Titans Annual #1 Preview

[Frontier]

I'm loving this preview. The art is great and the character dynamics looks really interesting, and I love getting to finally see more of the mentors and protege's interacting with each other .

It's especially great to finally see Garth and Arthur and Donna and Diana together again since they've been separated from each other for so long. We're only now getting to see them really interact and get a sense of their relationships in the current continuity, and we maybe might get a glimpse of what it was like when Garth and Donna were still sidekicks.

I think this is the first time I've ever liked Abnett's Barry. He seems to have a much better grasp of Barry here then he did in Justice League #52 and his one appearance in Aquaman. He also has a great grasp of Barry and Wally's dynamic .

Batman, Arthur, and Diana seem unusually cold, which is a little more surprising for the latter two then it is with Batman, though even Bruce seems uncharacteristically cold to Dick here. I guess he's just in full-on "mission" mode, and won't even trust Nightwing until he's sure he's 100% the real deal.

I wonder what Donna means when she says she and Diana haven't been "close in years?" Did they have some kind of falling out we don't know about? Is it related to the Donna from the Finch run and how that connects to the current Donna? Or is tied-in to Donna's new origin?

Pretty cool having the Key as the villain here. His senses seem to have put him into communication with some kind of extra-dimensional being, so I imagine that'll connect to the Rebirth storyline.

[GlennSimpson]

I wonder what Donna means when she says she and Diana haven't been "close in years?" Did they have some kind of falling out we don't know about? Is it related to the Donna from the Finch run and how that connects to the current Donna? Or is tied-in to Donna's new origin?

We really need a Donna-centric arc to explain things. I *think* they could retroactively say that Diana and Donna knew each other, and then hadn't seen each other in a while, then Donna was possessed by that witch (it looked in what was published that she was creating Donna but that doesn't work), Donna killed the male Amazons, and the Diana kinda tried to get Donna back on her feet.

OR the whole story where Donna was created and killed the male Amazons can be pushed back in the timeline so that we can assume Donna joined the Titans after that. That's not my favorite way to go, though.

OR we are seeing storylines taking place after "The Truth" and all that in Wonder Woman's book, and nothing that happened in the Azzarello series is going to have happened. So Donna's history is completely unknown, although presumed to be some variation on one of her pre-Flashpoint backgrounds.

[HandofPrometheus]

We really need a Donna-centric arc to explain things. I *think* they could retroactively say that Diana and Donna knew each other, and then hadn't seen each other in a while, then Donna was possessed by that witch (it looked in what was published that she was creating Donna but that doesn't work), Donna killed the male Amazons, and the Diana kinda tried to get Donna back on her feet.

OR the whole story where Donna was created and killed the male Amazons can be pushed back in the timeline so that we can assume Donna joined the Titans after that. That's not my favorite way to go, though.

OR we are seeing storylines taking place after "The Truth" and all that in Wonder Woman's book, and nothing that happened in the Azzarello series is going to have happened. So Donna's history is completely unknown, although presumed to be some variation on one of her pre-Flashpoint backgrounds.

I'll just go with Donna first new 52 appearance was her getting Ressurected.

There is history that Abnett is touching on we haven't seen I wanna know more about it.

[Lee]

If New 52 Themyscira and its inhabitants were fake, could the New 52 Donna Troy be a fake too? (With the Titans Hunt/Rebirth Donna being the real deal.)

[sakuyamons]

If New 52 Themyscira and its inhabitants were fake, could the New 52 Donna Troy be a fake too? (With the Titans Hunt/Rebirth Donna being the real deal.)

I honest to god hope that's how it's going down.

Edgy Murderer Donna Troy was literally everything that was wrong with the n52.

[GlennSimpson]

Actually, the more I think about this, the less I like it. "Heroes all teleported to the same place" is nothing new, but this notion that because they were, one or more of them must be an imposter and therefore are not to be trusted seems like a stretch. How is it not more logical to assume they are all who they say they are?

