be the batteries.
both: [realizing that they're speaking English] AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!
Control Freak: Spanish language converter.
- Boy: Thank you, Robin. I like your other costume better.
Speedy: [grumpily] I'm not Robin. I'm Speedy. - Speedy: This stinks. Nobody even knows who we are.
Aqualad: [teasingly] So what if the kid didn't know your name? Let it go, "Robin."
Aqualad's rescuee: [in a TV interview] Before I knew it, I was surrounded by dolphins. Then some guy in a unitard pulled me out of the water.
Aqualad: "Some guy in a unitard"?!
Speedy: [with a wry smirk] Let it go, Unitard Guy. - Control Freak: [from a TV screen] You guys were so cool! [zaps himself in front of the Titans East] I mean, I-I didn't think you could pull it off, but you did!
Speedy: [wryly] I can't believe the bad guy just zapped himself in front of us.