New Titans #77 (July, 1991)
"Red Star Rising"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Pencils - Tom Grummett
Inks - Al Vey
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Jonathan Peterson
Cover Price: $1.75
Today we're going to find out just who was on that doomed rocket that exploded over the Soviet Union. I wonder who it could be?
Well, with cover-copy like "He's half-man--half-machine..." and "Robotic Russian Rebirth!", I haven't the foggiest idea!
Hey, New Titans... I know this is like thirty-years too late, but... c'mahhhhhn... quit spoiling your big reveals with goofy cover copy!
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We open in the U.S.S.R., right where that splody Titans rocket landed. A Russian man with gaudy boots kvetches about a man named Anatole as he scans the wreckage, before finally coming across... a hand?! Oh, this Russian is longtime Titans associate, Red Star... but we already kinda knew that. Back in New York, we can see that Nightwing and the rest did actually manage to escape the Tower before it went boom.
As the T-Jet pulls further away, it becomes clear that Titans Island wasn't the only thing to go up in flames... it looks like a whole lot of Manhattan's East Side is also in a really bad way! On the ground, a pair of plain clothes detectives quarrel about whether or not this is the Titans' fault.
In the air, Arella expresses shock that Nightwing would leave New York to burn. This leads to Dick... really kinda losing his cool! He tries to compare himself to Batman... which, ya know... never a good idea. He lashes out at Arella, telling her that New York's going to have to save themselves for once... but begins to apologize before the words even finish leaving his mouth.
We shift back over to the Soviet Union. Red Star has taken the body to Science City Complex #3 (a helpful editorial caption informs us that Science City Complex #5 was destroyed in, of all things, an ancient issue of Night Force). Inside, Leonid is trying to convince a Doctor named Piotr to help his injured friend. It's made pretty clear here (if you ignore the cover copy, that is) just which Titan he's talking about.
Time passes, and the Titans land in Skorza... right around the coordinates for the fallen rocket. They are approached by a local... who Dick attempts to chat up. Unfortunately, Dick don't do Russian... so Slade has to take over.
They are guided over to the site of the crash... which has been picked completely clean. All that remains is a rash of shifted snow... and a few boot-prints. A security guard wanders over, but Arella tricks him into not seeing them. Their "tour guide" gets a bit handsy with Phantasm... which is kinda weird, but does illustrate (for the third issue in a row) that there's nothing under the sheet. Slade tells Dick that he's got some contacts in the area, and so they'll do some digging. Meanwhile, Pantha has disappeared.
Turns out... she's just hungry. Pantha bounds over to a nearby butcher shop, and swipes some assorted meats from the proprietor... there are some sausage links, and the kinda meats you'd find in the walls in Castlevania. Nightwing accuses her of starting an international incident, and setting U.S./Soviet relations back a quarter century.
Back in the states, Councilperson Alderman is being a cow on the news. Also, a shadowy fella searches through the wreckage of Titans Tower. He introduces himself as "Hal Greene" and reports his findings to someone named Jon.
Back in the U.S.S.R., the Titans are approached by some Soviet Officials... one of whom Slade happens to know (he really was the Wolverine of the DC Universe). He has some compromising information on the guy, and so... blackmails him. Before we know it, the Titans are headed toward the Science City.
Elsewhere, Jericho does some weird bloodletting ritual. Okay then.
Dick and the Gang finally arrive at the Science City and reconnoiter with Red Star. He's being pretty vague about which Titan it was who crashed there... and Dick grows more impatient by the step.
It's finally revealed that the troubled Titan was, in fact... Cyborg! Heyyy, I think we already figured that one out.
As you can see, Vic is more machine than ever at this point... his only "flesh" is part of his face. The scientists explain everything that went down. Vic was, by all rational thought... dead. They managed to find some very subtle and weak brain waves... and decided to try and put him back together again. Only problem... it left him, in the words of Dick Grayson, "a vegetable".
Dick's annoyed... but confident that the folks at S.T.A.R. Labs will be able to re-fix Vic, and make him the half-man/half-machine that he was before. The Soviets are all "nuh-uh", because... ya see, Victor is now mostly comprised of Soviet Tech... none of which will be leaving. This isn't what the Titans wanted to hear, and when Dick becomes adamant that Vic's coming home with them... Cyborg engages!
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The Titans just can't seem to catch a break, can they?
