Titans #15 – Tom Taylor, Writer; Lucas Meyer, Artist; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Tom Taylor is clearing off his plate in advance of his run on Detective Comics next month. His epic Nightwing finale is still to come, but first is his wrap-up on Titans – which has been a short run and tied into many events, but has managed to be the most effective take on these characters in a very long time. But hanging over the entire run has been the question of Raven – who has been taken over by her darker self, now called the Dark-Winged Queen. She looms menacingly over the battlefield as Trigon returns to Earth, summoned by his now-loyal daughter, and stands against all the heroes of the DCU. It’s a brutal battle that shows how powerful this ancient villain is – and one Titan falls in battle before the heroes manage to turn their fire on Raven’s gem and free the real Raven trapped inside. But before order can be restored, Raven will have to face off against herself.
Beast Boy and Raven’s relationship has been a really key part of this entire story, so it’s fitting that much like she was able to help pull him back together (literally) after Beast World, he’s able to do the same for her here. A parlay between the two sides of Raven doesn’t sound like it should be the most compelling scene, but Taylor manages to do something really special with the dialogue, digging into the way Raven has never been in charge of her own destiny and empowering her to take charge – with a very clever lettering device towards the end. From there, Raven’s takedown of Trigon is extremely satisfying – as is the team’s intimidation of Waller, even if we know that’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. While this series never quite had enough time to reach the peaks of some of Taylor’s other runs, it felt like the best family reunion the DCU has had in a very long time.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
