Titans Appreciation 2021

[kurenai24]

I just skimmed the issue and tbh idk whether I actually care to read it in full b/c I just wanted info on the new characters and Red X but imma try later.

So about half of the cast of new characters spoilers:

that we'll be introduced to is missing which I guess we can presume are dead or at least one of the missing/presumed dead is Red X. The girl with the hijab, the guy that seemed to be made from stitched material, the blonde guy, the third Gotham/Batman expatriate and 2 more male characters, out of these characters, one of them is Red X while the rest is dead. So my thoughts on the new characters from what little I've seen. I'm interested in Bratgirl, I can already pitch for the character in the present and in the future; and just using the name as context, I feel like her personality could be completely different from Barbara, Cass, Stefanie, and any other female bat character, maybe on the bratty/b*tchy side which could turn people off but that could be half the fun of the character and appeal, her growing while also maintaining certain aspects of those traits; so I'm here for the character. I will say a part of me is resistant to the name b/c I am aware of the connotations and stereotyping it can have and I can definitely see some controversy if someone with a big following made their complaints heard. I also wish we saw a full look of her costume but I did like how her locs made bat ears, very reminiscent of the hairstyle where women and girls use their own hair to make a bow. Chupacabra, while I am here for Bratgirl, I like that Chupacabra isn't a Robin or a Batgirl type character who's older, but he's more like Manbat and I feel like this character now has the opportunity to appear in Justice League Dark instead of getting lost in the many Batman characters or Titans characters, he can now be a part of the small percentage of characters who are supernatural/mystic. Totally Tubular, he is definitely giving off the comedic vibes, I hope in the series that the writer understands that there is a difference between a character who is funny and a class clown I don't need every dialogue to be some joke, don't force it. I like his costume but I don't like his hero name, I understand the 80s/90s reference, still don't care for it, although I can probably get used to it. Gorilla Gregg, I wished he was named something different but at the same time I also like how it kind of softens the character and as result you automatically know he's the opposite of Gorilla Grodd in attitude and personality, I feel like this character has a chance to appear in a Flash book, so I kind of hope he's utilized there as well; I also wish I could have seen more of his costumed look. Bolt, we only saw her once in a flashback, but we know she's alive b/c Future State Suicide Squad takes place after Future State Teen Titans. The thing I wanted to highlight is the fact that she has legs in one of the flashback pages, which means that she went to the dark side after losing her legs which would be understandable, but the whole disabled/disfigured villain thing is a trope for a reason... so I hope Future State Suicide Squad indicates otherwise, although this is just a possible future who knows what path she can ultimately end up on. Which brings me to the fact that we may see her lose her legs in Titans Academy since she had prosthetics in the Infinite Frontier cover. And last but not least, despite me liking Red X from the animated series, this one was blah, maybe it was b/c I skimmed the issue but nothing drew me to this version of Red X which then makes me wonder why am I suppose to care about who Red X is?

end of spoilers

[Johnrevenge]

I just skimmed the issue and tbh idk whether I actually care to read it in full b/c I just wanted info on the new characters and Red X but imma try later.

So about half of the cast of new characters spoilers:

