BatWatch Review: Teen Titans #19

Trigon-Ometry

Teen Titans, you make my heart sad. You are everything that is wrong with the DCNU with the way you throw out decades of character growth and replace it with a thin imitation of the original. Characters are updated, but their updates only serve to make them less admirable and more easily despicable. Your stories are meandering, simple, overly long, far fetched and poorly thought out. You should go away.

Last issue set up lots of nonsense for us. Trigon has arrived and is being generically evil. Raven is there too and she is...well, we don't know anything about her, do we? Beast Boy is apparently going to betray the Teen Titans which is odd since he's never really been allied with them in any significant way. Reports say that it was originally going to be Skitter who betrayed the team, but that was changed by editorial staff. I do wonder, however, if we might see Skitter in this issue who has been missing without explanation for numerous arcs now. Oh, and there are apparently brain sucking twin brothers in the mix too. Yay?

Is Teen Titans #19 just another example of how this series should bite the dust or does writer Scott Lobdell prove that he has the writing chops to form sense from this insanity?

In this issue, the Teen Titans interrogate Red Robin before going into battle against Trigon.

Grrr!

This is one of those frustrating issues that contain some things I really love and some things I completely despise.

In the despise department, Red Robin is still acting like a complete tool, and I wish someone would run him over with a lawn mower. Also, characters often have knowledge of things that they have no apparent reason to know. Superboy, who was only with the team for a brief period before going solo, apparently is the go to guy for information on Cassie. Why would Superboy know more than the team members who have spent every day of the past several months with her? Raven's history with the Titans is also called into question, and I'm unsure how Psimon is supposed to fit into things. This issue was certainly more focused than the last couple, but it still seemed a tad scattered.

On the positive front, it was much more coherent because of the increased focus. Also, Eddy Barrows seems to finally be finding his place with the Teen Titans. I've been very disappointed in his work on the last two issues, but this time around, his art is beautiful. There are no more horribly fake expressions on characters faces, and the image of the giant Trigon fighting the Teen Titans on the city streets is at times breathtaking in scope. Also in the positive front, the team is finally working as a team as long as you overlook their early attempts to throttle Red Robin. Even during the Red Robin interrogation, the Teen Titans were at least interacting in a more fluid way than has previously been seen.

Psimon, Beast Boy and Raven

We have some moderate revelations about all these characters.

Regarding the character who has been nuking people's brains, he is apparently Psimon who is an old Teen Titans villain not seen much in the last decade. It appears his history is significantly changed, but there is still a tie with Trigon and he is still psychic, so he is not a completely new character. My only complaint about him in this issue is that he gets in a battle with a hero at one point, and based on prior demonstrations of his power, he should have been able to kill that hero instantaneously.

Beast Boy feels pretty irrelevant to the plot right now. (Spoilers for Rest of Section) This story apparently takes place after The Ravagers #12, so we do get the insight that Beast Boy will survive the series and The Ravagers' base will be destroyed by Deathstroke. With The Ravagers base in shambles and the end of their series just around the corner, it's not far fetched to wonder if Beast Boy might be added to the rolls of the Teen Titans. Still, he does not seem to be serving any real purpose in current events.

Raven is by far the most mysterious of all characters in this issue. Her previous appearances made it seem as if she were totally down with Trigon's plans, but here, she shows compassion to Beast Boy and refers to Trigon's dimension as a hell, yet she forces Beast Boy to fight for Trigon all of which creates a very bizarre and contradictory picture of the character. Making things even more odd, the Teen Titans start talking to Raven like they are old friends after Trigon leaves. How do they know her? Raven's costume did grow on me as it grew on her in this issue. One scene shows her mask appearing to grow into place over her head, and that looked awesome, so I'm warming up to her DCNU costume.

Bat Droppings

1. Why does Cassie know Trigon?

2. Seeing giant Trigon riding a three headed, eighteen eyed horse through the city streets of NYC was awesome.

3. The fight scene was satisfying.

4. Lobdell did a much better job of weaving the subplots into the main story in this issue.

5. Red Robin continues to s

how his douchiness by being concerned about PR rather than the lives lost after the crisis.

Conclusion 7/10

Fans of Lobdell's Teen Titans will no doubt be thrilled. Everybody else will probably want to approach with a little caution. If it looks good to you, pick it up. If it looks bad, pass.

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Review: Teen Titans #18

To Belle and Back

There was a brief period several months ago, during Teen Titans #13-14 I believe, that I actually thought Teen Titans might be getting good, but that...was quite a long time ago, and it hasn't. I'm tired of Teen Titans. Nothing particularly interesting even happens, the characters are unlikable, and there are about a million and a half subplots, few of which actually concern me. Last issue revealed that Tim Drake was possessed or some such, and I do not really care. With that amazing build up, let's see what this issue actually has to offer.

Does Teen Titans surprise and delight my heart or singe and destroy my brain?

In this issue, Tim mourns the loss of Damian and then gives the Teen Titans a mission, saving teen superheroes before they get hurt.

Requiem for Teen Titans

The question remains the same for every tie in. Is it worth buying? The answer? No.

If you are just wanting to buy this issue to see some mourning over Damian, I cannot recommend it. The problem is not that there is no mourning but that the mourning is insincere.

The relationship between Tim and Damian has always been characterized by jealousy and resentment. Damian hates that Tim, the impostor son of Batman, took what Damian saw as his role as partner of the Bat. That resentment on Damian's part led to a couple brutal attacks which eventually led Tim to absolutely despise the brat.

