Teen Titans #25

A Good Defense

Scott Lobdell: Writer
Scott McDaniel: Breakdowns
Tyler Kirkham: Penciller
Art Thibert: Inker
Arif Prianto: Colorist
Travis Lanham: Letterer
Anthony Marques: Assistant Editor
Mike Cotton: Editor
Eddie Berganza: Group Editor
Superboy created by Jerry Siegel
By special arrangement with the Jerry Siegel family.

Oh no. Last issue I inadvertently found myself missing the consistency of Brett Booth. Yeah, I can't stand his style, but at least he could complete a couple of issues in a row. Well, be careful what you wish for, because Booth, Norm Rapmund and Andrew Dalhouse are back as the cover artists for this series. The inside artists remain in a perplexing flux — why do we so often have someone do breakdowns and someone else do the pencils? Anyway, this cover is ... fine, I guess. A bit distressing — especially with Kid Flash's eyeballs — but I do find it intriguing that he's been captured and forced to relive moments of his and the Teen Titans' past.

Our story begins with Kid Flash and Solstice still together and still in the future — just a little bit further in the future from when we saw them last. And to make matters interesting, our heroes are surrounded by a bunch of heavily armed thugs. Bar Torr (his last name gained an extra R since we first saw it) seems to vaguely recognize these men, but doesn't quite put it together that they were the ones who tried to pull him through that portal in his room. (See? If Geoff Johns hadn't insisted on clumsily inserting the Teen Titans into Forever Evil, Lobdell could have taken us directly to this scene from issue #22!)

The leader of this gang accuses Bar of betraying their cause, which causes Kid Flash to completely snap. He grabs a spear, knocks down a bunch of the guys, slices the leader's gun in half and holds the point to his neck, saying he can't believe he ever left him in charge. Oddly, when Bar speaks this way, the normal red "lightning" around his speech bubbles turns green. I still don't know what that's supposed to sound like, but it is an interesting effect to illustrate his dramatic change.

We then get a page of Solstice obnoxiously recapping everything that's happened since Forever Evil. Bar, meanwhile, suddenly begins choking and falls to the ground. The leader explains that they've been monitoring Bar since he went into the witness protection program, and they've prepared for this moment by filling the air with a synthetic accelerant that essentially turns Bar's own respiratory system against him the faster he breathes. As Bar struggles for air, the gang regroups and aims their guns back on him, while Solstice steps forward to defend her boyfriend.

A mile across the planet, Raven pulls Red Robin, Wonder Girl and an unconscious Superboy out of a portal. She was using her soul self to track Kid Flash and Solstice, but I guess the closest she could get was a mile away because she's overexerted herself and they're now on a different planet, which effects her powers somehow. Maybe. She's quite unclear on the whole thing, too.

When the rest of the Titans catch up to their teammates, they find Kid Flash and Solstice have quite handily defeated the gang. Apparently that "accelerant" isn't a problem anymore, because Bar is breathing just fine right now and is quite energetic in defeating his enemies. Well, energetic might be the wrong word, as he very nearly beat a man to death before his friends snap him out of his rage. Bar is horrified to see his hands covered in blood, and he suddenly begins screaming. Kid Flash collapses to the ground and weakly says, "Two minds ... one atop the other."

A large spotlight appears over Bar, and a voice orders the Titans to step away from the "witness," by order of Echo Chronal Authority. Red Robin is quite overwhelmed by all this, so he decides to surrender to the emerging troops, led by a green woman with blond hair. She introduces herself as Brain 3, and says her team sent Bar back to the 21st century for his own safety. She also claims they're the good guys, but she has to kill one of her men to prevent him from killing the unconscious Bar Torr.

Brain 3 takes the Teen Titans to her headquarters located between two dying stars. After Solstice chews out Red Robin for not knowing what he's doing, she visits Kid Flash, who's chained up just like on the cover. Kiran vows to get Bar out of here, even if the others won't help. But Bar actually asks her not to, since he finally want to learn who he is, and he believes these people will be able to answer all his questions.

Brain 3 enters the room at that point and explains that Bar made a deal with the Functionary — his total, honest testimony in exchange for his freedom. Bar still worries that too many people in this time want him dead, so Red Robin vows to make sure he safely gets home once they've sorted everything out. So Brain 3 launches the holoprog and brings up one of Bar's most vivid memories. He's wearing a green-and-yellow outfit (like the guy he was fighting on last issue's cover), is covered in blood and surrounded by a field of skulls.

Well, here we are. Twenty-five issues in, and we're finally getting Kid Flash's origin. Of course, we have to wait till next issue for the meat of the story, but, at long last, things are beginning to be revealed. Naturally, this wouldn't be a Lobdell issue without some inconsistencies and forgotten plot points — like that gas or whatever was supposed to be choking Bar? — but there were some intriguing elements here. At this point, I'm going to allow myself to fantasize that this "Bar Torr" is actually the evil clone of Bart Allen, aka Inertia. That would explain the blond hair we saw previously and the creepy bloodlust. Sadly, I know that Lobdell is going to move in a different, less compelling direction.

Channel 52 is actually just a two-page ad for ... Channel 52. It's weird for a house ad to advertise itself and reuse a bunch of old panels like a cheesy clip show. But that's the New 52 for you!

That concludes our review of all major Bart Allen stories from the year 2013. Next time, we'll have our Year in Review before fully diving into Bar Torr's past.