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Saturday, September 02, 2006

Reactions to Titans Revelations

Okay, so in this week's Teen Titans, we get a lovely labeled display of all the characters who were Titans during the missing year. I'm going to put that picture up and post my reactions.

I'll put it all behind a tag though, for the sake of anyone that hasn't bought the issue yet.

The Revolving Door of Teen Titans



1. I've always adored Flamebird as a character. She's cute and bubbly. I like that her crush on Dick is portrayed as silly as it is, while at the same time, she tends to be reasonably competent herself.

2. I don't know Bombshell. She reminds me a bit of Montoya in character design and that's never a bad thing. I like that there are so many girls in this group actually. The Teen Titans is one group that I always wished had a bit more even gender distribution.

3. Kid Devil, naturally. Eddie's adorable! I didn't think I'd like him as much as I do. He's just crazily cute to me though.

4. Aquagirl. Aquagirl's a good choice. I've really liked what little I've seen of her. She seems like she'd be a fun edition. Wonder if this means we'll get to see some of Atlantis in a later issue.

5. Zatara. I'm still holding out hope that he's Zatanna and John's kid. Maybe she gave him up for adoption or something. She's old enough though. And Zatara is a family name, NOT a code name...

6. Speedy! I'm glad to see that she didn't vanish completely! Mia's backstory is a bit...much for my tastes really, but I do like her as a character. It's good to see her.

7. Beast Boy. Naturally. He makes a better fit with the Doom Patrol though. :-) It'd be cool if they got a comic again.

8. Power Boy. Okay. Now that guy? I want to know about that Guy NOW. Is he really a sidekick/legacy for *Karen*?! How? Is he an alternate-Earth remnant too?

...or the Zero Hour baby? (Which I always thought should have just been Hal's kid. Opportunity was there.) THAT could be interesting!

9. Offspring! That's Plastic Man's brat isn't it? Cool! With Plastic Man, a little goes a long way for me. Probably Offspring'll be the same. Still it's neat to see so many legacies show up. (I always thought the kids were the most interesting parts of Kingdom Come, so I'm thrilled to see so many comparitive characters.)

10. "Little Barda" Okay. This I must have explained NOW. :-) Their kid? I think that'd make the DCU timeline a little shaky, but I'd be more than happy to just blame that on New Earth if we get a Little Barda out of the deal!

11. Hawk and Dove. Now I'm not as enthused about these guys, but that could just be because I've never been a huge fan of any Hawk-Dove characters. The process of going from brothers to a couple to sisters is interesting. But I hardly think Dawn at least actually qualifies as a TEEN titan.

12. Miss Martian. I'm intrigued! J'onn's daughter? White Martian? Who cares. I'm there!

13. Red Star. I'm less happy about this guy. But the conflict element's interesting. Still a really cliched name but then, we've got a "Star Spangled Kid". So I could just be tetchy.

14. Mas y Menos. I get the feeling I should recognize these guys. No idea. Still...interesting.

15. Argent. What the heck is up with her nipples in that image? Still, should be fun! I like Argent.

16. Hot Spot. Okay, Human Torch with flame retardant costume? I'm intrigued enough to take a look.

17. Captain Marvel Junior. An obvious choice really. Seems much more suited to here than to Outsiders. (I'd been really hopeful that he'd stay when he showed up there. Considering the direction they've taken I'm glad he didn't.)

18. Riddler's Daughter? Iiinteresting. I'm not sure I like Duala defining herself by who her dad is...but then again, she's kind of always done that. Hmm, Bette, Tim, Duala possibly on the same team. Titans Tomorrow makes that much more interesting than I'd thought.

19. Talon. Ooo. His costume looks very Batwoman-y. Her equivalent of a Robin? I suppose we won't see him until more of 52 passes. He'll basically be the determinant as to her fate. I hope she lives. She's got potential.

20. Young Frankenstein. I shouldn't find the mere idea as awesome as I do. But hee! Cool!

21. Ravager! Of course! But I've really been liking her now too. She's crazy but not too crazy that I can't empathize or find her amusing.

22. Molecule. Yay, more shrinking people! I wonder if he'll show in the Atom.

23. Osiris. Hmm, Osiris is the brother/husband of Isis in myth, so he's probably Adrianna's brother. I'm surprised. I thought he'd be a plot point more in 52 and thus we wouldn't know if they'd find him alive or dead.

Though come to think about it, Osiris is an underworld god, having been killed by his brother/rival Set. So maybe nothing's been spoiled yet after all.

Okay. That's a pretty nice crop of characters right there. Some familiar, some new (to me). I'm interested! I want to see what this all means!

