Comic Recap/Thoughts: Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best, Part 1

Are you all ready for another volume 1? In my last post we were talking about Raven and now we get to jump into what I guess could be called the creation of a new Teen Titans. At this point Tim Drake is dead, many of the people I think of as the "Teen" Titans are now just called the Titans. The volume that I am covering this week is Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best. It includes another Rebirth #1 issue, as well as issues #1-5. As the title implies, Damian, who I think is supposed to be 13 at this point, is going to make his own team. For this post I'll be recapping the Teen Titans Rebirth issue #1 and Teen Titans issues #1 and #2. Let's get to it!


Teen Titans Rebirth #1: We start with Beast Boy, who is enjoying a party in LA, but is feeling pretty alone. He is throwing the party to forget that Tim is dead and keeping distracted. He flirts with a girl and they end up in the pool, where he turns into a shark thinking it is funny but the girl gets pissed leaving him alone in the pool. From the shadows someone comes up and shocks Beast Boy, knocking him out and declaring, one down, three to go. On an island in the Caribbean, Starfire is also working hard to find a focus, she is on a mission to fight the human trafficking problem on the island. She had hoped Dick (Grayson) would join her, but he is too devastated by the loss of Tim to leave Gotham (also in his comic he is dating someone else...so there is that). While on the beach Starfire witnesses a man trying to kidnap a child. She easily takes him down, but this was actually a trap set up for her and she, much like Beast Boy, is taken by someone.

In New York, Raven is sneaking into an art museum at night. She was hoping to find an escape in the art and the quiet, but instead she stumbles upon a painting of her as a baby and her demon father Trigon. She goes to run fearing that this is a trick to take over her mind, but is shot by a tranq dart. Her captor comments that she could be the strongest if she weren't so fragile. In Central City the younger of the Wally Wests is pondering his place in the world, when a theft in progress catches his eye. He speeds after the thief, taking the goods from him, but can't seem to control his powers. When he manages to get back to the place of the robbery the shop owner accuses him of being the thief. He quickly changes into his Kid Flash outfit and runs off again, still thinking about how he doesn't really have a plan. He stumbles on a person passed out and tries to help, but it is actually a robot that gasses him knocking him out. Finally, we see all of our heroes are being held captive by a very smug looking Robin.


Damian Knows Best, Part 1: Then, it is Damian's 13th birthday. The only person celebrating with him is Alfred and Alfred is the one who gives him the idea to reestablish the Teen Titans. Now, in the Bird Cave (yep, I checked that is what it says) Robin is explaining how easy it was to capture Beast Boy, Starfire, Raven and Kid Flash. All of them are understandably upset but also distracted by Robin's huge pet Goliath, who gives Kid Flash a lick. Starfire is the most pissed, she has a thing about being locked up. She rage breaks free and frees everyone else. A fight breaks out, with Goliath and Robin on one side and our would be Teen Titans on the other side. Raven puts Goliath to sleep (just sleep) and Robin is looking pretty pleased. He explains that they are weak alone, but together they would make a strong team going so far as to simply declare, "This is the New Teen Titans!"

Most of them are not feeling the whole being kidnapped to join a super team vibe. Robin tries to pull on some sympathy heart strings by admitting he has no friends (except Goliath). He gives a sort of rousing speech, calling them the perfect team to make a fist and most of them soften up, but Starfire is not convinced. Robin declares that they are all in danger. Flashback to later on the night of Damian's birthday. He finds one more gift and it is from his grandfather, it is a dead robin and a note. The note tells him to come home or die (you thought you had a tough family). Quick jump to Infinity Island, home of Ra's Al Ghul. Seems Ra's has been busy training a super team of his own that he calls the Demon's fist. (These guys are obsessed with fists?)


Damian Knows Best, Part 2: Back to the night of Damian's birthday, we find him brooding in the rain. His mother Talia arrives to wish him a happy birthday, but he is not having it. Happy is not a word that the Al Ghul family gets to use. He tells her about Ra's gift and reflects that at least his grandfather remembered the day, unlike a certain Batman. She tries to convince him to come home with her, but doesn't really give him a chance before telling him that the Demon's fist is coming soon and they will kill him and four others as part of their graduation ceremony.

Back in the present, our team is now revealed to be in San Francisco (the normal location of Teen Titans headquarters). Robin gives us some background on the Demon's fist and how they choose them all as their targets, something about how they are all opposites. (See picture for names and descriptions of powers.) They know he is holding back information and tease him when he calls himself Batman. There is more debate but they are interrupted by the Demon's fist. Beast Boy fights Blank, another shapeshifter who takes the form of Tim to mess with him. They all fight their counterparts and Mara reveals that they were meant to be Damian's team but he was too good for them. Damian is forced to explain that he is the son of Batman and the Grandson of Ra's Al Ghul. While they are all running for their lives, it looks for a moment like Robin has abandoned his new team, but he quickly returns in a jet to save them all, right as Mara sets off a huge bomb.


Thoughts: This is an interesting way to pull this new team together. I figured it had to be more than just Damian wanting it. It made sense to give them all a common enemy and goal in order to motivate them to stay together. I am not sure about this team yet and dang it if I don't keep going back and forth on Damian. The little guy is growing on me the more I read with him in it. I am curious how this team will grow though and I know that there are more members later, looking at you new Aqualad!

This volume was written by Benjamin Percy, you all might recognize him as the writer of Green Arrow that I previously recapped . He is a hard working comic writer that I tend to enjoy. Click on his name to see what he is getting up to now. Later this week I will wrap up this volume and share more thoughts about this team, the writing and the art.



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                          Raven, Part 2


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