Last issue the Teen Titans fell foul of a new hero team… or, at least, a hero team in their own minds. For Haywire, Artemis, Toyboy and the Ant like to get rough, even lethal, in the cause of crimefighting. The clue’s in the name – Terror Titans. They caught Robin, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Bumblebee, Aqualad and Kid Flash offguard as they’d been arguing about trust. The issue ended with Robin finally sharing with his teammates that his other name is Dick Grayson.
This issue begins at Queen Industries in Star City with a new figure challenging the Terror Titans to stop his robbery.
Who is Seismic? A teenage take on classic (I’m stretching the definition here) DC villain Quakemaster? He’s certainly someone who understands the power of vibrations…
I’m sure you can have a good guess at what’s going on here. Hopefully you’ll be reading this issue now or, via DC Infinite, later to find out whether you’re right. Suffice to say writer Mark Waid and artist Emanuela Lupacchino close this mini-series as smartly as they began it, wrapping up the threat of the Terror Titans as well as the various subplots.
There’s the Donna/Garth ‘situationship’.
Wally’s confidence issues.
Roy’s fear that guardian Ollie doesn’t care about him.
Mal’s future as a superhero.
And Dick having to face Batman after breaking his vow never to share his secret identity.
Robin’s not fired. But you can bet Batman has something to say to Dick.
There are no deaths in this issue. No amazing revelations rewriting Titans history. Just solid plotting, satisfying character dynamics and plenty of action. Yes, the message that preparation, teamwork and honesty win the day isn’t original, but it’s classic and goes to the core of DC heroism. The wrapping up of plots and subplots is efficient, but not cursory – Waid has me wanting more of the all-new original Teen Titans.
As has Emanuela Lupacchino with her beautifully clear art. Once again everyone looks terrific, the updated designs nodding to the classic team. It’s a shame we don’t get to see her draw Lilith and Gnaark one more time, I mean, they’re there on the joyous cover by Chris Samnee and Mateus Lopes, just waiting to be used.
But Lupacchino isn’t drawing the whole book, even though it looks as if she is – Mike Norton is aping her style for 50 per cent of the pages and doing a great job.
Norton is Tom Grummett-level underrated, a huge talent who I’d love to see more of at DC. If there’s a sequel series and Lupacchino isn’t available, Norton would do nicely, and his own style would be more than fine.
Helping maintain character consistency is colour artist Jordie Bellaire, leaning into the primaries of the heroes’ costumes while hitting the moods demanded by time and environment. And letterer Steve Wands lays out the script with style.
So thanks to all the people I’ve named, along with editors Chris Rosa, Brittany Holzherr and Paul Kaminski, for the perfect blend of Silver, Bronze and Modern Age sensibilities. More please.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
So… if Waid is done with this delightful series (and it definitely was a treat), what will be the next property to get the World’s Finest treatment?
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If we had a vote, I’d go with WF Supergirl. If there’s no orphanage, does that mean no Danvers couple? The two were so completely ignored by Crisis that we didn’t even get a mention of them being notified their daughter was dead. Personally, I’d jettison her birth parents surviving and make the Danvers friends of Superman that he asked to take her in. A couple finishing the raising of an extraordinary young girl would be infinitely more interesting than anything ever done with Zor-El and Alura ever. I say this but if Waid were to do a WF Supergirl mini I’m sure he’d do infinitely better than I could imagine.
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Hopefully we’ll get an announcement soon!
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Oops. That comment was me.
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Hello!
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Loved this series, too, and would buy more. If there’s a new WF: Spotlight series, I’d love to see Waid take on something standalone but retro like … Challengers of the Unknown. Or original Doom Patrol.
I’d bet good money that a WF: Supergirl story would make the Danvers (Danverses?) government agents like in the TV series. Not a horrible choice, though I’d rather see a new version of Kara adapting to entirely mundane suburban American life.
Though I’d settle for any new version of Kara that reminded me of the old version of Kara.
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They did do the Danvers as secret agents in Steve Orlando’s Supergirl run. Or were they STAR Labs types? Probably both. I’d definitely like a Waid Supergirl, she’d have an innocence with spiky bits.
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One of my favorite series, this last issue doesn’t disappoint. I hope we see more Donna/Garth interactions in the future, informed by what we learn of their friendship this issue. Beyond that, I loved all the interactions you pointed out. Everybody got a moment to shine!
As for future WF efforts, Waid mentioned Supergirl as a possibility when I talked to him at Baltimore Comic-Con a few months ago. I wish I remembered other possibilities he mentioned — Doom Patrol might have been one — but I remember him saying Legion was tricky, because it’s hard to know what their past is when the present status always seems to be in question. I’d love to see him take on the satellite-era Justice League!
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Thanks for the info, Rob. I’d love him to do Legion, and simply hew close to the classic version, the way he’s approached the Teen Titans (who, admittedly, haven’t had the history rug pulled from under them several times).
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Aw gee, Mr. Waid. Is that so? “They” keep rebooting the series?
Mordruverse (Waid as editor)
Zero Hour reboot (Waid as one of the architects)
Threeboot (also Waid)
Maybe what “they” need to do is stop letting you muck about with the Legion.
And I say all that lovingly, because he’s done great stuff with the characters. But he’s also one of the ones that opened the reboot door and got that ball rolling.
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To be fair to Mister Waid the first two were going to happen with or without his input. Imagine what could have happened had Byrne gotten his pestilent fingers into the plans.
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@Steve McBeezlebub… I’m not sure I agree. The Mordruverse wasn’t a given. It was an option on the table when the creative team had to pivot. As editor, Waid could have just as easily said, “Nope. Let’s try something else.” Which would have been a shame, cuz the Mordruverse story is pretty amazing.
As for Zero Hour… that mini-series was going to happen regardless of what Waid wanted, but the reboot? I think they had options. From interviews at the time (and since then), it doesn’t sound like the reboot was something that DC was pushing for. Instead, it seemed to be the only feasible option that the creative team could come up with.
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