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.