Titans Together? Titans Forever!

I have been a long time Titans fan ever since they made their debut in DC Comics with the seminal ‘The New Teen Titans’ run by Marv Wolfman, and George Perez. So, when I found out that Tom Taylor, and Nicola Scott were creating a new TITANS book with the original line-up envisioned by Marv, and George in 1980, I was smiling ear to ear with anticipation. It made me look back at my journey with these group of heroes growing up, even though I discovered them a bit later when they first came out. It also made me look forward to the good things that lie ahead.

The Titans of the DC Universe

The original members of ‘The New Teen Titans’ were Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West), Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), Changeling (Beast Boy), Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire. They first came out as a team in the pages of DC Comics Presents #26 before they had their own team comic debut in the pages of The New Teen Titans #1. Truth be told, I had only discovered this iteration of the Titans when I had picked up an issue of The New Teen Titans #39 entitled, ‘Crossroads’.

Panel from The New Teen Titans #39

This was the book that introduced me to George Perez’s art. This was the book that introduced me to Marv Wolfman’s writing. Needless to say, I fell in love with the series as soon as I saw the above two page spread, and I’ve been a fan of these Titans ever since. To me, these were my Titans. This was the group that I grew up with reading. This was the group that I’ve been following ever since this team’s inception. Nowadays, these former teen heroes are now younger than me, and I have comicbook aging to thank for that. I followed this superhero team through many of its different compositions, but these seven are the ones that hold a special place in my heart. In fact, I hunted down the original run of Wolfman, and Perez on ‘The New Teen Titans’ until I had all of them.

‘The New Teen Titans #1′(1980) and ‘Titans #1’ (2023)

Fast forward to this year, 2023, when the creative team of writer Tom Taylor and artist Nicola Scott are tasked with telling stories about this same team of superheroes who have all grown up into their respective legacies. This is not the first time that this particular line-up were the core of the group. However, I’m more excited to see this group together under these new creators with all due respect to Judd Winick, and the rest of the creative team at the time. This had a lot to do with my knowledge of Tom Taylor’s writing, and Nicola Scott’s artwork.

Cyborg, Beast Boy, Nightwing, and Flash

I first encountered Tom Taylor’s writing in the pages of ‘DCeased’, that alternative DC universe storyline wherein the Anti-Life Equation created a zombie apocalypse. This was groundbreaking material that he couldn’t do in the mainstream DC Universe. He had an entire universe of his own to play with, and he pulled a lot of surprises in the process. I’m sad to see his writing on that alternate universe ending (for now?) since it has been one of those collections of mini-series that I enjoyed reading. I also read his work on a brief Suicide Squad run that also pulled a lot of surprises. One in particular was with the death of one of my favorite characters, Deadshot. Clearly with those two books, Tom Taylor was willing to think outside the traditional wirter’s box to tell great stories. But, it was his run on Nightwing which led him to his writing responsibilities on TITANS. And, one of the best moves he has done even before writing the TITANS was placing their base of operations in Bludhaven. It’s a brilliant move, and I’m scratching my head as to why no one else ever even thought about that before now. In any case, Taylor’s Nightwing run set the stage for the beginning of this new incarnation of the TITANS.

Raven, Starfire, and Donna Troy

On the other hand, I’ve known of Nicola Scott’s artwork since her run on ‘Birds of Prey‘ with Gail Simone as writer. However, it was during her run on ‘Earth 2’ also from DC that she really got my attention. This prompted me to check out her work in ‘Secret Six’ with Gail Simone again, and then later ‘Teen Titans’ with J.T. Krul. I’d also read her work on ‘Black Magick’ for Image Comics with Greg Rucka. With her doing the artwork, and Tom Taylor doing the writing, I see a very bright future for my beloved TITANS.

Titans art by Nicola Scott

To spoil the first story arc a bit, Tom Taylor is up to his nasty storytelling again by starting with a mystery involving Wally West’s apparent death. It’s a shocker of a first arc, but something tells me that Flash/Wally won’t remain dead for long. How do I know? Call it a Nightwing hunch. Of course, I’ll find out soon enough as I read the return of TITANS in the DC Universe. With that, I’m happy to see my Titans together again. I’m a fan of these TITANS, and this new creative team will surely guide these heroes to new heights. TITANS FOREVER!

Young Justice Season Four: Second Half Spoilers

The second half of Young Justice season four is finally done, and if you want a recap of my review for the first half, it’s right here. If the title still doesn’t give you an idea that there’ll be spoilers, then I’m telling you here: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. Having said that, let’s see what I thought about the second part of season four.

