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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Thoughts on Titans East...

Looking 2 Da Stars has some interesting things up here about Judd Winick and a new Titans East oneshot. (Interview available here.) He's also got a very nice clear image of the cover.



I admit, I was kind of disappointed not to see Batgirl or Risk or some of the other members of Deathstroke's team. I thought it'd be interesting to see them rebuilding a heroic team to try to redeem themselves after that whole mess. Still, this might not be the whole team, so there's still hope.

I recognize Cyborg, Power Boy, Lagoon Boy, Hawk and Dove, but can anyone fill me in on the other two? I haven't the faintest idea who they are. Sword-boy (Son of Vulcan?) looks kind of neat.

Three female characters out of seven is a promising sign. I was kind of hoping to see the new Firestorm in a teen team too. I'm hoping the fact that he's not means he'll be popping up in JLA. He ought to show up somewhere.

I admit, I'm leery about Power Boy's addition for many of the same reasons Matt has in the link. Right now, I'll give the benefit of the doubt. Power Boy's done some truly horrible things, but he's also very young and I think that gives him a slightly better chance of rehabilitation/redemption than it would an adult hero. I'm not sure if the character will be redeemed well, but I do think the possibility is there.

I've never been terribly interested in Hawk and Dove, but I admit the new girl-Hawk is an intriguing idea. And I think the character design is cute. I've only seen her in brief encounters so far, but since "Hawk" always seemed like a really masculine-oriented role, I do tend to find a girl version interesting.

Cyborg honestly hasn't seemed like a good fit on the main team since OYL, to me, so I'll be glad to see him working with a team that may suit him better. I'm hoping he'll get to keep a leader/mentor type role.

Ragnell suggests the blond girl's Magenta. Magenta's not a teenager, but then neither is Cyborg (though he could be grandfather-claused in, I suppose). Dove shouldn't be a teen anymore either, I thought (but I'm shaky with those two). This group in general does seem a bit older than the main group anyway. Frances is pretty neat though, so I wouldn't complain. Even if her presence and Power Boy's do lend the group a certain level of instability...

There does seem to be some interesting story potential there. I'm not sure really if there's a hook for me yet, and Judd Winick's writing isn't always to my taste. But I did enjoy early Outsiders, so maybe I'll enjoy this too. It does seem worth a shot though...

10 Comments:

  • At July 31, 2007 8:16 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I always thought Dove was in her early 20's when she was introduced.

     
  • At July 31, 2007 8:29 AM, Blogger Flidget Jerome said…

    Miguel Devante/Son of Vulcan's an obscure favourite of mine . . . and also one of the unluckiest heroes I can think of, and that includes Citizen Vomited-on-by-Nazi.

    His backstory is he impressed the previous S of V, who then kidnapped the boy from the grotty orphanage he lived at to be his new sidekick. Aforementioned mentor then managed to die less than 24 hours later, which sucked for Miguel because besides that no training thing no one wrote down the passwords to his spaceship and his robot broke so now he's locked out of about half of his inheritence.

    Also, he fights White Martians.

    I'm vaguely happy to see him in Titans East because, hey, that means at least he's not homeless anymore. On the other hand, Winick.

     
  • At July 31, 2007 11:50 AM, Blogger Steve Flanagan said…

    Power Boy, eh? I gather that he is a pretty vile character (I haven't been reading Supergirl, but I got the gist from the web). His inclusion is also another sign of editorial confusion at DC, given that Jim Starlin has insisted that "The Death of the New Gods" means all of them, from New Genesis and Apokolips alike.

     
  • At July 31, 2007 12:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The interview seems to indicate that this line-up on the cover is only for the special, while the ongoing will have a different line-up. Since Winick mentions that its "an amalgam of some of the characters from the Titans East story and some new ones" it would seem likely that we'll see some of Deathstroke's team, though which members would depend on whether we're dealing with a heroic or villainous team (the question of which Winnick seems to dodge).

    Of course, it might also just mean that this will wind up being the rumored older Titans book, since technically all those characters were in the "Titans East story."

    Anyway, I'll definitely give at least the special a shot.

     
  • At July 31, 2007 12:38 PM, Blogger Ununnilium said…

    Oh, it's gonna be fun when Son of Vulcan meets Miss Martian.

    (...friggin' Death of the New Gods, better see Legendary Fourth World mutter...)

     
  • At July 31, 2007 12:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Son of Vulcan is a personal favorite of mine, and I'm happy to see that he's out of limbo, but Winick on the book basically means that I'm going to skip it.

    It's kind of irritating, really.

     
  • At July 31, 2007 1:10 PM, Blogger Unknown said…

    Son of Vulcan really needs a redesign. The only way he could look more 90's is if he was drawn by Rob Liefeld. He's got Shatterstar's headpiece, he got the pouches. It's just a pity he doesn't have a duel-bladed sword.

    ...I could have sworn I saw a female Hawk in the previous Titans run, but Wiki says she's only been around for four years. Weird.

    Don't think I'll be getting this - there's no hook for me here as the only character I have any affection for is Cyborg, and even he can't offset the creative team.

     
  • At July 31, 2007 2:27 PM, Blogger Flidget Jerome said…

    Son of Vulcan really needs a redesign. The only way he could look more 90's is if he was drawn by Rob Liefeld. He's got Shatterstar's headpiece, he got the pouches. It's just a pity he doesn't have a duel-bladed sword.

    Unfortunately that's already a re-design. It's a pity, his original, knight-inspired costume, at least in my opinion, was really cool and surprisingly original. I'm going to especially miss the translucent mantle with the insignia shining through from underneath.

     
  • At July 31, 2007 6:50 PM, Blogger Rob S. said…

    Could the girl in purple be Amethyst?

    I hope not, because I'd rather have her revived in her original environment rather than a superhero book. But I'd *hate* Magenta being on the team, so I guess I'm getting a lose/lose feeling from it.

     
  • At August 01, 2007 2:47 AM, Blogger LurkerWithout said…

    ...I could have sworn I saw a female Hawk in the previous Titans run, but Wiki says she's only been around for four years. Weird.

    The Hawk & Dove where they were winged musicians has a female Hawk IIRC...

     

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