Red Robin #12

Collision: The Conclusion

Christopher Yost (Writer)
Marcus To (Penciller)
Ray McCarthy (Inker)
Guy Major (Colorist)
Sal Cipriano (Letterer)
Janelle Siegel (Assistant Editor)
Mike Marts (Editor)
To & McCarthy (Cover)

Our cover shows our old friend Tim Drake (now going as the stupidly named Red Robin) at the mercy of one of Batman's greatest foes, Ra's al Ghul. It's a pretty dramatic cover with the bleeding Batman symbol in the background. Sometimes I might call something like this over the top, but I kind of like it here — mainly because I enjoy Marcus To's style.

Our story picks up at the conclusion of a massive battle between Tim and Ra's. Apparently, Ra's had sought to coerce Tim by sending teams of ninjas out to kill several members of the extended Bat family. But Tim had previously gained access to al Ghul's computer systems and subsequently prepared for this event by calling in some friends. Superboy was sent to protect Alfred, Wonder Girl was asked to help Barbara Gordon (but Barbara took care of the ninjas by herself), and Kid Flash was sent to save Catwoman. Bart reported back to Tim that Selina Kyle is "super-fine" and that this might be the best day of his life.

So that just leaves Tim to fight Ra's one on one. Fittingly, Ra's does win the duel, beating the snot out of Tim before shoving him out a window. Luckily, Nightwing was there to catch him and bring him back to the Batcave. But this was not a defeat for Tim, as his true victory was behind the scenes, thwarting al Ghul's attempts to take control of Wayne Enterprises.

While tim recovers in the Batcave, the new Robin, Damian Wayne, complains that the Teen Titans "riffraff" are going through his father's kitchen upstairs. But that's the last mention of Kon, Bart and Cassie. And at the end of this story, we learn this whole battle was actually Ra's al Ghul testing Tim to see if he'd be a worthy heir. And Tim passed the test.




The obvious joke here is that Bart's calling this the best day of his life because he's in a bedroom with a beautiful woman. But I like to think he might also be referring to the fact that he, Kon and Cassie are finally working with Tim again. We never really got a proper reunion of the four Young Justice holdovers. They had a nice little fireside chat about Superboy's fight with Lex Luthor. Then we had Blackest Night and Superboy and Kid Flash re-joined the Teen Titans. But we haven't had an actual discussion about why Tim isn't with them anymore. At the very least, it is nice to see that Tim's friends will respond to his calls.

Next time, we'll return to Teen Titans #83.

DC Super Friends #27

Double Trouble

Sholly Fisch -- Writer
J. Bone -- Artist
Travis Lanham -- Letterer
Heroic Age -- Colorist
Rachel Gluckstern -- Editor

Our cover by Bone shows the John Stewart Green Lantern battling Sinestro, while the Wally West Flash faces off against the Reverse-Flash. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman and Batman (oddly in a bubble) are looking on with worried faces. I'm not a fan of Bone's style, but I do understand the necessity of making large, simplistic figures that could easily be replicated as toys, if desired.

Our story, as you can probably guess, involves Flash and Green Lantern fighting two of their greatest enemies. And that's a real shame, because this fight interrupted Flash's plans to throw a surprise party for Green Lantern's birthday, as well as Green Lantern's plans to throw a surprise party for Flash (they both have a birthday on the same week). What follows is a cute, wacky adventure, suitable for all ages. Unfortunately, Bart doesn't show up until the big combined birthday party at the end.

I think it's safe to call this iteration of Bart a new version of Impulse. Sadly, we don't have a clear view of his costume — just a red sleeve and yellow glove, which is quite unique compared to other versions of Impulse we've seen. Anyway, this was a fun comic, and I have to say I enjoy this series more than Tiny Titans. True, I do appreciate the art of Tiny Titans a lot more than this art, but in terms of introducing these characters to young readers, I think it's better to show the heroes as their adult selves actually battling villains (in a light-hearted way) rather than turning the heroes into little kids and putting them in school. Not that the school setting isn't fun, I just think it's best to see superheroes being superheroes.

