Titans #30 – John Layman, Writer; Pete Woods, Artist; Bruno Abdias, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The second DC KO fight special to take place in an ongoing series, this issue takes a break from the evacuation of Earth – mostly – to spotlight Cyborg’s battle for the King Omega power. He’s up against Swamp Thing, the Levi Kamei version – maybe. Because as we all know, Swamp Thing isn’t an individual hero, he’s a collective of the Parliament of Trees carrying the wisdom of every past incarnation. When the first match begins, Cyborg’s modern technology proves more than a match for Swamp Thing’s organic body and quickly dispatches him in round one – which gives him too much confidence, as he sticks with his initial form while Swamp Thing adopts a new body that allows him to get under Cyborg’s skin in more ways than one. This issue contains some great horror visuals, but it also has some interesting commentary on the way the two of them both view their jobs as heroes.
The third round has Cyborg introduce a new form of his own – one which at first appears simple, but then is revealed to have some profound emotional depth to its design. The end of this battle is surprisingly laid-back, and that combined with the fact that the winner has already been revealed by DC with upcoming books makes me think they’re not too concerned about the outcomes of the fights, but there have been some really innovative scenes coming out of the matches. The other main plot thread of the issue has Jon Kent aiding in the evacuations – with an assist from Lian Harper, who is still sort of on the outs with the hero community after her role in Cheshire’s heist on the Watchtower, and whose father very much wants her to stay out of the fray. This will lead into Jeremy Adams’ upcoming “The Kids Are All Fight” tie-in, which I’m very much looking forward to given the characters involved.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
