Cult leader Brother Eternity is offering mankind a new future on the Moon of Titan. He’s sent ‘forevernauts’ to the surface and is live streaming their ‘giant leap into tomorrow’. Their adventure comes to an end when something they find in an ancient temple blasts them into, well, eternity, prompted by words spoken in Tamaranean by their own boss.
Earth’s premier super-team, the Titans, boom tube to the moon but are too late to save the spacefarers. Starfire realises that the moon is actually a prison… and the inmate has awoken.
Meet the Necrostar, a threat so big it requires a gathering of Earth’s greatest heroes to tackle it. Starfire explains that 30 million years ago her people only managed to contain its danger with the help of Starro the Conqueror. Batman and Mr Terrific announce that they must search for the sentient space starfish… but Titan Beast Boy thinks that rather than invite another massive horror into their space sector, there may be another way.
After building up his brainpower, Gar gives everyone a big surprise. Very big.
And that, folks, is why you shouldn’t read solicits. Imagine the fun of just coming across Beast Boy going the full Starro! Mind, I still got a massive kick out of Gar coming up with the day-saving plan, Raven telling a particularly obnoxious Batman where to get off, and the transformation scene itself… oh boy, illustrator Ivan Reis really taps into the body horror.
Tom Taylor, finally, sells me on the idea that the Titans are out there as the DCU’s premier super team. It’s one thing dozens of heroes listening to them, it’s another seeing them lead from the front – Starfire brings the deep knowledge, Gar has that plan, Cyborg and Raven are both vital to its success… this is great stuff.
And the art is wonderful. Actually, I could have conveyed the same message by pointing out that the visual storytelling comes from the ever-brilliant penciller Ivan Reis and expert inker Danny Miki. Reis never fails to find the sweet point between high drama and melodrama, whether it’s an explosive moment or the merest micro-expression. Miki’s sharp, liquid lines are sympathetic to Reis’s trademark style. The Titans all look great, and that’s saying something given Starfire’s current hairdo. And the guests are all on model.
Speaking of the gang of heroes, I wonder if Taylor lists who he wants in crowd scenes or whether it’s left to Reis. I’m curious because of one particular attendee at Titans Tower.
That pink guy at top left, Jakeem Thunder’s genie, who happens to hail from the Fifth Dimension – that’s Mxyzptlk-level reality changing… surely he could zip out into space and make Necrobeast pate?
Let’s just assume he’s having a bad day. Or perhaps he’s a cut-out to make up the numbers. Or de-powered… is the bit about elderly Johnny Thunder being in the genie mix still a thing?
I shall just accept that Beast Boy is the Earth’s last, best hope for surviving this Sun Eater-level threat. It’s great to see how far Gar has moved from his awful New Teen Titans days, when he was but a mouthy letch. Taylor gives him great dialogue, heck, everyone sounds authentic, well, unless they’re using naff new nicknames ‘Star’ or ‘Cy’…
The only thing I really don’t like about this event kick-off issue is that it brings Amanda Waller into it. Unless DC are going to replace the recent villainous Waller with the genuine Wall, all I’m hearing is Miss Othmar.
Wes Abbott and Brad Anderson respectively are on letters and colours, meaning we’re in great hands – tones and fonts dial up the mood and drama. And while the cover by Reis, Miki and Anderson is a pretty obvious composition, it’s very well executed… I adore lumpy Raven!
An intriguing story, splendid art and a classic Doctor Who line… I can thoroughly recommend this Beast World beginning.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I read this book a few days ago, and I’m surprised there are no comments here. It’s a fun read, and a cool start to a space mission that goes off the rails in an entertaining way. I’m looking forward to more. Of the main story, at least — the two Beast World Tour books I’ve read so far, Metropolis and Waller Rising, haven’t done a lot for me. (The art in Waller Rising was pretty at points, but largely a muddy mess — even though I like the implications of where the story ended; Metropolis started with a weak Dreamer story, then went to a fun Jimmy Olsen story, then a pretty Superman story that is mostly there to set up another story. It all felt like filler.)
But the Beast World story itself looks like a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Taylor and Reis do with the concept.
About the Thunderbolt: Sure, he’s ultra-powerful, but he also tends to screw up almost every order he’s given. Relying on him to save the planet is Plan D, at best. He’s basically a genie, and genie wishes always have an unforeseen wrinkle.
Of course, so does the original plan. One thing I love about this issue is: The plan succeeds! The threat of the Necrostar is neutralized! Hooray! But the Beast World event is based on the cost and the ramifications of the Titans saving the world, not a question of whether they’ll save it or not from the original threat. I can’t recall any other events structured this way.
Also, about Waller. I’ve seen in a few comics now — the one that comes to mind is Green Arrow — people thinking that Waller isn’t acting like herself. (Which we’ve been saying for ages!) It hasn’t happened at a high frequency yet, but I do think there’s something to that. I think this Waller story is going to play out for a while — beyond Beast World, certainly — but by the end of it, we might have a more benevolent (but still ruthless) Waller back, and a whole new villain to become a DC mainstay. My guess is that if there IS a new Amanda Waller running around in the DCU, the switch happened right around Future’s End/the beginning of Infinite Frontier. But who knows?
Anyway, that’s more than enough commentary from me on this issue. Great to read your review, as always!
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That’s an excellent point about not relying on the Thunderbolt, still, someone might have proposed him.
I’ve been buying all the issues but haven’t read the last couple of weeks’ worth. Blame the Waller connection!
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