TEEN TITANS #35

[ DEADLY BARGAIN ] 

There once was a deceitful traitor, who fell in love with an awful alligator. So to repress his dark desire, he bought a copy of 'Esquire', and became a blissful yet coy masturbator. Want to know more? Then please ignore the following adventure created by Adam Glass, Bernard Chang, and published by DC Comics in November, 2019.

TO QUOTE Ami Ayalon: ‘In moments of pain, we seek revenge’.

THE STORY: 

He’s done it. He’s finally done it. After all this time, Roundhouse has finally found a way to capture his fellow teammates and bring them to justice.

But why? Why would he want to do such a thing? I mean, it’s not as if one of them: (A) Accidentally killed his sister. (B) Called him a fat blue ninja. (C) Revealed that he’s secretly working for The Other. Or (D) Mistook him for a Smurf.

Although, on second thoughts, I could be wrong! Very wrong! So to find out his real reasons, why not pick up issue 35 of the Teen Titans today. In the meantime, though, here, check this out…

THE REVIEW:

Overall, I’d say this month's episode was a really good read because Bernard’s artwork was bold, lively, and full of expression, whereas Adam’s story was emotional, tense, and straight to the point (as it basically explained why Roundhouse has turned on his teammates). So, without any further ado, please allow me to elaborate with a bit more depth via the following questions...

1) So why did Roundhouse betray his team? Basically, it’s all Robin’s fault, the evil little git, on account of him causing an explosion that accidentally killed Billy’s sister and transformed him into the blue boffin he is today. So, you know, your usual bog-standard revenge scenario where Person A did something wrong to Person B, only for Person B to then do something wrong in retaliation. Although, to be fair, what makes Billy’s position slightly less generic than normal, is the way in which he perceives Damian’s personality! After all, most of us know that Junior Wayne is a mixed-up individual who hasn’t had a good time dealing with his dual heritage, his harsh upbringing, as well as his ability to relate to others! So to us, the fans, we can at least empathize with some of his checkered backstory and look past some of his dubious tendencies. But as far as Roundhouse is concerned? No! No, he can't! If anything, he sees Damian as the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing due to his more extreme actions and brash behaviors, ranging from the development of his secret underground prison, all the way to his manipulation of people’s minds. So, when you look at it from Billy’s point of view, what he’s trying to do kind of makes sense, up to a point. But what doesn’t make sense, is why he would use Djinn in the way he did and then suddenly kill her!

2) What? Is Djinn dead?  No, not completely dead! But she has been ‘sucked down into her own ring for the foreseeable future’. Having said that, though, I can’t see her staying there for very long because she’s made quite a unique impression on this series. Well, not only has she been established as a 4000-year-old Arabian lesbian who’s in love with an angry alien, but in addition to this, she’s also seduced an adolescent assassin and made us wonder if there’s more to her than meets the eye! Like her possible connection to Johnny Thunder, for instance, who’s a member of the JSA that may be returning to the DCU very, very soon. I’m also curious about her relationship with Crush and how it will develop from this moment onwards, keeping in mind that Crush loves Djinn so-so much, that she almost killed Roundhouse when he sent Djinn into her own ring.

3) What? Did you say Crush almost killed Roundhouse? Yes. Yes, I did. But with some emphasis on the word ‘almost’, because on a conceptual level, Djinn’s situation slightly mirrors Billy’s situation, what with them both going bye-bye during this month’s adventure but hopefully not for good. Fingers crossed. Touch wood.

4) How did the rest of the team react to all of this? Oh, they were completely fine with it! They all just sat back and played a game of ‘Call of Duty’ until everything was over, ha! Only joking. Obviously, they tried their best to diffuse the situation so everyone was safe and sound. But as for their feelings? Well, that's a completely different matter altogether! Presumably, Crush now has a problem with Billy, Billy now has a problem with Damian, and Damian now has a problem with keeping his team together. Admittedly, I could be way off the mark here, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Billy's betrayal doesn't require further exploration. Besides, who’s truly innocent within the scheme of things? Robin isn’t innocent because he could have been a bit more vigilant and prevented the death of Billy’s sister, Billy isn’t innocent because he’s allowed his emotions to get the better of him, Red Arrow isn’t innocent because she ‘killed’ Deathstroke, Crush isn’t innocent because she almost killed Billy, and Wally and Djinn aren’t innocent because they're both complicit by association. In fact, they’re all complicit, one way or another, and goes to show how tarnished this version of the Teen Titans truly is, as well as how fascinating they really are. Great job, guys, as I can't wait to see what will happen next. 

THE MUSIC:

For this month’s musical match-up, I’m going to align this adventure with the Taylor Swift song, ‘Bad Blood’, simply because they’re both about revenge.

THE COMPARISON: 

I think I’m going to compare this comic book to a cold meal, but only because of the age-old saying, ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the end of this issue, Crush suddenly comes into contact with… who? Who do you think she comes into contact with? I mean, could it be...

1. Red Arrow’s Brother: Green Arrow.
2. Kid Flash’s Auntie: Iris West.
3. Her Dad: Lobo.
4. Robin’s Dad: Batman.
5. Roundhouse’s Mum: Mrs. Wu.
6. Djinn’s Distant Uncle: Johnny Thunder.

Nuff said.