Let's start with my biggest takeaway from this issue... Dick Grayson coming around to the idea that that sometimes things aren't black and white... sometimes you gotta act in duplicitous ways to make things happen. We've got Dick lashing out at Arella on the T-Jet when she suggests they return to New York and help out. He realizes that he needs to take care of his own house... and literally, lets New York City... burn.
Later on, he's cool with Slade blackmailing that Soviet Official. It looks like he got his dander up a bit over it... but, when he realizes that Deathstroke's methods worked... he was a little more cool with it. Pre-Titans Hunt, I don't think Dick would have let any of this fly.
Then, of course... we've got the new-look Vic. It might've been an actual "reveal" if it hadn't been spoiled on the cover. Though, really... if they weren't going to actually "off" a Titan, it could only ever be Vic.
Shifting gears, I can't remember how long ago I last read this (early-to-mid aughts, I'd assume)... but I don't recall Jericho doing any weird bloodletting. I honestly don't remember where that's headed... or if it even is heading anywhere. I guess that's a good place to be for some "fresh" reactions.
Overall... it's weird to say, but this was a (relatively speaking) "quieter" chapter of Titans Hunt. I wouldn't accuse it of being a "filler" installment, but it's certainly a lull in the action in order to bridge us to the next beats.
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New Titans #76 (June, 1991)
"Tower of the Damned!"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Pencils - Tom Grummett
Inks - Al Vey
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Jonathan Peterson
Cover Price: $1.75
As we can see from the cover... today, the walls come tumblin' down. Hmm... Walls... of Jericho?!
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Picking up right where we left off... a Titan-carrying rocket just exploded... and our newly-revealed "big bad" Jericho has taken control over Pantha's body. A fight is on... and Pantha-Jericho lunges right for the odd variable he wasn't planning on... the appearance of the Phantasm! He swats the mask of Phanto's face, revealing... nothing! Hey, whodathunkit... the limbless, floating sheet-man doesn't have a face!
Slade tries to talk his son off the homicidal precipice... which, doesn't go all that well. Jericho lashes out at his father, and insists that he became a killer, just like Deathstroke! He really starts letting loose with these energy powers... which I can't recall if he'd ever exhibited before.
As the Wildebeest Compound starts coming down around them, Phantasm protects the "good guys" in a clear bubble. A few moments later, Jericho vanishes from sight.
The "Titans" (I guess we can call them the Titans... for now) rush out of the joint, with Phantasm swooping in to save Pantha from falling debris on at least one occasion. They bail out just in the nick of time.
Once the dust settles, Phantasm takes his leave. He assures the Titans that he'll be back when he's needed. Elsewhere, Jericho is addressed by our old friend (and tattletale), Wildebeest Number Eight. Joey's only real concern seems to be that X-24 escaped with Titans... because, she knows too much.
We shift scenes over to the U.S.S.R. I had to check to make sure there still was a U.S.S.R. back in 1991... turns out, there was! Anyhoo, there are choppers in the sky... approaching some fallen debris. Looks like this is where that rocket went down. A man in shadows addresses a pilot. Hey, don't the Titans have an associate from out this way? Hmm...
Back at Titans Tower... the good guys argue. Like, a lot. Pantha is still pulling the "I work alone" gimmick... and, gotta say folks, it's getting a bit old. She uses her claws to cut a hole in a window, and attempts to escape. Nightwing stops her with a convenient lasso. Nearby, Phantasm looms.
After pulling her back inside, Deathstroke proceeds to swing her over his head by her tail. Yeesh. He then pins her down and tells her if she don't quit squirmin', that he'll break her back. This (and some sleep powder?) gets her to settle her tea kettle. Dick asks Slade if he'd really have snapped her like a twig. C'mon Dick, Deathstroke don't play.
When Pantha comes to, she finds herself bound to a wall. I didn't even realize Titans Tower came equipped with such kinky apparatus? At this point, Pantha stops droning on about "working alone" and instead threatens to kill everybody. Fair enough.
Moments pass... and suddenly, Titans Tower is under attack! Wildebeests are being lowered onto the roof via some strange flying craft. Upon hearing the stomping above, the good guys start heading down to the sub-basement to escape in the T-Sub. Dick lives up to his name by... leaving Pantha behind? Yikes.