Labels:

posted by kalinara @ 7:28 AM  

19 Comments:

  • At September 02, 2006 8:24 AM, Blogger Steven said…

    Mas y Menos are from the Teen Titans cartoon. And Hot Spot, I'm guessing, is Joto, who was in the Jurgens Titans with Argent.

    The writers changed his name for the cartoon when they learned "Joto," while Swahili for "heat," is also a Spanish derogative for gay. Guess the comics are following suit.

     

  • At September 02, 2006 8:40 AM, Blogger Flidget Jerome said…

    Power Boy is a very obscure early Silver Age Superboy character who's only made two appearances ever, the last one in the 90s Superboy and the Ravers series (was there ever a more "stuck in the 90s" name for a comic?). I originally hoped they'd just be re-using the name, not the character, because I wanted it to be Match. Oh well.

    I'm agreeing with you pretty much completely on Kid Devil, Speedy, Aquagirl and Zatara.

    Eddie is a posterboy for 'woobiness', I'm really lookiing forward to seeing how he got Kid Crusader as his rival.

    I don't think Mia actually fits in with the Titans that well, she's been forced to grow up too early, even by their standards, but I like her there anyway. I always got the feeling she's trying to make it work because she knows it means so much to Roy.

     

  • At September 02, 2006 8:52 AM, Blogger Marionette said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At September 02, 2006 9:01 AM, Blogger Marionette said…

    I haven't been following the Teen Titans, but the introduction of some of these characters does not thrill me.

    Aquagirl - a product of Aquaman's Sub Diego storyline, so I'm not sure how she can exist since that seems to have been wiped from continuity.

    Offspring/Little Barda - Anytime we see children grow up it strains the suspension of disbelief on the whole non-aging aspect of comic characters. Having children of characters we know manage to live 16 years without a mention anywhere strains credibility and for that reason I hope they aren't who they appear to be.

    Mas y Menos are from the TV show. You don't recognise them because, bar the costumes, these guys look nothing like them.

    Argent was last seen in the TV show. There she is a british goth. If it wasn't for the name I'd never have known this was supposed to be the same character. I just did a quick search, and apart from the white skin she doesn't look much like the previous comics version either.

    Hot Spot - yet another one that doesn't look much like the version in the cartoon.

    Duella Dent - when she originally appeared she went through a whole cycle of pretending to be the Joker's daughter, the Riddler's daughter, even the Penguin's daughter. In fact she was the daughter of Two-Face. But she settled on a Joker-related schtik and called herself Harlequin for a while. I can see where she wouldn't want to do that now, but I don't see the point of recycling the whole Joker's daughter bit, and doubling the fun with a Riddler's daughter?

    So are we going to meet all these characters or is it a throwaway gag for most of them?

     

  • At September 02, 2006 10:27 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I'm guessing a lot of the new legacy characters are basically a gag, and are going to turn out to not really have that kind of connection to the originals. For instance, I'm pretty sure Scott and Barda don't have any kids.

    Also, I'm wondering exactly who Molecule's costume is supposed to be patterned after. The name and obvious shrinking powers suggest the Atom, but...

     

  • At September 02, 2006 10:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I really like Kid Devil and Ravager as members of the team. I remember Kid Devil when he wore that little devil costume and followed Blue Devil around and this is such a cool metamorphosis for the character.

    I'd love to see more of Aquagirl for a couple of reasons. One, I really liked her as an addition to the Aquaman book and felt she had a good chemistry with Arthur. But, also because I always loved Aqualad/Tempest and think she might make an interesting legacy character.

    Speaking of legacy, I respectfully disagree with you about Hawk and Dove. These have been two of my favorite characters since I was a child. But, interesting about Dawn, though. I've never got a lock down on her age, considering that she had that series with Hank back in the 80s. What is her age?

    Eep! As I'm going down this list, I wonder if Joker's Daughter is the betrayer. She is going to be a member of Teen Titans East. Is that too obvious?

     

  • At September 02, 2006 12:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Possible Spoiler here.

    As someone else pointed out, the uncut version of an upcoming cover seems to imply who the "traitor" might be, since said character shares the cover with other traitor characters.

    That being said, with Mirage as part of the team, you can never be sure that she isn't pretending to be someone else. And if Zatara is anything like Zatanna, powers-wise, then mind-control is always a possiblity.

    As I mentioned on my site, this issue just made me giddy: Talon, Molecule, Miss Martian, Little Barda. I love it.

