Tara Markov (DC Animated Film Universe)

Tara Markov


Alias(es)	Terra
Appeared in	Justice League vs. Teen Titans Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
Status	Deceased
Actor	Christina Ricci

Tara Markov, also known as Terra, had manifested the ability to manipulate Earth. She could levitate Earth, manipulate its shape and configuration like raising the floor to make a shield, or alter its state like turn hard Earth into a substance similar to quicksand.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Tara Markov was a child when her powers emerged. Markov's parents freaked out and thought she was possessed by evil. She was abandoned and forced to live on the streets, eating out of dumpsters. Deathstroke was contracted by Brother Blood, leader of H.I.V.E. and the Church of Blood. He eventually wanted Deathstroke to capture all of the Teen Titans for him. Deathstroke heard of Terra Markov and her powers. He devised a plan to use her as a spy and if needed, a bargaining chip. He went to Markovia and intervened on an attempted public execution. Terra was tied up to a vehicle and dragged around while the mob chanted for her death, calling her a witch and a demon. Deathstroke sliced the head off a man holding a gun to Terra's head. Deathstroke addressed the mob and invited them to leave or die. The mob chose the former.

Deathstroke took off his mask and told Terra he heard she was a special girl then introduced himself. Terra fell for and worshiped him, believing she was in love with him even. He kept Terra isolated and dependent, told her everyone was the enemy, trained her ruthlessly, and promised her exactly what she wanted. Deathstroke lied and said they would be together in every way after his contract with Blood was concluded then they could form a new League of Assassins with his money. Terra believed him without question and deployed.

Justice League vs. Teen Titans[]

10 days after the Teen Titans defeated and imprisoned Trigon, Terra approached the Titans Tower at night atop a flying rock from across the ocean.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract[]

She was taken in as the latest member of the team. Beast Boy took a liking to Terra but he only got on her nerves. Through her, he gathered intelligence on the Titans for over a year. He observed them through camera lens worn by Terra as contacts and kept in touch with her through a comm line.

The Titans conducted a raid on a third H.I.V.E. base on the night of a full moon. The base was atop a steep, isolated desert hill. Terra used her ability to move them up the interior of the hill like an elevator. She struggled to keep focus as they talked about the mission and quarreled. She stopped six inches from the floor of the base. Starfire blew a hole in the floor and gave the signal. Terra slammed several soldiers with boulders and protrusions. Beast Boy rammed a H.I.V.E soldier aiming at Terra's back. He swiped one as a bear then made a pun on the word "unbearable" to Terra's annoyance. After Terra bashed several soldiers with boulders, Beast Boy landed on her shoulder as a monkey and took a selfie then asked her out to a movie. She tossed him and told him to keep moving. The mission ended with Nightwing asking Starfire to move into an apartment with him. Terra thought it was lame there was no ring.

The next day, Jaime Reyes and Garfield Logan squared off in a game of foosball. Logan got distracted when Terra entered the room and searched the pizza boxes in kitchen. She noticed his stare, sighed, and left. Logan declared he was awesome but everything he did pissed her off. Reyes advised him to stop turning into a chimp and stealing monkey kisses. Logan insisted everyone thought it was adorable. Reyes disagreed then called a time out to talk to his family. Starfire fought three holograms of Gordanians in the training room. She invited Terra to join her and declared the staff helped her clear her mind. Terra declined and revealed she was just trying to avoid Beast Boy. Starfire continued but Terra just brushed him off as a jerk and asked if it was true Raven's father was trapped in the jewel on her head. Starfire confirmed it was true and told her he was a demon named Trigon and they had issues. Terra quipped at least she knew where her father was. Starfire suggested she talk to Raven more but Terra found her too creepy then left the room. Raven opened her eyes amid disembodied whispers.

Terra wasn't happy to learn Nightwing didn't find much off of H.I.V.E.'s files yet but he revealed the program would take a day or two. Logan turned everyone's attention to Reyes taking out his anger on a punching bag. Starfire asked Terra to go with Logan. Logan and Terra accompanied Reyes into the city. Reyes pointed out he didn't ask them to follow him. Logan declared they came to support him. Terra respected his desire not to talk about his problems. Logan didn't see any fun in that. Reyes stopped at a Gabrielle's Horn and revealed he was planning to volunteer in order to get the Scarab used to being around people. He met a girl named Traci who volunteered. Terra knew it was something else. Logan contended it was okay for them to have relationships and lives. Terra looked at a homeless woman and had a flashback. Logan became concerned when Terra's mood suddenly changed and she left. Logan's concerns only continued when Terra had another super powered night terror and shook the Tower.

