Teen Titans #43
The long awaited "Teen Titans East" began with this issue. I have to say that as much as I was anticipating this months Titans- the announcement that writer Geoff Johns, and artist Tony Daniel would be leaving the title at the end of this arc made it a bittersweet one. Johns, the writer of the title since it's relaunch in 2003 has made it one of my favorite titles each month. Whenever it comes out it is generally the first read of the week. Tony Daniels, as well, deserves major kudos for all he has done with the team.
Now to the meat of the issue- a well planned sneak attack takes the team totally off guard. Cassie, Tim, and Raven are in Tim's underground "Robin Cave" discussing Conner when Robin and Raven are knocked out. The attacker taunts Cassie and reveals himself to be Inertia- the anti-Impulse clone from the 31st century. He is quickly joined by Match- the new Bizarro-ish clone of Superboy. Cassie is shocked and taken out. Jump to Cyborg and Ms. Martian- they are at a metahuman detention facility to extract information from Bombshell. As Ms. Martian begins her mind probe she discovers that Bombshell is a member of a Titans team- albeit a team with a very different agenda. Just as they are about to find out more about this team- they arrive- but not to rescue Bombshell- to silence her. Batgirl , who we haven't seen since her unfounded turn to the dark side assault on Robin, leaps into the room and slit's Bombshell's throat. Hell then breaks loose when the prisoners at the facility are released and our heroes are subdued. The issue ends with two reveals- this anti-Titans East team has been assembled by Deathstroke and that he has been drugging Cassandra in order to control her.
This was a good issue- kinda jumped around a bit- but still managed to kick off this storyline with a punch. I am anxious to see how this all unfolds over the next three issues. In addition, it makes me really look forward the WWIII issues that promise to show how Slade first captured Cassandra. There have been hints that one of the members of Slade's Titans will turn traitor- will it be Cassandra? Is Batgirl just pretending this drug is working? We shall see as Deathstroke's plan of revenge plays out!! Definitely my favorite read this week!
52 week 39
52, DC's weekly series chronicling the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, and the missing year for all of the OYL titles has been surprisingly good. The last few weeks- as we begin the third and final act- have been excellent. The gradual build up of multiple storylines has been very entertaining, but as more and more is revealed it is quickly becoming "fasten your seatbelts" time.
This week we see Luthor beat the piss out of Natasha as we all discover that he was indeed a candidate for his Everyman project. The good Dr. Dennis has been hiding his status with falsified reports. Just as Natasha seems to put it all together to report back to Steel- she is horrified to discover several truths. The stomp is set on her and it does not look good for Ms. Irons.
Meanwhile in the dysfunctional Black Adam family- Osiris is consumed with guilt over his recent kill during the attack by the Suicide Squad. As Adam and Isis discuss his situation with Sobek there is a loud boom overhead and the "Garden of Isis" begins to die. The boom? What could it be? Read on!
The war machine is definitely cranked on the mad scientist island. The Four Horsemen use a Boom Tube to begin their treachery. Sivana discusses his recent time experiments and talks to Dr. Time about missing time and Mr. Mind. Then we see an exchange between Morrow and Magnus where Morrow warns the good doctor about the Metal Men reappearing- Magnus dispatches Morrow with news of Red Tornado. After he leaves we get a glimpse of our old buddy Mercury- in miniature- that hints at the return of all Metal Men. Since we have seen them in the first issue of the JLA One Year Later- this has been expected.
The other storyline featured this week leaves one with some questions- nothing new for 52! Ralph and the Helmet of Fate journey to Atlantis as part of their strange voyage. They arrive at a shattered kingdom and encounter a dissheveled and confused Aquaman. Ralph certainly recognizes his former teammate- but the Helmet does not. Odd since the Helmet should have much knowledge and has partnered with Arthur many times. This is obviously setting up more about Aquaman's fate to be shown in WWIII.
All in all another entertaining week - this series has exceeded my expectations and is totally hitting it out of the park.
That's about it for reviews- I really enjoyed Blue Beetle #11- this has been a good series and I hope it has legs. Metron's role certainly goes right in line with other Kirby hints in the DCU. The cancellation of Firestorm and other revamped characters has put the longevity of this title in question.
I also picked up several recent X-men issues- but haven't finished reading them yet. The artwork was the draw for them and I am not all that familiar with recent events. If I have any down time this weekend I will pour through them. I grabbed the Ms. Marvel special as I like the character- but was unimpressed with this one shot. Decent art, but rotten story- definitely my waste of money for the week!
Next week we have Nightwing, Outsiders, Supergirl, 52, New Avengers, and some Superman titles to look forward to- so until then!
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