Now we are in a new universe with a new Tim, so you could reasonably say that this dynamic is less of a barrier in the DCNU, but the problem is that Tim and Damian have had almost no interaction in the DCNU, so the only past we can reference is the past of the DCU. For that reason, seeing the downright gushy banter between Tim and Damian comes off as completely lame. Tim is more deserving than ever of being called a Mary Sue by openly sobbing over his loss of Damian, yet, there is no reason to think they really have that deep a connection. Furthermore, Tim sees Damian in his imagination, and Damian goes from character appropriate antagonism to almost immediate support and approval of Tim. It is all incredibly stupid.

All the Good Stuff

I'll just go ahead and kill the suspense by telling you that this issue is not worth buying even if Requiem is not your draw, but before I talk about all this issue's problems, let me talk about the few good things going on.

First, Tim finally gives the team a purpose. It only took the book a year and a half to give the characters a reason to fight together, but at least it was finally done. They are trying to rescue teen supers in danger which is a fine premise except that it is the exact same premise of The Ravagers which was just canceled, so... Regardless though, at least the team now has some justification for existing.

Second, there was a fight between the Teen Titans and the Suicide Squad which was actually pretty satisfying. The teams were nicely matched, and it is always nice to see some good comic action. Also, Tim actually briefed the team on what they would face, and it is about darn time the man with a plan finally started planning.

Sadly, that's it on the positive front.

Why Isn't This Series Better?

First up, Barrows' (former artist Teen Titans and current penciler for Nightwing and Teen Titans) art is struggling. For one thing, we have Tim grinning on the cover while holding Damian's costume, but this is not really established anywhere in the comic in any way. Tim is not glad Damian is gone. It might stand to reason that this is the evil possessed Tim we saw at the end of last issue, but that entire plot line just disappears in this issue. The rest of the art is, though not bad, strained in parts. Tim has some really unnatural poses and expressions in this issue, and some of the layouts during the fight scenes felt messy.

Second, in regards to the disappearing plotline, let me just say I am completely done with the zillion and one subplots. They are not tying together neatly, Lobdell. (former writer of Uncanny X-Men and current writer for Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans, Superboy and Superman Pick a few and tell the story in a nice traditional manner. I am completely sick of stories being introduced and then forgotten. Either you have a master plan which will make sense of this all one day, and I am just too impatient to wait for it, or as is more likely since you admit you do not like to plan, you just write whatever you feel like from month to month and important details I care about get forgotten along the way. By the way, what's happening with Skitter? How did Diesel survive the cave in? What was up with Danny the Street or the weird Dinosaur world?

Third, Kiran and Cassie both remember their experiences with Tim which implies that they were not possessed. I can see Kiran kissing Tim just because it surprised her and she went along with it, but Cassie throwing herself at Tim is way out of character for her.

Fourth, Tim continues to be a jerk in this issue by being gruff with his teammates and lying to them. I wish he had been stabbed through with a sword.

Fifth, the scene with Suicide Squad, though the best in the book, did raise some questions. Where is the rest of the Squad. Aren't there usually about a half dozen members. Is Deadshot given a gun while in his cell. Does anybody like Deadshot's armor?I've tried to get used to it, but I don't like it.

Sixth, everything else in the issue is just kind of random, so what is there to say?

Conclusion 5/10

This issue is not worth buying. There are many, many comics more worth your money.

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Review: Teen Titans #17

A Tale of Light and Dark

There are books I love reviewing every month, and there are books I hate reviewing every month. I never know which Teen Titans is going to be. Teen Titans #15? Meh. Teen Titans #16? Really cool. You just never know.

Batman and Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood and the Outlaws all set a pretty high bar for what we can expect as fallout following Death of the Family. So far, Batgirl is the only one who just kind of glazed over the otherwise huge event. Nothing really happened to Tim in Death of the Family, so I don't have very high expectations for this issue, but Tim's is looking awfully down on the cover, and Batman, Incorporated's big news is now fair game to discuss, so maybe we will see some fallout from either Death of the Family or Batman, Inc.

We also have some other big events shaping up for this series. Raven, terrible costume and all, is heading for Teen Titans supposedly to become a new member, and I cannot say that excites me much. We already have too many characters with too little development, and the last thing I want is more added to the mix. Also, based on the silly costume change, I'm going to bet I will not like other new DCNU changes to her character. We've also been promised a Deathstroke crossover, and Teen Titans are guest starring in Firestorm this week. Kurt Lance has been popping up and messing with Solstice periodically, and we have been promised, not for the first time, that Tim will finally have a team meeting and discuss the future of the team which has been sticking together for no particular reason ever since the conclusion of The Culling. Does Lobdell manage to take all these disparate story lines and pull them together to make a coherent story, or is this issue, like this team, held together by the thinnest of threads?

In this issue, Tim has a talk with the team and shows them their new pad, and at least one evil force is growing in power.

I Hate Tim More Every Day

Okay, so there are some things that happen towards the end of this issue which I will leave alone for the moment, and it appears that Tim is not responsible for those actions, but he is clearly responsible for the section where his inner monologue is going, and even there, he is a major dick.

First, Tim has been a total douche all the way back from Gotham because he is embarrassed over what happened with Joker. He claims, “Nobody wants to here that (meaning an apology) from the guy who is leading the team,” but that's a load of crap. If someone screws up, they should apologize. It is only his pride which is getting in the way. Furthermore, Tim really does not have anything to apologize for. He was captured, but so were many of the best minds and combatants on the planet! So what? Sure, the Teen Titans almost died, but they almost die regularly under Tim's leadership, and they understand the risks. Tim does not need to apologize; he needs to thank them for being his friends and looking out for him, but again, his desire to be in control of everything and appear flawless is apparently making him act like a giant phallus.