[BohemiaDrinker]

Actually, the more I think about this, the less I like it. "Heroes all teleported to the same place" is nothing new, but this notion that because they were, one or more of them must be an imposter and therefore are not to be trusted seems like a stretch. How is it not more logical to assume they are all who they say they are?

This version of the Key does have a tendency to mess with people's minds, though. Couple that with the lasso's absence, and we could be exposed to some mood altering influence.

[BohemiaDrinker]

Boy, you gotta love Nightwing.

A doubt: everyone knows who Wally is, now? It's okay to assume that some off panel conversations took place, but it seems weird. Does the JL remember him or not?

[Atlanta96]

I hope Titans is getting an artist facelift come June like Aquaman. I don't mind Booth like other people, but i can see that him being on the book is turning some people off. Especially since the novelty of Wally's return seems to be wearing off.

Yeah, even though I don't hate Booth as an artist his unpopularity with many fans makes him wrong for the book IMO. His insistence on being the artist for the next Wally West solo sends chills down my spine.

[GlennSimpson]

This version of the Key does have a tendency to mess with people's minds, though. Couple that with the lasso's absence, and we could be exposed to some mood altering influence.

Maybe, but if that's the case, why isn't it affecting Nightwing? And why isn't Nightwing questioning it?

[BohemiaDrinker]

Maybe, but if that's the case, why isn't it affecting Nightwing? And why isn't Nightwing questioning it?

It's technically not affecting the Flashes as well.

Maybe it potentializes pre-existing feelings? Arrogance in Aquaman, Bloodlust on Diana, paranoid tendencies on Batman, insecurity on Garth, even some recklessness in Nightwing (he does seem a little more sarcastic than usual).

All well-stablished character traits, usually under control, a little over the top now.

[dan12456]

I don't get the love for this preview. Every justice leaguer other than Barry is acting OOC. Maybe there is an in story reason for that, but off this alone not excited.

[JasonTodd428]

Yeah, even though I don't hate Booth as an artist his unpopularity with many fans makes him wrong for the book IMO.

If a new artist came onboard I would start picking this up again. That's literally all it would take for this book to go back on my pull.

[Grayson - The Dark Heir]

It's technically not affecting the Flashes as well.

Maybe it potentializes pre-existing feelings? Arrogance in Aquaman, Bloodlust on Diana, paranoid tendencies on Batman, insecurity on Garth, even some recklessness in Nightwing (he does seem a little more sarcastic than usual).

All well-stablished character traits, usually under control, a little over the top now.

That sounds pretty on point. I guess for Wally it'd be confidence, maybe? I mean, he really isn't letting the JL get to him when they talk down to him for the most part, but Barry is going out of his way to tell him he cares about him, so kindness for Barry, I guess? Maybe loneliness or something for Donna, not sure.

Whatever it is, it definitely seems like at least 3 of the JL members have been affected by the Key.

And about Wally, maybe we had an off-screen regaining of memories? I'm sure if they didn't remember their history as Teen Titans the JL would all be incredibly curious about this Titans team and why there was a second Flash on it.

[TheSupernaut]

That sounds pretty on point. I guess for Wally it'd be confidence, maybe? I mean, he really isn't letting the JL get to him when they talk down to him for the most part, but Barry is going out of his way to tell him he cares about him, so kindness for Barry, I guess? Maybe loneliness or something for Donna, not sure.

Whatever it is, it definitely seems like at least 3 of the JL members have been affected by the Key.

And about Wally, maybe we had an off-screen regaining of memories? I'm sure if they didn't remember their history as Teen Titans the JL would all be incredibly curious about this Titans team and why there was a second Flash on it.

I think for Barry its probably his guilt perhaps? And as for whether or not the League remembers, I'm thinking Barry or Superman brought it up at some point. I'm sure Bruce at least remembers him appearing to him in the cave during Rebirth.