TITANS #12

[ TITAN'S, ECONOMIZE! ] 

What do you think DC Comics will have in store for the Titans after the events seen at the end of 'The Lazarus Contract'? Dan Abnett and Kenneth Rocafort sure know the answer; and I tell you this for nothing, what they know isn't all that nice to know, wink-wink! Now for more information please check out the following review, circa July, 2017.

TO QUOTE Stephen Moyer: 'Conflict is drama, and how people deal with conflict shows you the kind of people they are'.

THE REVIEW:

Deliberate or not, this issue of the Titans tells a very intriguing tale that seems to reflect its soap opera styled qualities. 

From page one onwards, most of the story is set at Rikers Island Corrections Facility, New York City, where we are presented with a scene that involves Lilith Cole, aka Omen, paying one of her old adversaries a visit. 

Now, for reasons I'll get to later, the villain she decides to visit is none other than Psimon, leader of the Fearsome Five, who she sits down, opposite to, in his jail cell, thus allowing the two of them to start off a discussion where Psimon deliberately probes her mind. At the moment Lilith is currently thinking about what her team-mates have had to deal with since the events seen in the 'Lazarus Contract', so yes, Psimon has a lot of stuff to take in and digest. 

In comic book terms this includes a number of small flashback sequences where each of the Titans talk to each other about their respective woes or issues. Such as: Lilith Cole, and her romance with Garth; Donna Troy, and her inner-conflict to re-establish her own identity; Wally West, and his distress over losing the love of his life, Linda Park; and to top it all off, there is a great scene where Wally and Donna bond over their respective dilemmas, and in so doing they both share a passionate kiss, a kiss overlooked by someone else who also has strong feelings for Donna, Roy Harper.

Eventually Psimon's psychic probing flows onto the main reason why Lilith has decided to pay him a visit today. Turns out, Dick Grayson wants to know what Psimon has done with Karen Duncan's memories, as both he and her husband are distraught over Karen losing a portion of her mind. Obviously Dick has told this to Lilith (off panel), and in turn, Lilith has decided to go to Rikers Island and, well, I'm sure you know the rest from here.

Something else that was revealed at the end of their conversation involves the fact that Lilith is a lot stronger than she's let on, coupled with the surprise unveiling that there is a unknown traitor among the ranks of the Titans.

No. Don't worry. I'm not going to say any more than that, as I think I've said too much already. But then again, this is a very dramatic book. So much so in fact, that some of it has inadvertently rubbed off on both me and this very review, ha! 

Overall I thought this was a very cleverly told tale and was presented in a way I'd like to see more of in the future. Kenneth Rocharfort's artwork was truly outstanding, through and through, as his facial work showed a lot of character, his panel layouts were expertly designed, and more or less he did fill this story with emotion and pathos that aided it in its telling. 

Dan Abnett also did a great job on this book. Not only did he set up this new adventure using a pretext I've never seen a Titans story use before (i.e. a psychic confrontation between two adversaries in a jail cell), but he also allowed the numerous plot lines previously established to be fleshed out with some more depth, to such an extent that I can't wait to see what's going to happen next month.

I mean, will Wally and Donna get together, and if so, how will it affect Roy? Also, how powerful is Lilith, and why has she hidden her level of power from the team? Will this be coming out when they confront that company who has stolen Karen's memories? Plus why have they stolen her memories, and is this anything to do with the traitor in their midst?

Stay tuned, Titans fans, and hopefully we'll get some of the answers soon.

THE MUSIC:

As I mentioned it before, I might as well mention it again. This comic book is a soap opera, and as such, needs the right musical accompaniment to go along with it. So take it away, generic soap opera theme tune, it's now over to you…

THE COMPARISON:

In a strange way this adventure focuses on one person tricking someone else in revealing something they don't want to reveal. You know, just like a counselling session between a doctor and a patient. After all, Lilith is a counselor! 

THE CONCLUSION:

Who do you think is the real traitor? If you have any idea, please feel free to leave a comment in the Disqus comment system provided. Otherwise, please allow me to take a stab at guessing the answer myself. I mean, could it be…

• Dick Grayson: No. Highly unlikely. For one thing it's already been revealed that he was a traitor during the 'Lazarus Contract' saga, so I doubt DC will want to do the same thing again.
• Donna Troy: As much as it pains me to say this, Donna is a very likely suspect due to her not really knowing her own origins.
• Wally West: Like Dick, I have my doubts that Wally could ever be a traitor, and I say this because I'm sure his character will be used again during the whole 'Rebirth' event.
• The Duncan's: I hope it's one of these two mainly because I don't want it to be any of the other Titans.
• Lilith: In many ways Lilith is Rebirth's version of Raven, and as any self-respecting Titan fan can tell you, when Raven was first introduced to the team she was a traitor, a traitor for Trigon.
• Garth: Now that would be a nice twist and fairly possible, especially since Atlantis is a pretty dubious place to live.

Nuff said.