There is a reason why Teen Titans is one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows! The content was unique and enjoyable because of the consistent narratives, intellectual character development, and plenty of humour mixed in with some serious subjects. It spawned a successful five-season run as well as a TV movie. Aside from this, there were other popular collectables, toys, and action figures based on the show.
The storyline of a bunch of juvenile crime-fighters taking on some of the world’s most heinous criminals was thrilling, and they were pitted against some unforgettable foes. It is not all fun and games, though, for the story occasionally takes a dark turn with some terrible adversaries. We have gathered some of the series’ most terrifying and powerful enemies in this video, and we will be delving into their twisted origins and abilities.
Slade aka Deathstroke
Slade or Deathstroke the Terminator is one of the primary villains of the series. For the first two seasons, he is constantly seen trying to defeat the Titans. He probably wants to destroy the city and rule the world, but it is not made quite clear as to why he is after such kind of supremacy. Two of his secret bases are destroyed, but that does not stop him from continuing with his sinister plans. He commands an army of robotic minions and Slade is known for his incredible superhuman strength. He is also quite a manipulative fellow, and there have been times in Season 1, when he tried to recruit others to do his dirty work. His arch-rivalry is with Robin, and there was a time when he even forced Robin to join him.
However, there is a strange unexplained side to his character. There was a time when he had the chance to eliminate all the five Titans after Robin had infected himself with the nanobots. He chose not to kill them, but his behaviour is not explained. Maybe, he thrives from the competitive enmity that grows between him and his opponents. In the second season, we saw more of the manipulative side of Slade when he tried to recruit Terra, a lost soul, to work for him. He exploited her fears and coaxed her to fight by his side.
He was absent for much of season three, but in season four he was back as the servant of Trigon. It is revealed that Terra had indeed killed him, but Trigon brought him back in return for his services. Slade has left an indelible mark with the viewers, and we can never forget his unique mask. He was seen in a black bodysuit, and he was shown to be quite calm and composed in tricky situations. Slade was always obsessed with the completion of his goals, and he was quite clever and calculative in his approach.
But there is another side to his character, which we see when he refuses to help Trigon destroy the Earth and helps the Titans to defeat him. Besides his supreme strength, Slade also had some crazy regenerative abilities. When he was Trigon’s accomplice, he could fly, teleport, and shoot demonic fire blasts. He is certainly one of those entertaining villains that made the show a lot of fun, and posed quite a challenge for our heroes!
Trigon
Do you guys remember Raven, the human-demon hybrid among the Teen Titans? Her mother was forced to become the wife of demonic Trigon, who later abandoned her. Trigon is thus Raven’s father, although his evil nature is quite the opposite of Raven. If you consider the fact that Slade worked as his minion, it is safe to assume that Trigon is probably the most powerful villain in the entire series.
He had a terrible reputation across the universe, and most planets knew all about his evil ways and feared him. He has a constant enmity with Raven. Slade sheds some light on his origin, and we learn that Trigon was imprisoned in another dimension by the order of Azar. Raven released him, but his evil reputation soon began to surge. We have seen Trigon throughout season four, and he is shown to resurrect Slade as an undead entity. Raven eventually succumbs to her fate, and she can no longer handle the constant mental torment. Her evil can no longer be hidden, and it seems like that prophecy is coming true.
In the three-part exciting finale, Trigon turns everyone into stone, but the Titans are protected by the last gift of Raven. The Teen Titans then team up with Slade and launch an attack on Trigon. He had turned Raven into a 9-year-old, but in the end, she restored her normal age and killed him. She renounced him as her father, and this is easily one of the most heroic moments in the series for Raven. Trigon had quite an intimidating appearance with his red-skinned gigantic presence. He had long white hair with elk-like antlers.
His four red eyes and hoofed feet led an animalistic look to him. Throughout the narrative, Trigon is shown to be a manifestation of pure evil, and he is keen to dominate the world. He has no attachments with anyone, and he doesn’t hesitate to harm his own child for his goals. His cunning nature is highlighted by his ability to manipulate someone as shrewd as Slade to do his work. He is easily one of the darkest villains in the series, and his powers were extreme. He had magical and energy manipulation abilities that made it almost impossible to harm him.