Next time, we'll return to the main DC Universe, where Bart has rejoined Kon and Cassie with the Teen Titans. But what about Tim? Let's check in on him with Red Robin #12.

Teen Titans #82

The Taking of Dakota

Felicia D. Henderson – Writer
José Luís – Penciller
Mariah Benes – Inker
Sal Cipriano – Letterer
Marcelo Maiolo – Colorist
Rachel Gluckstern – Editor
Yildiray Cinar and Júlio Ferreira with Rod Reis – Cover

Our cover shows our entire Teen Titans roster in a classic triumphant hero team pose. The new guys, Superboy and Kid Flash, are front and center, right next to their old Young Justice teammate, Wonder Girl. Just as it should be. Kon's face and arms look a bit off, but Bart and Cassie both look pretty good. And everybody else behind them looks fine, too. I am, however, a bit worried about this crowded cast. Nine people is a lot to balance.

Our story picks right up where we left off last time, with Cyborg, Superboy and Kid Flash facing down Holocaust in his secret hole in Dakota. Cyborg offers Holocaust the chance to surrender, but the villain naturally refuses. Cyborg hits him with an energy blast, and Bart runs circles around Holocaust to get him dizzy, saying the offer was non-negotiable. Kon adds the words "... and binding" as he punches Holocaust in the face. Bart says that Static Shock is one of them now — a Teen Titan, and Kon makes sure to include the rest of Holocaust's prisoners, saying they're also off limits. And for good measure, Cyborg tells Holocaust the good people of Dakota also fall under the Titans' protection.

Holocaust then stomps on the ground, which somehow causes a blast of fire to erupt under Bart. Cyborg immediately extinguishes the flames, but this leaves him open to Holocaust, who jumps on his back and pounds him into the ground. As Bart recovers from the fire, he tells Kon to just give him a couple of minutes and he'll finish the jerk. So Superboy vows to merely do "a little prep work" for Bart, as he intercepts a fireball blast aimed at Kid Flash. Holocaust responds by punching Superboy in the face, and Cyborg hits Holocaust in the back with another energy blast. Holocaust turned to shoot a fireball at Cyborg, but Bart knocked him off his feet, causing the fire to shoot up at Wonder Girl's prison bubble, conveniently freeing her.

As Bart dances around Holocaust, dodging all his attacks, he tells Cyborg that he was initially hesitant to rejoin the Teen Titans, but now this battle has removed all doubt. Bart wants back in — if they want him. Cyborg asks Wonder Girl, the team leader, and she instantly agrees. Superboy asks if he can join, too, but Cassie hesitates, asking, "Personally ... or professionally?" While they were talking, everybody got a hit in on Holocaust, until Cyborg pulls out a pair of fancy-looking gold handcuffs. Bart quickly places these off on Holocaust, covering his entire hands, but Static Shock warns the others that those cuffs won't hold Holocaust long.

Our heroes work on freeing and reviving their teammates, and everyone seems OK, except for Raven, who ominously won't wake up. Everybody begins rounding up Holocaust's men, and Static tries to hack into his computer to find out about the epidemic virus he released on Dakota. During all the excitement, everyone somehow loses track of the main bad guy they're fighting. When Static spots the melted hand cuffs on the ground, he warns everyone to get out now, but he's too late.

Holocaust shoots a large fire blast at his hideout from the outside, causing the entire building to go in a massive explosion of flames. Holocaust immediately calls his accountant to begin the paperwork of writing off his now-destroyed warehouse, but he's suddenly attacked by Superboy. Apparently Kon got out in time, but he stupidly believes that blast killed all his teammates. He hits Holocaust with some heat vision, but that only makes the villain laugh. Kid Flash suddenly arrives and knocks Holocaust down with a flurry of punches. Kon was able to count 72 punches, but Bart says it was 74. And for some insane reason, Bart also believes everyone else died, and he tells Kon they need to find each of their fallen teammates, take their bodies home and give them proper respect. Bart and Kon then share a solemn fist bump.