Lucky for her, Phantasm lives up to his word... he'll always be where he's needed. He frees her from her shackles... after which, she threatens to kill him. Same as it ever was.
The Wildebeests gain entry to the Tower with ease. Ya see, they just used Jericho's old passcode... it's not like the Titans would, I dunno, change it or anything. They're each equipped with a few wonky looking glass orbs... and they spread out to scatter 'em. Oh, they're totally explosives, by the way... just want to make that clear.
It's not long before a fight is on! Oddly, when the Titans appear to have the upper-hand, the Wildebeests... disintegrate!
We briefly shift scenes over to Jericho... where it's revealed that this raid on Titans Tower is little more than a suicide mission. Joey ain't planning on any of these Beests ever making it out alive.
When the Titans realize what's going on... they make a mad dash to the T-Jet. But... did they make it in time?!
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Alright, we're just chuggin' along here! Another very strong chapter of Titans Hunt.
I've talked a time or two about this story's pacing. I suggested that perhaps it was moving too slow to follow in its original "monthly" format. I've had a handful of folks who were in the "Titans trenches" back in 1991, and they assure me that there was no problem with the pacing.
Looking at this issue... and realizing that it came out two months after the previous one... I really don't know how I would have received this. This isn't even the first Titans Hunt delay! They missed a month after the first chapter as well. Jumping ahead a few issues, we already know that New Titans #80 interrupts the flow of the Hunt with an issue dedicated to introducing the Team Titans. So, there are three hiccups (plus: I wanna say there's a War of the Gods tie-in smushed in at some point too). I'm willing to take folks word that this didn't really hurt the story... but, I'm not convinced I'd've felt the same way back in the long ago.
Then again... I'm currently reading Doomsday Clock as it comes out, so what do I know?!
Okay okay... with that out of the way, how was the issue? Well... it was good! A creative way of getting us from A to B... both the Beests and the Titans lose their headquarters here, which really ups the stakes on the Hunt.
Jericho is depicted as even more psychotic than his dear old dad... sending his loyal followers on a suicide mission without as much as a second thought, just to carry out his plan. Pretty wild stuff, and kind of a crossing of the Rubicon for him. It'd be really tough to walk this one back.
It's really too bad. I'll concede that I had trouble "getting" Jericho when I read this through as a younger fella. I think I was probably thrown off by his horrid costume and overall look. He's just not pleasant to look at. However, in getting to know him better via subsequent re-reads, I've come to appreciate him... and feel like he not only belongs with the Titans, but... in a way, he kind of became the heart of the team.
Overall... this story becomes more heartbreaking with each chapter. This really is "must-reading" for any fans of the Titans.
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Letters Page (check out that logo):
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New Titans #75 (April, 1991)
"Countdown to Doomsday!"
Writer - Marv Wolfman
Pencils - Tom Grummett
Inks - Al Vey
Letters - John Costanza
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Editor - Jonathan Peterson
Cover Price: $1.75
Okay friends... today the hood comes off! We learn who has been behind the Titans Hunt and the Wildebeest Society... and, more importantly... I finally get to spill the beans on who the "big bad" really is!
If you've followed this blog (or at least the Titans-centric entries of it) for any amount of time, you'll know that I've kept this reveal under wraps (as best I could for a nearly thirty year old story), because I knew that... eventually... we'd discuss it.
Well, eventually... is today!
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Alrighty, today's issue is basically going to be the same scene over and over again from different points of view... it's much easier to follow than that "number of the beests" mishegas yesterday, but I want to clarify the structure up front, just in case I make it difficult to keep up with in my synopsizing. Anyhoo, we open with Nightwing laid before the lead Wildebeest. He claims that, despite Dick having no superpowers, he was the Titans the 'beests feared the most (I wonder if he ever gets tired of hearing that?). Dick gets lippy, and is socked in the mush. He is then shown just what happened to his teammates (current and former)... they've been cryogenically frozen!
Nightwing lashes out and attempts, once again, to fight off the Wildebeests. This doesn't go all that well, as you might imagine. He does manage to tear the mask off of the leader though... and he is rather shocked to see who it really is! We don't get the reveal yet... but, it's comin'!
We jump back a few minutes and head back outside. This bit comes from Deathstroke's point of view. He, Dayton, and Arella have a "but my kid's in there"-athon, before Slade rushes back into the Dayton-copter to try and follow up with Pantha and Phantasm. He winds up being jumped by a bunch'a Beests...
