Terra is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, she first appeared in New Teen Titans #26 (December, 1982).
| Terra | |
|---|---|
| File:Terra anim comic.jpg Terra in the animated series and in the comics | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | New Teen Titans #26 (December, 1982) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman George Pérez |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Tara Markov |
| Team affiliations | none, Teen Titans, Deathstroke |
| Abilities | Terrakinesis |
Terra I
Tara Markov, half-sister of Geo-Force, was the illegitimate daughter of the King of Markovia. This royal blood gave her her special terrakinetic powers (the power to control all forms of earthen matter).
Terra became a mercenary, doing dirty work for others such as Deathstroke the Terminator. She joined the Teen Titans, fooling them by staging a battle vs Deathstroke. She then operated as a spy for Deathstroke, eventually giving him the information he needed to kidnap the Titans.
Eventually, the captured Titans were held in a stronghold of Deathstroke's contractors, The H.I.V.E.. Nightwing and Deathstroke's son raid 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 H.I.V.E.. Not knowing of Jericho's powers, Terra believed Deathstroke to have turned against her, and thus she went bezerk and fatally pulled the whole H.I.V.E. complex down upon herself.
Terra II
In 1991 another Terra appeared, almost identical to the first, as part of the Team Titans from a possible 2001. She was one of three characters ostensibly from that future who were not wiped out in Zero Hour. She was told by the Time Trapper that this was because she was not from the future at all, although she destroyed Time Trapper's messenger orb out of panic before the story was finished. Subsequently she discovered Tara Markov's coffin to be empty.
Further evidence suggested she is the original Terra, but due to her horror at what she did, Geo-Force decided to spare her this knowledge, thinking she would rather not have a past than have that one.
In the Animated Series
Current Status: Turned to stone
Terra is also featured in the Teen Titans animated series, voiced by Ashley Johnson. In this version, her arms and legs are very skinny- almost as though through emaciation. Her chest is also considerably smaller than her comic variant's chest. She also has longer blonde hair and less muscle on her legs and arms. These changes work to create a dramatic contrast between her tremendous power and her apparently frail body; they also make her much look closer to Beast Boy's age than the other Titans (her lack of curves and her height both figure prominently in this). In this setting she also betrayed the Titans to Slade (not called Deathstroke in this continuity), despite her relationship with Beast Boy, but was portrayed as more "lost" than evil or vindictive; also, her dysfunctional relationship with Slade more closely resembles the twisted family dynamics exhibited between the comic's Deathstroke and his daughter Rose Wilson (The Ravager), rather than the comic book Terra and Deathstroke's extremely illicit romance.
From the start, Terra is a nice, fun-loving, slightly tomboyish girl who travels around the world because of her past mistakes such as causing earthquakes,avalanches and mudslides which means she had trouble controlling her unfathomable powers and she often has rejection from people she had tried to save. She joined the Titans anyway, and made Beast Boy, who quickly discovered this hazard, promise to not tell anyone else. Robin quickly figured out, and she left in panic, believing that Beast Boy had broken his promise. She went to Slade after he told her he knew her secret and that he could help her control her powers. After the training with Slade to gain control of her powers, she returned to Titans Tower to spy on the Titans and compromise the security of their tower, although it was not destroyed. She took BB on a date to cover the attack, during which he discovered her alliance with Slade, thanks to Slade himself. His unintentional rejection after learning this led to her complete turn to the side of evil.
After this point, she was given armor with a neural link to Slade to ensure that she would not rebel and turn back to rejoin the Titans. She was now a sadistic villain who attempted to kill the Titans. After taking a beating from both the Titans and Slade, she wished to turn back, and with BB's help, overcame the suit's neural link and apparently killed Slade. She used most of the power she had left in her body, sacrificing herself to save the city from a volcano triggered by her powers, which turned her into pure stone. The Titans gave her a hero's memorial, because although she had betrayed them, she had also saved them and the city. Story Editor Amy Wolfram said in July 2005 that Terra "may be coming back in an interesting way" in Season Five.Template:Inote
Terra continues to be a favorite amongst fans and staff members of the show (including cast members like Greg Cipes and Ashley Johnson).
Appearances
Terra appeared in:
- Terra
- Titan Rising
- Winner Take All (cameo appearance at the end)
- Betrayal
- Aftershock Part 1
- Aftershock Part 2
- The End Part 2 (Flashback)
She is also mentioned in
- Birthmark (mentioned by Beast Boy when he sees Slade alive)
- The End Part 2 (mentioned by Slade when telling Robin how he met Trigon and by Evil Beast Boy when taunting Beast Boy)
Her comic appearances in Teen Titans Go are
- Issue 10:Finding Nero(cameo appearance)
- Issue 11.Countdown
- Issue 12.Magic & Misdirection
- Issue 16.Beauty & the Wildebeest(cameo appearance as a chibi)
- Issue 18.When Chibis Attack (cameo appearance as a chibi)
- Issue 20:Secret Moves(Not the real Terra, but a computer simulation)
References
- 'San Diego Comicon 2005: Teen Titans Behind The Scenes', Titans Tower (July 19 2005). Retrieved July 27 2005.