His four eyes allow him to be extra aware of his surroundings, and it almost acts like virtual omniscience. Besides these, he could bring back the dead, and turn everything into stone statues. However, his very strength often became his weakness because he was found to be a bit too confident and egoistic at times.
Red X
Red X started off as a secret villain identity for Robin, which he used for an undercover operation. He had a plan to get close to Slade without him knowing, and this cover identity was supposed to misguide the master villain. Slade was viewed as a madman who posed a serious threat to the world, and Robin was willing to do just about anything to stop him. Professor Chang helped Robin with some of the items and Zynothium that he used as a power source. This helped him create the Red X suit, and he passed off as a skilful thief.
He stole some computer chips that Slade was looking for, and in return for those chips, he proposed a partnership between the two. However, Slade was not among those to be fooled for too long. He learned about his real identity, but Robin chose not to tell his teammates about it. As a result, the covert operation was blown and his friends also lost their trust in him. Eventually, Robin disposed of the suit in such a way that it could no longer be used.
However, the vault in which the suit was stored was broken into and someone stole it. Someone was now using this suit for their own selfish agenda. The Zynothium in the suit was almost exhausted, and the person had to look for another source. Robin tries to get to a likely location where Red X could get more Zynothium. However, Professor Chang had plans of his own, and ultimately, the selfish Red X saved Robin’s life. He even helped Robin to free his teammates and prevented Chang from attacking them. Once the threat of Professor Chang was neutralized, Red X went back to his evil ways and escaped.
Later, he joined the Brotherhood of Evil, but he probably left it after a while because he wasn’t seen in the final confrontation between the Brotherhood and the Titans. Red X had quite an interesting look in a completely black bodysuit with a red X across the chest. The new Red X was a selfish thief, but at times we saw that there was something good in him that prompted him to help out the Titans. He was an agile martial arts fighter with great skills, and he derived his powers from the suit. We saw Red X in Season 1 and Season 3, but he had a cameo appearance in Season 5 as well.
Terra
We have listed Terra as a villain, but she was not necessarily bad at heart. In fact, she was more of a lost soul who was manipulated into joining the evil forces. Terra or Tara Markov was formerly a member of the Teen Titans. Initially, she merely wanted to be a friend of the heroic group and help them out. However, Slade got into her mind and tormented her using her weakness and insecurity.
She was always confused about her identity and her powers. She and her brother Geo-Force were the princess and prince of Markovia, and she was the head-strong one. She didn’t like anyone telling her how to act and use her powers, but various experiments were conducted on the siblings to make them protectors of the family. The powers in here became so extreme that she feared that they would hurt someone. She ran away, and Geo-Force went out looking for her. Her geokinetic abilities were, indeed, very special, but whenever she tried helping someone it made things worse.
Slade understood her vulnerabilities very well, and he promised her that he would teach her how to control her powers! But in return, she would have to serve him loyally. There was deep-rooted anger in Terra that we see surfacing time and again. There is a sequence where she fights with Robin, simply because he tried to reason with her. She hates feeling like she is some sad little girl who needs to be rescued. In Season 2, Terra joins the Teen Titans and they happily welcome her into the group for her powers.
She soon reveals that she is unable to control her earth-controlling abilities, and it can cause great harm to her loved ones as well. Beast Boy learns about her weakness, but he keeps it a secret from the other Titans. Later, when Slade interacts with her, he reveals that he has a cure for her lack of control over her powers. He also makes her insecure about the Titans, telling her that the Titans will abandon her the moment they find out about her weakness. Since then, she has been a regular feature in the series, often fighting alongside the Titans!
She is quite a colourful character with her big blue eyes and blonde hair. Her geokinesis powers are her greatest strength and she could control and manipulate the Earth and Earthly substances according to her will. She could even summon sentient creatures from the ground and these creatures obeyed her commands through Slade. When Slade made a special suit for her, it allowed him direct control over her because it was connected to her nervous system. She might have been a disturbed and damaged person, but her presence certainly added a lot of charm to the series.
