As the Out Of The Shadows arc comes to a close, the Titans conclude the first act of the series’ most pressing issues. Firstly, Beast Boy continues his mission to challenge the way the Titans save the day. Most importantly, Nightwing solves the mystery of Wally’s death using his own methods. Yet, the Titans still have more work to do until they can reach any true resolution.
Saving The Day
After leaving Wally West on the moon, the Titans are now free to confront the Demolition Team in Borneo. Regardless of the Demolition Team’s great show of force, the heroes somewhat hilariously overpower them. In fact, the panels of Beast Boy’s anger and disappointment as he walks toward them are pretty cool. It is almost insulting that they thought they stood a chance, even with their expensive equipment. Still, the gross nature of the opportunist’s attempt at a payday at Borneo’s expense bothers Garfield on a deep level. So much so, that he turns into a hulk-like creature that Starfire has to calm down. Otherwise, their mission was a success, even if Borneo is still in shambles.
Fortunately, Raven introduces the Titans to the current avatar of the Green, and the newest incarnation of Swamp Thing since Infinite Frontier; Levi Kamei. After a little convincing, Levi and the Titans come up with a plan to use their combined abilities to heal Borneo. Consequently, as the avatar of the Green, Levi revitalizes the local fauna, but requires Beast Boy’s animal connection with the Red, and Starfire’s ultraviolet solar energy. Additionally, Tom Taylor answers the questions I had about Beast Boy’s transformation in Titans #3. Not only does Taylor acknowledge the risks of Garfield’s division within animal swarms, but frames it as a necessary sacrifice. In spite of it’s potential effects on his mind as many parts of him die away, Beast Boy gladly becomes whatever the world needs of him.
Marked For Death
Meanwhile, Wally, Linda, and Nightwing wait all alone in the Titan’s off-planet trophy room. The vault itself isn’t impressive, but it does contain genuinely unique artifacts. For example, it features niche Easter eggs like Mento’s telepathic helmet from The Doom Patrol, Brother Blood’s crown, or a “Qwardian Doomsday machine” from the interdimensional weaponeers of the same name. Unfortunately for Nightwing and The Flash, an alien parasite infected Linda in the previous issue. Albeit, as it turns out, Nightwing wasn’t ignoring any of the suspicions. Using common sense and the conditions of Wally’s murder, Nightwing reasons some kind of mind control would make sense. Predictably, when Linda makes her move, Nightwing was ready and successfully avoids the dark future that began the series. While I still think the plan was silly, I’m glad Taylor was able to salvage it to move forward.
However, with confirmation of Linda’s infection, Nightwing begins to put the rest of the case together. For one, Nightwing is now aware that not only is the meteor from the Church of Blood alien in origin, but that Tempest and Brother Eternity may be aliens now as well. Even still, knowing this much is only half the battle. To be completely transparent, the overarching mystery behind the Tamaranean meteor and the parasites is much bigger than it seems. Additionally, Demolition Team’s benefactor is also still a mystery. Lastly, the Titans can call in Levi Kamei and get the power of Swamp Thing on their side as an official Titan. His recruitment brings back good memories of the Teen Titans recruiting other teen heroes years ago.
Recommended If…
- You’re enjoying Titans.
- A fan of Nicola Scott’s artwork
- You think the superheroes could fix the planet.
Overall
Out of the Shadows is mostly about standing for something as a group outside of the shadow of the Justice League. Instead, the team operates more like the Saturday morning cartoon version of a worldwide superhero team. Although the beginning of the series is underwhelming, their focus on mature, tangible goals for the planet seems promising. Much of what Beast Boy tries to say feels like frustrations felt by activists around the globe. In many ways, Garfield’s PSA is noble, even if consistently showing how unstable his emotions have become. None of the villains or plot points are living up to the challenge, but at least the messages are. Lastly, I’m happy Taylor acknowledges and addresses many of the things that I’ve questioned in previous issues. Even if the book has the tone of High School Musical, Titans has the potential to try something new and maybe heal the world.
Score: 7.5/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purposes of this review
