Terra (comics)
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| Terra | |
 Terra of the Teen Titans |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #26 (December, 1982) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman George Pérez |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Tara Markov |
| Team affiliations | Teen Titans Team Titans |
| Abilities | Earth manipulation |
Tara Markov is a character that appears in the fictional DC Universe. The character was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, and first appears in New Teen Titans Vol. 1 #26 (December, 1982).
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[edit] Fictional character history
[edit] Early career
Tara Markov, half-sister of Geo-Force, Brion Markov, was the illegitimate daughter of the King of Markovia. While in Markovia, she came under the care of a Dr. Helga Jace, and through her experiments, Terra obtained Earth manipulation powers: specifically, the ability to control all forms of earthen matter. After obtaining these powers, she left Markovia for the United States. Unlike her more heroic brother, Geo-Force, Terra had deep-rooted psychological issues, believing that, with their powers, they should rule Earth rather than help the weaker masses. As a result of this belief, Terra became a mercenary, doing dirty work for others such as Deathstroke the Terminator (with whom she shared a romance, despite being barely sixteen years old). She joined the Teen Titans, fooling them by staging a battle versus Deathstroke. She then operated as a spy for Deathstroke, eventually giving him the information he needed to kidnap the Titans, but soon became to regret this decision because of her love for Garfield Logan.
Eventually, the captured Titans were held in a stronghold of Deathstroke's contractors, The H.I.V.E. Nightwing- who had recently retired from his career as Robin and created the Nightwing identity based on stories Superman had told him of a Kryptonian hero- and Deathstroke's son, Joseph William Wilson, alias Jericho, raided the complex to rescue them, but were captured. When presented to Deathstroke and the organization in general, Jericho possessed his father and freed the Titans, who then attacked the H.I.V.E. Not knowing of Jericho's powers, Terra believed Deathstroke to have turned against her and wanted to get back with Garfield. In retaliation, she went berserk and fatally pulled the whole H.I.V.E. complex down upon herself while trying to destroy Deathstroke . Despite her betrayal, a statue of her was placed in the Memorial in Titans Tower. Her betrayal was never made public, with her brother simply being told that she had died in battle.
[edit] "Return" and revival
In 1991, Terra reappeared as part of Team Titans. Unlike the original, this Terra was a true hero, and was attracted to Changeling, he still retained feelings for her and her former self . This new Terra was revealed to be a young girl who had been exposed to a DNA virus designed to transform her into a genetic doppleganger of the original Terra. She later had a romantic relationship with Changeling.
After the events of Zero Hour, Terra joined the main Teen Titans team and was told via a messenger orb that she was not from the future but from the present day, having been recruited by the Time Trapper to serve in the Team Titans, in order to one day oppose the group and its leader, the villainous Monarch. Before the orb could tell her where she was taken from in the past, Terra destroys it: upon digging up the original Terra's grave, she finds it empty.
After "New Titans" was canceled, Terra remained in limbo until the 1998 revival of the Teen Titans. In the 1999 Titans "Secret Files" special, Terra visits Geo-Force and undergoes genetic tests to determine her identity. After she expressed horror at the possibility that she was the original Terra, Geo-Force opted to tell his sister's doppleganger that the test came back negative as far as the two being biological sisters. In truth, the DNA test came back positive but because Terra's powers and appearances are alleged to be the result of a futuristic "DNA virus", Geo-Force opted to lie rather than force Terra II to deal with the fact that there was no way to prove whether or not she was the original Terra. Later, under circumstances which have yet to be explained, Terra also becomes affiliated with the Outsiders. (Day of Judgment #3-4)
In the "Titans Tomorrow" storyline, the Titans glimpse a grim possible future, and Terra (in a costume modeled closely after her original) is a member of the Titans East, a more benign rival group that opposes the fascist future versions of the current Teen Titans (this future's version of Beast Boy, calling himself Animal Man, still bears a grudge against Terra and wants nothing to do with her).
[edit] Infinite Crisis
Terra is one of the many Titans who answer the summons to help Conner Kent defeat Superboy-Prime in Infinite Crisis #4, working with Sand to hit Prime with a mass of Earth in an attempt to stop him.
[edit] 52
Terra is a member of the Teen Titans group, led by Beast Boy, who fight Black Adam during the World War III storyline. In their second encounter with the crazed Marvel, Terra catches Black Adam off guard by crushing him between two massive boulders. Although this maneuver hurts Adam, it fails to disable him, and in a fit of anger he punches through Terra's chest, killing her instantly. Instead of pursuing Black Adam, the Titans stay behind to bury their fallen comrade.
[edit] One Year Later
A new Terra appears in Supergirl #12, sporting a new outfit and hair color. She emerges near a party Supergirl is attending, fighting a creature from a civilization under the Earth's surface. While Supergirl expresses disdain for the superhero activities which interfere with her personal life, Terra counters by saying that being a superhero is simply the right thing to do; she doesn't comprehend Supergirl's complaints. Together they defeat the monster by collapsing the ground under it. Terra then departs.
