Mar 1983
First Blood!
By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Romeo Tanghal
The Brotherhood of Evil returns. They were in the last issue but in this one their purpose becomes a little more clear. Under orders from their leader, the Brain, they fly to the United States. Their plan is to kidnap Raven. The plane they are in is piloted by one of Brother Blood’s men. I guess they thought they had him under their control but about halfway across the Atlantic the pilot (who turns out to be a robot) crashes the plane into the ocean.
The Titans are for the most part enjoying some down time. Robin still can’t relax. He’s all worked up and wants to do something about Bethany Snow. He and Starfire finally go to see Adrian Chase. Wonder Girl tries talking to Robin before he and Starfire leave but he isn’t in a chatty mood. She winds up taking off in search of Terry, her boyfriend. She admits to having been a bit unnerved when she met his ex-wife and daughter the night before. The fact that Donna doesn’t know who her parents are has something to do with it.
Terra hangs around until Changeling starts asking questions about their encounter with the terrorists the night before. He tries to suggest that she could join the team but she isn’t interested and takes off on a flying rock. Changeling morphs into a bird and takes off after her. Cyborg takes off soon after they do, leaving just Wally, Raven, and Roy in the Tower.
Frances Kane comes to see Wally. She was last seen in New Teen Titans 17. She seems to have greater control over her magnetic superpowers. She demonstrates her abilities but makes it clear that she wishes she didn’t have them and doesn’t want to join the team.
The Brotherhood of Evil survives the airplane crash. Warp gets them to an island. Brother Blood’s minions surprise them but are no match for the four super villains. They use the flying discs they take from Brother Blood’s troops to make their way back to the United States, to Titans Tower.
The super villains attack. The heroes fight back. Raven separates her soul self from her body but it is then tricked by Phobia into thinking that Wally is Trigon. She attacks and almost kills her teammate. Speedy is the only other teammate on hand. Frances joins the fight after it has begun. The Titans plus Frances (despite the odds) manage to take down the Brotherhood of Evil. Raven is so disturbed by what she did that she leaves.
I love this issue. I bought it back when it was first published. A lot of the scenes brought back memories. I like how the heroes have found themselves caught in the middle of a fight between Brother Blood and the Brotherhood of Evil. It makes for a more interesting story that the standard good vs evil. I didn’t recall that Frances Kane returned. Perez and Tanghal do an awesome job with the layouts and finished artwork, as always.
Titans' Tower
Marv touts the addition of two new members to the New Teen Titans, on the letters page. I know who one of them is but I only have a sneaking suspicion who the other is. The one is announced on the cover of the next issue. If I am right, the other Titan is already a member of the team who adopts a new costumed identity.
There is a reference made to a second Uncanny X-Men/New Teen Titans crossover book. The book was going to be written and drawn by Marv and George. It was scheduled to be released around Christmas 1983. To my knowledge this book never was published.
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