Things get worse as Miguel and Kira reach out to Tim trying to connect and break the tension, but though Tim appears to handle the situation correctly on the exterior, his inner monologue reveals that he is full of crap. Tim apologizes for the need to keep his identity secret, but his monologue makes it clear he doesn't really feel all that bad about it. I have no problem with him keeping his secrets because as he mentions in a very pre-Flashpoint Tim sort of way, his secrets are not his own. (someone has read some old school Robin. My money is on Fabian Nicieza, the former writer of Marvel's The New Warriors and Trinity and current writer of Teen Titans and Batwing) However, Tim does not need to lie about his thoughts and feelings. Even worse, Kira really exposes herself emotionally and says that she counts him as a close trusted friend whatever his true name, and Tim responds, “That means more than you realize, Solstice,” but his inner monologue says, “Not really.” What? You are saying that you have no real friendship between yourself and your teammates even though you are espousing just the opposite. What a (censored)!

Ever since Teen Titans #0 butchered Tim's origin, I've said that if I were writing Tim, I would either insist on changing his origin or make him a villain, and I'm beginning to think the maybe Lobdell (former writer of Uncanny X-Men and current writer of Teen Titans, Red Hood and the Outlaws and Superman) is doing just that. It would be great to see a member of the Bat Clan truly go to the dark side and use their own knowledge and resources for evil, but if Lobdell and Nicieza are truly building towards this, then they should make is a shocking reveal not the only logical conclusion to Tim's despicable actions.

Whoa! Character Interactions in Teen Titans?

This came as a real shocker to me that in this issue. Lobdell actually takes time for the characters to interact. I've been begging for this from issue #1, yet I do not think we have ever seen more than two pages of the characters just chilling and talking through things rather than dealing with some immediate threat. This book desperately needs this, and I was delighted to see that, though 17 issues later than it should be, these Titans are finally getting to know each other on panel.

That being said, Tim and Cassie are pretty unlikable in the DCNU. I already went on about Tim, so the only other thing that might be relevant to add is that he smiles constantly even though he apparently does not feel all that happy, and I do not like fakery. Beauty queens tick me off for the same reason. Cassie, on the other hand, just seems like an extremely bitter (censored). I gave her the benefit of a doubt for some time that she was just jaded on the outside and would be revealed as beautiful on the inside, but after seeing her origin story and a year and a half of stories featuring her, she is pretty much without excuse.

On the other hand, we have good interactions between all other members of the cast. If you will look closely when Tim shows off the pool, you will see that Bart prepares to push Cassie in the pool, and in the next scene, they are all dripping, so apparently they took some time for a swim which is pretty cool. We've never seen Tim hang with his crew which is another major failing of the series. It's amazing the Titans would even stay loyal to Tim based on his standoffish and holier than thou nature. We get to learn a bit more about KF's past too which is a thread that was dropped around issue five and seemingly forgotten.

A lot of the interactions in this issue were centered on the Teen Titans' new home which I thought was pretty nice. When Tim took them to the waterfront, I was expecting to see Titans Tower off the coast, but I was delighted instead to see an awesome boat. I think the idea of a boat and Tim's reasoning behind the aqua based home is pretty cool. Though I am a big fan of continuity, I do think having a public base that everyone knows was pretty silly, so I'm glad the tower was not revived. As perhaps a little nod to the T shaped tower though, the boat does have a T symbol semi-hidden at the top of the ship.

Spinning Too Many Plates

Let's review the amount of subplots going on right now. Tim and the Titans are suffering some trauma from Death of the Family, and Tim should be feeling the death of another Bat character pretty soon. Deathstroke is coming to the series. Raven and Trigon are coming to the series. Teen Titans will, though perhaps not in this book, be meeting Firestorm. Skitter took off and disappeared. There are budding romantic feelings between Tim and Cassie and Bart and Solstice. Solstice has ability fluctuations thanks to a phantom Kurt Lance stalker. Tim is supposed to be giving the team a purpose and finding a reason for them to stay together.

There is a lot going on, right? Well, apparently it is not enough because Lobdell ignores most of these potential story lines and piles on nearly half a dozen new plot points! What the heck, man?

There is some mysterious new figure taking people's powers. Apparently, some people are predicting this to be the evil Dr. Light which makes sense. Tim is being a...jerk to put it nicely. (Spoilers) Bunker's old lover is in some serious trouble. Tim is either evil or being manipulated...probably the latter. Finally, some unknown and unexplained new character can cause people to drop dead.

Seriously, there is way too much going on here. Stop it. Pick a few plot lines and stick with it giving lots of time for character development. Stop the cluttered, rushed nonsense!

Bat Droppings

1. Lobdell said he was going to stay away from old Teen Titan villains like Deathstroke, Dr. Light and Trigon, but now, he appears to be bringing them all back, so I guess that old villain ban is over.

2. This probably is Dr. Light based on the fact that he is called doctor, he is stealing light based powers, and he can already make visual constructs. Also, I think he is solicited to make an appearance in issue #18. He looks like a generic monstrous bad guy now though. I kind of like the old slightly lame costume. Also, the story is called “The War of Light and Dark,” so there is that subtle hint.