Lar-Zod with Darkseid and His Minions

Let me begin by talking about some of my predictions for the second part in my previous review. Firstly, I mentioned that I thought the big baddie for this series was going to be Mordru from the 31st Century. I was DEAD WRONG. Turns out that the threat from the 21st Century is General Zod. This is quite appropriate considering, as predicted, Superboy wasn’t dead, but was actually trapped in the Phantom Zone due to his rescue by Phantom Girl. It was in the Phantom Zone that Superboy encounters General Zod. Back in standard reality, we find out that it was General Zod’s son, Lor-Zod, is responsible for the ‘death’ of Superboy after stealing a time sphere from the 31st Century.

Next, I also predicted two other story elements. One (the long shot) was the return of Wally West who might show up to save Superboy. That didn’t happen. Sigh. I’m still hoping he gets to return from the Speed Force bringing the A Team back to full power. I also predicted that we’ll see more Legionnaires show up in Young Justice. With the apperance of Brainiac 5 who travels back in time to retrieve the stranded Saturn Girl, Chameleon Boy, and Phantom Girl. I got my wish. So, I’m at fifty percent for these predictions. Yey for me.

Lagoon Boy, and the Aquamen

As to the story sequence, I also said that the last three arcs would focus on Aquaman, Nightwing, and Rocket. I was on the money on that one with Nightwing’s arc appropriately ending season four. It was fitting to have Kaldur’ahm aka Aquaman/Aqualad begin the second part of season four. It was a continuation of the mystical story arc that ended in part one with Zatanna. Here we get to find Vandal Savage up to his nefarious schemes again by trying to take control of the Kingdoms of Atlantis. Fortunately, Kaldur and company were able to thwart this plan which secured the safety of Earth for the moment.

Rocket aka Racquel

The next story arc focused on Rocket. With Rocket, the plot was about creating a pact between New Genesis, and the Green Lantern Corps vs. the power of Apokolips. She visited New Genesis to establish a treaty among the two aliend organizations, and Earth. Additionally, Rocket’s story arc focused on her relationship with her son, Amistad, who is autistic. Young Justice knocks it out of the ballpark again with this interpersonal story hook. We already have an overarching element in Beast Boy’s bout with depression. Now Young Justice adds to the mix the challenges of having a child with autism. This is just another example of what makes this series such a beautiful investment to view. Oh, also Rocket was able to broker an alliance with New Genesis, and the Green Lantern Corps.

From Left: Rocket, Miss Martian, Nightwing, Superboy, and Zatanna

Appropriately, the final arc for season four was headlined by the return of Nightwing to the team. I keep saying this, but I’ll say it again. Nightwing/Dick Grayson is a better team leader than Batman. This goes all the way back to his comic book roots even as Robin. We get to see that here in full display in this final arc. With Nightwing at the lead, the A Team was able to bring back Conner Kent from the Phantom Zone, and prevent the destructive fate of the universe under the crushing heels of the Zods. With that settled, Miss Martian, and Superboy could finally get married, albeit on Earth instead of Mars. Another happy ending for all…or is it?

From Left: The Foragers, Orion, Rocket, Jay Garrick Flash, and Lightray

Though the season ended with a happy wedding for our heroes, there are more challenges to face. Zod, and his forces were rescued from the Phantom Zone once again by Apokolips. Add to that the defection of Mary Marvel, AND Supergirl (Kara); and you have a more powerful force to face. I’m wondering if Supergirl’s appearance in Apokolips will follow the path of a familiar Batman/Superman comic story arc. Furthermore, Dru-Zod with the power of the Emerald Eye of Ekron retreats to Daxam…you know that planet of beings with powers similar to Kryptonians. It gets better. Dru-Zod is pregnant with General Zod’s child, and appears to want to raise this child on Daxam. Finally, Ma’alefa’ak who is Miss Martian’s brother, and enemy of Earth was gifted Durla by Darkseid as a reward for his services. For those of you unfamiliar with Durla, this is the planet of shapeshifters from which Chameleon Boy was born. Does this mean that Ma’alefa’ak is the ancestor of the Durlan shapeshifters like Chameleon Boy? Curiouser, and Curiouser. We’ll have to wait for season five (crossing fingers) to find out how these new story arcs pan out.

The A Team From Left: Zatanna, Superboy, Miss Martian, Aquaman, Tigress, Nightwing, and Rocket

Young Justice season four continues the excellent visuals, and storytelling that previous seasons have provided. The series not only centers on superheroics, but also delves deep into the interpersonal relationships among the main characters. Season four adds not only action, and intrigue, but also real life emotional problems such as dealing with depression, and autism. To my mind, this is the best western superhero series out there whether animated or live action. Young Justice is now streaming on HBO Max.