New Titans #37 – Tate Brombal, Writer; Marcus To, Artist; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This run has taken its time getting the team together, and even now we don’t really have a firm team dynamic yet. But that’s something that actually works in the book’s favor, as this group feels more like a messy family than it does a squadron. Some team members have their own agenda, like Terra. Others, like Kid Devil and Superman, genuinely don’t get along. And some, like Spoiler, are still trying to find their own voice. But now, a day out in Happy Harbor has turned sinister. The town is in the middle of sacrificing a child to an evil force – and the beneficiary is none other than Nebiros, the demon who initially bonded Blue Devil to the cursed suit and set into motion the series of events that eventually led to Eddie’s own transformation. And Eddie is more than ready for revenge – but first he’s got to go through an entire town’s worth of brainwashed civilians.
I can definitely see this run being a little controversial, because a lot of characters get rewritten to fit the plot. Eddie being buffer, meaner, and more keenly aware of his own inevitable fate is definitely the most obvious of these, but I think it works in context. We even get a brief glimpse of his former master, Neron, who is still keeping an eye on him. I also really liked seeing Stephanie come into her own not just as a hero but as a leader, using her experience as a Bat to direct a complex mission and even utilizing some tactics she learned from Cass. The segment that will get most people talking, though, is definitely the epilogue where Static gets ready to make his debut. The character has been on the Titans before, but rarely in a big spotlight, and here he gets a new origin that ties in to the acclaimed “Dakota Incident” one-shot from a few months back. He’s an X-factor that could really shake up this team in a good way.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
