JT Krul shows us “How the Mighty Fall” in Teen Titans 95.

Teen Titans #95

Wonder Girl, her mom, Ravager, Red Robin, and Solstice’s parents have all been captured, and Kid Flash adds himself to the list by disobeying Red Robin’s instructions and trying to free them instead of scouting and returning. Beast Boy and Solstice chat a bit about their powers, and Raven, well… sulks. She doesn’t like this world, doesn’t like Solstice, and is acting like a the teen she looks like, rather than the much more mature hero she’s been. Superboy gets lured off and captured by a demon, helped by the fake Ravager, who turns on him. Raven gets taken in this exchange as well, leaving Solstice and Beast Boy to (presumably) free the others and defeat the various gods and demons arrayed against them.

 

This is an odd little story, and I’m not sure where it’s going. The really obvious choice is for Solstice to be hero of the piece, both because the myths here are from her culture and because it would be showcasing the newest team member to show their worth. I’m really hoping Krul doesn’t do that, if for no other reason than it’s been done too many times. I guess that would leave Beast Boy (who really should go back to Changeling) as the hero, which I’d love. The character rarely gets respect, and he’s the most experienced member of this team. I guess we’ll see.

What I liked and what I didn’t:

The foes are definitely powerful here, and the team needs to pull together. Krul is showing reasonably well that they are not really a team at present, more a collection of individuals who happen to be on the same side. Let’s hope that changes soon.

I am finding the “Oh, my powers are based on darkness, and this new girl Solstice is powered by light, so I don’t like her” bit from Raven to be trite and irksome. Starfire’s arguably light powered, and Raven never acted like this around her. The “ten little Indians” game as the team gets picked off one by one is a bit odd as well, they should be better than this.