The Year of the Super Hero Part Nine
Titans Together

by Jesse N. Willey

   
Okay - The Teen Titans was another early comics discovery for me. I'm actually surprised I waited until this late in the year to get around to this one. Here we're going to look at the best Titans stories by Marv Wolfman. A fairly large portion of these- it will be noted- feature art by the often imitated but never duplicated George Perez. It will also feature the best Titan team-ups.

  1. Titans Sell Out #1: After 'The Hunt' and 'Total Chaos', The Titans have a serious image problem. So- like many groups in a crisis situation they hire consultants. The result is an attempt to clean up their image by creating a toy line and a new cartoon series called The Tiny Titans. The result is a sickeningly sweet send up on 80s cartoons- particularly Muppet Babies and Dennis the Menace. It is gets just a tad bit silly. It bears just a mild resemblance to a certain anime inspired cartoon of the early 00s. Though DC later expanded on this idea as a comic of its own.
  2. New Titans Annual #7: Armageddon 2001 was basically the crossover that never happened. A big excuse for DC to do multiverse/alternate future stories again. This one had a somewhat long lasting impact on continuity. It is a really a backdoor pilot issue for Team Titans. A group of dystopian future Titans who are a mission to take down the government and the only way to do that is to travel through time. It's a little shades of 'Days of Future Past' but what sets it apart is that the few surviving original Titans are hardly recognizable. Well- that-- and one of them is now a little rough around the edges but otherwise okay as opposed to a dead sociopath. It's also nice seeing little hints of where a lot of the ongoing Titans plots could have gone but didn't.
  3. Titans- Hunt: This one is billed by many as the last good Titans story from the classic period or the beginning of 'the dark age' depending on who you talk to. It was a definite change to status quo. Though sometimes- change can be good. In one fell swoop everything is ripping out from under them. Old alliances fall apart. New surprising ones form. As far a cry as it was from that balanced point of light and dark that the series once maintained- one thing it doesn't fail at is being exciting. The ending is gruesome, shocking and not to be missed.
  4. New Teen Titans- Games: Most of the time when a project is delayed for years- or in this case decades- and it finally comes to light the results are disappointing. The writer may have lost his touch and the artist might have lost their eye. This graphic novel reads as crisp and snappily as it might had Mr. Wolfman and Mr. Perez wrote it back in their heyday. It had that feel to it. It's got all the emotional twists and turns of Wolfman's Titans at its best. On the visual front- it's George Perez on fancy printing stock so every detail shows. Why if I had any complaints at all its that they used 'digital' painting instead of going all out with real paint. Though when the project had already taken 20 years, I'd rather read it now than when I'm 52.
  5. Brother Blood/Raven the White: I'm not bothering to list every issue in this storyline or every artist involved. It'd be here for days. The storyline is long even by 1980s comics standards. Smaller stories weave in and out and it really comes down to the return and fall of Brother Blood. It tells his (their?) origins for the first time and opens up new aspects of several major characters. Most notably Raven and Nightwing. Things with Starfire and Raven become a little heated.
  6. The Wedding Issue (Tales of the Teen Titans #50): This story features no villains, no gratuitous fight scenes. Just a lot of characters coming together to celebrate, heal old wounds, open new ones, catch up on old times and let the reader simply gaze at the gorgeous artwork of George Perez. The story is nicely paced look at all the characters who have been Titans or the allies past and present. As I stated before it looks gorgeous. If I could have one Titans comic signed it'd be this one. Oh wait-- I forgot- I do have this one autographed.
  7. Trial of the Terminator (Tales of the Teen Titans #52-#55): In wake of the Judas contract and his personal beliefs that Slade manipulated Terra, Gar Logan is mad. But is he mad enough to kill? That's the big question. When Deathstroke doesn't get the death penalty, a fact Gar himself may have intentionally influenced, he decides somebody should take him out of the picture. It takes the old break into prison cliche and gives it a nice spin. Gar learns just the type of person he is- and learns quite a bit more about Slade than he figured. Probably the best use of a coffee house in a comic book and one of the very few to actually survive. Though who builds one that close to a maximum security prison for super villains, I'll never figure out.
  8. The Terror of Trigon (New Teen Titans #1-4): This is a case where a sequel story is better than the original. Trigon is much less nebulous. The character moments seem more real. Part of that was the book being direct sales- meaning they behave in a slightly more adult fashion. Since the title carried the word 'Teen' in the title, the sex scenes were shocking to readers of the time- especially George Perez drawing Starfire wearing nothing but a sheet. Though the story was very rightfully Raven's tale every character was given their things to do which is always a plus. The story clearly proves why The Teen Titans were the real centerpiece to the DCU in the early 80s.
  9. Who is Donna Troy? (New Teen Titans #38): Wonder Girl exists by a mistake. An early writer thought Wonder Girl was a separate character rather than Wonder Woman when she was a girl. She was brought into continuity as an actual character. For years the long lost cousin excuse (see Supergirl) seemed to work. However Marv Wolfman and George Perez clearly wanted something more character driven than that. The result is a more complete exploration of Donna's origin- and her personality- than had ever been given. This story sets itself apart amongst super hero stories because there is not a super villain in sight.
  10. The Judas Contract(Tales of the Teen Titans #41-44, Annual #1): This is probably Titans at their best. There were a lot of unanswered questions about Terra. This answers all of them. Where did she really come from? Why was she working with Deathstroke? What will happen when the Titans find out? More importantly- it plays up what Deathstroke's game plan had been since day one. After this story- his relationship with the Titans changed. His previous encounters with The Titans had been business. This was personal. The effect on the team is devastating. They had no more secrets from their greatest opponent. Not only that- one of their own basically kicks their collective butts. On top of this- you have the introduction Jericho, Dick Grayson's transformation into Nightwing. Not only is the story one of the most memorable- but it shows that George Perez's art shines.

