The Teen Titans are a popular bunch. So popular that an entire con has been organised to honour them. Attendees weren’t expecting their heroes to turn up, but they do, and Kid Flash proves a whiz at ensuring everyone gets a great selfie.
Wonder Girl, meanwhile, is a tad nonplussed to find she’s the subject of a panel – and expected to contribute.
One Titan who isn’t at the event is Robin. His pals assume that’s just him being super-grim as befits a Bat-boy when, in fact, he’s keeping the peace at home.
Not that everything is wonderful at the con, as overenthusiastic attendees freak Bumblebee out.
And then there’s Karen’s psycho supervillain stalker.
World’s Finest: Teen Titans #3, then, is mainly a light and airy issue, with page after page of convention fun. But there’s serious stuff in the shape of Karen’s apparently over-the-top reaction at the prospect of being unmasked – I’ve not shown the worst of it. Then there’s the flattening of Robin’s natural joie de vivre by Batman and how it hurts his relationship with his fellow Titans.
Former Titan Charley Parker, onetime Golden Eagle, shows he brings more to the organisation than social media savvy, while Wally disappoints with a prank that has dire consequences. Aqualad continues to come across as a bit of a wet blanket but nonetheless has a great moment. Donna is a bit quiet, her confident personality not shining through. And Speedy is just brilliant, all the way through.
So it’s congratulations again to Mark Waid and Emanuela Lupacchino. Waid, for another smartly structured chapter in his bigger story, full of nuanced dialogue, whether humorous or serious, and appropriately placed action. Plus, we get a cute nod to a very obscure Eighties DC mini-series.
And Lupacchino for filling the pages with characterful folk – dozens of cosplayers in addition to the genuine Titans – and dynamic choreography. Our new villain, who goes by the terrifying name of Sherman, is basically a loser but has serious magical skill, and a killer streak of lunacy that makes him difficult to dismiss; he could be a big threat to the Teen Titans one day.
Jordie Bellaire colours carefully, ensuring that despite a sea of primary coloured people, the Titans don’t disappear into a muddle. And letterer Steve Wands judges the script beats to deliver the drama at the correct volume.
This issue’s cover by illustrator Chris Samnee and colourist Matheus Lopes is a joyous image that manages to be nostalgic and fresh at the same time. The use of the Seventies logo as a banner is the perfect finishing touch.
I don’t know how long this series is planned for, but if we get a year of issues as great as the first three I’ll count us very lucky indeed.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 