Teen Titans #25

The Insiders Part III

Geoff Johns Writer
Matthew Clark Penciller
Art Thibert Inker
Jeromy Cox Colorist
Comicraft Letters
Jeanine Schaefer Assistant Editor
Eddie Berganza Editor

Our cover by Mike McKone is a variation of the classic Titans charging into action pose. But this time, they're all rushing forward to save Robin from being killed by the brainwashed Superboy. Starfire's inclusion is mostly a nostalgic factor here. She is technically a part of this story with the Outsiders, but it is kind of odd that none of the other Outsiders were included on the cover. You'd think DC would want to play up this crossover. I also have to complain about Beast Boy's decision to turn into a small chimpanzee. C'mon, Gar, do you really think you're going to stop Superboy with that animal?

Our story begins in Metropolis, in the long abandoned first headquarters of Cadmus Labs. Lex Luthor and Superboy have separated from Brainiac and Brainiac 8. Lex shows Superboy the tube he was created in and explains that after spending years of studying Superman, Lex decided the best way to destroy him was not with Kryptonite or magic, but by attacking something he loved. So Lex played the long game with the creation of Superboy, working underneath Cadmus' nose to implant his DNA and his brainwashing programming into their clone of Superman. And Lex waited patiently for Superman to grow to love Superboy before Lex decided to activate him. Now he plans to use Superboy to kill the Teen Titans and truly devastate Superman. Superboy gradually calls Lex his father, which surprises Lex, although he gladly accepts the title. He then leads Superboy away, saying Brainiac can worry about Donna Troy and the future, but they need to worry about the present.

We then cut to the S.T.A.R. Labs in Palo Alto, at 5:44 p.m. on a Saturday. The Teen Titans and Outsiders have been attacked by a bunch of Superman robots, but they're doing a much better job against this batch than the one they faced during Graduation Day. Kid Flash explains to Speedy that these robots are just like the one that killed Donna Troy, and Starfire adds that Omen was also killed that day. The Outsiders continue their debate about Indigo/Brainiac 8, with some of them seeing this attack as proof that Indigo intentionally unleashed the original Superman robot on them.

Wonder Girl is worked up into an emotional rampage sparked by the memory of Donna' murder. She becomes unstoppable, taking out several robots by herself. Ares appears before her in the reflection of a car window, urging her to focus on the emotion of rage rather than love. Cassie smashes the window and nearly attacks Robin, when he tries to calm her down. Tim has his arm in a cast but still decided to come out to see if he can help. Cassie collapses on Tim's shoulder, crying and wondering what happened to Conner.

Back in Metropolis, we learn that Brainiac 8 originally did come back in time with the express purpose of killing Donna Troy, as her actions had set back the development of Brainiac's home world by thousands of years. Once Troy was killed, Brainiac 8 disguised herself as the hero Indigo, but now she has returned to her true form to make sure Troy does not return.

We return to California, where all the Superman robots have been defeated with relative ease. And Robin has used the sudden calm to tell everyone what Superboy had wanted to tell them that morning. Cassie and Bart are furious that this secret was kept from them. Bart tells Tim that he's shutting them out like Batman. Tim says he and Conner never thought it'd get this far, and Bart retorts that the Justice League never thought their secrets would go as far as they did. He maintains that they can't be like the JLA and need to stick together.

Bart then calms down and looks at the situation rationally. He says that Superboy's genetics don't necessarily mean he's a bad guy, using Raven as an example, since her dad is basically Satan. Raven appreciates the comment. Beast Boy points out Superboy's bizarre behavior, including shaving his head, and says there's no way he did this on his own. Arsenal speaks up, saying the actions of Superboy and Indigo are part of a coordinated attack by Luthor and Brainiac, which is why the Outsiders should handle this. Nightwing protests excluding the Teen Titans, and Robin sides with him, saying one of their teammates is in trouble and they won't stop until he's safe. Tim says that Bart's right by saying they're not the Justice League and they need to respect their personal relationships.

Lex Luthor interrupts this stirring speech by flying down with Superboy, whom he commands with a simple order: "Kill." Beast Boy and Starfire avoid the initial attack and fly directly at Luthor. Beast Boy (as a pteranodon) demands to know what Luthor did to Superboy. Luthor says he said the magic words and his "son" finally showed his true colors. As he blasts Beast Boy and Starfire away, Raven prepares an attack, accusing Luthor of demanding to be worshipped like all the other demons. Luthor clarifies that he only seeks respect, claiming he has the ability to stop famine and cure cancer, but he can't as long as Superman is taking up his time. Robin tells Kid Flash to take down Superboy, but Bart wants to talk first.

To Bart's credit, he does manage to talk while fighting, getting in a few kicks and punches before hanging onto Superboy's back. Bart opens with a boring, scientific theory on inherited memories and traits, but ends his argument strong, by reminding Superboy that he's a rebel and encouraging him to rebel against Luthor. Superboy flies backward into a garbage truck and knocks out Bart. Robin throws a useless batarang and Superboy and tries to remind him of their trip to the future and how they want to change that reality. But Superboy knocks him down, too.

Bart is quickly back on his feet, and Cassie hands him her lasso, ordering Bart to wrap it around Superboy and then run far away. Bart complies, although instead of running away, he turns to help fight Luthor. With Superboy in her lasso, and tears in her eyes, Cassie reluctantly unleashes the full power of her wrath on her boyfriend. Superboy happens to step in a puddle of water that Ares has appeared in, and the combined effect of the water and lightning finally snaps Superboy out of his trance. His eyes return to normal and he immediately begs Cassie to get away from him. Conner says he saw everything he did, and even though he didn't want to hurt anyone, he now believes he's a monster. Cassie tells him he's not a monster and leans in to kiss Conner.

Luthor sees this, knocks Kid Flash aside, and repeats the key phrase: "aut vincere aut mori." Superboy's eyes instantly glow red again, but before he can attack Wonder Girl, she's dragged away by Brainiac 8. She begins ranting about how she killed Donna Troy to save the future and now wants to take out this "Wonder Rag." Shift tells Brainiac 8 to let Wonder Girl go, and Brainiac 8 says she will, if Shift kills her.



This was another exciting issue, continuing the emotional beats from Teen Titans #24. There was a lot of action, but unfortunately, Clark is just as unclear with his action scenes as McKone is. I don't know how all those Superman robots were defeated, nor do I understand how our heroes were able to defeat them so easily. Heck, I still don't even know where they came from in the first place, so there's plenty of questions to go around. But the biggest weakness about this crossover is that even three issues in, it still feels like two separate, unrelated stories that were forced together. Arsenal did say they're facing a coordinated attack, but Luthor himself basically said that he and Brainiac have their own goals and will go their own way. And with only one issue left in this story, I'm not confident that problem will be resolved before the end.

Next time, we conclude this crossover with Outsiders #25.