In a turn of events sure to shock no one at all, Wonder Girl’s Aunt Cassandra reveals herself to be an evil, duplicitous villain. If you still care about this book after how poorly it’s been handled, feel free to read on. If you don’t (and I’m betting that’s most of you), Rebirth is revamping this title in October, so maybe things will get better then.
You’ll never see me coming (psych!)
There isn’t much to sum up, because there isn’t much happening. Cassandra removes the inch of cloth that’s been poorly hiding her true colors, Wonder Girl does something nice, and the team stays together, to the delight of the team and Wonder Woman.
If you didn’t see Cassandra’s double cross coming from a mile away, then you’re probably one of the characters in this book. Because I feel like anyone that has actually read the past two issues would have been expecting this. And so right right off the bat, Pak’s narrative is hamstrung by this obvious, impending betrayal. Watching Cassie and Diana stupidly walk through the plot that leads up to this betrayal is just aggravating.
The underlying problem in all of this is that we as readers don’t have access to any special information. Everything we see of Cassandra is also seen by Cassie and Diana. The deception only works because Pak’s characters are foolish enough to let it. Narratives that depend on gullible characters seldom play out well, and this one is no exception to that rule.
Can you pass the salt?
The nuts and bolts of this issue are better than the narrative that they’re holding together, but that isn’t saying much. While the art and the dialogue are by no means poorly done, they fall short of being notably good—it’s all really very bland. So while I can’t point to an especially nasty panel or pick out more than a few lines of awkward text, there isn’t much here to get excited about. There are a few decent panels, and one (visually) shocking moment, but for the most part the creative team seems to be coasting.
One of the other reviewers suggested a few months ago that what this book needed most was a break followed by a solid relaunch. I’m convinced he was right, but I’m worried that DC’s (apparent) intention to keep publishing this right up to its Rebirth relaunch in October will leave Teen Titans awfully short on goodwill. Ben Percy and Jonboy Meyers have a tall task ahead.
Recommended if…
- Your blood pressure is high and your physician recommends a low-salt diet, devoid of any sort of flavor or taste.
- You can still make out the silver words “not Lobdell” lining the cloud that’s hovering over this book.
- You find it on the street and there isn’t anything more appealing lying nearby (like gum or half-eaten carnival foods).
Overall
Teen Titans #19 is a fitting end to a boring story. Not a whole lot happens, but what does is handicapped by Pak’s silly characterization of both Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman. The rest of the Titans add little more than filler dialogue, and Cassandra is an obvious, shallow villain. If you haven’t read this one yet, my recommendation is to pass it by. You won’t be missing much.
SCORE: 3/10
