Titans #9: Cancel Culture and Conspiracies

“The Dark-Winged Queen” continues in issue nine of Titans! In the last issue, the story left off with a strong hurricane hitting Key West in which the superhero team went to go assist the people in need. It also saw people being terrified of Beast Boy after the way the media portrayed him in a negative light.

The comic opens up in a weird way. It starts off on a page with a variety of deity-like characters together in a band called The Quintessence. The characters in question consist of The Spectre, Phantom Stranger, Ganthet, The Wizard, Hera, and the HighFather. The council acknowledge that there is a threat arising that puts the entire planet in danger. While they cannot interfere with Earth directly, Hera says she can send a messenger, which shows up at the end of the novel.

After that small introduction, the team is working in Key West while locals are being interviewed by the local news in which they praise the Titans for their helpful nature and assistance in such a fast and dire situation.

Later on, Trigon is speaking with a demon who informs him that Raven is working with the Titans to do good for humanity. To make sure Raven is on the right path to become what she was destined to be, Trigon meets with Amanda Waller. They plan to work together, with Amanda Waller looking to displace the Titans for an unspecified bargain.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy’s name and public image has been tarnished. He sees his superhero days being over. Raven goes to talk to him, and with the more corrupted version of her that Trigon adores, she takes away Gar’s feelings of guilt, shame and self-loathing. She begins to argue with herself, the devil and the sweet girl the Titans love.

This evil side of Raven is one of the most interesting things so far about the character. The other side is a lot more like Trigon, looking to corrupt humanity in the worst ways possible and resembles the envious, angry sister that wants to ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for. Evil Rachel even goes so far as to give out her own contingency plans on how to take down some of the Titans.

Moving over, Hermes reaches Donna Troy in the Titans Tower. He’s the messenger sent by Hera, and he requests that Donna follow him so that they can speak. He tries warning her of a developing evil, mentioning the Dark-Winged Queen. Out of nowhere, Raven appears and swallows him up in darkness, telling Donna that it wasn’t Hermes, but a demon sent by Trigon himself.