Batting Clean Up — Reviewing ‘Titans: Beast World’ #2

Lions, and Werewolves and Otters…oh my? Thanks to Beast Boy, things have gotten a bit primal in the DC Universe. The Titans are left trying to clean things up as a familiar face takes advantage of the chaos, they had a hand in creating.

It’s the second part of the year-ending event Titans: Beast World from Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, Danny Miki, Brad Anderson, and Wes Abbott.

There is a grand action to it all, which is a given when you have Reis, Miki, and Anderson together. They have a very DC-friendly style, that works for every big book or event they’ve done. It’s big, bold, smooth, bombastic, and more.

Reis has a very detailed approach that makes things feel like they have weight and depth, and the space they occupy feels accurate. Each of the individuals on the page, be they hero, civilian, or transformed beast, is distinct and energetic. Miki’s inks bring even more weight to it all, helping enhance the overall feeling.

We’re meant to feel chaos as the spores spread and new beasts roam the world, and it shows. Reis and Miki nail that, from the smaller contained panels to those that allow the grander spectacle to take over. There is little doubt drawing so many animals, including some still having human shapes and bits to them, was no easy task. How Reis brings it to life though sure seems to make it feel like it could be easy.

It all comes together with Anderson’s colors which feel thick and heavy but also light and poppy at the same time. Shadows and darker tones swirl through everything, as this is a darker-toned story, but it’s still full of super-powered beings. So there are striking greens, blues, reds, and more which just light up the page.

Plenty needs to be said, for the benefit of character and reader alike, and Abbott always makes it work well. Dialogue, captions, and more flow through the pages hitting the right notes for the given moment. There is a lot of direness happening and we can feel that in the emotional tone afforded each of the words on the page.

Events are a delicate balance. There is only so much real estate, and they usually have pretty big things to accomplish (outside of whatever happens in the slew of tie-in issues). Keeping the pace steady so that the landing can be stuck in a way that isn’t rushed is key. One of course, as a reader, won’t know if that is the case till the final issue rolls around. Until then, one just has to gauge the given issues for signs of potential loss of momentum.

I’m not saying that this series has or will lose momentum, but an issue like this can make one think that. Look, this issue is perfectly fine (a word I’m using a lot already for this event). It showcases the threat that this mindless transformed Beast Boy is causing, what threat the heroes possess in the mix, and throws a tiny bit of action in the mix.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel very much like a Titans issue, but more of a Nightwing issue. We’re with the Blüdhaven hero far more than others and even the cover advertised throw-down with Black Adam is minor and barely a thing. We get far more of Nightwing and Batman saving lives together, and then Nightwing’s angst at losing his adoptive father to the chaos.

Honestly, this has been my concern about the Titans being named as the Justice League replacement. Such a thing can’t actually happen in these shared universe comics for the simple reason that the JL members are still prominently around at the center of everything. Batman has more page time here than every single other current member of the Titans (plus the handful of cameos and supporting heroes) combined. Hell, Amanda Waller and Peacemaker show up more than Raven and Cyborg do (after they open the issue).

Also, and this is not a fault of this creative team but a point at the whole of the line, where the heck is anything happening in this shared universe? Here we see that Batman and Nightwing are all father and son, even though the Gotham War event happened before this where the Bat-family is shattered. Batman turned on his kids, savagely, including mentally manipulating Red Hood/Jason Todd. Yet, these things are not playing out in other books within the same line.

I get it, there is the whole hyper-time thing they point at where all things that ever happened have happened. Yet, that still doesn’t explain why the supposed shared universe feels so very much the opposite of that most of the time. Books, even in the same line, are very much in their own silos. It’s just odd how much DC and Marvel both cling to the shared universe yet within the lines there is very little shared about most things.

One of those have cake and eat it too moments, except it’s more like declaring the cake but then throwing the cake out the window.

I appreciate what Taylor is doing, but I fear that we’re already two of six issues in with little laid out. We’re no closer to understanding any of the hows, whys, or where any of this could be headed.  Beast Boy was prominent in the first, but absent as a character here. The issue is, that centering an event on a character the publisher has never tried hard to sell or push that much is difficult. It’s easier to shuffle the “bigger” characters into lead/focus roles, even if that makes little sense.

I feel a Beast Boy event where he loses himself should have Raven and Cyborg right at the heart with their emotional ties to him. We might get that, but right now I’m not as certain.

Titans: Beast World #2 is now available from DC Comics.