 

And the best team ups

  1. Action Comics (Volume 1, #584): Superman is seen going on a rampage. He runs into the Teen Titans. And then-- mayhem. Meanwhile the Titans also run into a disabled man who claims to be Superman. Things go a little crazy as they realize the disabled man is a scientist involved in a wind swapping experiment. Eventually the Titans and the 'real' Superman convince the scientist to go back to his own body before he totals Metropolis. This issue is kind of goofy and somewhat Silver Agey but its John Byrne having a bit of fun.
  2. Batman: Lonely Place of Dying (Batman #440-442, New Titans #61-62): The question is 'Does Batman need a Robin?' Tim Drake thinks so. Not only does he crack the identity of the first Robin but he uses that to figure out who Batman and the second Robin were. He noticed the risks Batman has taken since Jason Todd's death and decides on one course of action. To save Batman from himself he must become Robin. Surprisingly- Dick Grayson doesn't completely disagree. Especially once a case comes up that seems to be causing problems for Batman and The Titans. Tim seems to play a large part in solving it.
  3. Teen Titans/Outsiders- The Insiders: The beginning of the 2000s era Titans and Outsiders had two characters whose origins had become mysterious. Superboy's once clear origin was in doubt and innocent seeming Indigo was in some ways a cypher. As the answers played themselves out- both characters fight with their identities. Superboy as the half clone of Lex Luthor and Indigo as a splinter drone of Brainiac. Two mind controlled people. Two different choices about their personal identity.
  4. Outsiders Volume 2 #17: Zero Hour wiped most of the Team Titans history out of existence. So that left a big mystery. Who is Terra? This story tackles that inevitable first meeting between Geo-Force and Terra. Is she really Terra returned from the dead? Or a clone? Or a genetically altered doppleganger? Does it really matter? If over the course of their adventure together- Brion really began to care about her- and want to help her- does that make her any less family? Will she ever really find a place on either team. The answers are not quite what you expect. A lot of those questions were never really fully answered.
  5. The New Teen Titans/Batman and the Outsiders team up (NNT #37, BATO #5): This is the first team up between these two teams. The Fearsome Five attack. The Outsiders and Titans end up fighting. Batman and Robin don't see eye to eye on things. We find out why Geo-Force and Terra have nearly identical costumes. There is some playful banter between Halo and Changeling- as I have mentioned before. Really this story is about two heroes trying to mend fences and still stop the bad guy. Though they have a lot of fun along the way because the two teams don't quite work together as well as they'd hoped.
  6. Teen Titans/Legion of Super Heroes- Universe Ablaze: For decades people wanted to see a meeting between the teen heroes of today and the teen heroes of tomorrow. The ending here is a little too standard time loopy- this happened but it didn't but the story itself has a lot of fun character moments. I particularly like the character interaction between ultra-brainfart Argent and souless tool Cosmic Boy. They were clearly made for each other. There was a bit of comedy from Roy Harper hitting on just about every underage girl he could find. Still one wonders how this story could have been improved had it been done when both groups were teenagers.
  7. Teen Titans Spotlight #9: The Titans have always had ties all over the DC universe and I always thought the most under explored was their connection to The Doom Patrol. In this story Gar Logan and Cliff Steele (AKA Robot Man) are having a day off to reminisce about old times. Steele is pondering retirement from super heroics. When all of a sudden who should show up but the Doom Patrol's archenemy- Mr. 104. Yes- these two old time Doom Patrol teach this poor man's Metamorpho a thing or two about chemical reaction. More importantly, Gar Logan teaches one of his former mentors that he might just have a place in the world yet.
  8. Titans/JLA #1-3: This one with the mind of Victor Stone returning to Earth and wrapping up a long forgotten plot from the Wolfman run. His mind is sort of out of touch so he starts gathering everyone any Earth database says was a Teen Titan. Even characters who were never on the team at the same time he was. Literally everyone who was a Titan who was still alive at the time was there. From big names like Nightwing all the way down the line to lesser known members like Prism. Plus it grabs the less popular (and unconnected) revamp of Hawk and Dove. Plus teen heroes who were never Titans- like Mary Marvel and the Young Justice kids. Okay- the Justice League show up and most of them want to wipe Vic's mind before he starts messing with the world's military intelligence computers. Again- almost every living member of the JLA show up. Batman, Superman, Guy Gardner and even The Blue and The Gold. Through all the fights and brawls it really comes down to insults that save the world.
  9. Captain Carrot# 20: Changeling teams ups up with the Zoo Crew to stop Grodd. How much more animated animal action do you need? Seriously- this one has it all. Doom Patrol cameos, interdimensional travel, Gar Logan being the serious one for a change and a knock your socks of cliffhanger that due to editorial problems took two years to resolve. Plus-- as crazy as this is going to sound- the story has gotten a few in continuity nods outside of the Zoo Crew over the years.
  10. Teen Titans and the X-Men: For years people said that Teen Titans was DC's answer to the success of the relaunched X-Men. So when intercompany crossovers picked up again in the early 1980s this one seemed only natural. It's got everything you'd expect. Wolverine vs. Deathstroke! Cyborg vs. Collossus! Dark Phoenix vs. Darkseid! Changeling hitting on Kitty Pryde! All that and they still found time to actually team up and stop Darkseid. Pretty crazy- huh?

 

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