Teen Titans: Rebirth #1 Review

The Teen Titans are farther apart than ever … that is until Damian Wayne recruits Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy and the new Kid Flash to join him in a fight against his own grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul! But true leadership is more than just calling the shots—is Robin really up to the task? Or will the Teen Titans dismiss this diminutive dictator?

Teen Titans: Rebirth #1

Written by Ben Percy & Jonboy Meyers
Art by Jonboy Meyers

Variant Cover by Evan “Doc” Shaner
Published by DC Comics

DC Comics continues their summer long soft reboot event “Rebirth,” with Teen Titans: Rebirth #1. The series starts off with the writing of Ben Percy (Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Teen Titans) with accompanying artwork by Jonboy Meyers (Spawn, GeNext: United, Ninja Scroll).

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The issue starts off with the story of Gar also known as the Beast Boy. Since the events of Detective Comics #940 Gar has been in a rut. The death of one of his friends is taking a toll on him, and he feels that the only way to get over it is to party and drink his sorrows away. After an unsuccessful attempt to win over the heart of a young lady, Gar is electrocuted by a mysterious figure and promptly passes out.

The next hero readers come across is Starfire, the Tamaranian princess. The orange character is in Tornado, the Caribbean, trying to put a stop to the continuous abductions of multiple women and children. She sees a kidnapping in progress and promptly halts the crime from taking place. Right when she is about to get the answers to who is behind the abduction, she gets electrocuted by the same mysterious figure who had abducted Beast Boy.

Courtesy of DC Comics

Ben Percy is a great writer; he does excellent work on the Green Arrow series and him writing the Teen Titans will not only elevate them to a higher level, but make the Teen Titans meaningful again. Percy made Beast Boy matter more in a few panels than he ever did in the Teen Titans New 52 run. Percy also managed to give more meaning to Starfire in a few pages than her whole New 52 series.

Meyers does a great job with the artwork. Every panel looks meaningful, and the reader can see the emotion on the characters’ faces. Also, Meyers’ attention to detail is an incredible skill to have in an era where details are not the focal point of comics anymore.

The second half of the issue picks up with Raven. Raven is visiting a museum late at night. She is going to go to her father’s exhibit. Her father is the devil, but to her, he is known as Trigon. Raven reveals that when she is by herself, the monsters in her head can get to her, and weirdly, being next to her father’s exhibit is the only place that she feels safe. However, Raven was caught off guard for a quick second and immediately gets attacked by a monster and knocked unconscious.

Courtesy of DC Comics

Finally, the last hero readers come across in this issue is Wally West. West, who has super speed powers, is in the midst of utilizing his ability to the fullest. He knows that he is not the fastest man in the world like The Flash, but he hopes to one day becoming that level of the father of speedsters. After he apprehends a criminal and returns the merchandise to the clerk, he stumbles across a person on the train tracks, who immediately infects him with a sleeping toxin.

The issue ends with the heroes waking up in a hidden layer. Greeting them from the forced nap is none other than Damian Wayne, the son of Batman.

Issue one of Teen Titans post-Rebirth will be interesting—and not only because Damian has to convince the other heroes to work with him. He kidnapped this new team, which doesn’t bode well for chemistry. Damian needs these young heroes in his fight against his grandfather. The heroes will all have to be in one accord. Percy is a genius for this. Out of all the Rebirth books available, this is one of the better options to pick up.

The duo of Percy and Meyers are incredible and their chemistry really shows on Teen Titans: Rebirth. This team needs to stay in this series for the long haul. Not only does Percy deliver sound content through words, but the art is also incredible. After Titans, Batman, and Detective Comics, this is one of the key series all comic fans need to pick up.

Teen Titans #1 will go on sale October 26, 2016.

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