that we'll be introduced to is missing which I guess we can presume are dead or at least one of the missing/presumed dead is Red X. The girl with the hijab, the guy that seemed to be made from stitched material, the blonde guy, the third Gotham/Batman expatriate and 2 more male characters, out of these characters, one of them is Red X while the rest is dead. So my thoughts on the new characters from what little I've seen. I'm interested in Bratgirl, I can already pitch for the character in the present and in the future; and just using the name as context, I feel like her personality could be completely different from Barbara, Cass, Stefanie, and any other female bat character, maybe on the bratty/b*tchy side which could turn people off but that could be half the fun of the character and appeal, her growing while also maintaining certain aspects of those traits; so I'm here for the character. I will say a part of me is resistant to the name b/c I am aware of the connotations and stereotyping it can have and I can definitely see some controversy if someone with a big following made their complaints heard. I also wish we saw a full look of her costume but I did like how her locs made bat ears, very reminiscent of the hairstyle where women and girls use their own hair to make a bow. Chupacabra, while I am here for Bratgirl, I like that Chupacabra isn't a Robin or a Batgirl type character who's older, but he's more like Manbat and I feel like this character now has the opportunity to appear in Justice League Dark instead of getting lost in the many Batman characters or Titans characters, he can now be a part of the small percentage of characters who are supernatural/mystic. Totally Tubular, he is definitely giving off the comedic vibes, I hope in the series that the writer understands that there is a difference between a character who is funny and a class clown I don't need every dialogue to be some joke, don't force it. I like his costume but I don't like his hero name, I understand the 80s/90s reference, still don't care for it, although I can probably get used to it. Gorilla Gregg, I wished he was named something different but at the same time I also like how it kind of softens the character and as result you automatically know he's the opposite of Gorilla Grodd in attitude and personality, I feel like this character has a chance to appear in a Flash book, so I kind of hope he's utilized there as well; I also wish I could have seen more of his costumed look. Bolt, we only saw her once in a flashback, but we know she's alive b/c Future State Suicide Squad takes place after Future State Teen Titans. The thing I wanted to highlight is the fact that she has legs in one of the flashback pages, which means that she went to the dark side after losing her legs which would be understandable, but the whole disabled/disfigured villain thing is a trope for a reason... so I hope Future State Suicide Squad indicates otherwise, although this is just a possible future who knows what path she can ultimately end up on. Which brings me to the fact that we may see her lose her legs in Titans Academy since she had prosthetics in the Infinite Frontier cover. And last but not least, despite me liking Red X from the animated series, this one was blah, maybe it was b/c I skimmed the issue but nothing drew me to this version of Red X which then makes me wonder why am I suppose to care about who Red X is?

end of spoilers

So the blonde speedster name is Bolt? Interesting. Where did you see her name? Just for curiosity

[Godlike13]

I thought FS TT was pretty good. Managed its time and cast well. Gave me enough that no one felt left out, and didn't bury us in exposition to explain its state of things. I enjoyed it. Im not huge on the idea but it was well written, and the art was lovely.

[Harpsikord]

She looked like a completely different character with her eyes, costume, and hair though.

Wha?

She's literally wearing the same costume that she's worn since 2018 in this issue though, and she has gold/orange skin. Even with the weird ponytail and her eyes having irises and pupils, she's recognizable.

Anyway I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to seeing what Sheridan can do in a non-dystopic society.

spoilers:

Nightwing is definitely Damian, yeah? It's very clearly not Dick.

end of spoilers

[Will Evans]

Wha?

She's literally wearing the same costume that she's worn since 2018 in this issue though, and she has gold/orange skin. Even with the weird ponytail and her eyes having irises and pupils, she's recognizable.

Anyway I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to seeing what Sheridan can do in a non-dystopic society.

spoilers:

Nightwing is definitely Damian, yeah? It's very clearly not Dick.

end of spoilers

Huh? Why do you think that?

[Harpsikord]

Huh? Why do you think that?

spoilers:

Starfire more or less says it. It's in the dialogue. She refuses to call him Dick or Richard - because it isn't his name, and he's fooling else everyone into believing that it is - and then she even says that "he" is even starting to sound like "him," which Nightwing takes to mean Bruce but she disagrees with him. There's also the fact that Dick was trapped in Gotham when the Magistrate shut it off from the rest of the world and it isn't exactly easy to get out.

end of spoilers

[Drako]

spoilers:

Starfire more or less says it. It's in the dialogue. She refuses to call him Dick or Richard - because it isn't his name, and he's fooling else everyone into believing that it is - and then she even says that "he" is even starting to sound like "him," which Nightwing takes to mean Bruce but she disagrees with him. There's also the fact that Dick was trapped in Gotham when the Magistrate shut it off from the rest of the world and it isn't exactly easy to get out.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Why would Damian have a Nightwing flashback that never saw? And react to a mask he has no connection to it? And he complains about her calliing him Nightwing "all of the sudden", it's something recent, so she was calling him by his real name before. It's Dick Grayson, he is just acting more stoic cause of all the deaths.

end of spoilers

[Drako]

Also:


The mask he is talking about is Red X's maks, and who wore was Dick.

