Teen Spirit

Hmm. Not so long ago, I was commenting that I wasn't sure if any Teen Titans had ever existed, in the new DCU. And here we have a Teen Titans title. Let's see what we can learn.

Kid Flash (Wally West, I guess?) is a big showoff. Not so good at the heroing, just yet. He's young, though. Tim Drake, now called the Red Robin, is watching the news broadcast, and is upset at it. Presently, a group of men burst in--part of "a clandestine international organization [that] was going around plucking up super-powered teenagers", called N.O.W.H.E.R.E. They're upset with Tim because he's been leaking classified information on blogs and wikis. They make him an offer: work for them--or die. Tim takes a third option, warning them that he's rigged the place with explosives and then jumping out the window.

Elsewhere, Cassie Sandsmark is driving on the Pacific Coast Highway. A cop stops her--but he's not really a cop. Just then, Tim arrives and rescues her. As we learn, though, she has metahuman abilities--perhaps she could have rescued herself. Tim says that the press has called Cassie 'Wonder Girl', though she seems not to like that name. The two are attacked by an unmanned helicopter, which Cassie takes care of. Elsewhere ("half a world away"), we see someone (Zaniel) ordering the release of Superboy--an event we saw in The Clone. This issue has the same writer as that one, so I expect the comics to tie in pretty tightly. It's interesting to note, though, that the dialogue in these two scenes isn't quite the same. I don't know whether to assume it's just a matter of "two comics, two interpretations--deal with it" or if it might mean something more. I'm leaning towards it being a fluke, though.

So, it's a pretty okay comic. Compared to Superboy #1, this one's art is smoother and more detailed. Both are nice, though. The story's interesting enough, and the tie-in with Superboy intrigues me. I'm looking forward to seeing where these go.