Raven made contact and tried to calm her. Terra came to and pushed Raven away. She insisted it was just a nightmare and yelled at everyone to leave her room. Robin asked Raven if she saw anything in Terra's mind. Raven claimed she saw nothing but if she did, it wasn't his business. Robin contended everything that happened in the Tower was and it should be everyone's, too. Raven reminded him Starfire was the leader. Blood met with Deathstroke and requested he move the time table up a week. Deathstroke protested that was not part of the deal. Blood offered to double his price and reiterated he wanted all of the Titans. The next day, Beast Boy and Terra were paired off during training. He promised to take it easy on her. She relished the chance to shut him up. She raised the earth below him. He turned into a monkey then a bear and countered. She raised herself then leap to levitating rocks. He dodged her attacks then wrapped her up as a snake. He stroked her head then leaned in for a kiss.

Terra had another flashback and lost control of her powers. Beast Boy was swung around in a vortex then violently tossed. Blue Beetle destroyed her construct then Starfire blasted at her feet to jilt her to normal. Beast Boy admitted he took it too far. Terra couldn't believe their kindness and stormed off. Robin confronted Nightwing about the need to conduct surveillance on Terra. Raven admitted she sensed something off about her. Nightwing sided with Starfire and stressed understanding. Robin warned he would get people killed from making decisions with emotion. Terra was feeling the pressure of being a double agent and sneaked off into the city to see Deathstroke. Robin tracked her down. However, Terra, sensed Robin's vibrations and confronted him on a rooftop. Robin told her he knew what it was like to not fit in with the team and asked what was wrong. Terra started listing off how everyone annoyed her. Robin implored her to let them help her.

Deathstroke stepped out above them and mocked him for being so considerate. Robin drew his sword and rolled to avoid his stomp. He deduced Deathstroke was saved with a Lazarus Pit. They fought but Deathstroke teased he lost his edge living with the Titans. He hit Robin in the gut with a knee, hit him repeatedly then headbutted him. Robin arm barred him but was hit with a boulder sent by Terra. Robin realized she was a traitor but Terra insinuated she was never on his side in the first place then enveloped him in quicksand. Back at base, Deathstroke scolded Terra for running at the first sign of trouble. She strode into the monitor room in a pink nightie and claimed she was losing it and had to see him. Deathstroke was content with taking out Robin and getting him out of the way first. Deathstroke removed Terra's damaged camera lens from her right eye and put in a replacement. Deathstroke reminded her the contract was everything and total concentration was needed for it.

Terra didn't want to go back to the Titans Tower and cited their caring messed with her head. Deathstroke insisted it would take a little longer then they would be together. She smiled and hugged him. Raven got an idea to hold a party for Terra to celebrate the one year anniversary of her joining the team. She went to Terra's door, offered to teach her some meditation techniques that could help her stay in control, then informed her the team was assembling in the common room. Terra became unnerved by Raven acting nice and suspected they found out she was a spy. Nothing was on the schedule. Over comms, Deathstroke disagreed they knew the truth or they would have all come to her room. Terra speculated it was a move to make her drop her guard. Deathstroke instructed her to calm down. Terra discovered she was being thrown a party in her honor. She teared up and thanked them. The party was cut short and the Titans deployed on a mission to attempt to capture a H.I.V.E. scientist.

The scientist was executed by a drone before they could question him but they discovered photographs and notes about them in his briefcase. Starfire advised everyone to be extra vigilant and not take any chances then clarified they should keep their eyes open and comm lines open at all times. Beast Boy found Terra outside at the beach. Beast Boy, in frog form, hopped onto a rock near her and apologized her party was interrupted. Terra was resigned to it happening. He advised her not to let the new revelations shake her up and promised he had her back. Terra admitted it was something else that bothered her. He turned into a rabbit and promised he was all ears, turned back to normal and remarked she had a pretty smile. Terra told him about how she became an orphan after she was persecuted about her powers. Beast Boy noted it could be a bond and talked about how everyone on the team dealt with pain, a pressure that either formed a diamond or grinded you into dust. They kissed. Terra told him not to get used to it. They kissed again.