Holocaust jumps right back up, and Bart lifts him up in the air with a whirlwind. Superboy then punches the airborne Holocaust into a nearby car. We then see that the rest of the Titans actually did survive, thanks to Beast Boy's new ability to transform into mythical creatures. He apparently turned into a large phoenix to absorb all the fire. Everybody takes turns getting in one more hit on Holocaust, and Kid Flash adds the finishing touch with a large whirlwind that created a vacuum strong enough to send Holocaust straight down to the Earth's core.

Cyborg offers praise to Beast Boy and Wonder Girl before checking on Superboy, who's forced to admit that Holocaust was pretty tough. Staring down the bottomless crater that Bart created, Static pessimistically believes Holocaust will still survive a trip to the Earth's core. But Cassie believes he'll have to climb out by hand, which should take him a very long time. Our heroes still aren't sure what, exactly, Holocaust was planning to do in Dakota, but they do have one of his men to question — a very fat man in a Superman T-shirt. So they take him on their T-jet and begin the flight home.

On the plane, Kon sits next to Cassie, who chooses to turn her back to him. He asks if she's purposely not talking to him, which she coldly confirms. Static asks the fat man who manufactured Holocaust's virus. The man says, "his silent partner," before flashing a wide grin and suddenly leaping out of the plane. Everybody immediately ejects from the destroyed aircraft, and those who can't fly (like Bart) beg for help from those who can. The fat man can fly, and he grabs Raven before anyone can react. Beast Boy turns into a dragon and even breathes fire at the fat man, but it's not use. The fat man appears to take Raven away into a large red ribbon in the sky that Cyborg describes as a dimensional rift that everyone should stay away from.




OK. Bart and Kon are officially back, thrown right into the middle of a chaotic and confusing battle. I never got a full grasp on what Holocaust's powers actually are — how is he resistant to psychic attacks? Can he summon fire anywhere? — and I really have no idea how Bart's "vacuum to the Earth's core" works. At the very least, could they have sealed up that giant hole to make it a little harder for Holocaust to come back? And don't even ask me about the fat man and dimensional rift at the end. But, all things considered, this was a decent action issue for Bart and Kon to get back into the swing of things and prove they belong.

The action scenes were easy enough to follow except for the part where Holocaust destroyed his base. First of all, how does anyone turn their back on this guy for even one second? Secondly, what was up with Superboy's and Kid Flash's incomprehensibly insane reactions to that fire? The smoke hadn't even cleared, and these guys are already planning out everybody's funeral. Was it just because these two have already experienced death that now they kind of expect everyone to die? In any case, calm down, guys! Give your team a little credit! Oh, and I also have no idea what's going on between Kon and Cassie. This sudden cold shoulder directly contradicts the emotional adventure they shared during Blackest Night and subsequent funeral scenes of the two standing arm-in-arm. I guess Cassie's just acting like a teenage girl.

I'm still having a hard time getting a read on Felicia D. Henderson. She has a lot of characters to juggle, and I'm jumping right in the middle of a story, so I can't really make a conclusive judgment until we finish it. But in the meantime, I will say her dialogue is quite clunky. She really likes to have people finish each other's sentences, which is not always natural. It's almost as if she has a specific one-liner in mind, but can't find a smooth way to set it up.

Ultimately, though, I am glad that Bart is still alive and active in the DC Universe. He easily could have ended up like Max Mercury or Wally West and his family — completely shoved to the side and never mentioned ever again. But I still wish we had a space somewhere to really explore Bart's head and personal life. He died as a 20-year-old and was brought back as a 16-year-old. It was implied that he remembered his time as an adult, but to what extent? Is he living with the Garricks or Max again? Is he going back to school? Has he attempted to reconnect with any of his old friends from Manchester, Alabama? Or, dare I say, his old girlfriend from his disastrous stint as an adult? These are questions that will never be answered. Geoff Johns won't explore any of these ideas in his Flash monthly series. And Henderson won't have time with all these other Titans to worry about. So, in a strange way, I almost feel like Bart never came after he was killed. This is just a shadow of Bart, running through the motions to provide the most basic impression of what a "Kid Flash" is.