3. (Spoiler) It would be nice if it turns out that Tim has been an evil, possessed version of himself this entire time and that his origin story was a load of crap that Trigon made up. One can hope.

4. Eddy Barrows (former penciler for Nightwing and current penciler for Teen Titans and cover artist for Nightwing) takes over for art this week, and other than Tim smiling too much (which might be plot relevant), I enjoyed his work. Good stuff.

Conclusion 7/10

I loved to see the team interact, but I hated Tim, and this whole story board feels cluttered. Based on enjoying the last issue and Fabian's work on this issue, I'm going to give it a benefit of a doubt, but the arc could easily go either way at this point. If you are a big fan of Teen Titans, check it out, but otherwise, I would suggest you pick it up only if this review made it sound good.

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Review: Teen Titans #16

Gotham Runs Red!

RHATO #16 was a massive disappointment with a story which completely skipped the plot of Red Hood and Red Robin to focus instead on Roy Harper and the Teen Titans. Presumably, Teen Titans will be focused purely on the Reds which would mitigate some of these annoyed feelings of mine. I've already read a preview for this issue, and I am actually a little excited because in the preview, Tim was presented as analyzing the situation in a fashion reminiscent of his pre-52 personality. Could this be the return of a Tim Drake which is not an unholy abomination, or does Lobdell once more make me hate my favorite character?

In this issue, Joker manipulates Red Robin and Red Hood into playing his game by putting their fathers' lives on the line.

Ready? Fight!

I've been so frustrated with the way that Scott Lobdell has changed Red Robin that at times I do not want to give him credit when he does something well, but in all fairness to Mr. Lobdell, I have to admit this issue was really cool. (caveats and exceptions to be provided later)

As I hoped, Red Robin and Red Hood take center stage in this issue, and we get to see these two characters who have never had much interaction play off each other in a really interesting way. Jason acts pretty typical to what we have come to expect through Red Hood and the Outlaws, but Tim actually shines in this issue for the first time since the DCNU began. From page one, Red Robin is analyzing his surroundings while pretending to be unconscious, and throughout the entire issue, he remains cool, calculating, and intelligent. He still had a little bit of an ego that would have been out of place with his DCU incarnation, but for all those Tim Drake fans who have been longing for a return of the classic version, this will satisfy you better than anything else that has been offered. I just want to know how he can be the man with the plan in this issue, yet he seems so incompetent while leading his own team.

Anyway, Joker's setup for this issue is interesting if not particularly original, and it leads to a battle that many have wanted to see for a long time. If you ever engaged in an argument about who would win in a fight between X and X, this will give you plenty of fuel for that fan boy fire.

The dialogue was strong throughout this issue. Joker's lines felt like they would be quite appropriate if voiced by Mark Hamil. The boys have nice, fresh interactions too. There is a lot that can be unpacked in the relationship between these two characters, and I hope we get to see that play out at some point.

The art looks quite nice as can always be said with Brett's work though there is a costume design for Raven in this issue which makes me cringe a little. Ugh, why can't this series have good costumes? Anyway, I think the character design was outside this series' control, so the creative team cannot be pinged for it.

Caveats and Exceptions

As much as I enjoyed this issue, there were also a lot of objectionable elements.

First, Tim starts off the issue saying that Jason is the closest thing he has ever had to a brother. Ouch! I hope nobody else loved the former brother vibe between Red Robin and Nightwing because apparently that is out the window now. Don't get me wrong, I think the way Tim has tried to include Jason in the family is one of the few admirable things about the character in the DCNU, but I would like to see this new relationship added to the previously existing friendship with Nightwing. I don't want it to overwrite the Tim/Dick relationship.

Second, Tim accepts the idea that Joker found the Reds' parents, “Because he's Joker.” Lame!

Third, the issue takes three pages away from the Reds' story to delve into three separate plot elements which will apparently play a role down the road. None of these pages are bad, but with us getting shafted on the central story last week, I really wanted to just see the Robin's stories. Also, these elements have very little apparent connection to the main story; it basically felt like an in story ad for thing to come. “Next month on Teen Titans...”

(Spoiler) Third, the idea that Red Hood would immediately turn against Tim was a bit too much to swallow. This behavior would be right at home with old DCU Jason, but current Jason seems a bit more stable. Thankfully, it turned out to be a trick, but it still seemed a bit difficult to believe.

(Spoiler) Fourth, Red Robin uses a flash bang out of nowhere. I hate that kind of stuff.

(Spoiler) Fifth, Joker goes “Gud” when he was shot, yet he turns out to be a dummy of some sort. There are possible explanations for this but an explanation should have been provided.

(Spoiler) Sixth, Lobdell promised in interviews that Jason would give Joker a beating...which did not happen. Lame.

The Game Changer

There was a big reveal at the end of the issue which changes the nature of the “What's under the platter” mystery. Read on only if you want it revealed.

(Spoiler) Joker presents Red Robin and Red Hood with two different platters meaning there is not one thing Joker is presenting to all the various members of the Bat Clan. Presumably, there is something unique to each one of them. What that could be, I have no idea, but one this is for sure, Joker has at last two bloody platters.

Conclusion 9/10

This issue had some problems, but they were mostly minor. Altogether, I would say this is one of the strongest single issue tie ins for Death of the Family so far; I just wish the rest of the Teen Titans/RHATO crossover was so solid.

