New Teen Titans Vol. 7 - Backmatter

Afterwords

By George Perez

Perez talks about his memories of planning and working on the Judas Contract with Marv Wolfman. His memories are focused on Terra, Jericho, and the transition of Dick Grayson from Robin to Nightwing.

The date stamp at the end of the essay indicates that it is from 1998. I doubt that date is correct. Perez words indicate that the it was written around 1988 which would have been about the time that the first collected edition of the Judas Contract was published. There was a text piece in that edition written by George Perez. My research is inconclusive as to whether this is that text piece but I suspect that it is.

Tales of the Teen Titans Annual 3

Tales of the Teen Titans Annual 3
1984

Finale!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, Todd Klein, Adrienne Roy

Nightwing and Jericho fly to Colorado and infiltrate HIVE HQ where the other Teen Titans (Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, Changeling, and Raven) are being held captive. Deathstroke collects his bounty for completing the contract that his son originally made with HIVE.

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 44

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 44
Jul 1984

The Judas Contract: Book Three - There Shall Come a Titan!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, Todd Klein, Adrienne Roy

Adeline Kane Wilson tells Dick Grayson about how and where she met Slade Wilson, Deathstroke the Terminator. It was a little over 20 years before, in the early 1960s. Captain Adeline Kane was one of the instructors at a special training facility at Camp Washington. Major Slade Wilson was her star pupil. He was the best of the best but she trained him to be even better.

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 43

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 43
Jun 1984

The Judas Contract: Book Two - Betrayal
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Mike DeCarlo, Dick Giordano, Adrienne Roy, Ben Oda

Deathstroke breaks into Dick Grayson’s apartment and attempts to capture him. Dick escapes but just barely. He dives out a window and survives a drop from four stories up by landing in a dumpster full of trash. Deathstroke follows him into Central Park but Dick loses him in the crowd. The man and woman who were watching Deathstroke from a distance (last issue) watch him pursue Grayson into Central Park.

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 42

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 42
May 1984

The Judas Contract: Book One - The Eyes of Tara Markov
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Dick Giordano

The Titans finally open up to Terra. They take her around town and show her where they live and introduce her to some of their friends (Terry Long, Sarah Sims). Tara and Gar share a kiss before she heads back to Titans Tower.

Terra arrives at the tower. Terra tries talking to Raven who tells her that she senses darkness in Tara’s soul. Terra gets angry and stomps off.

Tales of the Teen Titans Annual 3

The Judas Contract
Book Four: Finale
by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Dick Giordano, and Mike DeCarlo
1984

- in the HIVE h.q. in the mountains of Colorado, the 5 captured Titans are held in a device that reminded me of similar devices from X-Men 113, 132-133 that neutralizes their powers
- it is finally revealed to them that there is a traitor on their midst, Terra
- outside Nightwing and Jericho begin to sneak into the secret base
- Deathstroke contacts Wintergreen to get an update on the status of his search for Robin, but WG has nothing to report
- Unknown to Deathstroke Wintergreen is currently Adeline's prisoner

- Jericho uses his powers to help he and Nightwing, beat up some rank and file members of HIVE and takes their robes, they try sneaking into the big hall where the other Titans are being held but are eventually found out and captured by Terra
- Jericho escapes when his father looks into his eyes and he possesses his body; using his father's body he is able to sow distrust between Deathstroke and Terra and free the Titans
- one incongruity in this stories emerges in this scene, earlier when Jericho has possessed one of the rank and file members of HIVE he was able to talk using his voice but when he takes over his father's body his father retains control of his ability to speak

- I had forgotten the dark and disturbing aspect of the final chapter, Terra's descent into madness, her twisted view of the world, her lack of trust in anyone or anything, the spirit in which she betrays the Titans and then throws it back in their faces, and the impact all of this has on Changeling
- I read this story when it first came out, at the time I was about the same age as Terra and Changeling, I don't remember being as disturbed by this story as I am now by Terra's behavior
- the other heartbreaking aspect of this story is the level of trust that Changeling has placed in Terra, he keeps wanting to believe that somehow Deathstroke is controlling her and under normal circumstances she wouldn't be fighting them
- one aspect that I find truly disturbing is the lack of responsibility that is placed on Deathstroke's shoulders for what happens to Terra, for the role he played in corrupting her, he is a villain so maybe it shouldn't be surprising but he seems to get more credit for wanting to save his son than he does for the impact of engaging in an intimate relationship with a 16-year-old and then dumping her when she can't seem to handle the bumps in the road that he has led her down
- in the end Terra kills herself as she attempts to do the same to the Titans; Changeling is heartbroken; Marv Wolfman's words imply that no one else is to blame for what happened to Terra, that it was all within her from the very start but I don't like that explanation, it makes her seem too 2 dimensional, she was crazy doesn't fly with me as a adequate explanation
- Dr. Jace, Batman and the Outsiders all show up for her funeral, the head piece for her grave is a little eerie

