This team makes CN's show seem brilliant.
Entry number three regarding the DC reboot encompasses another well-loved book from the Eighties as it undergoes its umpteenth do-over. With Teen Titans, I’m guessing 2011 is attempt number five. Titans was originally intended to be a Junior Justice League in the Sixties with the more famous superheroes’ sidekicks. The name was chosen for its alliteration too because Aqualad and Speedy were (and still are) pretty lame characters. When Marvel’s The Uncanny X-Men began its domination over comics in the late Seventies, DC ordered writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez to make something equivalent. I’m sure the editors laughed nervously with their pitch to revamp The (New) Teen Titans since the first series limped along to cancellation by 1978; there were even a couple multi-year gaps between issues due to the industry not being concerned with collectors’ obsession over number ones. Wolfman and Perez succeeded though. They removed the uninteresting members (mentioned earlier), made the three remaining ones closer to adulthood (Wonder Girl, Robin and Kid Flash), brought over Beast Boy from the (even lamer) Doom Patrol and created three new characters which reflected the Eighties’ zeitgeist: Cyborg, Starfire and Raven. They also did interesting stories and developed old and new enemies for them to face: Deathstroke, Trigon, the Fearsome Five, H.I.V.E. and Trigon. The Wolfman-Perez thrill ride ran for about four years, culminating with The Judas Contract story arc which remains a top-three favorite for me. It blows away The Phoenix Saga by a long shot. Sadly, the magic was lost through DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths revamping (the beginning of their crappy rebooting trend) and the title being moved over to a premium, direct-sales only version in an attempt to corner the collector market. Perez soon left to restart Wonder Woman. Wolfman continued writing as the book grew stale, eventually with it being cancelled in the Nineties.
From the ashes of Young Justice (it was a good comic involving Peter David before it was the crappy Emo cartoon on CN), another Teen Titans group arose. This time the characters were second-generation versions (the originals grew up, changed their names): Tim Drake was Robin III, Conner Kent as Superboy, Cassie Sandsmark as Wonder Girl II and Bart Allen as Kid Flash II; plus several previous, more experienced Titans stuck around as mentors: Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven. Much like Justice League of America version number four, the book lost traction thanks to DC’s crossovers and a pointless universe reboot called Infinite Crisis. Titans transformed into a revolving door due to Superboy and Kid Flash dying (they came back to life near the end). New members who weren’t interesting took their place: Kid Devil, sidekick of…wait for it…Blue Devil; or cliche, Ravager, Deathstroke’s “unknown” daughter. One was around and disappeared with little explanation…the new Speedy.
In this reboot, DC has gone to the well one time too many. The core team has Red Robin (Tim has a new name because Batman’s bastard son is Robin IV), Superboy, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash. The cover shows three new ones I have no idea about, I figure they’ll show up in the next issue. However, I don’t know if I will bother. The revised Wonder Girl and Kid Flash are insufferable. Superboy gets a pass since he’s unconscious, waiting to be released from clone tank by the villains. The poor artwork isn’t helping neither. Several weeks ago, I figured Suicide Squad would be my first dropped title thanks to the lazy storytelling and Amanda Waller’s makeover. Teen Titans has overtaken the lead on most craptacular comic book by a country mile. I’m giving it five more issues before I ask my store to take it off my subscriptions.