... and the chopper goes down! Under the cover of smoke and flame, Deathstroke narrowly manages to escape.
After hitting the drink, he is dragged under by a nearby intake duct, which actually brings him right where he wanted to be... inside the compound! He uses his enhanced reflexes to finagle himself through a fan-duct to avoid being pursued by a pair of persistent Beests.
Slade presses on and manages to escape the ducts. Unfortunately for him, he is immediately taken out by the big Beest in charge, the unmasked... Joe Wilson?!
Jumping back a few minutes, from the point of view of Arella... Slade's helicopter blows up over the water... and neither she nor Dayton can see whether or not he was able to bail out in time. Dayton damns him for damning their children to whatever the Beests have in mind.
She and Dayton split up to do a little reconnaissance... only, she actually just decides to head inside and take care of business herself. She watches as Pantha charges in, and decides to follow her path. Inside, she is spotted by a Wildebeest... but uses her empathic powers to control him... even convincing him to protect her along the way... until they happen across, Dick, Slade... and Joe! She seems more shocked that Joey is able to speak than anything. He blah-blahs about killing them all.
Dick lashes out... again. This doesn't work out so well... again. The Beests overwhelm their guests and drag them along the corridors. Arella says the only thing that can help them is a miracle... and, I don't know about you... but that sounds to me like a perfect segue to...
... Pantha? Sure, why not? Anyhoo, we jump back a few minutes and join her being chatted up by Phantasm. That's kinda where we ended things last issue. He wants to team up... she ain't playin'. She swipes at him, and is shocked that the floating limbless sheet-man doesn't actually have a body.
The pair then fight off some attacking Wildebeests before she breaks away in order to head inside. Of course, along the way, she sees Deathstroke's helicopter go down.
She manages to find her way inside... which we already saw through Arella's eyes, and makes her way to where all the action is happening, just as Jericho is getting ready to explain what he plans to do with the hunted-Titans.
A few minutes earlier... and from the perspective of Phantasm. He, uh... enters the compound and catches up to Pantha. That's really about it. At this point, Jericho explains that the Titans are strapped inside rockets... which kinda comes outta nowhere. Anyhoo... he pushes a big... shiny... candy-like red button, which launches 'em! I ask you, who could resist a button like that?
At this point, Pantha launches herself... into an attack. Say it with me... it doesn't go all that well. Jericho, despite being suddenly evil, still has his powers of -CONTACT-! He takes over her body. Thankfully, Phantasm is also there... and his salvo is enough to cause a bit of a distraction.
We wrap up with the sight of one of the Titan-carrying-rockets... bursting in air! Nightwing is certain... that a Titan just died!
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Ya know what really sucks? Titans Hunt was one of the first Titans stories I read (in full)... which made the reveal fall completely flat for me. I just didn't have the proper context to understand why this was so important... why it was so shocking. To me, it was just this curly-haired blonde guy was now the "big bad". I just didn't get it. I knew it was supposed to be important, which I guess is something... but, unfortunately, since I wasn't a tenured Titan at that point, it lacked "oomph".
Also... Jericho wearing that ridiculous Wildebeest outfit... eesh. I don't know how he managed to hide that bowl of buttered popcorn he calls a head under a Beest hood!
Of course, none of that is the book's fault. Well, maybe the silly Wildebeest costume is, but by this point that ship had already sailed.
I dug the way this issue was structured... each snippet was not only focused on one character... it was also narrated by them. It really allowed us to get into their heads and learn a bit more about our newcomers.
Phantasm was shocked by the Joey reveal... even more so that he could now speak. That tells us for certain that he's Dann... er, that he's familiar with the Titans.
We learn more about Pantha having been experimented on at the Wildebeest Compound. Jericho even goes so far as to refer to her as their first (and only) successful test subject to date.
The bit with the hunted-Titans being strapped into rockets? Ehh, that was a bit out of nowhere. Kinda resulted in a "Wait... what?" reaction, followed by an "I guess we're doing this now?". I dunno... it seemed so "out there" that it almost took me out of the story. I mean, we get this big reveal and betrayal... then suddenly, we're back in a comic book? Does that make any sense? Ehh, probably not.
Overall... an important issue (and arc), that is well worth your time. Tomorrow... believe it or not, things are going to get even worse for the team!
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