[Harpsikord]

Also:


The mask he is talking about is Red X's maks, and who wore was Dick.

Dick's literally stuck in Arkham when Teen Titans happens.

[Drako]

Dick's literally stuck in Arkham when Teen Titans happens.

What?
Teen Titans happens two years after Nightwing future state.
And he is not stuck in Arkham, Arkham is his base of operations. He had a line talking about how he got out of Gotham.

Batman is gone! Now, Nightwing has taken on the mission of keeping the citizens of Gotham City safe from the Magistrate. But to do that, he'll have stay one step ahead of the Magistrate! And you know things have gotten bad in Gotham when the safest place for Dick to hide out is the abandoned Arkham Asylum! When Nightwing gets a visit from a mask claiming to be the new Batman…does he fight like one? Pick up this dark peek into the future by writer Andrew Constant and artist Nicola Scott to find out!

[kurenai24]

So the blonde speedster name is Bolt? Interesting. Where did you see her name? Just for curiosity

Bleeding Cool, obviously they could be wrong but it seems BC has a retailer or two that shares some info with them as they gave aways details about The Next Batman #2 as well as some info about issue ones for a number of Future State stories.

[Nomads1]

Can't say I like much the Titans Academy idea. IMHO, it was already a weak concept when Geoff Johns tried to do something similar in his Teen Titans run. And that was with the then top tier sidekics in the DCU, the top writer of the company (If I'm not mistaken, Johns was already well on his way to became that) and a first class artist. I don't think it'll be better with a bunch of lame characters nobody ever heard of.
DC really should try to take a look at what made the Titans great in their hey days, and, not try to copy, redo and recapture it for the thousandeth time, but use that as a template for a new team. A few big name Titans, a few newbies with clear and great story potential (maybe even a few revamped less-knom former members), a clear mission statement, and great character work, which will build into strong new relationships. All that, and a cohesive creative team at the top of their game. Honestly, as long as one of those itens are missing, they'll never be able to recapture lightning. Plus, I don't think this less strict and clear continuity policy will do much good for a title with such rich history as the Titans.

Peace

[Tzigone]

Can't say I like much the Titans Academy idea. IMHO, it was already a weak concept when Geoff Johns tried to do something similar in his Teen Titans run

I agree with you. I don't like the Titans as "students" - I think it works best when they are all peers, with no older/adult figures around advising/instructing them. At least, that's what they were in their best era, IMO.

[chief12d]

Can't say I like much the Titans Academy idea. IMHO, it was already a weak concept when Geoff Johns tried to do something similar in his Teen Titans run. And that was with the then top tier sidekics in the DCU, the top writer of the company (If I'm not mistaken, Johns was already well on his way to became that) and a first class artist. I don't think it'll be better with a bunch of lame characters nobody ever heard of.
DC really should try to take a look at what made the Titans great in their hey days, and, not try to copy, redo and recapture it for the thousandeth time, but use that as a template for a new team. A few big name Titans, a few newbies with clear and great story potential (maybe even a few revamped less-knom former members), a clear mission statement, and great character work, which will build into strong new relationships. All that, and a cohesive creative team at the top of their game. Honestly, as long as one of those itens are missing, they'll never be able to recapture lightning. Plus, I don't think this less strict and clear continuity policy will do much good for a title with such rich history as the Titans.

Peace

This please. The Titans need to be infused with new rogues, new character dynamics, and new concepts that expand what the team can be. I'd also prefer they uplift and revamp old characters like Hotspot and Red Star than keep inventing new people.

[Frontier]

I didn't really view Johns' Titans as a school, but I guess the older Titans were trying to mentor the young ones as much as give them a safe space away from their mentors and drama.

This please. The Titans need to be infused with new rogues, new character dynamics, and new concepts that expand what the team can be. I'd also prefer they uplift and revamp old characters like Hotspot and Red Star than keep inventing new people.

Well, we kind of got that to an extent with Damian's Titans, it's just both times kind of imploded on each other...