Teen Titans: Who is Control Freak?

The 2003 Teen Titans series features an array of villains who have a history with the Titans throughout the DC Comic universe. While many villains are only featured front and center for an episode or two, the show is sure to depict their motives and evil inspirations. Teen Titans‘ thematic messaging comes predominantly from the worldviews of Jump City’s villains clashing with those of its heroes- or, at times, coming dangerously close to not clashing at all. The show’s biggest overarching villain, Slade, embodies this well. The root of Robin’s obsession with Slade comes from his need to prove that he is different from the evil mastermind. Slade gets in Robin’s head, painting himself as a father figure to the young hero and pointing out their similarities, and it’s clear that Robin’s fierce rejection of these claims comes from an ultimate uncertainty of their truth.

Yet, while Slade sits at the heart of the show’s melodrama, even Teen Titans‘ most fleeting and superficial villains never fail to shed some light on a deeper idea. Mad Mod, a silly trickster with a love of British culture, still manages to evoke ideas of freedom and independent thought in even the show’s lightest episodes. The robot Atlas, in an episode that essentially features a duel for its own sake, is emotionally significant to Cyborg as he, and the rest of the Titans, learn to accept the limits and differences of his mechanical body. In fact, the show’s least action-heavy episodes and villains do not function as fillers; rather, they are often crucial moments of character development. The introduction of Control Freak is no exception.

Who is Control Freak?

Control Freak is a human, though his given name is unknown. He is an extreme movie and TV buff, with the beginnings of his conflicts with the Titans arising at a video store when one of his favorite titles was missing from a list of the store’s favorites. In season two, episode five, “Fear Itself”, Control Freak lashed out at the store employee and then the Titans when he continued to not get what he wanted, which appear to be respect, idolization, and validated opinions about movies and TV shows. The innocent clerk fearfully explains that she hasn’t even heard of the movie Control Freak is talking about, which only makes things worse. When the Titans intervene, they are puzzled when Control Freak acts as if he’s faced the heroes before, declaring himself to be their arch enemy.

When he finishes this introduction, the Titans maintain that they do not know him, nor are they afraid. Raven corrects him, instead calling him a “couch potato with a souped up remote”. Control Freak is an extremely unintimidating presence. He is visibly out of shape, and his zeal for sci-fi movies is palpable and unappealing- all qualities that are immediately evident, even to a young audience. And ultimately, Control Freak turns out to be as unassuming as he looks.

Does Control Freak Have Powers?

Control Freak, in and of himself, does not have any powers. Like many Teen Titans villains, he has a crucial device that powers all of his threatening abilities; without it, he is easily subdued. Where the Puppet King has a magically imbued marionette controller and Mad Mod has a delicate maze of optical illusions, Control Freak has a super-powered remote control. The capabilities of the remote appear merely to tap into the surreal nature of the universe, the existence of which has already been confirmed in previous episodes. The conflict in the video store reveals that the remote control enables Control Freak to animate objects to fight for him, like candies and VHS tapes inside the store, as well as transport himself in and out of the ‘TV dimension’ (essentially into his favorite movies and shows and back out again). In addition to animating existing objects, the remote also enables him to bring beings out of the TV dimension to fight for him.

Despite the enhanced abilities this tool afforded him, the Titans quickly realized that without the remote, Control Freak would merely be an immature nerd. In fact, they subdue Control Freak so quickly that “Fear Itself” isn’t even really about him; he was merely a vehicle to introduce the episode’s theme. The Titans were so nonplussed by the whole confrontation that they proceeded to rent a movie from the video store- the scariest one they have, to boot. That night, Beast Boy excitedly starts the movie, declaring that it is considered the scariest movie ever made, so much so that the movie itself is considered haunted, with viewers reporting strange incidents after watching it.

After watching it, the Titans all agree that it was, indeed, the most terrifying thing they have ever seen- and they’ve seen a lot. All except for Raven, who declares that she doesn’t “do fear”. But she was clearly affected by the movie, though she refuses to admit it. That night, the Titans are disturbed by strange sounds coming from within Titans Tower. While the Titans (save for Beast Boy) are hesitant to accept that the movie may actually be haunted, they are thoroughly scared out of their wits as they continue to encounter monsters that separate the group, regardless of their source. Throughout the experience, Raven steadfastly maintains that she is not afraid.

Until finally, she finds herself alone facing the dark and mysterious monsters. Only then does she admit her fear- and doing so is the very thing that gives her the strength to face the monsters. And when she does, the rest of the Titans suddenly reappear around her; the lights are back on in Titans Tower and all is well. There were, in fact, no monsters at all- Raven’s festering, unacknowledged fear manifested itself in the creation of the frightening scene the Titans faced all night. While Raven on the surface is monotone and emotionless, her character displays time and again the importance of acknowledging and feeling the full range of emotions. And in this episode, it was all done through the lens of the world that Control Freak placed on the Titans and the audience.