Psimon
Psimon was a notorious villain, who was a part of the Brotherhood of Evil. The group sought to eliminate young superheroes all over the world so that their road to world domination would be made simpler. Not much is known about his background, and we never get the answers regarding the source of his powers. When the Brotherhood of Evil went ahead with its worldwide strike, Psion and Kyd Wykkyd ambushed Raven.
In the intense battle that followed, we were witness to the remarkable powers of Psimon. He could match up to raven’s magical powers with his mental strength and with a little help from Kyd Wkkyd, he banished Raven into another dimension by opening up a portal. Unfortunately for Psimon, Raven managed to return and then joined the other Titans to attack the villainous forces.
This time around, Raven was better prepared to handle the attacks from him. She formed a protective shield around herself using her raven aura, and Psimon could not inflict any damage with his powers. Raven then delivered a mighty kick that knocked out Psimon, and Kid Flash flash-froze him along with his comrades. The main strength of Psimon was his mental powers. We never got to know the full extent of his powers, but we have seen him use telepathic skills, levitation, and his ability to open portals.
His psychic energy is no less than Raven’s and he also has teleportation abilities. Psimon also had telekinesis abilities, and he could move things with his mind. The makers made him look appropriately scary with his violet eyes and clawed hands. He was seen in Season five of the animated series, and according to the mainstream DC comics, the source of his powers was Trigon. He gave him these powers to destroy the Earth, and later, Psimon goes on to become the leader of the Fearsome Five.
Blackfire
She is easily one of the most cunning and manipulative villains that we have witnessed on this show. Blackfire is the eldest daughter of the long-dead king and queen of Tamaran. She is the elder sister of Starfire and Wildfire, and she is a princess of Tamaran. Her first appearance in the show was quite deceptive and we had no clue about her evil intentions. She arrived on Earth and pretended to be delighted after being reunited with Starfire. She even gave her sister a Centauri moon diamond, and she faked having a lot of fun with the Titans. She would tell the group stories of her adventures and apparently, she had travelled throughout the galaxy and had plenty to talk about!
The Titans started to like her a lot, and even Starfire was starting to feel like she will not be required by the team anymore. Just as Starfire was planning to leave Earth, the Centauri Police appeared and arrested her. The Titans freed her and explained that the wrong Tamaranean was captured. This was when it was revealed that Blackfire had framed her sister for her own crimes.
The piece of jewellery that she gifted Starfire was actually stolen, and it was all a part of her sinister plan. In the meantime, Blackfire was preparing to flee from Earth, but Starfire stopped her escape. She hit Blackfire with her star bolts, and soon the Centauri Police took her into custody. She was fuming after her capture and swore that she would get her revenge from her sister for the humiliation.
She even managed to break out from prison and became the new ruler of Tamaran. Blackfire then tried to force Starfire to marry a grotesque alien named Gigrdsklechhh. However, she was once again defeated by her righteous sister who challenged her claim to the throne. Finally, she was banished from Tamaran by a royal decree. Since she was never a part of the Brotherhood of Evil, it is safe to assume that her enmity was sole with Starfire and not the other superheroes. She did have a tantalizing appearance with her waist-length black hair, black crop top and thigh-high boots. This immoral and sadistic villainess was quite a surprise package and added a lot of variety to the baddies in the show.
H.I.V.E Five
H.I.V.E. Five was an organization that comprised of some criminal students led by Jinx. These were students from the H.I.V.E. Academy, and after Jinx defected to the Teen Titans, the group was led by Gizmo. The other members in this group were Mammoth, Private H.I.V.E., See-More, Billy Numerous, and Kyd Wykkd. Jinx formed this group after H.I.V.E. Academy was destroyed and the Brother Blood was defeated. They were first seen when they tried to rob a mall together. The Teen Titans challenged them, but the H.I.V.E. Five defeated them quite easily. The only reason that the Teen Titans did not get themselves killed was that Mother Mae-Eye came to their rescue.
