For this installment, I'll be looking at an episode from an older show I've rediscovered, examining it as both a fan and a Christian.
One show that I was a big fan of in the 2000's was the Cartoon Network series 'Teen Titans.'
It was an animated show that ran from 2003 through 2006, about the adventures and trials of a team of teenage superheroes: Stoic team leader Robin, bubbly yet powerful alien princess Starfire, exuberant half- robotic hero Cyborg, fan- favorite Gothic sorceress Raven, and the fun- loving animal shapeshifter Beast Boy.
(Meet the Titans: From left, Beast Boy, Starfire, Robin, Cyborg, and Raven. Credit for this image goes to the user Teentitansfan1234 at http://teentitans.wikia.com/wiki/File:Teen_titans.png)
It was a genuinely good show, a perfect blend of action, humor, and surprisingly great moments of drama and character development that could appeal to adults just as easily as to kids.
It could have silly, light- hearted episodes (i.e. 'Fractured,' 'Bunny Raven,' and any of the episodes involving the amusingly psychedelic villain Mad Mod), and but then also have dead- serious, intense episodes (i.e. The deeply moving 'How Long is Forever?', the honestly magnificent 'X,' and any episodes featuring the Titans' pure- evil main nemesis Slade), and handle both styles perfectly.
It did an awesome job portraying both established characters from the comic books, and also original characters created for the show (i.e. The hilarious movie- geek villain Control Freak was created for the show, and became so popular among fans that there was a lot of talk about officially bringing him into the larger comics' main canon).
Its opening theme song by Japanese pop rock band Puffy AmiYumi is incredibly catchy, too.
It was sadly cancelled in 2006, apparently the result of Cartoon Network coming under new management. Starting in 2013, a new version of it called 'Teen Titans Go' premiered, but I honestly find that show abysmal and a disgrace to the 'Teen Titans' legacy in a lot of different ways that I won't go into here, so that's all I'll say about it.
Fortunately, about a month or two ago, Cartoon Network began reshowing episodes of the original 'Teen Titans' at 6-7 am. So, as a good way to help wake up and get psyched for the day, I'd watch those hour blocks while having my morning coffee or tea, and am pleased to say the show still holds up remarkably well after all these years.
My favorite of the Titans was/ is Starfire. One would rarely use the word "Adorable" to describe a superheroine, but it fits Starfire like a glove. She's cheerful, brave, kind- hearted, fiercely loyal to her friends, quite often funny with how naive she can be and how unaccustomed to Earth she is (i.e. She fumbles with the meanings of certain words and phrases, and her beverage of choice is mustard), and yet also much smarter and more insightful than she seems. The relationship she gradually develops with Robin over the course of the series is awkward but very sweet, the kind of pairing that fans like me could easily cheer on. In addition, her voice actress Hynden Walch does a consistently great performance as her.
If any of you are interested, here's a pretty neat Starfire tribute video I found on Youtube. The song fits her well, in the chorus when it goes "Sharada, Sharada," I imagine it saying "Starfire, Starfire" instead!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1ZvLW0vkkA
I bring all this up because, during the current re- showing of 'Teen Titans' episodes, I rediscovered an episode centering around Starfire that I love as a fan, and can also derive some great lessons from on how to live as a servant of Jesus. It was a Season 4 episode known as "Troq."
In this episode, the Titans meet an intergalactic hero named Val- Yor, who recruits them to help him defeat a hostile alien race called the Locrix before they can invade Earth. They all set out on a space mission to the Locrix's base planet in order to shut them down for good.
As their journey progresses, Val- Yor quickly wins over most of the Titans with his friendly, mentor- ish nature, but remains rather cold towards Starfire. Things come to a head when Val- Yor, angry at Starfire for making a potentially dangerous mistake, calls her a "Troq," which makes her gasp in shock. After this, he begins regularly calling her that. At first, the the other Titans think nothing of it, on the grounds that Val- Yor has nicknames for each of them (i.e. He calls Robin "Spike" and sarcastically calls Raven "Sunshine"), but Starfire sadly reveals to Cyborg that "Troq" is in fact a particularly hateful slur term for her alien race. It specifically means "Nothing," implying that she is worthless due to her race, and she knows that punching him out for saying it will just confirm his prejudices. Cyborg tells Robin about it, who furiously promises to make Val- Yor apologize to her for it, but Starfire tells him to let it go on the grounds that their mission is more important than her feelings. Things ultimately come to a head when they arrive at the Locrix planet, set out to accomplish their mission, and in the process cause a few characters to reveal their true natures.
