New Titans #35 – Tate Brombal, Writer; Sami Basri, Jordi Tarragona, Vicente Cifuentes, Artists; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: One of the most intriguing chapters of Titans in a while, Tate Brombal has wasted no time plunging the team into uncharted territory. When we last left off, it was revealed that the older Titans were trapped in a simulation created by Cyborg – but not the Cyborg we know. Due to the events of DC KO, Vic Stone has been split into two. His Cybernetic half has a mind of its own, and it wants to protect its friends – even if that means keeping them stuck in limbo. Meanwhile, Vic has found himself on his own, separated from his powers, but he’s gotten an assist from Eva, a mysterious android who has been helping him collect a new team of Titans to break the rest of his teammates out of their stupor. But as Yara Flor, Jon Kent, Stephanie Brown, and Kid Devil provide some help – and a lot of snark – the ersatz Cyborg gains awareness of what’s happening – and he’s not happy.
We’ve had quite a few stories over the years of Cyborg’s powers getting out of control, but this is one of the more intriguing ones. The cyborg-half isn’t evil, he has the same instincts as his heroic counterpart – but only from the perspective of a machine who believes safe is better. When Vic manages to track him down and confer with him, he finds the digital version in the form of a little boy, playing video games, and the two of them are able to share memories and the things they learned from their parents. It’s one of the better takes on these themes that I’ve seen, and I like the idea that being restored to “Normal” was never something Vic actually sought out, so reuniting with his other half isn’t seen as a burden. But the ending indicates that there’s more to the story than what we’ve seen, and Vic and Eva might not have been entirely honest with their friends yet….
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