This was a proud moment for the organization, and even though they did not get away with their crimes, they were happy to have defeated the Teen Titans. The Titans, however, managed to get their own sweet revenge, when they send them a cursed pie made by Mother Mae-Eye and get them possessed. Later, the H.I.V.E. Five were back in action and tried to rob a museum with priceless Egyptian artefacts.
Kid Flash foiled the attack, and in the course of time, he coaxed Jinx to renounce her criminal life. She joined the Teen Titans, and Gizmo took over the leadership in her absence. There is an epic battle sequence, where Jinx fights her former teammates, and eventually, they are all flash-frozen alongside the members of Brotherhood of Evil. There has often been a change in the members of this notorious group, but before Jinx left the group she was one of the permanent members along with Mammoth and Gizmo. While Mammoth was the muscle of the group, Gizmo was a tech-wizard and a genius with weapons and tools.
Brother Blood
This sadistic villain was the headmaster of the H.I.V.E. Academy. He made his appearance in Season 3, and we mainly saw him as a rival to Cyborg. Brother Blood was first seen in the episode titled Deception. Cyborg was secretly spying on the H.I.V.E. in disguise and saw that the organization was up to no good. They indulged in various robberies and the riches were used to finance the development of a deadly weapon called Ion Amplifier. However, Cyborg could not conceal his identity for long, and Brother Blood figured it out. He then tried to mind-control Cyborg and tried his best to manipulate him. He offered Cyborg the opportunity to become human once again if he faithfully served him. But Cyborg was strong in his resolve and he firmly withstood the mind-controlling tricks of Brother Blood.
Cyborg wiped out H.I.V.E. Academy with a powerful blast from his sonic cannon, but Brother Blood was not the one to go down so easily. Previously, when Cyborg was hacking into their computers, Brother Blood had gotten hold of his blueprints. He then used Cyborg’s sonic cannon mechanics to create a deadly underwater weapon. This could create massive tidal waves that could wipe out Jump City. The Titans tried to foil the plans, and they even seized Cyborg’s blueprints from Brother Blood. However, he had a photographic memory, and the schematics of the sonic cannon still remained with him. He had many other trysts with our heroes before he was finally captured after a crushing defeat.
He never joined the Brotherhood of Evil, and his absence from the show was a mystery. After being imprisoned he never reappeared on the show, much to our disappointment! This evil meta-human was a master of mental and psychokinetic powers. Besides the usual abilities of telekinesis, mind control, and creating illusions for his victims, he could also levitate and perform miraculous actions like walking on water. He could teleport himself from one place to another and his deadly energy blasts could strike a lethal blow. Once he was converted into a cyborg, Brother Blood gained enhanced physical strength, and even his mental abilities grew considerably. There is nothing better for a superhero series to have a capable villain, and Brother Blood was certainly one of them!
Mad Mod
Mad Mod did not have any superhuman powers as such, and still, he is regarded as one of the toughest super-villains that the Teen Titans had to face. This is large because of the maze of false realities that he could create for the Titans. Mad Mod uses technology to create these illusions, and the make-believe worlds do not comply with the known laws of physics and human principles. His introduction to the series was rather bizarre! The Teen Titans are seen to wake up in a confused and dazed state, and Mad Mod introduces himself. He believes that the Titans should leave the criminals alone and not interfere with their plans. He claims that the superheroes need a lesson on how to respect the tough villains, and this is when we see the power of his illusions for the first time. Even though the Titans escaped, they were still trapped in the crazy psychedelic institution of Mad Mod.
The worlds that he created were completely according to his whims and fancies. The Teen Titans struggled to keep up with the strange rules and laws of nature, and they were reduced to mere pawns doing exactly what Mad Mod had intended for them to do! There is a classic sequence, where they try to grab hold of Mad Mod, only to realize that it is only a hologram. When we finally see the real self of Mad Mod, he seems to be like an old man. Robin managed to decipher the puzzle and caused the illusions to malfunction.