Beast Boy turned into several animals and cheered. Deathstroke came on her comm and admitted he almost believed her and informed her they would move on the Titans the next day. She stopped Beast Boy and told her she was tired. As she walked away, she readied herself. Terra ambushed Raven in the Tower and defeated her after piercing the building with several constructs. Deathstroke checked in with her after he shot Dick Grayson. Robin was close to breaking his left arm free but Terra intervened. Robin tried to reason with her that Deathstroke was lying to her about everything. Terra stated he had Robin pegged from the start. Robin insisted his method was to mix truth with lies. Terra found him annoying and declared he really didn't know anything about Deathstroke. She revealed he saved her life. Robin deduced he kept her isolated and dependent then told her everyone was her enemy, trained her ruthlessly, and promised her exactly what she wanted. Terra got angry and began enveloping all of Robin. He countered the Titans treated her like family and she threw it all away.

Deathstroke returned to base and stopped her from asphyxiating him. While Terra packed, Deathstroke assured her it was normal to develop feelings for the Titans after being under deep cover with them. He advised her to concentrate on them being together. She deleted a photo of her and Beast Boy from her phone. Nightwing returned to the Tower and had the computer run a trace on Terra's phone. Deathstroke and Terra delivered the Titans to Blood and bound them in the Enervator machine. They were creeped out by the Church congregation hailing Blood over and over. Deathstroke introduced Terra as his double agent. Beast Boy initially thought he did something to her. Terra informed them they were going to die. Brother Blood and Mother Mayhem met with Deathstroke and Terra. Terra called the Church of a "bunch of crazies" to which Mayhem called her insolent trash. Terra shook the Church. Deathstroke ordered her to keep it together. Blood asked Mayhem to be civil to their guests as their business was not yet complete.

Blood acknowledged the absence of Nightwing and alluded to an alternative. Deathstroke quickly surrendered Terra to serve as a substitute for Nightwing. She was darted by Mayhem and placed on the Enervator. Deathstroke contended he should have charged more for the "upgrade". He was wired $200 million. They were raised to the center stage. Blood announced the moment of ascendancy had arrived. Deathstroke told Terra a contract was a contract. Blood used the machine to take on the powers of the Titans and transformed into an ascended form. Terra regained consciousness and went into a rage about Deathstroke betraying her. She generated earthen columns and raced towards him, side swiping Blood in the process. She realized he was studying her, too and planned to use her all along. Deathstroke claimed it was all a big misunderstanding and removed his mask. Terra raised barriers to keep Deathstroke to herself. Terra threw boulder after boulder at him. He eventually flipped over her and her shield and grazed her left arm with a bullet.

Terra threw more rocks, he sliced and blasted them, she raised the ground around him, raised him up, slammed him, and decked him as he dropped from mid-air. Terra's instability triggered the destruction of the Church of Blood. Deathstroke bid her goodbye as the ground split around him and boulders rained down on him. She screamed. Beast Boy made his way to Terra and called to her, she apologized to Beast Boy then lifted him up on a piece of earth and sent him away to the other Titans. Blue Beetle and Nightwing dragged him as they retreated.

After the Church of Blood collapsed, Beast Boy dug Terra out, she took a last look at him and died in his arms, sometime after Brother Blood was defeated, Beast Boy was a guest on Kevin Smith's podcast, Smith got to asking if the new girl on the team was a replacement for Terra, amid all the rumors circulating, Beast Boy became less talkative, Smith realized that it was too soon and rescinded the question, but Beast Boy decided to make a statement about Terra. Beast Boy talked about how some people were handed a rough life and some never could rise above the pain of it. He concluded that Terra showed her true-self when the chips were down and was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

Geokinesis: Terra was able to control and levitate earth matter, such as dirt and stone
Earthquake Manipulation: Terra was able to manipulate earthquakes and shock waves.

Relationships[]

Deathstroke - Boss, savior and love interest turned enemy.
Teen Titans
- Starfire - Team leader turned enemy.
- Nightwing - Teammate turned enemy.
- Robin - Teammate turned enemy.
- Blue Beetle - Teammate turned enemy.
- Beast Boy - Teammate and love interest turned-enemy.
- Raven - Teammate turned enemy.
Church of Blood
- Brother Blood - Enslaver and enemy; deceased.
- Mother Mayhem - Ally turned enemy; deceased.