Teen Titans #31: Daddy Issues

Writer Adam Glass continues his recent trend of “giving readers exactly what I hinted at giving them for months with nary a surprise in sight” in this issue of Teen Titans. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but when you telegraph a plot point so broadly, it usually means – in the hands of seasoned or at least more imaginative writer, at least – that a twist on expectations is on the way.

Am I being unfair? Maybe a little. But after months and months of buildup to the Crush/Lobo connection, I was expecting more – some sort of twist, something to throw readers off the scent, some “Ah-ha!” moment that defied everything we were sold was coming soon to a comic near you, but made perfect sense nonetheless. But for two issues in a row now, Glass has instead opted for the safe approach, and just gone through the motions of what he’s set into play instead of going for any sort of a surprise reveal.  It’s a letdown, especially considering what strong character work he’s put into his run so far.

But for what it is – and judging this issue solely on his merits, not on missed opportunities or what I was hoping it would be – it’s still a fun if breezy ride. After last issue’s moralizing, finger-pointing, and hand-wringing in the face of Robin’s poorly thought-out prison plan (not to mention Red Arrow’s culpability in Deathstroke’s murder, as in, that is a thing she did), it’s a welcome change of pace to just cut loose with some non-filtered action. The action beats are solid (capably rendered by Bernard Chang), and frankly, the @$$-beatings handed out by Lobo are not only hardcore, but effortlessly show how outclassed the Titans are.

Crush’s parentage may not be the bait-and-switch I was pining for, but there’s still a wealth of drama to be had amidst the action. Chang does an outstanding job of conveying Crush’s emotional rush during the proceedings: anger and self-righteousness to fear to defeat in a brisk 20 pages. It’s far more obvious than I was hoping for, but it’s well-written enough in its own right to be entertaining if nothing else.