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Review: Teen Titans #15

Teen Scream

The DCNU Teen Titans has been a disappointment to me overall. The latest arch was better than all that has come previously, but it still did not wow me. The last issue left us with the cliffhanger that Red Robin had been presumably kidnapped by Joker, and apparently, the clown wants the Teen Titans to join in on the fun. It is hard to get too excited about any of this since we have seen so many tie ins to the Death of the Family story, and the DCNU Red Robin is far from my favorite character, but many of the tie ins have been entertaining, and maybe it is time I cut Tim some slack. Does this issue make me a believer in Lobdell's Teen Titans, or is this just another clown that fails to amuse?

In this issue, the Teen Titans get some assistance in finding their lost leader from Batgirl and Red Robin is mocked by Joker.

Booth Is Back!

It's nice to see Brett Booth make a return to the series though my enjoyment is somewhat lessened by the knowledge that he will be leaving after Death of the Family. I understand his style is not everybody's cup of tea, but I've come to really enjoy it. One odd quirk about this issue was that the strap which has been holding on Joker's face was mysteriously missing. In fact, the face was a little underutilized in that you could not even tell there was something wrong with it unless you were looking closely. This is a little disappointing when we have witnessed the slow rotting of Joker's face throughout the rest of the series. Also, Joker's face appears on the moon at one point which did not strike the right chord with me. However, Joker's eyes make up for these mistakes as Booth captured the same sort of menace presented in Batman #15, and all the heroes look very cool in this issue. Personally, I think Booth is the only one to make Bart look good in his current costume. Booth's presence will be missed when he leaves.

Remembering the Titans

I'm very thankful that all the current members of the Teen Titans got a decent slice of the story this issue. In the prior four issues, we have barely seen Bunker, Kid Flash, or Solstice, but all of them have a significant presence this time. At first, I thought the Titans interaction with Batgirl was going to be all filler and posturing between Wonder Girl and Babs, but at the end, Wonder Girl showed some concern that made me rethink her actions. She was being...unpleasant to put it nicely, but I think her attitude stemmed from fear for her friend and her defense mechanism of putting up a tough face. She felt she needed to show no fear as the de facto leader of the team. (personally, I think Bunker should be in charge as the only consistently sensible Titan) Though there are not any great standout moments for the different members, I respect that Lobdell took the time to give every character something to do.

Joker Taunts and Red Robin Glowers

Though the Teen Titans' interactions were pretty good, the exchange between Red Robin and Joker is one of the worst to stem from Death of the Family so far second only to Catwoman, and honestly, Catwoman's was not much worse. Joker, for his part, was okay I guess. He did nothing remotely creative to Red Robin; Joker put on Tim's winged costume and taunted him. Tim for his part did nothing. Literally, Tim is stuck in a pit with walls about ten to twelve feet high, and he does nothing but talk to Joker. Such a pit would not stop any member of the Bat Clan for long except perhaps Barbara pre-Flashpoint, and even then, I think she would at least try to escape, but no, Tim just stands there like a moron trying to decide what to do while talking to the green haired menace. When Joker comes into arms reach, Red Robin continues to glower at him even though his hands are completely free to attack. What an incompetent boob!

Making this even more painful is that Fabian Nicieza, writer of Red Robin, did the dialogue on this issue. Nicieza did a great job during his time handling Tim Drake pre-Flashpoint, yet he cannot seem to come up with anything that makes me remotely root for him in this issue. At the beginning, Tim talks about how his team is unprepared to face challenges without him. No duh! Why haven't you trained them to do anything, Tim? We are over a year in to your team book, and you haven't taken time to teach them to work as a team! One line from Joker directed to Red Robin also connected with me. “You have always annoyed me with your perfection. That arrogant flaunting of how much better you think you are than everyone else.” Yes! That's absolutely true about the DCNU Tim Drake. It did not apply to pre-Flashpoint Drake at all, but it is so very true about this Red Robin. Please beat him to death with a crowbar now, Joe. I'm begging you.

Bat Droppings

Red Robin mentions the Orpheus murder which is a really odd thing to put back in continuity since it was not a crucial event in many ways. However, it did give me hope that if the death of Orpheus is still in continuity, then perhaps the “death” of Stephanie which occurred in the same arch is also still game. However, Orpheus was killed by Black Mask previously, and it appears as if it was Joker who killed him now, so again, this was a very odd continuity update.

Conclusion 7/10

For me personally, I feel like this is just another nail in the coffin of Tim Drake, but as an independent comic divorced of my personal affection for pre-Flashpoint Tim, this is an okay addition to Teen Titans and Death of the Family.

Review: Teen Titans #14

The Origin of Wonder Girl

Teen Titans has had a rather inconsistent run starting off horribly but becoming better with the current story arc. Though I despised Lobdell’s earliest issues of Teen Titans, I’ve found myself growing fond of the central three characters as they set off on their own to help Cassie harness and then reclaim her armor. Does this issue expand further on the chemistry between Red Robin, Superboy, and Wonder Girl, or does this trio of Titans fail to please?

In this issue, the titan trinity is attacked by Diesel, Miguel and Bart whine, Kiran meets a mysterious character, and Red Robin and Superboy do battle with armor warriors while Cassie faces her old flame.

Titans Smash!

Most of the chemistry I loved so much from the last issue disappeared in this one. We still get a tiny bit of interaction between Tim, Superboy, and Cassie, but the issue spends a lot of time dealing with Cassie’s conflict with Diesel which was only somewhat interesting and Red Robin and Superboy’s conflict with some plot convenient cannon fodder.

The armor warriors were rather uninspired and boring enemies, and quite frankly, Ale Garza’s art did not really make a good vehicle for the fight. Superboy swoops at bad guys while Red Robin flaps at them with his wings. Yawn.