     

  • At September 02, 2006 1:41 PM, Blogger Seth T. Hahne said…

    Seeing Hawk & Dove up there was just kinda sad for me because it reminded me of the horrible things DC did to them at the end of their series (which may be my favourite thing DC's put out). And yeah, Dawn was college-age at the time (both members of the team were attending Georgetown University, I believe). And no, she and Hawk weren't a couple (since he was dating their friend Ren at the time).

     

  • At September 02, 2006 2:28 PM, Blogger Tom Foss said…

    Flamebird was a member of Titans West when Gar formed them back in a Secret Origins, so she seems like a good choice. Bombshell looks like she could be Tamaranean, though her symbol looks a bit like Jade's. As far as anyone's said, Sub Diego still exists in New Earth, and I seem to recall someone saying it'd be addressed soon. So, Aquagirl's a natural choice. Zatara ought to be an interesting character, though I kind of hope he's not actually related to Zatanna. Offspring's kind of established as of Joe Kelly's JLA run, and it's nice to see he hasn't been retconned away. I hope Little Barda's not Scott and Barda's kid...that seems to be a stretch. Miss Martian's going to be important, Mas y Menos should be less traditional-superhero-style, I think. Argent's a pretty cool character, as is Joto/Hot Spot. I wasn't sure Mirage even existed in this universe anymore (wasn't she a Team Titans member?) CM3 was in Young Justice a couple of times, so it's nice to see him make the transition. I've never liked Duela Dent or the name "Joker's Daughter," so expanding the franchise does little for me. Although, Riddler's daughter might be interesting; Stephanie Brown was Cluemaster's daughter, and CM was a frequent Riddler partner as I recall. Young Frankenstein ought to look more like Peter Boyle, methinks. I love the Osiris speculation, I hope you folks are right. As far as Molecule, the costume looks a lot like Atom's from when he was de-aged and a member of the Jurgens Titans, only green instead of red.

    This spread ought to be the jumping-off point for any number of storylines; I just hope Tony Daniel's art shapes up in the near future, because it's really killing my enjoyment of the book.

     

  • At September 02, 2006 6:55 PM, Blogger Amy Reads said…

    This whole lineup is making me desperate to go back and read that first OYL issue, when Cyborg is "listening" to all of the TT tell him their problems. I've been v. interested in Zatara and Miss Martian since that scene!

    Little Barda???? I agree. We need explanations, forthwith!

    And, of course, This Author wanted to see more Cassie/Robin interaction. Sparkage is definitely happening...
    Ciao,
    Amy

     

  • At September 02, 2006 9:26 PM, Blogger Doc Hall said…

    Hmmmm. It's an interesting group of characters. From my brief flick through of the issue I got the impression that most of the characters there aren't going to be focused on too heavily any time soon. Maybe a guest slot for an issue or two for the lucky ones?

    It's possible some of them may make an appearance when the missing year Titans show up in 52.

    I'm most interested in Power Boy and Miss Martian.

    As mentioned above the uncut cover of #40 (I think) implies who the traitor mentioned in the montage might be. However the cover preview I saw for the next mission shows a new line up for the team with two members being blacked out. An argument could be constructed for the identity of one of those silhouettes being the same one from the #40 cover. I get the impression that there’s more going on with that then first meets the eye.

     

  • At September 02, 2006 9:31 PM, Blogger Richard said…

    No, Young Frankenstein should look like Gene Wilder, not Peter Boyle.

    (Yes, we know Grant Morrison has established in DC continuity that Frankenstein's creature took his creator's name...and a younger version may even be a plot point in Seven Soldiers #1. But I'd much rather see that creature call himself "Legion" for sound reasons of literary precedent.)

     

  • At September 02, 2006 9:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Miss Martian was the one on the cover with all the traitors, but I doubt they'd give something like that away, and so quickly given Miss Martian is a new characters. It's too expected (unless it's a double fake-out). Plus, she fits that female sillouette. I have a real bad feeling (and I'm noticing others are making too) that Red Star will be the traitor. That whole scene was more about Red Star's feelings of betrayal and angst over how the Titans failed him and the ones he loved, then him reminiscing or memorializing his love and son. He's got the motive...

     

  • At September 03, 2006 4:06 AM, Blogger kalinara said…

    steven: Thanks! Yeah, I can see why they'd have changed it.

    flidget: Aw. How disappointing! Well, maybe he'll be interesting.

    Mia's a weird fit. But it's interesting to see her adjust...and it's better than what tends to await her in Green Arrow.

    Marionette: I think Sub Diego's still in continuity, haven't seen it retconned out again.