Next time, we'll take a very quick look at Super Friends #27.

Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal #2

Staring into the Abyss

Written by J.T. Krul
Pencilled by Geraldo Borges & Kevin Sharpe
Inked by Mario Alquiza & Mark McKenna
Lettered by Rob Clark Jr.
Colored by Hi-Fi
Dream sequence by Mike Mayhew & Andy Troy
Cover by: Greg Horn
Associate Editor: Sean Ryan
Editor: Brian Cunningham

Our cover shows Roy Harper, sporting his new robotic arm, battling his occasional girlfriend, Cheshire. This is a well-done cover, but ... dang ... it's practically pornographic! I mean, seriously, it's not practical at all for Cheshire to let her boobs hang out of her outfit like that. I don't care how good a fighter you are, that is a massive weakness you're leaving exposed. Believe it or not, but it is actually possible to look sexy without being objectified.

Our story begins with a freaky dream sequence of Roy's late daughter, Lian, ripping off her father's arm as she falls into an abyss. Roy wakes up to the news that Green Arrow had murdered the man responsible for the loss of his arm and daughter, Prometheus, but doing so cost Oliver Queen his secret identity. Black Canary stops by to talk, but Roy is furious that he wasn't the one to kill Prometheus. Roy then visits Ollie in jail to yell at him for robbing him of his chance at revenge.

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Dr. Mid-Nite and Cyborg help attach a robotic arm to Roy, but because this story is as melodramatic as possible, the prosthetic causes an enormous amount of pain when connected. (Prometheus apparently infected Roy with some nanites.) Later, Roy finally holds a funeral for Lian, which is attended by all the major heroes with connections to the JLA or Titans. Barry, Wally and Jay are there, but Bart chooses to stand with Raven, Beast Boy, Atom, Wonder Girl and Superboy.

Roy hallucinates that Lian's heart begins beating again, so he hastily retreats from the group to pop some pills. Ravager saw this, and tries to share some positive memories of when she babysat Lian way back when. Mia Deardon also tries to comfort Roy, but he blames her for his daughter's death and even gets his hand around her throat before Dick Grayson and Donna Troy intervene. Roy yells at everyone before heading home, smashing his bow, popping more pills and being attacked by Cheshire.




I think it's pretty safe to say that this is a rather reviled comic. There's tragic stories, and then there's this. Let's pile on as many bad and terrible things as we possibly can on one character, and make the bleakest, most depressing, most melodramatic story we can. And you know what? Nobody likes that. Luckily for us, this funeral cameo is the complete extent of Bart's involvement in this story.

Next time, we'll watch Bart and Kon take on Holocaust in Teen Titans #82.

Teen Titans #81

Titans Together

Felicia D. Henderson – Writer
Joe Bennett – Penciller
Jack Jadson – Inker
Travis Lanham – Letterer
Marcelo Maiolo – Colorist
Rachel Gluckstern – Editor
Yildiray Cinar and Julio Ferreira with Rod Reis – Cover

Our cover shows Superboy battling a villain named Holocaust. It's a bright, flashy, cover with lots of fire and energy. And Superboy doesn't look half-bad, either. Sadly, this issue is the grand return of Superboy AND Kid Flash to the team, but only Kon gets to be on the cover. The other downside is Cinar did not draw the inside pages, which is a shame, because I find Bennett's work a bit lackluster.

We're jumping right into the middle of a story, in which Holocaust and his men have captured Static Shock, Aquagirl, Bombshell and Wonder Girl. So that leaves Beast Boy, Raven, Blue Beetle and Miss Martian to search the streets of Dakota for their friends. Beast Boy is particularly distressed because his relationship with Raven has fallen apart, he's caught in a leadership struggle with Wonder Girl, and apparently he did call in Cyborg for help, but somehow did it in a way that caused Cyborg to doubt him.