I somewhat enjoyed the relationship between Wonder Girl and Diesel in the last issue, (statutory rape withstanding) but the conflict between Cassie and Diesel did not really work for me. It may have come across a little better if I could have seen Diesel’s expression and seen his emotion, but since the silent armor completely covers his face, it was difficult to determine if he was feeling anything at this taught meeting other than greed and overconfidence. Whereas Cassie seems to be pouring her heart out, Diesel is unreadable. As if in effort to make up for this lack of dramatic tension, we are treated with a lot of red squiggles which are apparently representative of some sort of energy field put out by the armor, but it really adds nothing to the scene for me. In fact, it seems to take away the seriousness of the moment in its flamboyance. Furthermore, I have seen no point at which Cassie went from thief to hero, so the whole idea that she is somehow the moral superior over Diesel is somewhat in doubt in my mind. Granted, stealing is not as bad as murder, but it still makes you a bad girl in my book.

The Return of Those Other Guys

It was nice, somewhat, to see the rest of the team reappear since they have been missing for two months. The interaction between Miguel and Bart was entertaining though it also seemed a little pointless. The duoare bored without constant stimulus, and Bart likes Kiran. I think we have already covered that. Nonetheless, I always enjoy seeing Miguel because he seems to be the only character really interested in acting like a friend to other members of the team. Everybody else seems to be treating the other members of the team like people who just happen to live in the same dorm as them. Kiran, for her part, seems to be having some interesting developments. I cannot figure out what Lance is trying to do with her, but I figure we will see a return to this after Death of a Family.

Death of a Drake?

I have to say, I’m about pooped out with all the “Death of a Family” tie ins. At this point, my brain wants to explode every time I see Joker make yet another time consuming, pointless gesture to disturb the Bat Family. The Joker is beginning to seem less like a mastermind and more like an annoying stalker. “You slept with the Bat. Let me float this balloon next to you. You worked with the Bat. Let me make a doll shaped like you.” I’m probably being overly cynical on this point based on the fact that I see a “Death” issue every week and Catwoman still burns in my mind, but the entire last two pages felt like filler…along with many of the other pages of this issue.

Conclusion 7/10

If you are a big fan of Teen Titans or you have been following this arc so far, go ahead and pick up this issue. This is still the strongest arc of this series so far, but that is saying very little. If you are on the fence or considering buying this because of Death of a Family, do not bother.

Review: Teen Titans #13

The Origin of Wonder Girl

This volume of Teen Titans, as a whole, has sucked, but I have actually enjoyed the latest story arc.Showcasing Wonder Girl’s struggle with her armor, Lobdell has focused in on the series three primary protagonists, Red Robin, Superboy and Wonder Girl, and crafted a story with actual intrigue and good character interactions. The story is still not great, but it is a vast improvement over the drivel that turned into “The Culling.” The series reverted to form in the zero issue as Lobdell took Tim Drake’s origin and raked it over the coals in a move that strikes me as nigh sadistic to pre-Flashpoint fans of the character, but to be fair to Lobdell, he was empowered to create new interpretations of the character, and he has done just that.

Regardless of the damage to the legacy of the various characters, Lobdell has no excuse not to create a story which is good regardless of previous continuity, and he failed in this on the early run of the series, but the current arc has shown surprising promise. Does Lobdell demonstrate through this issue that he has a story to tell, or does he merely serve to destroy another character’s origin to no effect?

In this issue, Cassie reveals her past as a thief and lover as Red Robin and Superboy fly with her to the site where Cassandra became Wonder Girl.

Wonder Girl’s Not So Bloody Origin

This appears to be the month to lie with your cover art since Teen Titans has joined Red Hood and Nightwing in completely misconstruing the contents of the story. Wonder Girl is not revealed to have a bloody past, but it is still a rather interesting history. In the original promos to the DCNU Teen Titans, fans were shocked to learn that Cassie was going to be a thief. In Teen Titans #1, Cassie was seen driving a stolen sports car, but there are several reasonable excuses for that. In this issue, we find that there are no mitigating factors to Cassie’s thievery; she is simply a spoiled girl who likes to take shiny things for the challenge and thrill of the chase.

After one such theft, the presumably underage Cassie is rescued from arrest by the apparently adult Diesel who then uses the minor as his teenage sexpot/personal thief. Though this is certainly a plausible scenario and this relationship clearly goes bad with Diesel becoming a supervillain, I do not much like it when teen girls hooking up with older guys is presented as acceptable/normative behavior. However, Cassie’s description of this relationship did lead to very amusing reactions from Tim and Superboy.

Eventually, Cassie gets her armor which she has to wear because only she has the inner strength to resist the urge to “use it—abuse it.” Glad to know that we can trust someone who hurts others for fun to avoid abusing her massive, evil imbued armor.

Despite all my reservations, I actually quite enjoyed Cassie’s origin. I think it is a better setup for an antihero rather than a member of the Teen Titans, but that is a discussion for a different time. However, I believe Cassie was a rather lily white character pre-DCNU, so I have to imagine that this change really hacks off her fans.

I Am So Confused!

I did enjoy this issue, but at the same time, I have some serious confusion on many aspects of the story. It is time for the saving grace of those too lazy to organize their thoughts in paragraph format, enumeration:

Things That Concern/Confuse Me

1. Our main characters, (the Teen Trio) consists of Red Robin, who risked his parents life for a chance of becoming a hero, Superboy, who was created to be an assassin and briefly worked to enslave metahumans to work for an evil organization, and Wonder Girl, who steals for fun. I’m not sure this is a team of heroes.

