Story by Scott Lobdell
Pencils by Brett Booth
Inks by Norm Rapmund
The Solicitation
In their first battle as a team, The Teen Titans square off against N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s most powerful weapon... The Superboy! But can the cunning of Red Robin, the speed of Kid Flash and the psionic might of Bunker stop a threat that has already taken out the powerhouse known as Wonder Girl? The fight rages from a battle cruiser docked in the Hudson River to the Central Park Zoo, but as a world stands up and takes notice, there is a very real possibility the Teen Titans might not survive their high profile debut!
Preview
The Story
Exactly as solicited. This issue is basically every member of the team taking on Superboy as individuals instead of working together as a team. It is a perfect way to show each person's power and how they work on their own, and it gives you some ideas for where this could go as soon as they start listening and learning from each other.
Everyone gets a tussle with Superboy for a couple of pages. At the end of the comic, Superboy is standing around having just thrown a N.O.W.H.E.R.E. mobile base into a lake. Its fairly simple in its storytelling. My one big issue is still trying to get a sense of who Superboy is trying to be. There is a personality there that is in constant fluctuation. I have been nothing but confused about how or who his character is supposed to be. This is the sort of thing I would expect with two writer handling him, but when it is just the one...bah. And just what are his powers supposed to be? It seems that he can basically do whatever he wants. Honestly he sounds like he is more powerful than Superman, and that just seems off.
The Art
I've read both Superboy and Teen Titans, and I must saw I appreciate the art and the way Superboy is handled in this comic ever more so than his own comic. Seriously, in his own he just seems so pensive. He has a look about him that says "Why bother?" In this comic, he seems very smarmy, very full of himself, and very arrogant. There is a slight smile that the Booth gives him in this comic that is seriously missing from his own.
The Cover
Bart doesn't harness the lightning like he does on the cover. The cover looks like it could be a scene from the comic, which I can appreciate. I don't know how else you would show the team not working together but still fighting Superboy. A good silver age cover of this story would involve Superboy standing in the middle of a boxing ring with each member lined up taking their turns. You would have some guy holding a rope that lets each Teen Titan into the ring one at a time and have him shouting "Step right up! Take your shot at the Superboy!"
But we aren't in the silver age anymore. Aw well, maybe next DC reboot.
Grades
Words: 7/10
Pictures: 8/10 - keep on drawing teenagers like teens and this rating will stick around.
Recommend: For first timers, yes. This issue lets you know each character's personality and how they fight on their own. Its a good demonstration of their strengths and their weaknesses.
Buy Next Issue: If we could take the whole Superboy thing out of Teen Titans, I would be around for each issue. Give them another big bad to tackle and then we could be set.
Previous Issue
Teen Titans #4
Three Issue Trial
No comments:
Post a Comment