Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 48

Tales of the Teen Titans (1984) 48

Nov 1984

The Recombatants!

By Marv Wolfman, Steve Rude, Al Gordon, Todd Klein, Adrienne Roy

The Teen Titans receive a call from Dayton Labs in Nevada. One of the lab’s experiments has escaped. The experiment is described to them as artificial intelligent life. The Titans (Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Jericho) arrive in Las Vegas and discover that the “experiment” is the Recombatants, a quartet of lab grown teenagers with super powers.

The escaped teens (Aurora, Topaz, Dreadnought, Pseudos) are enjoying their first taste of freedom and aren’t ready to return to the lab. The two teams fight until the Recombatants give in and let the Titans take them back to the lab. It is then that the Titans learn that the other teens are experimental super-powered soldiers. The scientists in charge of the Recombatants are planning to kill them on account of the fact that they accidentally killed a couple lab technicians.

The Teen Titans object to the scientists’ plans for the recaptured teens. They want to get Steve Dayton, the lab’s owner, to overrule the scientists' decision. He’s not around and the Titans get into a fight with lab security team. The Recombatants tear the lab apart while the others are fighting. They don’t want future Recombatants to have to suffer like them. There is a big explosion. The machinery that birthed the Recombatants and the four teens themselves are destroyed.

Thoughts

Steve Rude’s art is gorgeous. It is a shame that this is the only story he drew of this series. It’s his layouts and the angles he uses as much as it is the way he draws the characters.

The story itself has a familiar ring to it. It reminded me of part of the Cadmus story from JLU. According to my research this is the only appearance of the team. They were part of an unofficial crossover with DNAgents, an Eclipse comic book. Despite the abrupt ending I liked this story better than the 3-part story that immediately preceded it.

Epilogue

By Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Mike DeCarlo, Ben Oda , Adrienne Roy

Epilogue One: Gar and Jillian hang out at Dayton Manor, the future site of Donna and Terry’s wedding ceremony.

Epilogue Two: Terry finds out that Marcia, his ex-wife, wants to chat about their daughter and the wedding. He’s worried about what she wants but Donna is confident that Marcia isn’t going to try to mess things up for them.

Epilogue Three: Joseph is concerned for Raven. He knocks on the door to her room but she won’t let him in. She fears she might do something violent if she opens the door and urges him to leave.

Meanwhile...

Mark Wayne Harris writes about breaking into the comic book business.

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Titans Tower (letters column) is filled with an ad for the next issue which features the return of Dr. Light. There is a 16-page preview of Matchbox Presents Flash Force 2000, written by Robert Loren Fleming and penciled by Denys Cowan, in the center of the issue. Based on my research this was an ad for a line of toys. There never was a comic book series of Flash Force 2000. There are two full page previews, one for Blue Devil and the other for the latest Star Trek comic book series.