2. Where was Brett Booth for this issue? He has been one of the only consistently good things about this series. Garza was okay, but he is just not on the same level.

3. Why couldn't Superboy carry the trio to their destination with his telekinesis?

4. Why is Tim wearing his mask and why is the team acting like Tim has not revealed his secret identity? I am not sure, but I thought they called him Tim in previous issues. I understand he may not have wanted the pilots to see him without a mask, but it is odd for him to be so cautious now when he was so reckless earlier in the series.

5. When did Superboy get back his pre-Flashpoint costume? I admit, it is refreshing to see.

(Spoiler)

6. How did Diesel fail to get squished? I suppose this is meant to be a mystery, but it seems like the heroes should at least acknowledge this oddity.

7. What is going on with Kurt Lance? He’s alive. He’s dead. He’s alive again. He’s in Birds of Prey. He’s in Team 7. He’s in Teen Titans. Who can keep track?

8. Over half of the Teen Titans did not even make an appearance in this issue.

(Spoiler)

Conclusion 8/10

This issue is rough around the edges still lacking the coherence that I would like to see in the title, but the characters, though drastically altered, are beginning to take shape and actually develop both in terms of personality and history. Furthermore, the plot, though far from excellent, is at least interesting and appears to be going somewhere. The DCNU Teen Titans finally feels like a teen team book, and despite all its flaws, at least it is finally fun.

Review: Teen Titans #0

Red Robin 6/10

I have not been a fan of Lobdell’s work on Teen Titans. Lobdell’s run on this series has been very slipshod, but to his credit, the last two issues have demonstrated a marked improvement. In the exploration of Cassie’s background, Lobdell has actually created a good narrative and demonstrated chemistry between Cassie, Tim, and Superboy. However, this is zero month, so the continuation of that story arc has gone on hiatus in order to explore the origin of the DCNU’s Tim Drake. Does this issue continue Lobdell’s upward trend in writing, or does he again struggle to create a worthwhile story?

In this issue, we follow Batman as he attempts to throw Tim Drake off the trail of discovering his secret identity.

Important note: I am unable to attempt any kind of objectivity on this story since Tim Drake is my favorite character, and this issue drastically changes his origin. In order to try to be fair, I am going to give two ratings for this comic. The first is for new readers or old readers who do not care about continuity. The second is for old readers like me who do care very much about characters’ heritage. The rating at the top is an averaging of the two scores.

Newbie Score: 8/10

Fire Lobdell?

After a thread popped up on Comicvine discussing all the changes to Tim Drake’s origin, I opened the thread only to discover that one of the first comments was something to the effect of, “Maybe now DC will finally fire Lodbell.”

I hate to disagree with somebody who is advocating the ousting of Lodbell, but I’m afraid that this is actually one of the best stories Lodbell has written for the Teen Titans. Unlike most of his earlier entries into the series, this issue actually contains a fairly well written and cohesive story which gives readers a good sense of Tim Drake. Reading this issue, I felt a lot of sympathy for Tim, and I respected him, in many ways, as a character in regards to his dedication and intelligence, and the tense relationship with his family is quite compelling. Batman is well represented in this story, and I think Lodbell accurately captured the moods of the Dark Knight and Alfred in the immediate aftermath of the death of Jason Todd.

Lobdell should be fired for his first ten issues which provided no compelling conflict or character development, but in this issue, he actually did a lot of things right.

On the Flip Side...

Not all was rosy with this issue. Though the story certainly delivered a better story than most of Lodbell’s work, it still had some issues by the end. Specifically, the Drakes ask Batman to take care of their son, and Batman takes Tim in as his ward and protege. Why didn't Tim go with them into witness protection? Why would Batman accept a partner who had just royally screwed up? How is Tim supposed to hide as the son of Gotham’s most prominent citizen? Do the Drakes now know about Batman’s secret identity? Are we supposed to believe that the Penguin cannot find Tim when he is still using the exact same name and living with a prominent socialite in Gotham?

Newbie Conclusion

Lodbell does well with this issue up until the very end where it appears that he simply did not think through his conclusion. It is possible that he might have explanations for these issues, but these are some major plot holes, and Lodbell’s writing thus far has not inclined me to give him the benefit of a doubt. People who have enjoyed Lodbell’s run thus far should check this out, but others should approach with caution.

Old School Score: 4/10

God, I Hate Lobdell!

I started to write a big long article on why this issue was a bad representation of Tim Drake, but really, why bother? I am just going to make some bullet point thoughts instead.

• Tim's Robin series was strongest when Tim was hiding his Robin activities from his father, so I do not mind Tim's parents being brought back to life.
• Of course, Tim's parents are still out of the picture, so we can expect no positive character developments from this continuity change.
• Also, Jack Drake acts nothing like himself and is now rather pathetic.
• Making Tim an Olympic level acrobat takes away his individuality by making him more like Grayson.
• Tim has never done anything remotely acrobatic in the DCNU.
• It is hard to sympathize with Tim when he has encountered no struggle in his life. Supportive parents, the best schools, top of everything. Even when he screws up, he gets rewarded.
• Tim no longer discovers Bruce's identity which was one of his most defining moments.
• Tim's parents still might be dead, and nobody seems to have noticed this. Bruce's inner monologue in this issue says, "Had they (the Drakes) died? No. Not that night." The wording is suspicious.
• Tim either risks his parents' lives through incompetence or hubris. Either way, he should not have become Bruce's partner because of his actions.
• If it was incompetence, then Tim Drake is nothing more than a bumbling fool who is constantly in over his head.
• If it was hubris (as I am inclined to believe), then Tim is a villain who is willing to sacrifice his parents just for the chance of becoming Bruce's partner.
• As I already mentioned, it makes no sense for Tim to hide as the son of the most prominent man in Gotham.
• One of Tim's best characteristics was his cautiousness. Now, that is out the window.
• Tim no longer takes the role of Robin to help Bruce, he does it for his own self gain.
• In this origin, there is no tangible link between Tim, Dick, and Bruce.
• Making Tim a natural athlete undermines his long struggle to become a good fighter which caused him to rely more on his intelligence.
• This version of Tim is almost nothing like this DCU counterpart. R.I.P. Tim Drake.

