World’s Finest: Teen Titans #1 – Mark Waid, Writer; Emanuela Lupacchino, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: If there’s one franchise that has been struggling for DC for a long time, it’s the Teen Titans. One new direction and talented creative team after another has not been able to recapture the success of the Geoff Johns era, and now we don’t even really have a set team due to how convoluted the generations of the DCU have gotten. So Mark Waid, now settling into his role as one of the DCU’s key architect, has a solution—going back to the beginning. Spinning out of World’s Finest, this series focuses on the original team from the 1960s with a few changes. Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Wondergirl, and Kid Flash are now joined by Bumblebee from the start, and this story also takes place in the present day—which means social media has entered the fray, and with it a lot more conflict between team members.
This version of the team has always been a little vague in terms of characterization, but Waid quickly gives them their own dynamics. Robin and Speedy are rivals, with Robin being the leader and Speedy being the face of the team. Wonder Girl and Aqualad are dating, Kid Flash is the one trying to prevent conflict, and Bumblebee often seems like she’s focused on something completely different. The book also does a nice job of showing us their relationships with their mentors in only a few pages, from Batman’s controlling nature and Green Arrow’s absence. This first issue is heavily focused on establishing the team dynamic and where the characters are in their lives right now, but we do get some fun battles brought to creative life by Emanuela Lupacchino, as well as a creepy cliffhanger. This title might not be giving us a new team, but it’s certainly reminding us why the franchise was a hit in the first place.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
