Titans: Beast World #4 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Lucas Meyer, Artist; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Beast Boy’s stuck in Starro mode and has infected the world with millions of beast stars—but that might not be the biggest threat facing the heroes. While heroes including Starfire and Jon Kent, who have avoided being infected, fight to save the day, the threat continues to escalate. Giganta is the latest to be possessed, and she turns into a five-story bear monster who rampages through Ivy City. This issue drives the threat level home really well, including showing just how much damage a hero can do when flung through a building. But while they manage to save the day, it’s not in the way someone intends—Amanda Waller, who is busy recruiting villains into her new team. Peacemaker grabs Chester Runk, known as the Void, in what’s really more of a kidnapping than a rescue, and Waller gives Lex Luthor her old hard-sell as she forces him to turn his teleporting technology over to her.
At the same time, the noose is tightening on the heroes as a group, as a new government institution takes over the response and begins to turn the public against superheroes as a whole. Could this be an expansion of what we’re seeing in Tom King’s Wonder Woman, with the entire community being fugitives soon? It seems to be heading that way, but right now the focus is on Beast Boy and Raven, with the spokesperson casting her as a demon infiltrator. While Raven is trying to reach Beast Boy before it’s too late, Doctor Hate interferes and continues his slow manipulation of the situation for the worst. It all builds to an unexpected conclusion that might be one of the most shocking twists in the series so far, even if it’s clear that it’ll be reversed by the end—I think. Taylor and the art team promised big-scale beast action, and so far they’re delivering in a big way.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
