Teen Titans #1: Kids These Days…Am I Right?

The concept of the Teen Titans returns to the DCU with the Next Level series written by Kyle Higgens and art by Daniele Di Nicuolo.

The issue kicks off with Jason Todd meeting up with some parents whose kid has gone missing and want him to find the kid. It’s somewhat of a weird scene since the meeting takes place in a diner and Jason is in his Red Hood costume (domino mask) and no one seems to bat an eye or even think that this is strange that he is there. The story shifts to where the “Teen Titans” are hanging out at an arcade and are introduced. The only two members of the team from the KO event The Kids Are All Fight Special are Lian Harpen aka Cheshire Cat, Roy Harper and Cheshire and Mister Terrific’s son Jeffrey Holt aka Fairplay. The team is rounded out by new characters Proxy, who has telekinesis powers, and Wild Card, who can affect odds via chaos manipulation ( a Scarlet Witch / Raven amalgam one can assume). Eugene Choi who was once part of the Shazam family (now depowered) is also part of the group despite having any powers.

The kids attempt to stop a robbery of the arcade only to be rescued by Red Hood who advises then to stay out of trouble. It was a nice touch to see Jason call Dick an inform him that Fairplay has started up the group calling themselves the Teen Titans which ultimately leads to Mister Terrific approaching his son and suggesting that he agrees that it is time for a new Teen Titans team and that they are to meet with Nightwing to formally organize the team… which they don’t and make a deal with Jason Todd to be thier mentor.

The issue raises more questions than it answers such as:

• Who are the new members on the team
• How will the Titans, mainly Nightwing and Arsenal respond to the young heroes being taken under the wing of Red Hood
• How will Jason do the mentoring thing since he admits to Dick that it’s really not his thing
• Will characters such as Quiz Kid, The Boom, Thunderheart (Iris West), Maxine Baker appear or be asked to join the team
• Is this how Jason begins a road to redemption or a better understanding of Batman’s methods that he disagrees with

The art and color are clean snd vibrant, adding to the overall reading experience.

Overall it feels like an interesting and timely direction to take these young heroes and give readers a different take on the team’s dynamic, much like the time Deathstroke formed his own Titans, but without the revenge type slant to the storytelling.