While 'Troq' is usually not found on many "Favorite episode" lists by the show's fans, it's one that I've always loved. First up, as a Starfire fan, episodes centering around her tend to get my attention well, and this one does not disappoint, as it helps us learn a lot about her. Also, the action sequences are solid (Especially some of the 'Titans and Val- Yor vs. Locrix' battles and a tense scene when Starfire has to clear a path for their ship through a treacherous space minefield). The voice acting is quite good too, I still to this day can't believe that was Stephen Root (Best known for playing the odd coworker Milton in the movie 'Office Space' and voicing the dopey neighbor Bill on 'King of the Hill') as the voice of Val- Yor. It can have some good comedic moments, as well (Cyborg's reaction to Val- Yor letting him get behind the wheel of his spaceship is priceless), and as you will see, a great message.
I think there are quite a few Scriptural lessons that can be taken from this episode. An obvious one is on the dangers of prejudice and hate, but as I have already covered that lesson pretty thoroughly on this blog in the past through my looks at 'Zootopia,' I'll pass over that one. Rather, I think an EXTREMELY important lesson that can be taken from this episode that I haven't yet dealt with involves how we as Christians should respond to hate and prejudice that we see, especially when we ourselves are the victims of it.
What most sums this up is a critical scene in the episode's climax; During the battle on the Locrix's home planet, Val- Yor and Starfire together enter the Locrix's base and plant the device which will shut the Locrix down forever. In the process, though, Val- Yor is wounded and trapped within a force field as the base is about to explode. Starfire immediately uses her immense strength (She is much stronger than her slender build would suggest) to press through the force field and tells Val- Yor to take her hand. Val- Yor refuses, snarling at her "Keep your filthy hands off me, Troq!" Starfire then shouts, "You may not value my life, but I STILL VALUE YOURS!" She seizes Val- Yor and flies him out of the base before it blows, saving his life. I'd say this is pretty much a perfect depiction of Jesus's calling in Matthew 5:44 to "Love your enemies, bless them who curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Afterwards, when Val- Yor and the Titans are all back on Earth, Val- Yor thanks Starfire for saving him, but does so in a way which clearly shows he hasn't learned a thing from what happened, and remains as prejudiced as he was before. The other Titans, all of whom have been completely disenchanted from Val- Yor now that they know how horribly he treated their friend, tell him to just leave, and he does so. Starfire then gives a quite beautiful closing monologue, pointing out that "There will always be people who say mean words because you are different, and sometimes their minds cannot be changed. But there are many more people who do not judge others based on how they look, or where they are from. Those are the people whose words truly matter."
That verse, in turn, reminds me of Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
I'd say both of those are extremely valuable lessons for us to learn and model as servants of Jesus Christ, especially in our current political/ social climate. The tragedy in Charlottesville a few weeks ago shows the kind of destruction that can be caused by hatred and prejudice, as well as by an improper response to it. Do not take this as a political statement because that is not my intent, but I personally believe that President Trump was kind of right when, in response to what happened in Charlottesville, he pointed out that plenty of blame for what happened can be cast at both sides of the conflict, rather than just at one side or the other. Both sides had their lunatic- fringe, violent extremist elements out in full force during that period (Virulent white supremacists on one side who deliberately try to provoke others and stir things up, and lawless "Antifa" types on the other side who go to such events with the specific intent of starting fights and riots), and both sides believed themselves to be in the right by taking the stands they did, but when that much hate from both sides gets together, the end result is never pretty. When confronted with or victimized by the hatred and prejudices of someone else, the temptation to strike back and/ or respond in kind, through word or action, is very strong. That's how the secular world teaches us to respond to it. However, the funny thing is, most of Jesus's teachings involved the importance of going AGAINST what the secular world would have us do.
Jesus wanted His servants to live in such a way that all who saw them would know they are different from the world, that they put their love of the Lord above all else. His teaching on the importance of loving our enemies is a perfect example of this. The world teaches us to love our friends and hate our enemies, but Jesus teaches us to even love our enemies and those who mistreat us. Even when it comes to being active in causes which are important to you and standing against something you know in your heart is wrong, we must resist the temptation to feel hate towards those on the other side of the issue. We must attempt to see them the way God Himself sees them: As His beloved children just as much as we are, and whom He died for just as much as He did for us.
To help us with this, we must seek out those who are good influences for us, as both Starfire's closing monologue and the verse from Philippians 4:8 show. We need to be with those who can guide us to better live in ways that model Jesus and what He did for us, so we can know how to properly react when confronted with prejudice or injustice.
We cannot stop hatred with more hatred. We must show Godly love and mercy every day, even towards those who do not deserve it, as Starfire did to Val- Yor in the episode and as Jesus did for all of us on the cross. Through doing that, we can help to bring at least a little of Jesus's peace and renewal to a world desperately in need of it.
So, that's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Stay tuned over the course of October, I should have a two- part Halloween edition up over that month, as I did last year. Until then, God bless you all!
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