There were times when Mad Mod hypnotized an entire city, and everyone started to believe that he was their king. He even stole Robin’s youth and turned him into his old self. Later, he was seen as one of the recruits of the Brotherhood of Evil, and it was almost funny to see this strange character take it out on the Teen Titans. He did not have a fixed appearance because we have seen him both in his young and old avatar. He came across as a genuine fan of British pop culture of the 60s and 70s. He spoke in a thick British accent, and he was always jealous of the youth of the Titans. All his trickery was controlled by a ruby-handled cane, and he could use it to do just about anything!
Mammoth
We have already spoken about the notorious H.I.V.E. Academy. Mammoth was one of the steady members of the group, and this super-villain was a troublesome enemy for the Teen Titans. Just as Mammoth was about to graduate from the academy along with Jinx and Gizmo, they were all looking for an opportunity to work with Slade. To test them out, Slade ordered them to destroy the Teen Titans, and this was supposed to be their graduation test. They did succeed initially in taking over the Titans Tower for a while, but the Titans fought back. After being defeated by the Titans, they had to repeat their graduation for failing their task.
There were plenty of occasions, where we see Mammoth in action. One of the memorable times was when he tried to capture Kid Flash and failed miserably. Mammoth is a muscular, beefed-up villain who serves as a powerhouse of strength in the group. He has strange white eyes without pupils and his long red hair adds to his weird appearance. He has superhuman strength, and it was no match for the average human. Mammoth was quite a tough fellow and he never tires out easily no matter how extreme the conditions are. He could punch the ground with such ferocious strength that shockwaves would be created in devastating proportions. Fitting his huge stature, he also has a crazy appetite and could eat massive quantities of food.
Cinderblock
The narrative never spoke much about the origin and nature of Cinderblock. He was shown to be serving several villains, and more often than not, he would be seen obeying Slade. He was a loyal muscle man for Slade, and the latter could assign any task for Cinderblock to take on. Usually, the missions that he was assigned demanded brute strength, and this he had in plenty. For instance, he was asked to break Plasmus out of prison. There was a time when Cinderblock was sent to fight Robin. He was given a tracking device that had the location of Slade’s base that he lost purposely so that Robin could head back to Slade’s base.
There were times when Cinderblock was used more as a distraction than a direct attack. Even after Slade’s apparent death, Cinderblock continued to fight against the Titans. It required the combined forces of Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven to bring him down. Later, he was seen as one of the members of the Brotherhood of Evil. Cinderblock did take part in the final showdown with the Titans, but it was not made clear whether he was frozen like some of the others. We would have to say that Cinderblock was among the simpler villains in the series.
He simply obeyed commands and was intellectually incapable of making his own decisions. You could say he was more of a loyal thug, who could do the work assigned to him without giving it much thought. His appearance was like a massive monster, and although his intelligence was limited, his strength certainly wasn’t! His body was made of concrete, and he had endless stamina that helped him in fights. It took an overwhelming effort by the Teen Titans to put him down, and this mighty villain had a recurring appearance throughout seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5.
Kyd Wykkyd
Kyd Wykkyd was another member of the H.I.V.E. Academy, and not much is known about his origin. He started off as a student in the academy and later, under the headmaster Brother Blood, he escaped with Angel. Later, Kyd Wykkyd was recruited by the Brotherhood of Evil, and he also joined the H.I.V.E. Five group. It was more about his personal interests just like the other members in the group, and he did not quite go by the standards of prestige and power that Jinx had set.
Kyd did take part in some spirited attacks against the Teen Titans. He tried to defeat Kid Flash with See-More, and he also fought Raven alongside Psimon. Kyd Wykkyd looked strikingly similar to Batman in terms of his costume. He was always portrayed as a mysterious character, and he was almost emotionless. He did express bouts of sudden emotion, but he didn’t talk at all. He is quite a laid-back fellow, who relies on his special powers to protect him in fights. One of his main strengths is teleportation, and this allows him to change locations instantly. Kyd Wykkyd has the ability to levitate and could send his enemies into another portal. His cape is quite a handy weapon and he could use it to glide across long distances. He was also very stealthy and he was known for his sneaky attacks!