Tales of the Teen Titans 44

The Judas Contract
Book Three: There Shall Come a Titan
by Marv Wolfman, George Perez
Jul 1984

- origin of Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke the Terminator as told by Adeline Kane Wilson, his ex-wife
- how they met, how he gained his superpowers, how their son Joseph lost the ability to speak
- training at Camp Washington, Vietnam, Wintergreen, inability to leave the military life behind
- rounded borders on the panels in the origin story told by AKW, nice touch
- The Jackal kidnapped Joseph, clearly a reference to Carlos
- Joseph is a mutant, Dick makes some reference to Mutants, is this a veiled reference to the X-Men x-over?
- ends with the introduction of Nightwing and Jericho, explanation of the name Dick has adopted
- demonstration of Jericho's powers by taking over Nightwing

Tales of the Teen Titans 43

The Judas Contract
Book Two: Betrayal
by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Dick Giordano, and Mike DeCarlo
Jun 1984

- Dick Grayson survives a kidnapping attempt by Deathstroke who makes it perfectly clear that he knows exactly who he is
- Deathstroke mentions to Dick that he has accepted the contract from H.I.V.E. that was originally given to Ravager, his son, back in New Teen Titans 2 to capture or kill the Titans
- Dick goes looking for the other Titans only to discover that they have all been captured by Deathstroke
- the individual captures of the other Titans are told in flashbacks; each one is subdued by a trap except Raven; I love the ingenuity of these traps which show how a supersoldier like Wilson defeats much stronger oppoents like Cyborg, Starfire, Changeling, and Wonder Girl
- Dick is the only one who Deathstroke tries to take through combat, which is probably why he survives, unlike the others who all got blindsided by traps that knocked them out
- When he reaches Titans Tower and discovers evidence that Raven was captured by Terra, which he doesn't recognize for what it is until Slade Wilson's ex-wife (Adeline Kane Wilson) and his other son (Joseph) show up at the tower
- letters column correspondence about the Who Is Donna Troy? issue (38) makes me want to read that, I never have
- Dick Girodano's Meanwhile column talks about the DC Comics 50th anniversary plans and the upcoming 12 issue History of the DC Universe maxi-series which later became Crisis on Infinite Earths
- The Judas Contract has not been reprinted since 2003, the cover price at that time was $19.99, trades of it go for $40-50 on Amazon and eBay but you can buy it electronically from Comixology for $2 per issue; the trade includes New Teen Titans 39, 40; Tales of the Teen Titans 41-44, Annual 3
- the second season of the Teen Titans cartoon from the early 2000s is based on the Judas Contract, I need to get the whole series and watch it, I saw some of it on Cartoon Network when it first aired and enjoyed quite a bit, it isn't cast from the same mold that the Bruce Timm Batman, Superman, Justice League, etc. cartoons were made

Tales of the Teen Titans 42

The Judas Contract
Book One: The Eyes of Tara Markov
by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and Dick Giordano
May 1984

- starting at the beginning, although it doesn't feel like the beginning because I know that there have been hints of things to come in earlier issues
- the title or subtitle tells the tale
- Terra (aka Tara Markov) has finally been accepted by the Titans; there have been hints that she is up to something prior to this issue; here she is shown or revealed to be wearing photographic contact lenses, with which she takes pictures of time spent with the Titans at their HQ and in their civilian identities
- the only Titan suspicious of Terra is Raven, she senses something in Terra but isn't sure if it is real or just her imagination, there's even a confrontation between Terra and Raven in which Terra indicates disappointment that they aren't closer; but Raven's suspicions are confirmed when she sees Terra in a rage knock Changeling out during a sparring session
- the most shocking scene is Terra in a nightgown meeting with Deathstroke, calling him "honey"
- Deathstroke setting things in motion, meeting with Wintergreen, and finally the reveal that someone has been monitoring Deathstroke in the same way that he has been doing the same to the Titans, but who is she?
- this was my introduction to Deathstroke
- a compelling opening chapter that leaves me hungry for more
- love the visual storytelling, the various ways the pages are broken into panels, the use of black-and-white monitor panels to show what Terra is photographing