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‘Titans #29’ (review)

Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Minkyu Jung
Published by DC Comics

“Donna was right. There are monsters here. And they’re us!”

Only a matter of time really.

The fuse on our current crew of Titans have been on a slow burn since the formation of the team. Too many problems, too many secrets, a little too much angsty alienation, and a bit too much reliance on Nightwing to keep it all together, all spells big trouble for the inevitable moment when the chips are really down and there’s nothing convenient to hit.

This issue sets our team up with that exact inevitable moment, in the form of an interstellar crash landing, all systems down, and somewhere on the other Boom-jump of the last-minute escape from certain death last issue.

Only problem – no systems means no navigation, and no navigation means Donna Troy and her nascent Titans team are good and lost. Lost in space.

An old chestnut but a goodie, and it serves the purpose well enough. Maroon a group of dysfunctional, moody, not quite gelled superhuman youngsters on a chunk of rock from which there is no apparent escape, remove all evident threat other than the promise of a slow, lingering, hungry death unknown light years from home, then sit back, roll the cameras, and boom, you’ve got your very own Titans Forever Reality show.

Cue the inevitable meltdown.

It’s all frankly something of a jarring change in tone and speed from last issue, but that makes the effect on the team all the more palpable. Natasha Irons, angry and combative, blames herself for their situation. Donna seems more inclined to blame the Universe. She’s equally surly, but decidedly more despondent. M’gnn is desperate to prove herself beyond any evident reason or wisdom. And Gar is so damn tired of having to keep it all together…

The only one who is seemingly unaffected, at least emotionally, is Raven. And that’s just fine, even if she doesn’t agree. This is the first issue since the Unearth story arc, where we get some actual personal narration from Raven, and that’s helpful because Raven’s situation has been confusing.

Is Raven actually Raven?

Or is she Prince Travesty’s doppelganger version of Raven, play-acting the role to the hilt? If so, does that mean Raven, herself – the real Raven, our Raven – is trapped entirely on Unearth fighting for her life? Or is it just her Soul-self trapped there, a living embodiment of it perhaps, the lack of which has our Raven wandering around in our world detached and disassociated, without her normal magical empathic power and connection? We haven’t really known.

And to be fair we still don’t. Not for certain. But with Raven’s internal narrative on display this time out, it certainly seems as if it’s the latter scenario. So that’s’ helpful. Unless Travesty has completely (and bizarrely) lost himself to the role, this certainly sounds to be our very own Raven – sans Soul-self. Which presumably is fighting for its life across a twisted, magical landscape of Unearth’s dark dimension. Hm.

At any rate, it may just be that right now, Raven’s notably non-empathic response to her team’s current circumstances may just turn out to be a plus. Because something on this strange, uninhabited planet they’ve found themselves stranded on, certainly seems to be bringing out the worst in everybody.

In Gar’s case that spells trouble. Big trouble.

Not that it’s any less traumatic for M’gnn…

Ready… Camera…

Let the games begin.

Next issue: “Mayday, Mayday. Anybody out there?”

 

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