Old School Conclusion

In terms of writing a good story for Tim Drake, this is an abomination. I strongly recommend that everyone who loves old school Tim Drake stop paying for a Teen Titans subscription. The only reason I do it is because I have dedicated myself to writing reviews of all Batman associated books.

Teen Titans #6

The Good:

The characters are starting to get fleshed out a bit. There are still a few individuals such as Skitter and Solstice which we know almost nothing about, but the other characters are beginning to take shape. The dialogue in this issue was clever in most places showcasing the Teen Titans varying personalities, but there were definitely a few missteps where things felt simply a little dated. For instance, the villain of this piece jabbers on about himself in the most typical of supervillain cliches. However, for every misstep, there were a couple of lines that made me grin. The art continues to be solid having moments of brilliance and moments that are simply above par. Lobdell seems intent on filling in the back story on these characters little by little which is not as I would have preferred, but at least the gaps are being slowly filled.

The Bad:

Though this issue is an improvement overall, I still feel like Lobdell cuts too many corners in his writing. The crisis with Kid Flash is filled with meaningless techno babble, and in the end, the problem is resolved too easily. The villain is only foiled because he is a cookie cutter villain in terms of telling the heroes what they need to know to defeat him. Static is demonstrated as a genius through outlandish means that stand out even in the world of comic books. In short, Lobdell's writing feels old school. He still clings to the over-the-top cliches that most comics have phased out over the years.

Conclusion 8/10

Teen Titans 6 is definitely worth the read. It's not perfect, and certain aspects of Lobdell's writing makes me cringe, but the overall story is not bad, and the clever interaction between the characters makes it worth the price of admission. It's the best issue of Teen Titans in the DCNU so far, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Teen Titans #12

Armored Up and Out!

The only DCNU book I have followed is the Teen Titans. I do not have any particular love of the series; in fact, I think the series as a whole has been very bad, but it is the only series which regularly features my favorite hero, Tim Drake. I have been very disappointed with Lodbell's handling of the team. Up to this point, the current volume of Teen Titans has been at best pretty good (issue 6) and at worst complete and total crap (issue 10). Lodbell has failed to deliver any character development, and the plots have been downright sloppy all too often. Nevertheless, I always hope for the best. Is this issue another turd, or did Lodbell manage to cobble together a good yarn?

In this issue, Wonder Girl deals with her armor turning against her and corrupting her nature. As most of Titans recover from the wounds dealt by the rouge Wonder Girl last issue, Red Robin and Superboy attempt to help Cassie overcome her darker impulses.

A Good Issue?!!?

This is by far the best issue of Teen Titans so far. I fully expected to hate this issue as I have hated most that preceded it, but Lodbell surprised me.

My biggest complaint about Lodbell’s writing thus far has been that he fails to develop his characters and makes no room for character interaction due to the breakneck pace of the series. Though this issue definitely fits the bill of non-stop action, characters actually talked to each other! It seems funny to mention this as an accomplishment, but it is. Up to this point, almost all character interactions have been about surviving, fighting, or just establishing the most basic surface connections between characters. In contrast, you see genuine care and conversation between Tim, Superboy, and Cassie in this issue. The chemistry between these three characters is good, and their dialogue could have easily fit in a story of the old DC universe. Though little is revealed about Cassie’s background, we do get lots of little tidbits which hint at revelations to come. Through the construction of the story, it would basically impossible for Lodbell not to establish more about her character in the next issue.

The art is also delicious. In general, Brett Booth’s art is a little too streamlined for my taste, but though it still has the streamlined feel this issue, I have to admit the art was beautiful. His designs for Cassie’s armor were excellent, and I especially liked how the spikes of her armor protruded inward to Cassie as well as outward indicating the pain Cassie experiences every time she uses the armor. There were several large panels in this issue, and I gobbled it all up.

Still Not Great

Though the main story is good, it does not really incorporate all the Teen Titans. Other than one page, the story focuses completely on Tim, Superboy, and Cassie. Skitter was not even shown during the issue. Considering Lodbell’s success with Red Hood and the Outlaws, I am beginning to suspect that Lodbell is a talented writer with a small team, but he simply does not know how to write a good story while balancing seven different characters.

Another problem is that the main story is short and takes a break after about a dozen pages to do an epilogue to Kid Flash’s crossover with DC Presents. Kid Flash’s story is not complete trash, but it is uninspired and mediocre.

Conclusion 8/10

If Lodbell fails to deliver some actual answers on Cassie’s background next issue, I’m going to be ticked off at him again, but as a standalone issue, Teen Titans 12 is really good. It is not so good that I have forgotten the disappointment of previous issues, but it is good enough to give me hope for the series.