A Terra limited series is being developed, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, with illustrations by Amanda Conner. Gray has commented about the series: "Terra as a character has never had a definitive origin. That includes Terra 1 and 2. This mini will address that fact in some surprising ways and open the door to a new corner of the DCU. Aside from that the emphasis will be on heroism, true blue hero stuff."[1][2] [3] Palmiotti later stated: "Terra is an enigma for obvious reasons. Every hero in the DCU is in the dark about who she is and why she’s doing what she’s doing, which is running around the planet saving and helping people. We’ve been working with Terra for months and months trying to find and develop what’s special about her. In the end, it was a very simple angle, make Terra a superhero with plenty of emphasis on heroism. Everything she does is to help other people and in the service of life." [4]
The new Terra appears in Teen Titans #52 through #54 as part of the "The Titans of Tomorrow...Today!" storyline.
[edit] In other media
[edit] Teen Titans Animated Series
Terra appears in the Teen Titans animated series, voiced by Ashley Johnson. Like many characters in the series, Terra's backstory and appearance was modified for the cartoon series; in Terra's case the character was now a much more sympathetic figure. Terra is a young teenage girl with long straight blond hair and super-powers, similar to her comic counterparts. Like her comic counterpart, Terra can manipulate the ground and rocks around her but also other inanimate objects. Unlike her comic book counterparts though, Terra has little control over her powers, which is a source of shame for her and ultimately is what leads her to betray the Titans.
Introduced during season two of the series, Terra first encounters the Titans while being chased by a giant scorpion monster. After defeating the monster, she parts ways with the Titans, among whom Beast Boy immediately develops a crush on her. It is revealed that Terra and Beast Boy spend time together as friends after their first meeting, with Terra confiding to Beast Boy her problems controlling her powers. Beast Boy agrees to keep this a secret, though after an encounter with Slade, the villain recognizes Terra's problems utilizing her powers and offers to help teach her how to control her powers. Terra refuses, stating that Slade is an enemy of the Teen Titans, who are her friends. However, Slade would plant the seed of doubt regarding whether or not Beast Boy would keep his word, which comes to a head when Robin asks Terra to become a Teen Titan. Terra accepts, but then suspects that Beast Boy broke his promise to keep her secret (that she can't control her powers) from the group. Terra flees the Tower while watched by Slade, who she ultimately agreed to work for in exchange for his training her on how to master her powers. [1] After some time training under him, she returns to the Titans to take her place as the group's sixth member after helping stop Slade from attacking the tower.[2]
By this point, Beast Boy confesses to Terra that he is in love with her and the two go on their first official date together. While the two visit a theme park, Titans Tower is attacked by an army of Slade's robots. The Titans find out that they were able to enter the Tower because of Terra, who had supplied not only information on the Tower's defenses but also the weaknesses of the Titans. When Terra confesses to Beast Boy what she had done, Beast Boy rejects Terra, which only strengthens Slade's hold over Terra. [3]
After defeating the Titans one by one and attempting to murder her former friends, by crushing them in an avalanche, Terra is given a new costume designed to "control" her powers. [4] In truth though, the suit is a failsafe, designed to ensure Terra would never betray Slade, as it allows him to transform Terra into a remote controlled puppet in the event that she disobey him. When it becomes apparent that Terra has failed to kill the Titans, Slade turns abusive towards Terra. This causes Beast Boy (who had followed Terra to Slade's underground lair) to let go of his hate towards his former friend. Convincing Terra that he still cares for her, he offers to help her escape. At this point, Slade activates Terra's new costume, causing her to attack Beast Boy; it would have killed her had the rest of the Titans not arrived. As the final showdown ensued, Terra was able to overcome her costume and turned the full force of her powers onto Slade to stop him once and for all. Unfortunately, in doing so, she triggers a volcanic eruption that kills Slade and threatens to kill the Titans as well. In the end, Terra sacrifices herself to save her friends and the city by turning back the full force of the volcanic eruption. However, her act of bravery comes at a horrific cost; she effectively becomes one with her powers over rock and was transformed into solid stone. For her sacrifice to save her former friends and the city, the Titans places a plaque in front of her imprisoned form honoring her as a Titan. [5]
After a battle with the Brotherhood of Evil and returning home, Beast Boy discovers Terra has been somehow freed from her rock-shell and is attending the local Murakami High school. Filled with joy, Beast Boy runs to see Terra but is heart is broken when he finds that she appeared to remember nothing from her past. Somehow Terra had escaped but due to the traumatic experience of being buried alive, Terra had blocked off all memories of being a superhero and villain as well as all memories of the Titans. She also seemed to have blocked off all memory of her powers, even after Beast Boy kicked dirt in her face to try and trigger an unconscious reaction from Terra. A further encounter with a robotic duplicate of Slade confirms that the girl is indeed Terra but states ignorance as to how she escaped and the true cause of her amnesia; Terra wants to forget about her past. In any case, Beast Boy ultimately agrees to leave Terra alone and live a normal life.
[edit] Teen Titans Go! comic
In the comic that spawned from the animated 'Teen Titans' series, Terra has made a few appearances. She appeared in issue 11 "Countdown", 12 "Magic & Misdirection", and 51 "Metamorphosis". Issue 51 is set after the series finale of the animated series. Terra's brother, Geo-Force arrives at Titans Tower and relates Terra's origin: she was the Princess of Markovia, and along with her brother was experimented on by sinister interests within the royal court, which gave them both earth-based superpowers. Feeling exploited, Terra ran away, leading to the events of the animated series. At the end of the story, Geo-Force and Beast Boy consider visiting Terra at her school, but decide to leave her be, as she is the happiest she's ever been.
[edit] The Judas Contract movie
[edit] Other versions
- On Earth-33, a world of magicians, Terra is an earth mage, who appears to be one with the soil.
