Teen Titans #3

A Kid's Game

Written by Geoff Johns
Penciled by Mike McKone
Inked by Marlo Alquiza
Colored by Jeromy Cox
Lettered by Comicraft
Associate Editor Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor Eddie Berganza

Our cover by Mike McKone is part of a trend of featuring one new Teen Titan in the foreground, with a corresponding mentor in the background. Apparently McKone also did this with issue #2, showing Superboy and Cyborg, but for some reason my digital copy did not include that cover. This cover is slightly awkward — as I think all of McKone's work is. I'm not sure what emotion Starfire is trying to convey in the background, nor can I make out who those statues are supposed to be. I can only assume they represent previous Teen Titans who were killed in the line of duty. It is nice to see Wonder Girl smiling again, though, as she has been so angsty in this series.

Our story begins at 9:13 a.m. on that fateful first Saturday of this new incarnation of the Teen Titans. After saving all the people from the fire on Alcatraz island, somebody eventually found Impulse bleeding out in a dark hallway. And Cyborg himself rushed Bart to a nearby hospital (not sure if it's the same one they all crashed during Graduation Day).

Cyborg places Bart on a stretcher and tells the doctors he was shot in the knee. They observe that Bart's knee is already partially healed, but incorrectly. His patella has been shattered and ligaments have been torn. Cyborg tells them about Bart's heightened metabolism, which will unfortunately negate any anesthesia. So the doctors decide to try to move faster than Bart in an attempt to save his knee. Bart says he doesn't care about the pain, but he does have one extremely stupid request: "Just don't ... tell the Flash I messed up."

The rest of our heroes have returned to Titans Tower, where Starfire is telling Robin, Superboy and Wonder Girl the history of Deathstroke and the Teen Titans. She leads them into a memorial room, filled with large statues of deceased Teen Titans — Golden Eagle, Dove, Aquagirl and, of course, Donna Troy. But of particular importance today is Jericho, Deathstroke's son. Starfire tells the others that Jericho was possessed by a demonic force that drove him mad, and Deathstroke shoved his sword through Jericho's heart. Robin speculates that Deathstroke attacked them today because he blames the Teen Titans for the death of his son. Starfire agrees, calling Slade Wilson a delusional sociopath.

Wonder Girl is outraged by Deathstroke's message to Impulse — "Kids shouldn't wear costumes" — and she says the lives they save as superheroes is worth the tradeoff of losing some of their teammates. Superboy agrees, and announces it's time for payback. Starfire advises them to let Cyborg and Beast Boy handle it, since they have experience fighting against the deadliest mercenary in the world. Superboy and Wonder Girl chaff at being treated like kids, and for a moment, it looks like they're about to get into a fight with Starfire. But Robin shocks everyone by siding with Starfire and saying he'll pull out his laptop to see if he can offer any help that way.

Wonder Girl and Superboy follow Robin up to his room, protesting all the while. But instead of getting on his computer, Robin pulls out a small laser and begins cutting a hole in his window, telling Cassie and Conner that they're going to visit Bart and then track down Deathstroke. Cassie is surprised that he lied to Starfire, to which Robin gleefully boasts of lying to Batman.

We then head to the Church of St. Sebastian in Phoenix, Arizona, where a group of people in red cloaks are pouring their blood into a large red pool. And from the pool rises a young woman they call the "daughter of the eighth devil."

Later that night, Beast Boy has met up with Cyborg, who tells him that Bart's body wants to heal, but it needs to be guided. And the doctors are considering reconstructing with an artificial kneecap. Beast Boy tells Cyborg it's not a good idea to lock out Robin and the others, and that they should all be hunting Deathstroke together. He then smells Deathstroke on the roof, so he turns into a rhino and plows through the wall.

The three of them immediately begin fighting, with Deathstroke explaining that he wants them to stop convincing kids to put their lives in danger. He even says he'll kill one of them if they don't listen to him. Cyborg and Beast Boy become especially offended by Deathstroke's casual tone, calling them Vic and Gar. After they finally pin Deathstroke down on the street, they tell Deathstroke they are not friends. But Deathstroke says that deep inside this body, he is their friend, Jericho.



OK. I've got a few things to say here. First of all, why are our superheroes constantly going to ordinary, civilian hospitals? Can't they work out some arrangement with the JLA to teleport to the Watchtower or something? Or why didn't Cyborg put a medical center in the brand new Titans Tower? Ordinary doctors would not have any experience of operating on a speedster, or any other superhero for that matter, which we saw quite clearly in Graduation Day.

Secondly, why didn't Cyborg tell Bart that he did not mess up? Bart followed Starfire's orders perfectly. There was no way he could have avoided Deathstroke/Jericho's trap. These poor Young Justice kids are suddenly filled with so much angst and self blame, and the Titan mentors are not doing a great job of alleviating those feelings.

Thirdly, why did Cyborg honor Bart's request to not tell the Flash? I can understand that Wally is sort of out of the picture at the moment, having had his memory wiped by Spectre, or whatever. But Jay Garrick should have been contacted immediately. He is Bart's legal guardian, and should have been informed immediately that this 15-year-old boy has just suffered a massive injury. Plus, he's an experienced speedster who could help out somehow. Maybe he could have absorbed Bart's speed so that his body would stop healing itself for a couple of hours. Maybe he could have helped build Bart's new artificial knee at super speed. In any case, he needed to be at Bart's side during this. Also, out of courtesy, Cyborg could have called Helen Claiborne, as well.

Other than those very big problems, I guess I could say this comic wasn't half bad. One thing Geoff Johns is good at is planting seeds for future stories. He doesn't always remember to return to these little seedlings, but that's beside the point. Just three issues into this new series, we've started stories about Lex Luthor, Ares, Brother Blood, Deathstroke and Jericho. Unfortunately, Johns is unable or unwilling to balance out this teenage angst with some humor, like Peter David would have done. Everyone in this comic is just so darn miserable!

Next time: Teen Titans #4.