The Team Shattered In Teen Titans #30
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The prison break and battle with Deathstroke have left the Teen Titans shattered. Everyone is furious at Red Arrow for apparently killing Slade Wilson, Kid Flash, Roundhouse, Crush, and Djinn are mad at Robin for keeping the prison a secret, and Roundhouse feels personally betrayed by Kid Flash. Djinn is completely disillusioned but is trying to keep the team from killing one another. Unfortunately, a fight seems inevitable.
Teen Titans #30 serves the epilogue to the “Terminus Agenda” crossover with Deathstroke. The secrets of Robin and Red Arrow have been exposed for the whole team to see, and it has unearthed a number of other team grievances as well.
No one feels like they can trust one another, and that’s a big problem for a team of young superheroes.
Above all else, this is a character-focused issue. The six Titans need to figure out where they stand on Damian and Emiko’s actions, and they need to discover if they can keep being a part of the team.
It’s strange seeing Damian Wayne on the backfoot like this, but the conflict with Deathstroke seems to have taken Damian apart and left him vulnerable.
Red Arrow is left seemingly unphased at having apparently killed Deathstroke. The comic doesn’t dive very far into her headspace in this issue, though that may be rectified in issues to come.
Bernard Chang continues to show himself an ideal fit for this comic. His style is expressive, sleek, and appealing. The fight scenes are kinetic and impactful, and there’s one particularly ambitious splash page that shows the layout of the Teen Titans headquarters and the course of the fights that works quite well. Marcelo Maiolo and Hi-Fi both provide popping and lively color work, which is needed for a youthful and energetic comic like this.
Teen Titans #30 is a tense and emotional issue for the young heroes. Trust is shattered, people are dead, and they still have a basement full of pissed-off supervillains. It all makes for a solid read and one worth recommending. Check it out.
Teen Titans #30 comes to us from writer Adam Glass, artist Bernard Chang, color artists Marcelo Maiolo and Hi-Fi, letterer Rob Leigh, cover artist Bernard Chang with Wil Quintana, and variant cover artist Alex Garner.
Final Score: 7.5/10
