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A major theme of the 2003Teen Titansseries is the line between good and evil, and that crossing it is a choice. Thus, the motives of both heroes and villains are often explored, their intentions frequently challenged for not aligning with their actions. The desires of the more powerful super villains, like Slade, are a mystery, but this absence of an explanation is what drives Robin to the brink of insanity. Like the Joker, another DC villain, Slade’s lack of rationale is exactly what makes him dangerous- and maddening. He seems to want destruction for destruction’s sake, and pulling it off only stokes his ego. However, to achieve his ends, he often recruits the help of those more moral and conflicted.
Plasmus, one of the show’s first villains, would rather spend the rest of his life in a medically induced coma, as consciousness is what turns him into a plasma dripping monster. Students at the H.I.V.E. Academy have been groomed and trained from a young age, taught to equate destruction with success. Fixit, a robot with a dark underground bunker, has lost all sense of humanity after being a machine for so long.Thunder and Lightningare two impressionable, misguided forces of nature that are still becoming acquainted with their powers. The trippy and controlling Mad Mod typically works alone, and his motives are a bit harder to pin down.
His real name is Neil Richards, but Mad Mod speaks to his obsession with Great Britain. The British flag is a common symbol in his fashion, as well as the traps he sets for the Titans and other heroes. He has a thick British accent, and it’s clear that he is more than a fan of the culture; he pines for it. Why he ever left Britain is a mystery, although the gimmicky nature of his accent also creates the possibility that he’s not even British, just obsessed with it. He laments a general lack of respect that he senses in the world, projecting that onto the Titans as the object of his frustrations.
Mad Mod doesn’t have any superhuman abilities; his attacks take the form of expansive optical illusions and technology-based assaults. In his first appearance, season 1, episode 10, “Mad Mod”, the Titans are taken by surprise, captured right out of Titans Tower, and forced to look at large, hypnosis-inducing spirals. They are confined to specially designed chairs thatblock their ability to use their powers, and when the heroes break free, they find themselves lost in a black and white maze, running up long sets of stairs without making progress, frequently exhausting themselves just to end up back where they started. All the while, they are attacked by stone busts of Mad Mod himself that operate as drones, contracting walls, acidic slime, and more. Robin eventually realizes that the Mad Mod they’ve been chasing is an illusion himself; the real villain is decades older, an old man in a control room coordinating the battle remotely.
Season 1, episode 10, “Mad Mod”
Season 5, episode 12, “Titans Together”
Played by
Malcolm McDowell
Mad Mod seems to hate children and America. This explains why the Teen Titans, at the intersection of those two things, bear the brunt of Mad Mod’s vitriol. In “Mad Mod”, the villain describes the Titans' illusory prison as a school, insisting that they go to “class” and pay close attention.The Titans' rebellionis seen as a disruption to the class, a misbehavior that must be punished. As he pursues the young heroes, he repeatedly forces them in front of the hypnosis screen, demanding that they learn some “respect”. The fact that he carries all of this out through a projection of a much younger version of himself adds to the feelings of nostalgia that seem to drive his actions.
Just what I said, dearie, to teach you lot a lesson! Yes, I’ve been watching you children misbehave. And I hate misbehaving children. Fighting crime. Saving lives. Interfering with the plans of hardworking villains. Why, you lot are nothing but a bunch of troublemakers! But you’ll learn your place soon enough. I’m older than you, so I’m bigger, badder, and better. You’re in my world now, and you won’t be getting out til you’ve learned some proper respect!
Mad Mod yearns for older days, a time when his generation was in its prime. He even seems to think that developments as old as the birth of America were a misstep from a purer time. In season 3, episode 7, “Revolution”, Mad Mod sets his sights onall of Jump Cityon the Fourth of July. Once again using his familiar tactics of trickery and hypnosis, Mad Mod duped all of Jump City into believing that he was king. He even went so far as to paint the illusion that America was still under British control, modeling Jump City after a 1960s London.
Mad Mod’s obsession with aging persists as well. The version of himself Jump City sees is as king is once again a youthful, blemish free Mad Mod. In his battle with the Titans, Mad Mod is even able to inflict this effect- and the reverse- on others, leaving Robin a crumbled old man, unable to fight. However, all of Mad Mods tricks are just that, and as soon as the Titans are able to neutralize the source, the old man Mad Mod will forever be, all effects of his trickery are undone.
Teen Titans
Based on the characters from DC Comics, Teen Titans follows the adventures of Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy as they fight to protect the world from various evildoers and make a name for themselves. The original animated series spans 5 seasons, and was the basis for the more comedic Teen Titans Go!