In S.T.A.R. Labs, Cyborg is reviewing his long relationship with Garfield Logan. He remembers Gar's prankster personality in the early years, but then he reminds himself of how Gar has grown and matured through the years. Realizing he was wrong to doubt his old friend, Victor Stone turns to two shadowy figures in the lab, saying he needs to talk to them about retirement. The shadowy figures are clearly Superboy and Kid Flash, and I wonder why Henderson and Bennett even attempted to obscure them at this stage. I mean, we kind of already saw Superboy on the cover, so it's not like you're going to surprise us with his reveal later on.

Our heroes eventually find Holocaust's hideout, but he handles them easily. Not only can he withstand the physical attacks from Beast Boy and Blue Beetle, but he also has immunity to the psychic attacks from Raven and Miss Martian. Just when all seems lost, Cyborg, Superboy and Kid Flash burst into the lair. Cyborg explains that he tracked Beast Boy's biosignature to this location, and says it's time for all cowardly monsters to retire. Bart and Kon add that now is the perfect time for a couple of Teen Titans to come out of retirement. Holocaust turns to the new arrivals and says, "Bring it." Bart maliciously answers, "We were hoping you'd say that ..."

There's also a Ravager backup story, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with Bart, so we'll skip it. All in all, I'm rather indifferent with this issue. I have no idea why Bart and Kon were hanging out with Cyborg in the dark instead of directly contacting the Titans and trying to rejoin their former team. And I'm even more perplexed by Cyborg having to go on a long, soul-searching journey to determine if his oldest and best friend was telling him the truth. But the important thing here is Kid Flash and Superboy are back. Sadly, they look a little evil in this final splash page, which kind of puts a sour note on what should be a glorious return.

Next time, we'll take a very quick look at the Rise of Arsenal.

The Flash Secret Files and Origins 2010 #1

Running to the Past

Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Scott Kolins
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Rob Clark Jr.
Cover: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Editors: Adam Schlagman & Eddie Berganza

Our cover is a simple, yet effective shot of Barry Allen turning into the Flash. As I've said before, I absolutely love Manapul's style, so I cherish every chance I get to post some of his work on this blog. I'm a little let down by Barry's grumpy face here, but at least he doesn't look evil like Ethan Van Sciver would draw. I took this image from dc.fandom.com since DC hasn't digitized this issue yet, which really surprises me.

Unlike previous Secret Files and Origins issue, this is not an oversized issue with one main story, several backup stories and a bunch of profile pages and timelines. This issue only has one story and a handful of profile pages. And everything about this issue is setting up the new monthly Flash series by Johns and Manapul. So the Rogues each got an individual profile page, but the Flash family all got crammed together, given minuscule blurbs that don't say anything we don't already know. It's hinted that Max Mercury might travel through time again, but nothing will come of that. And it says that Bart will soon join the Teen Titans, which seemed pretty obvious. So we'll only be dealing with the main story here.

Barry has a nightmare where he's a little kid getting picked on by bullies. His mom takes him to the comic shop to cheer him up, but she suddenly disappears right before his eyes. Barry wakes up at 3:05 a.m., and doesn't want to wake his wife, Iris, so he begins puttering around the house, but no time has passed. He eventually throws on his Flash uniform and runs out to his childhood house, which is abandoned and in disrepair. Barry remembers the fateful day of coming home to find his mother dead and lying in a pool of her own blood. Suddenly, Jay Garrick shows up at the house.

Jay says he was somehow drawn to Barry, able to feel his distress through the Speed Force. Barry laments that he's not as adept at time travel as Eobard Thawne, explaining that every time he tried to go back in time to change history, he ended up centuries off course or in a parallel world. Jay urges Barry to focus on the present and the future, and reminds Barry that he's not alone. Right on cue, they're joined by Jesse Quick, Bart Allen, Wally and Irey West and Max Mercury. Bart says he doesn't know why they're all here, and he asks if everything is OK. Barry gladly gives them all a big hug and tells them everything's going to be great. He then returns home and falls asleep next to his wife at 3:06 a.m.

