Teen Titans/Forces of Nature

Forces of Nature
1x04
Airdate	August 16, 2003
Written by	Joe Gall, David Slack, Adam Beechen
Directed by	Ciro Nielli
← 1x03 Divide and Conquer	1x05 → The Sum of His Parts
Teen Titans — Season One

Forces of Nature is the fourth episode of the first season of Teen Titans.

Starring: Scott Menville (Robin), Hynden Walch (Starfire), Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Tara Strong (Raven), Khary Payton (Cyborg), Ron Perlman (Slade)

Guest Stars: Quinton Flynn (Lightning), Scott Bullock (Thunder) </small>

Plot Overview

It is a dark and stormy night. In the clouds, two shadowy figures drum and dance in time to the thunder and lightning. In Titans Tower, Beast Boy is setting up a strange contraption in a hallway. As he prepares to load up a balloon full of some liquid, Raven demands to know what he is doing. He explains that in retaliation for one of Cyborg's pranks, he has rigged a device to fire a balloon full of motor oil at him. Beast Boy hears someone approaching and quickly runs around a corner, dragging Raven with him. Waiting for his trap to spring, he shushes Raven's questions, then Cyborg's. When Beast Boy notices Cyborg hiding with him, he rushes to disarm the trap, but is too late to stop it from plastering Starfire in the face. Beast Boy tries to pacify her with a joke, but Starfire is very irate at his thoughtlessness, cursing him in her language. Robin suddenly arrives on the scene -- there is trouble in the city.

Thunder and Lightning, the two silhouettes seen earlier, materialize on a bridge and start wreaking havoc. The Titans arrive and do battle with them. During the fight, Beast Boy tries to persuade Thunder that it is wrong to cause chaos for his personal amusement, but is interrupted by a blast from Lightning. After the brothers escape back into the skies, Robin orders the team to search the city for them. To his dismay, Beast Boy is assigned to search with Starfire, who is still irate over his practical joke.

The brothers arrive in a stone courtyard and smash a few statues. Thunder is still mulling over Beast Boy's words, however. They soon wander off, before Beast Boy and Starfire arrive at the scene. Beast Boy cracks another joke, but Starfire is still not amused. Even transforming into an adorable little kitten fails to sway her. As he tries to get back on her good side, the brothers arrive to do battle with them. Beast Boy again tries to persuade Thunder that he is putting innocent people in danger. Suddenly, an old oriental man appears in a puff of smoke. He turns a crank on a small wooden box, which produces a huge beam of energy directed at the others. Noone is directly hit, but the beam smashes into a series of stone slabs, sending a shower of debris heading straight towards Starfire.

The brothers are in awe at the power of this newcomer. He offers to take them to a place where they can have even more fun. Thunder is still concerned over his conversation with Beast Boy, but the others dismiss his reservations and the three head off. Beast Boy comes out of hiding and starts frantically digging at the pile of rubble, devastated that he may no longer have the chance to apologize to her. As he is working, a shadow falls over him. He turns to see Starfire, alive and unharmed, and no longer angry at him. She has accepted his apology, and is ready to make Thunder and Lightning apologise. Beast Boy realizes he may have more in common with them than he thought.

The old man has led the brothers to a field outside the suburbs. In the field are set up several target dummies, each bearing an character in an Oriental language. At first they are dubious of this new entertainment, but the targets explode with much brilliance and noise when struck by their powers, and soon they are happily blasting away. When all the targets are alight, the brothers ask the old man for more target practice. Instead, he throws a token inscribed with a strange symbol into the air, casting a spell that connects the targets and creates a giant flame monster out of them. The old man orders it to attack the nearby houses, but the Titans stand in its way.

An attack from the monster forces the team to scatter. Raven telekinetically pulls some trees out of its path, and Beast Boy and Starfire destroy a few more. Cyborg blasts a pile of dirt onto the monster, but it is still not extinguished. Meanwhile, Thunder is aghast at the destruction he has helped cause, but at the old man's behest, the two head off do defend their creation. As the old man celebrates his victory, Robin arrives and attacks. The old man seems strangely familiar with Robin.

Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven are throwing everything they have at the monster, but are put back on the defensive when Lightning attacks. As Thunder prepares his own blast, Beast Boy moves to intercept him. In a strange sort of dream sequence, Beast Boy demands to know why he and his brother are causing wanton destruction. He explains that having powers does not put one above others. Meanwhile, Lightning has knocked Starfire out, and is preparing one final attack, when Thunder knocks him away with a blast. Lightning is outraged at this betrayal, and the two brother battle. Lightning gets the upper hand, before realizing that they have long since stopped having fun. Thunder points out four of the Titans, who are battling the flame monster with their powers and a nearby fire hydrant. They realize that they have been wasting their powers on chaos and frivolity, and take off to the sky to try to make thing right.

Despite their efforts, the Titans cannot stop the flame monster from advancing. It has almost reached the houses when the combined powers of Thunder and Lightning create a rainstorm that finally snuffs it out. Meanwhile, the old man has Robin pinned against a tree, but a well-aimed lightning bolt knocks him back. To Robin's surprise, the man's face is a mask, which was damaged in the strike; beneath it is another mask -- that of Slade. He vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving another token behind. Studying the symbol on it, Robin realizes who he just fought.

The battle is over, and the brothers apologize to the Titans for the trouble they have caused. Starfire has forgiven Beast Boy, and everyone is in a good mood -- except for Robin, who is determined to find Slade and discover his motivations.

Notes

• The symbol Slade uses to cast the spell is shaped like the letter S -- this is entirely coincidental, however.

Comic Book Parallels

• Slade's outer mask resembles the comic version of Slade Wilson's actual face.

Arc Advancement

Characters

• Robin: We see the first signs of his obsession with Slade.
• Beast Boy: He learns that his sense of humor is not appropriate to every situation.

Trivia

Behind the Scenes

• Greg Cipes changes the way he plays Beast Boy -- his voice "un-breaks".

Quotes

• Starfire: On my world we have a name for people who do such things. You are a... CLORBAG VARBLERNILK!
  Beast Boy: A what-bag?
  Cyborg: You heard the lady.
  Raven: You are SUCH a clorbag.