    Little Barda will be difficult, but Offspring fits pretty easy. Eel's not a spring chicken after all. :-)

    Well, it's not like extreme costume changes are new. :-)

    I thought it was the reverse actually that she was thought to be Harvey's but she turned out to be the Joker's. Oh well, maybe they'll explain it. :-)

    I think we're due to meet a few at least. There was Red Star this issue. Miss Martian's on the cover later. it seems like we'll end up seeing a few revisited at least. :-)

    Ununnilium: Well, they didn't in Post-COIE Earth at least. :-)

    I think A different Atom character had a costume like that. Could be wrong though.

    loren: Well the current body of Hector Hall was supposed to have been Dawn's so I think she's mid twenties.

    I'm sure Hawk and Dove are fun I just never really had a chance to get into them. :-)

    vincent: Could be. Or it could be a red herring. :-)

    dane: They weren't a couple in that series, but I thought the whole Hank-Monarch-Extant insanity also had in it a Hank-Dawn pairing...until she was killed of course. Might be misremembering though. :-)

    tom: I agree except for Zatara. For Little Barda and company it wouldn't be that big of a deal to not be related. But "Zatara" isn't a code name, it's a surname. It seems wrong that the character would use Giovanni and Zatanna's surname without a connection.

    :-) I'm also actually liking Daniel's art. it took some getting used to, but I like his Robin. :-)

    amy: I concur on all counts!

    doc: Hmm, I got the opposite impression actually. Red Star's heavy in this issue. Miss Martian's on the cover later, and Dualla's in Titans East. I actually think a lot are going to be revisited in the coming months. :-)

    Should be fun.

    rab: :-) It'd be pretty cool.

    jlg: I agree...it's too easy. :-) But I think Red Star might be too, so we'll see. :-) At least he'd be vaguely sympathetic as a traitor though. His loss is undeniable.

     

  • At September 03, 2006 5:31 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    His attitude doesn't lead me to think he's going to be that guy shadow joining the Titans (even with the boost from... well, I'd just ruin the place if I got into that argument again :P). Red Star's got a view that the Titans are a lousy, uncaring, and miserable organization that can't keep it together or do anything for their members (and, well, to be honeset, he's absolutely right) - I could easily see it happening that he and this view are defeated by these new Titans to give birth to the new #41 team that is all happy and united "for real this time!" now.

    Ack, I just went overboard again with the crazy unhealthy negativity, didn't I? >_<

    I'll balance it out with positives: I like Tony Daniel, he is good. Kid Devil was OK. I may crawl back to DC for the Titans in 52, hoping it will be able to finally show what Red Star, Beast Boy, Raven, and the other Titans all went through after the Crisis.

     

  • At September 03, 2006 6:31 AM, Blogger Doc Hall said…

    There are enough interesting characters on that board that I’d be more than happy if they do get to focus on all of them. Although it would be nice to be right for a change when I have differing ideas about how a comic is going to progress with someone ;).

    I’m not 100% sure where I’ve gotten this idea from, but I’ve gotten the impression that the Titans Round the World arc would be the big look at the different Titans from the missing year, and it seems a stretch to be able to showcase all the members on the board (even baring the ones we’ve already seen) in the 3 issues remaining in the arc. I’m kind of expecting them to focus on the team and the Titans East for a little while, and maybe pick up the stuff with the missing year members when the team shows up in 52.

     

  • At September 03, 2006 11:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Joker's Daughter... is complicated.

    Originally, pre-Crisis, she was indeed Harvey Dent's daughter (he shunned her and her mother because he wanted, yes, twins), Duela Dent. This was after pretending to be the Joker's, Catwoman's, Scarecrow's, Penguin's, and probably a couple other Bat-villains I've forgotten's daughter. She then joined the Titans (the version between the '60s far-out Bob Haney version and the Wolfman/Perez New Teen Titans) and changed her hero moniker to Harlequin.

    She basically fell off the radar after that version ended. Much later, post-Crisis, she was a guest at someone's wedding (I think Donna's?), and Dick Grayson bumped into her. He mentioned that he'd eventually realized she'd been too old to be Two-Face's daughter. She agreed, and left as an intentional mystery the question of whose daughter, exactly, she was.

    More recently, a fully rebooted (probably by Prime-punch) version appeared in Arkham Asylum, claiming to be various supervillains' daughter. She's been bumping around the DCU since, doing a sort of crazy-but-not-*quite*-dangerous schtick. No bets as to exactly whose daughter she is, though I hear some hints were dropped.

     

  • At October 06, 2010 1:58 PM, Anonymous Ventolin said…

    Red Star is my favorite, I know he is not so popular, and I either know he has not too many powers, however he is so intelligent, and that's what I love of him.

     

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