Titans #35 Review
The train wreck that is the continuing all villainous Titans title continues with yet another chapter of the team vs Drago the all seeing blind man.
Titans #35
Drago uses his telepathy (at least it seems to be telepathy) on Cheshire as they fight, and he once again bests her easily, and then continues to try and recruit her. Once again, he plays on her guilt about Lian, and once again, any mention of her son, Thomas, is wholly lacking. I can only assume at this point Wallace has not done his homework on the character, and that DC’s notional editors are still out on the coffee break they seem to have taken a few years ago.
Slade is sent to the caverns, where the scientists working for Drago send their genetic mistakes. As he’s escorted down there, Slade is filled in on more of Drago’s back story, specifically how he survived their last meeting, when Slade left him for dead. Roy engineers a break from his cell by using part of his cybernetic arm to free Cinder. Hey, they remembered Cinder’s on the team, after no mention of her at all last issue.
The story is cut with scenes of Tattooed Man back in Liberty Hill, his home, dealing with what I am presuming is the fallout from his miniseries. I didn’t read it, so I don’t really know what’s happening here, but it seems he organized some of the local thugs into a police force themselves to clean up the area, and, while he’s been gone, they’ve gone bad, or worse. This has, for some reason, attracted Vixen’s attention, and they bicker a bit before starting to square off for a fight that will be shown next issue. There’s also a bit about Osiris and Isis in Khandaq, and what seems to be a threatening war with neighbor Quarac. Didn’t Quarac get nuked several years ago, by none other than Titans’ bad girl Cheshire? And wasn’t THAT after Rick Flag nuked part of the place in Suicide Squad? Must have a heck of a nuclear clean up program there.
So, we leave with the blinded Slade fighting hordes of genetic mistakes, while Roy and Cinder go to free him and Cheshire, as Vixen and Tattooed Man prepare to fight.
What I liked and what I didn’t:
I’m being generous and presuming Wallace is following up on the Ink miniseries (which he likely is as it seems he wrote that one). The story in Liberty Hill sounds like it could be interesting, and is getting me curious about the mini. And hey, Roy actually made it through an issue (granted he was only on a few pages) without mentioning being a junkie. Progress, maybe.
What is it with the Wilson family and eyes? Slade’s been missing one since he first appeared, Ravager lost one soon after she took up the name, Jericho lost both in Deathtrap (then regrew them somehow off screen which was never explained), and now Slade’s lost his other one. Drago’s routine as the enlightened blind man has been done before, and really isn’t grabbing me this time out. Cinder seems to be just a sociopath with no real qualms about hurting anyone at any time. Cheshire’s self destructive streak I don’t buy, and for God’s sake, will SOMEONE tell Eric Wallace she had a son, too? I’m also not sure why you’d capture someone like Roy, a known former government agent, hero, and weapons master, and leave his very obvious fake arm on him. Also, just kinda curious, Isis had been de-petrified, and the team’s headquarters left partially in ruin behind them… so what happened to Black Adam and his statue-like state?
I keep getting this book because it has several characters I’ve really liked in the past. But really, Deathstroke seems almost boring (that’s a feat), Roy is pathetic in his current incarnation, and Osiris has gone to the dark side. Cheshire was a good villain, but now even she seems to have lost her edge. I think, come the end of this arc, unless they really impress me, I may be dropping this one.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| some development for Ink | still no mention of Cheshire’s son, nothing really new or exciting here |
| Rating |