At 3:07 a.m., the Rogues have broken into Sam Scudder's old glass factory five miles outside of Central City. Captain Cold leads them to Sam's old contingency plan — a massive mirror labeled "In case the Flash returns break glass." Trickster eagerly asks, "So ... are we gonna break it or what?"




I don't really much to say about this issue. It's your usual Johns-Kolins collaboration on the Flash, so you know it's a well-put-together comic book. I do think it's a bit odd, however, how all the speedsters were drawn to Barry just because he was feeling slightly upset. On one hand, it's kind of sweet to think of the Flash family being able to sense when one of their own is distressed. But on the other hand, this has never happened before or since. And I'm kind of glad for that. It would be kind of ridiculous for the entire Flash family to constantly show up for every little conflict, fight and moment of self doubt.

And in one year, Barry will completely ignore this heart-warming moment and go against all better judgment to run back in time to try to save his mom from Eobard Thawne, creating Flashpoint. In more ways than one, this little story will quickly be completely negated. So it kind of makes this whole comic completely pointless.

Next time, we'll see Kid Flash and Superboy finally return to the Teen Titans.

Titans #23

The Way Things Were

Writer: Eddie Berganza
Pencils: Scott Clark & Ardian Syaf
Inks: Dave Beaty & Vincente Cifuentes
Colors: Hi-Fi Design
Cover by Angel Unzueta
Letters: Travis Lanham
Asst Editor: Rex Ogle
Editor: Brian Cunningham

Our cover shows a photograph of the original Teen Titans — Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Robin and Kid Flash. The picture is on fire because ... dramatics! Fortunately, there's enough inexplicable extra white space above the actual photograph, so the flames haven't done any real damage yet. I'm normally not a fan of Unzueta, but this cover isn't too bad — minus the ridiculous fire bit.

Our story begins with Wally West, Donna Troy and Dick Grayson sharing conflicting memories of their early days with the Teen Titans. Wally paints a rosy picture, Dick, rather grim, and Donna somewhere in the middle. The occasion for their trip down memory lane is a memorial at Titans Tower in San Francisco for two heroes who did not survive Blackest Night — Tempest and Hawk. Everyone gathers outside in the rain — because it is actually against the law in the DC Universe to honor the dead when it's not raining — as Beast Boy guides the statues of the fallen inside. Kid Flash, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl and a boy in red I don't recognize are also present to show their support.

Dick apparently gives a touching eulogy off panel, and everyone leaves except for Wally, Dick and Donna. They share a few sad words for the loss of Garth, and lament not getting to know the new Hawk better. Wally wonders what's worse — the large amount of statues they have in this hall, or the fact that they've built in extra spaces for more statues.

Cyborg then calls them up, reminding us all that Roy Harper is still in the hospital. He says Dr. Mid-Nite and Raven have been working on Roy, but they're worried he might not survive the night. So Cyborg believes Roy's oldest teammates should be there just in case something happens. Our heroes all fly over to the hospital in Dick's Bat-Wing, sharing stories about Roy — both the good and the bad. After quite a bit of melodramatics, Wally runs home to give Jai and Irey a big hug.




I'm glad to see that some people at DC haven't forgotten that Wally and his family exist, despite Geoff Johns' best efforts to say otherwise. Other than that, though, I really wasn't a fan of this issue. I was looking for some closure to Blackest Night, but instead I got a prequel to Rise of Arsenal. And not to knock on Roy, but he is still alive. Tempest isn't, and he barely got two words in memoriam here. I also wasn't a fan of the art, especially the flashback scenes. Everyone looked way too old and straining under way too many muscles.

Next time, we'll take a quick look at the latest Secret Files and Origins issue of the Flash.