“Titans” has been a word that really has been thrown around in the DC Universe for years. I fondly remember when “New Teen Titans” was one of my favorite titles, back when the core members included Wally West, Dick Grayson, and Donna Troy. In recent years, it was not so much that there were new members that caused me to lose interest in the group, but that there seemed to be no direction. Almost every time you turned around the team was having inner turmoil and reinventing themselves. With The New 52, DC now has a chance to correct Teen Titans, and give this team a new foundation on which to build. The real question is, how strong will the Titans foundation be?
Right out of the gate, we see Kid Flash, but we know nothing about him, except that he appears to be a loose cannon. This does fit in with the over nature of most of the young speedsters we have seen over the years, as they do tend to act impulsively. I like the fact that it is established early on that these young “heroes” need some guidance and can even be dangerous until they refine their talents.
It is stated in this issue that Kid Flash has no ties to The Flash, but I hope that is not entirely true. Even if the young hero has no connection right now to Barry Allen, I think it would be a mistake to not tie them together in some way in the future. Otherwise, why have it be “Kid Flash” instead of a whole new character? It is also possible that this is indeed Wally or Bart, and that a connection will be revealed in the future. As I mentioned in my “Flash” review, I hope that Wally does exist, and perhaps this is a young Wally and it will be his meeting his idol that causes Barry and Iris to come together? Ok, this is starting to make my head hurt, but it is easy to see that there are possibilities to reintroduce aspect from the past into the future.
Enter Red Robin. By contrast, even though it is not said until halfway through the issue, we know from his first panel that Red Robin is Tim Drake. We also see quickly that his ties to Batman remain intact, and also that he is using the many skills that he learned from his mentor.
Tim has discovered that a group called N.O.W.H.E.R.E. is targeting and collecting young metahumans, forcing them to work for them. While Tim is not technically a meta, his skills have come to the attention of the group, who attempts to “recruit” him. As Tim escapes, he realizes that he has to defeat this group, and that he will need help. His decision appears to be to find those being targeted by the group and enlist their help, and thus we see early on the purpose for the future formation of the Teen Titans.
Cassie Sandsmark is N.O.W.H.E.R.E.’s next target, and we see right away that there are some changes to the character. She looks to be a rebel and a loner, and someone who would rather hide and ignore her powers rather than become a hero. While she appears to have a background as a thief, I get the impression from both the writing and art that she is not truly evil, but simply misguided and angry. This could lead to some wonderful characterization and growth for her as a member of this new team. Already we see nice interaction between her and Tim, particularly the “Don’t call me Wonder Girl!” exchange.
Even though all of them have not met yet, now we have our new foundation in Teen Titans; Kid Flash, Red Robin, and Wonder Girl. One facet from the past that appears to be staying the same is the calming and centering influence that Tim will bring to the team. The “Robin” character, even when he was not the team leader, or even an official member, has always been the heart and soul of Titans, particularly when the writing was at its best. There is potential with this foundation for “Teen Titans” to find a positive direction as they move forward. Of course, that is not to say that everything will be perfect for the characters, and I truly hope that is not the case, as then it would not be interesting. However, it is important for writer Scott Lobdell, artist Brett Booth, and the rest of the creative team to establish a direction and purpose for both the group and the title, and stick to it. If they can do that, “Teen Titans” has the potential to become one of the best books to come out of the reboot.
personally, i thought this was among the weak end of the new 52. the new costumes were just terrible, the characters besides the young justice ones weren’t even metioned in the first issue and look very plain, the writing seems stilted and blah. it makes me wonder just what the basic outline was for the series was, because it really wasn’t that impressive with tone or purpose.